Wednesday, March 25, 2015

MOAB UTAH TO GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO & THE RIG RAN PERFECT

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THIS IS A NORMAL EYE’S VIEW OF THE CANYON FLOOR BELOW THE VIEWPOINT…NOTICE THE CAMPERS AT PHOTO’S CENTER

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THIS IS A 300mm TELEPHOTO SHOT OF THE SAME SCENE SECONDS LATER

Our time spent in the Moab area was way shorter than we had planned but due to the problem with our rig we had to move on to a repair facility in Grand Junction Colorado some 140 miles to the east.  Up at 7 & on the road by 7:30.  Kelly followed in the Jeep with Pheebs & I out front with the Motorhome.  And the motorhome could not have run better.  No problems on the grades heading for Moab other than the normal slowing down a bit.  The rig was acting like a wild Mustang horse just wanting to run as fast as the wind.  Moab was no problem & traffic was light.  After effortlessly topping the long medium grade north of Moab I pulled over & we hooked the Jeep back up.

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SAID GOOD-BYE TO OUR BOONDOCKING SPOT & BOVINE FRIENDS THIS MORNING

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We had a fine sunny morning going on as we headed north on 191 then east on I-70.  The rig handled all the grades without so much as a hint of trouble.  Engine running fine & the big Allison transmission downshifting at the correct times going up I-70’s grades.  It is indeed a perplexing problem as to what has caused our 3 ‘low power’ times each one on a steep grade.  Our ‘check engine’ light is still on & hopefully the people at Bear Auto can shed some light on what could possibly be wrong.  I thank everyone for their input.

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NORTHBOUND ON HIGHWAY 191 FOR MOAB UTAH

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HEADING EAST ON I-70

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ROLLING ALONG BESIDE THE COLORADO RIVER WEST OF GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO

Stopped at McD’s in Fruita for breakfast & coffee.  Picked up a little fuel but not too much.  Do not want to drag a full load of fuel over the mountains sometime in the next few days.  We rolled into Grand Junction at 11:25 & found Bear Auto in the south end of town about 15 minutes later.  Pulled into the recommended dirt parking lot but realized right away it was not somewhere we wanted to spend the night.  Sandwiched between double lane Pitkin Ave. & a major set of railway tracks the noise level alone was deterring.  Out with the computers & looked for a nearby RV Park.  We know KOA’s are expensive but we found one on highway 50 about 4 miles south of Bear Auto’s location in Grand Rapids & decided to blow the budget for one night.  Need to dump tanks & take on a bit of water anyway.

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WE CERTAINLY DIDN’T LIKE THE LOOKS NOR THE NOISE OF THE GRAVEL PARKING LOT

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FOLLOWING KELLY AS WE HEAD FOR THE KOA CAMPGROUND WITH PHEEBS KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THE JEEP MAKING SURE IT DOESN’T GET LOST ALONG THE WAY

Fortunately the Park was not slide to slide full & we did end up in a pull-thru spot with nobody beside us.  And yes it is nice to have water, electric, & sewer at one’s site plus cable TV if we opted to use it which we didn’t.    DSC_0016

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AT A KOA CAMPGROUND

A couple days, a couple weeks, not even a couple months is enough time to explore all there is to see & do here on the eastern side of Utah.  It would take a lifetime of wandering & exploring to take in this whole western America experience.  The more one see’s the more one knows what they will never see.  It is a vast land & still a wild untamed country for the most part out here in the mountains & deserts.  Following in the footsteps of our ancestors can still be done as one explores up hidden canyons, walks upon tall Mesas, & wanders through green deserts leading to rocky mountain trails.

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We again experienced a touch of that unending vastness Monday afternoon when we turned off highway 191 south of Moab & headed 22 miles west along road 133.  I had often seen the Needles Overlook marked on maps & my Utah Atlas over the years & Monday I was finally able to stand on a range of tall cliff tops overlooking Canyonlands National Park from the Needles Overlook itself.  The view for as far as one’s eye can see brings home the true incomprehendable vastness of a land that stretches beyond the borders of forever.

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The drive along paved road 133 is scenic in itself but what road here in the great southwest isn’t.  Had a high thin cloud cover over us so colors were muted a bit but no matter.  Even a rainy day is pleasing to the eye in this land. 

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THIS SCENE IS BUT A VERY SMALL PORTION OF CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

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NICE TO SEE A SAFETY FENCE & A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE SIDEWALK TO A VIEWPOINT

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As one walks from the parking lot at Needless Overlook an immense panoramic scene begins to unfold ahead.

