Sunday, March 22, 2015

GOOSE NECK STATE PARK TO MONTICELLO UTAH & MORE PROBLEMS

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HEADED OUT OF GOOSENECK STATE PARK THIS MORNING

I have never seen the night sky as clear & wonderful as I saw it early Sunday morning from here at Gooseneck State Park in southeastern Utah.  It stretched from Cassiopeia in the northeast right down through Sagittarius to the southwest with the greatest glowing concentration of stars running through the Teapot’s spout.  Sagittarius is shaped like a slightly tipped teapot.  And for the first time I saw how the Milky Way even fanned out touching the Scorpions (Scorpios) tail.  Truly a marvelous site & it wasn’t even cold out at 6 a.m. Utah time.

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SUNRISE AT GOOSENECK

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Rolled out of Gooseneck just after sunrise & headed a short distance over to the west entrance at Valley Of The Gods. 

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MOKI DUGWAY STRAIGHT AHEAD

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ALWAYS HAVE TO WATCH FOR A FEW ROAD HAZARDS OUT HERE IN THE WILD WOOLY WEST

We remembered a large parking area there so pulled in & un-hooked the Jeep. 

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UNHOOKED JEEP HERE

We had heard about a scenic 3 mile section of highway known as the Moki Dugway & wanted to Jeep up to the top & back down again.  Highway 261 is paved except for the graveled Moki Dugway.   Dawns early light unfolded across Canyon of the Gods lighting Cedar Mesa’s steep cliff walls as we began our ascent.  The views immediately became stunning as we made the first of 3 photo stops on the way up.  What a great drive this is as long as your not afraid of heights.  Hair pin turns, blind curves, & steep grades make it a great drive.  Just a nice way to adventurously start another day.

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Reaching the top we took a short drive on a road along the Mesa’s top, turned around a began our descent.  Although signs discourage large vehicles from driving the Moki-Dugway I could see where it was doable even in a large Motorhome if you have the power for the grades & simply took your time.  This was verified when we past a mid-size Class C coming up the grade & later super verified when we saw a big full sized tour bus heading up the Moki-Dugway.  I’m guessing the red car going slowly in front of the bus was acting as an out front safety vehicle on the blind curves.  Just guessing. 

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THE MOKI DUGWAY ROAD

Anyway if anyone is in the area of Mexican Hat Utah there’s a truly scenic drive for you with great views out over the Garden Of The Gods far below.  I have included only a few of my Moki Dugway photos & maybe over the next few days I will post more of them.  Just too tired tonight to do much more of anything.

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We did Jeep a short distance into Garden Of The Gods to see if we could find a suitable boondocking spot but it was not to be.  No Verizon out there anyway.  Hooked the Jeep back on, retraced our steps past the turn off to Gooseneck & at the first stop sign turned left back onto highway 191.  Less than 20 miles up the road we knew of a spot known as Sand Island so it was there we headed.  Nice spot but being Sunday all the available spots on the Colorado River were taken.  From there it was just another few miles to Bluff Utah where we pulled into the Twin Rocks Trading Post center to check for an internet signal.  Signal was there but very weak so we moved on.

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TWIN ROCKS TRADING POST

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OH-OH ANOTHER GOATSHEAD STICKER

Next town on route was Blanding & we found the Visitor Center there & pulled in for a break.  Strong internet signal so that is where I finished & published my Saturday post.  While there a Lazy Daze Class C pulled in & parked beside us.  A lady got out & came right to our door.  “Hey, you’re the Bayfield Bunch” she said.  Turns out this lady is a regular Bayfield Bunch reader.  Her name was Dorothy & her husband’s name was Don & they are from Alabama.  Had ourselves a wee chat & as it turns out they prefer the southwest for traveling & RV boondocking too.  Being an adventurous couple they have had their Class C Lazy Daze up & down the MokI-Dugway.  You can follow Dorothy & Don’s adventures here at Traveling Dorothy.

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DOROTHY & DON FROM ALABAMA

We decided to head on to Monticello where we knew of a spot in the town we could overnight.   Same spot we stayed in on the way to Congress last October.  North of Blanding is a very long grade that just seems to go on forever & although we were going uphill our day began going downhill again when we experienced the same loss of power we experienced just a few days ago.  Engine light on again & we barely crawled into Monticello.  So we are back to the square root of one again.  I was sure hoping the problem was the fuel filter but obviously not.  There is no way we can ever get through the Colorado mountains so we have no choice but to seek out a garage.  We’re thinking maybe it is that manifold leak problem after all.  Looked up & found 3 truck centers in Moab so we’ll call in the morning & see when we can get in & have someone find the root cause of what is causing our power loss.  Maybe it’s a Chevy dealer we should go to.  At this point we are just grasping at straws as to what to do.  We have a feeling this whole thing is going to cost us a huge pile of money.  Well at least we had a couple good days of felling good…………………………..

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NORTH OF BLANDING UTAH LOOKING WEST

No need for me to tell you how we are feeling right now but the word discouraged would be putting it mildly.  By the way our fridge is still working fine…………………..

