So instead of boring you with my over the top explanations and stories, I am going to try a new approach.
Here I will show a brief overview of each location and provide a link to the pictures. That way you can read a few words and decide if you want to see pictures or not. Hopefully this will be easier to digest than 23 pages of text and pictures.
1) Sandia Peak - Albuquerque
We spent the entire day hiking the mountain. You will see rocks, snow, cliffs, gorges, an abandoned look out building and a ski resort with the highest gondola in the US. Fantastic last day in the Albuquerque area.
Sandia Peak - https://photos.app.goo.gl/hLFrzRQx3gaJ291M7
2) Farmington NM - Casino
In case you didn't know, I am really old and have an adversion to driving more than 4 or 5 hours a day. So when we have a long trek between planned stops we try to find a free place about half way to stay for the night. Typically this is a Walmart but this time we found a very nice casino with a huge paved lot. In case you are not aware, most Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, Cabela's, Bass Pros and many others allow overnight RV stays as do most casinos. So just a stop along the way, but still a quiet and restful night for us
Casino - https://photos.app.goo.gl/VgTyQT1iVud1tSabA
3) Moab Utah - the stop that wasn't
We had high hopes for Moab and fully expected to get a site in a first come dry camping area. Unfortunately we didn't know there was an off road event in Moab that weekend and there was not a site to be had anywhere. Even the BLM land boondocking areas were full. You could not spit without hitting some kind of ATV or 4WD something or other. It was crazy. We parked for a couple of hours, made some phone calls and finally decided to head about 2.5 hours east to Grand Junction Colorado. Even that far away everything was booked but we found a park that had electric and water in their overflow section so we booked it and hit the road.
No Pictures
4) Grand Junction, CO
As noted this was completely unplanned,but we needed a place for a couple of days until our next reservation. While there we decided to check out the Colorado National Monument which is an incredible NP which is much like the Grand Canyon. We hiked around the cliffs and found some incredible sites. We also did a little shopping, a little sightseeing and got rested up. Given what a pain it could have been, it actually worked out pretty well.
Colorado National Monument - https://photos.app.goo.gl/DoLxRnnnDfWcVWbU9
5) Capital Reef NP
Our plans had us in Moab for 4 days and then Capital Reef for the next 4. So when we got diverted to Grand Junction, Cindy jumped on line and was able to make a second reservation for 2 more nights. This meant we had to move to another site in the middle of our stay, but it also let us pull out of Grand Junction after 2 nights and get back on schedule. Capital Reef is one of the hidden treasures of the US. Very few people there and just jaw dropping beautiful. Not everything went perfectly as can be the case with an RV but check out the photos. We hiked every day and did some off roading in the Jeep. This was an incredibly cool place. ( A separate post forthcoming about the RV issues -fun!)
Driving the back country - https://photos.app.goo.gl/eUju8av4rCzi3bbP7
Hiking the Grand Wash - https://photos.app.goo.gl/qw6TvPTQygyM8kTg7
Cassidy Arch - https://photos.app.goo.gl/iBVnTTWpfEZRfY7q9
6) Zion Canyon NP
This was yet another incredible stop for a few days. This is by far the best organized and run NP in the US. We hiked the first 2 days all over Zion on the second day, we decided to venture off the highway and check out some BLM land where we had seen some people camping. It would have been way too rough to get the RV in there but the Jeep loved it. We drive about a half mile back into the area and suddenly we're at the edge of an incredible canyon along the Virgin river. We parked there and sat on the edge of the canyon and ate our picnic lunch. We chilled for the next two days and hung by the RV Park. I spent one full day washing the RV and then the following day waxing it. (I think we need a smaller RV!)
Hiking Zion - https://photos.app.goo.gl/WehKT5jXrvTCRMLS7
7) Willard Bay SP - Utah
This stop was in a beautiful state park about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City. It was a very pretty setting, impeccably maintained with lots of trees. And the entire park was bordered by a unique fresh water lake which was separated from the Great Salt Lake by only a dam/Levy. The only downside was that the other side of the park bordered on I-15. Honestly we spent most of our time outside, had campfires and even cooked one meal over the fire, and the highway noise just faded away. It was very pleasant and we enjoyed our time there.
Willard Bay SP - https://photos.app.goo.gl/AJvQYxNNBZhzyLLx5
8) Onward to Idaho - FT Running Bear
Have you seen the Sound of Music? Ever wondered what it would be like to park your RV there and spend a few days? Well I swear that's where we are. Nestled on the top of a mountain, overlooking a mountain reservoir and surrounded by snow capped mountains in the distance. And talk about quiet... Wow!
The temps up here are 60s during day and 40s at night. Incredible sleeping in utter silence with the windows open.
We took a day trip to the Thousand Falls area near Hagerman ID. What a hidden gem this place is. Note that most of the water you see is from springs not rivers. All of the waterfalls are springs and the water looks like something from the Caribbean.
Box Canyon - https://photos.app.goo.gl/zFHqypxfYwEyYzYbA
Ritter Island - https://photos.app.goo.gl/vBTz3cTTAvKrETkz5
Malad Gorge - https://photos.app.goo.gl/XG7rezSjBpMAVn9w7
That's it...
I will put up a second post for those who want to know the dark side of living in a motorhome where I will expose the never ending cycle of "fix what broke today".
Feel free to comment or ask questions. We are loving our retirement and find amazing discoveries at every turn... along the Next Hundred Miles.
The pictures and descriptions are great! Thanks. Not sure if the picture links are supposed to be ready to click on but I had to copy and paste which works just as good.
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