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WE WERE IN THIS AREA OF CANYONLANDS MONDAY 

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TELEPHOTO VIEWS OF THE COLORADO RIVER MILES AWAY

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PROBABLY 20 MILES ACROSS THE HAZY CANYON ARE THE NEEDLES

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK is so large my photos only cover a fraction of how big this park really is.  Next time in the area we will tour the north end of the Park which is reachable from Moab via highway 313.

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CAN YOU SEE THE OLD ROCK MAN’S FACE AT LEFT TALKING WITH A LARGE MORAY EEL AT RIGHT??

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ONLY ABOUT A HALF DOZEN PEOPLE HERE & WHEN WE LEFT THERE WAS NO ONE

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CAN YOU SEE THE STONE TORTOISE ON THE LEFT & THE BIG STONE FROG ON THE RIGHT

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AND THIS LITTLE LIZARD FELLOW JUST HAPPENS TO BE REAL

Our thoughts & attention are now turning eastward & we’ve been checking weather conditions & temperatures between Denver & home.  Haven’t decided which way we’ll head east yet either or for that matter which route we’ll take through the mountains once we leave Grand Junction.  Best weather is behind us now so we’ll have to play the rest of our journey by ear.  In other words we don’t know where we’re going next & that’s almost always sometimes Okay.

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A COOL SHADY PLACE ON A HOT SUMMER UTAH DAY

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 A GOOD PLACE TO SIT ON A RAINY DAY

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HEADING BACK TO THE RIG WE SAW……………………….

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CAN YOU SEE THE CANYON’S LARGE EYE LOOKING BACK AT YOU ?? >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A pediatrician in town always plays a game with some of his young patients to put them at ease and test their knowledge of body parts.  One day, while pointing to a little boy's ear, the doctor asked him, "Is this your nose?"  Immediately the little boy turned to his mother and said, "Mom, I think we'd better find a new doctor!"

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One night at the dinner table, the wife commented, "When we were first married, you took the small piece of steak and gave me the larger. Now you take the large one and leave me the smaller. You don't love me any more..."
"Nonsense, darling," replied the husband, "you just cook better now."

 

 

 

13 comments:

  1. Great photos as always..hope the rig issues will be left behind at the repair shop!!

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  2. Agree it's almost always okay. Utah is a wonderful state, everywhere is breathtaking,

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  3. I have been so grateful to find a KOA just when I needed one. They are more expensive than some RV parks, but you know pretty much what you will find and most are very friendly, and the sites are usually easy to get in and out of.

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  4. More wonderful pics.
    Hard to fix your rig when its not broken hope the computer shows something that causes the loss of power.

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  5. I love Utah! Thanks for sharing. :-)
    Bob

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  6. We enjoyed the pictures. There are so many breathtaking sights in Utah.

    arlonHboozer.com

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  7. Is there a particular reason you did not take 128 East out of Moab up to 70? It follows the Colorado and is indicated as a scenic route. It would have saved you lots of miles. I hope to drive it later this year. Thanks for the wonderful photos.

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  8. We are ready to head north into Utah for some exploring! Leaving North Ranch just after Easter we think.

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  9. Ahhh its the Desert Gremlins residing in your rig, trying to keep you there!!!
    (hope you get a good reason for the mechanical difficulties!)
    KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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  10. Thanks for sharing more Utah photos. I loved them. Also loved your statement, "we don’t know where we’re going next & that’s almost always sometimes Okay."

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  11. Great pictures. So much to see and so little time.
    Ya'll be safe on your way back north.
    I'm guessing the problem is going to be a broken gasket where the exhaust pipes connect to the manifold. I had that problem on a car a few decades ago. Only at certain times, usually when the car was under a load, would the piece of gasket work its way loose and partially block the exhaust. It wouldn't totally block it, but just enough to reduce the power of the engine. After sitting for a while and the metal cooling off, the gasket would move out of the way and everything worked great. If that is it, it is a simple fix, very few parts but lots of labor. Good luck.

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  12. Al, Kelly, it is just that, the endless vastness of the land which keeps me turning back to this south-western landscape. It seems I never can drink enough of it, that my mind is never gonna be overfilled with the beauty of the South-West. Have you ever traveled Hwy 128 along the Colorado River. It runs from Moab to an abandoned place called Cisco. Most beautiful road I ever traveled. There are the stunning Fisher Towers, captivating every man who loves nature. Green farmland stretches along the river, A few nice Adobe-style homes embedded in it. It os beautiful, so beautiful.

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  13. ...and as Gene S is pointing out...Hwy 128 is also a shortcut. But that is still secondary compared to the experience of going up that road.

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