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( A 3-year-old was diligently pounding away on her father's word processor. She told him she was writing a story.  "What's it about?", he asked.  "I don't know.", she replied, "I can't read."

22 comments:

  1. So sorry about the trouble once again. But like you said at least you had a couple good days and saw some really beautiful lands and mountains. Good luck with the repairs

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  2. You captured some great photos today but I am sure the rig troubles are putting a damper on your adventures home..hang in there ..hope the repair will be a quick one !

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  3. Sorry for the rotten luck you are having in the rig. I hope it turns out to be nothing more than something like a petrified mouse in the tailpipe or something. But, while you are in Monticello, here's something you might like to check out. I believe (but could be wrong) Monticello has some wagon ruts to see. They are in incorporated in a golf course, but preserved. I saw them in 1984, so it's a wee time ago, but their existence wasn't advertised at the time. I did some research so knew they were there. Anyway, here's hoping the Big E aka the Get Up and Go Machine gets up and goes by the time the repair department removes the offending non-moving part and replaces it with the gold standard of traveling efficiency. Best of luck.

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    1. Oops. I was wrong. No ruts in golf course there. Sigh. Sorry.

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  4. I can hear that Moki Dugway calling my name. Definitely my kind of road. Glad you didn't take the Big E up it under the current conditions. Hope it's a minor repair. All that red rock country really making me homesick. I've been thinking that area would be cooler than Death Valley for my trip north to drop the camper in Kanab. Funny how I been looking for warmth all winter but now.... DV is already 95.

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  5. Just a thought.
    We have had a similar loss of power in our class A but a Ford V-10. It we have the cruise control on and climbing, suddenly we loose all our power. and can barely crawl up the hill.
    I now turn the cruise control off and no problems now.

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  6. Just a shot in the dark, Al, but we too had a similar problem with our diesel pusher. Found it low on engine coolant. When we headed up the mountains, the fluid evidently shifted causing the warnings and loss of power.

    Good luck....sure hope you find a cause and solution soon.

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  7. So many beautiful sights to see in Utah. Really sorry for the RV problems, hope you find someone that can find the problem quick.

    arlonHboozer.com

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  8. That's a beautiful part of Utah. Good luck with the mechanical problems... we're out here rooting for you!

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  9. What beautiful scenery! We're heading over to Kingman, then up to Vegas in a couple of weeks. Hope to get some nice photos. Sorry to hear about your RV problems.

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  10. We loved Garden Of The Gods even better than Monument Valley. We so enjoyed driving and being able to stop and enjoy the beauty.

    Saying a prayer for you two. Praying all repairs get done successfully and for lots of patience.

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  11. The sunrise pics are beautiful - what a way to start the day! Moki Dugway looks awesome, we didn't know it was there when we went through Mexican Hat a couple years ago :-( It's funny that the pioneers kept going until they could find water, and we keep going until we can find internet! We readers appreciate the effort!! I had to laugh at the refrigerator still working - of course :-)

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  12. Boy Al I am so sorry to hear this. It sounds like the Triple E is trying really hard but something is just in the way. I sure hope someone can find it for you easily. In spite of being discouraged you sure did brighten our day with your gorgeous pictures. Every single one is a gem today. The sunrise makes me long even more to somehow be able to get out there where you are to see these gorgeous colors and that highway. Thanks Al.

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  13. Gorgeous photos Al--simply gorgeous! Here's hoping for a quick, easy and inexpensive fix!!!

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  14. ARgghhh was hoping it was only the fuel filter. dangnabbit! Your travels for the day were so amazing and such a pretty journey!
    KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
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    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
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  15. We had a similar problem years ago that I had forgotten about. Colin wanted me to ask you to check under your gas pedal to be sure it is clear. In our case there was a dog ball wedged under the gas pedal which stopped the gas pedal from going all the way down to the floor. Check for a possible infringement. Freightliner charged us $200.00 to discover that ball. When we lost power the second time we knew what to look for. We only lost power when climbing hills. Good luck.

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  16. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was one of the dog toys! Hope you find a solution in Moab.

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  17. DARN!!! Was sooo hoping the rest of your trip would go smoothly, but not to be..Maybe a Chevy garage IS a good idea...Rest assured, a good mechanic will get to the root of the problem...It might be a chunk of change to fix it, but worth the peace of mind..Hugs to all three..and a wet kiss to Pheebs, too!

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  18. Hope your troubles require only a quick fix and you are on your way by now.

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  19. Sorry you are having problems again. Fingers crossed it will be a quick fix.

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  20. Loving your photos, makes us want to go back there this fall.

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  21. You two are still SUCH kids! I love that you just go here and then there, anywhere you want. I had to smile at Pheebes - that's exactly what Katie does when she gets a sticker in her paw.

    So sorry about the mechanical issues. I know how you feel - the first thing I think of, whether it's a problem with the rig or with Katie, is how much it's going to cost me. Sometimes I think a house IS cheaper! :)

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