Sunday, August 23, 2015

OK, NIX THE PLAN ‘A’ TRAVEL ROUTE & MOVE ON TO PLAN ‘B’

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NICE CLUMPS OF PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE GROWING IN THE MARSH

With sunny skies overhead & welcome cooler temperatures upon us Pheebe & I headed ourselves on over to the Hullett Marsh for a nice quiet Sunday morning walk.  A pleasant breeze with no Mosquitos in the air & lots of frogs in the low grass kept Pheebs busy jumping from one spot to the next.  Blue Herons, Canada Geese, Killdeer, Ducks, & Blue Jays ruled the lower air corridors while Turkey Vultures soared in wide spiralling circles higher & higher atop rising thermal columns of warm air. Huron Counties Hullett Marsh was alive with an abundance of late summer's winged creatures. 

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AND YEP WE DON’T GOT NO GATORS UP HERE IN THESE PARTS:))

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We didn't travel far today & spent most of our time in the Marsh.  A month from now Hullett will be slipping into her early cloak of fiery Autumn colors as Hullett prepares itself for another long cold snowy Winter.

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ONCE TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT JUST A FEW YEARS AGO MONARCH BUTTERFLIES ARE NOW A RARE FIND

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After reading comments on my Saturday post regarding our South Dakota travel plans I'm thinking we may have to reconsider that route.  I knew it was a bit late in the season for that area & with reader's first hand accounts I'm thinking we do not want to take any chances with winter driving conditions.  Weather's just too unpredictable for that time of year that far north so it's on to Plan B.  South Dakota will still be there next time.

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Pouring over my Atlas & ‘Mountain Director West’ book again tonight I've decided on a secondary route that can still land us in the CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARK area of Utah in early November without having to go through Denver.  Picking up I-80 (an old familiar route for us) in Chicago we can follow that right across the Plains swinging slightly north up through Cheyenne & Laramie to Rawlins in southern Wyoming.  (This is another route Mike McFall told us about) From Rawlins we will be on the same route south we were on last Fall.  A left hand turn west of Rawlins will put us on highway 789 dropping us straight south down through Craig to Rifle Colorado.  Coming from a higher altitude this long stretch will continually descend us into warmer & warmer weather.  I remember that from last year.  In Rifle we’ll pick up I-70 west through Grand Junction heading for Utah.  My favorite scenic State.  I’m guessing we will be running about 3 weeks behind where we were last year.  So there it is…….Plan B.  And yes we do have a plan C, D, & E:))

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ALTHOUGH INVASIVE THESE PURPLE LOOSTRIFE PLANTS ARE REALLY PRETTY & ADD SOME NICE COLOR TO THE MARSH >>>

Monday morning we’re off again still in search of a small table for our rig.  Big used furniture place North of Goderich, another one in Lucknow Ontario & another in Wingham.  They are all kind of in a long traveling arc unless we get lucky & find something at the first place of course.  Weather looks good again so we’ll have ourselves a nice scenic morning drive.)  I like when those scenic drives happen:))  No sooner had I typed this paragraph tonight when I noticed the sky darkening.  Quick check of our ‘live time’ computer weather site surprisingly showed a big green rain monster over Michigan just starting across Lake Huron heading straight for us.  Fingers crossed skies will be clear in the morning.  A nice steady rain overnight is generally a good thing & makes for happy giggling plants.  Say, I wonder if maybe I stood outside in the rain for awhile it would wash away my grumpiness & turn me into a happy giggling something or other too……………:))

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JUST ANOTHER MIGHTY FINE SUNDAY MORNING COUNTRY ROAD JEEP TOUR FOR US GUYS:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A young woman, pursuing a graduate degree in art history, was going to Italy to study that country's greatest works of art. Since there was no one to look after her grandmother while she was away, she took the old lady with her.
At the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, she pointed to the painting on the ceiling.
"Grandma, it took Michelangelo a full four years to get that ceiling painted."
"Oh my," the grandmother says. "He and I must have the same landlord."

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A Sunday School teacher asked her class, "Does anyone here know what we mean by sins of omission?"  A small girl replied: "Aren't those the sins we should have committed, but didn't?"

9 comments:

  1. Planning can be half the fun.

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  2. Like us the plans can change at any time, no matter it s the journey that is fun.
    I am sure you will you will enjoy whatever you do.

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  3. I don't want to be too negative about your Plan B however on 11 May 2014 when I was in Torrey, UT (western edge of Capital Reef) I got snow.

    Looking at the first 15 days of November 2014 I see that the Average High temperature was 54 with the highest daily temperature being 66. The Average Low temperature was 24 with the lowest being 13.

    If you just plan on driving through there is good news "U.S. Hwy 24 cuts through the center of Capitol Reef National Park and the section inside the park almost never has snowpack". There is an 8,000' pass west of Loa, UT that may require chains IF there is snow but I suspect it is well plowed or you could wait it out.

    The other good news is that Capital Reef is even more BEAUTIFUL with snow!

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  4. We, along with a Gang of other boondocking Rv'ers, met up in Capital Reef last October. The weather was perfect, but toward the end of the month it did get cold. We left there and met up down near Zion, and for the most part it was nice all of November. Torrey can be a little chilly as it is higher and right at the foot of a couple of mountainous areas. You really won't know until your almost there… just keep an eye on the weather and stay flexible :)
    Capital Reef IS quite beautiful…especially with a little snow on all those red rocks :)
    Box Canyon Mark

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  5. That mrsh looks mor and more interesting every time you post pictures of it!

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  6. You might end up with a dozen more plans....no worries, once you are on the road it will all come together. We have done the Dakotas the second week in November and survived. Don't forget we got into the minuses big time end of November last year. Most important is an RV park with hookups at the end of the day. No matter which way you go, you only suffer for 48 hours max. Certainly worth the effort.

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  7. Sounds like a good plan to me! Anywhere south is a good plan. ;-)

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  8. Any plan to head south sounds like a great plan! I love traveling thru Utah as well Al.

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  9. Just a heads-up, Al. If you do end up going through Rifle, CO, there is a great Rest Area on the western edge of town (on the Colorado River) that's a good place to stop for the night. We always park along the road leading to the RA with the trucks. There are also picnic tables along the road. The RA also has a free RV dump!

    Pat

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