The final post...I promise

With the 4th of July behind us and Bill returning to work, I thought it was time for "the final post, end of this chapter, no more automatic updates for some of you, the end of the road so to speak"  but hopefully not the end of the "book".  
I've made 3 short lists for those of you who are thinking about heading out on an extended adventure of your own....Couldn't do without, Wish we had taken, Didn't need. So, here we go:

Couldn't Do Without

All of the expandable items that my nephew, Edward and his wife, Lisa sent to us...i.e., expandable colander, bowls, measuring cups coffee filters, etc. Thank you both SO much!

Propane AND electric heaters

Paper maps to go along with the GPS

Camelbaks

Parmalat shelf stable milk

Wish we had taken

Crockpot

ice chest

Portable shower for outdoors

Verizon Mi-Fi for Wi Fi access anywhere

Things we took but never needed

IPOD

More than 2 chairs

More than 2 jackets

More than 2 sweatshirts

....because even in the cold we had WAY too many and they take up a lot of space.

Thanks to all of you who not only actually READ the blog but also took the time to send emails with your comments.  They were fun to read and we looked forward to them.

The BIGGEST thank you goes, of course, to my husband who MADE me take this trip.  It was better than I could have imagined.  You know, he's not a real "forceful" kind of guy but he was really looking forward to doing this and I just couldn't let him down. 

And for those of you who knew my fears, listened to me carrying on and on and on about them....you'll understand my last "thank you".  

Thank you Dr. Oz.

Home again, home again, jiggity, jig.......

After a nice weekend in the desert we are finally home.  We ate, napped and hung around the pool and got ourselves ready for the real world for 3 glorious days.  Of course it's always a hoot to come home and find out what your house has been doing in your absence.  Our house has been busy.
The sprinkler/drip system decided to also go on vacation.  We have an awful lot of dead plants in one "zone" of the yard as the drip tube came apart and it apparently has been like Old Faithful around here every time the sprinkler came on. Can't wait for the next water bill.  However, the "Old Faithful"watering system may have ignored one "zone"...but it rained plentifully on another.  So we have an AMAZING weed garden where we should have had nothing. Our tomatoes may survive or may not. The front yard looks as if the home is in foreclosure....I'm sure the neighbors like that.  One of our neighbors left us a note asking if they could "borrow" our water to steam clean their carpets since theirs was turned off.  Borrow always make me think that it will be "returned"....not sure how that works with water exactly. Since we didn't answer them, they did in fact "borrow" some and who knows what additional havoc that wreaked on the whole "old faithful" issue. It was 4:45 in the laundry room for heaven knows how many days and we'll never know if that was A.M. or P.M. The mold was growing like gangbusters in the bedroom toilet but apparently didn't like the front bathroom toilet because it was pristine. Either the newspaper actually wasn't delivered or a kindly neighbor has been reading it in our absence. Someone must have come in the house and run the water through the PUR filter in the kitchen long enough to fill a bathtub as the filter (which was brand new and illuminated "green" on the dial when we left) was now blinking "red, red, red! The car had a dead battery and the "cobs" have been busily spinning their webs throughout the house.  Ever seen one? Me either....only the webs they leave behind. But, in the end, the house didn't flood nor burn down so it was a successful homecoming.
I will probably have one or two more posts with a list of things I was glad I took on this trip and some things I could have done without as well and things I hope to have before the next adventure.

Blowin' in the Wind...AGAIN

As we head home from  a great visit in Nevada with our family we decide to spend one last weekend to "de-compress" and get used to the idea that we have to return to the real world. Our original plan was to go to Laughlin or Valley of Fire for this but because of the heat we decided to go to Palm Desert ...which believe it or not...was COOLER than Laughlin or Valley of Fire!  We spent 2 days in Henderson and visited the Hoover Dam, went out for dinner and just relaxed.  We took a new route down to Ca from Nevada and it was a nice change.  Hwy 95 down through Boulder City, Searchlight and into Amboy and  Desert Hot Springs. ....a nice 2 lane road and different scenery from the boring I15 slug to Vegas. Here in Desert HOt Springs (the METH capital of the world) we are rocking and rolling in our 2nd day of crazy winds at the Sands RV Resort. But at least it keeps it from feeling  even hotter than it really is!  It was de ja vu last night as we rocked from side to side all night long much like being in Catalina on the boat only without the noise of the rigging clanking against the mast. We will head for the pool today and nap and read and talk about how great our trip really has been.  There's a great dog park in this RV Resort and Rufus had fun playing and running thru the sprinklers last night.

From the Frying Pan .....

Tomorrow we head to Nevada.  It was scorching hot here today and our neighbors here informed me it would be 113 in Las Vegas tomorrow.  I hope they are liars.
Today we went to St. George and visited the Jacob Hamblin Home.  Jacob Hamblin was a Mormon pioneer, Missionary, Explorer, Settler and Indian Peacemaker. He played a huge role in the  settlement of the Utah Territory.He also had a passel of wives but that's how it was done back then. He had a beautiful home in St George with two of his wives, Rachel and Priscilla and it  is their home that we visited today. We knew a lot about Jacob from all of our time here in Utah so when we met Elder Hunsaker at the home we had a lot of background information already. After a long chat with him he proceeed to take us on a tour of the home ....just the 3 of us....that lasted nearly 2 hours.  It was a wonderful morning and we learned so much more about this incredible man.
Here is a picture of the Hamblin Home:

From there we went to Snow Canyon State Park....a red rock/white rock/ LAVA rock wonderland!  Here are three pictures of a slot canyon that we hiked into today:

I had no idea that there were volcano's in this region.  It was a great park....one of so many that Utah has to offer.

Ghot Towns and Cemetarys

Boo!

I keep posting that we are in Hurricane, Ut. But actually we are in Historic Harrisburg, UT.  The difference is that Harrisburg is a Ghost Town.  Over 128 people lived here at one time around  1862 but floods, grasshopper invasions and Navajo's put an end to that by around 1895.  Most of the homes were built of stone and many buildings still stand today.  The 15 Freeway (ah, progress) runs right through the middle of Harrisburg and our RV Park sits in the middle of it as well.  It is always such fun for me to sit in an old historic site and imagine the sounds and smells that had permeated the very space I was now occupying.  Clanking of the wagons, the old Wells Fargo stagecoach and the slamming down of the "strongbox" when they arrived at the station.  The school children playing old fashioned games (not old fashioned when THEY were playing them!).  The horse smells, cattle smells....well, that's what I do when I get to one of these sites so you can imagine my imagination has been running wild actually STAYING here in Harrisburg at the RV Park!   We spent part of today climbing through old farmhouse and saloon ruins, etc.  Then we went to Silver Reef to another Ghost Town where the original Wells Fargo Station stands and is now a museum.  Silver Reef was an old silver mining town.  One of the few places in the world where they have found silver in sandstone. We met a very knowledgeable historian/Realtor/Curator form Laguna Beach (go figure) and spent a couple of hours with him as he told us all about the area.  Then off to the cemeteries (one for Catholics and one for Protestants) because we like cemeteries a LOT!  
We spent another day in Grafton which is another Ghost Town near Zion's South entrance near the city of Rockville.  Grafton was a Mormon Settlement that kept getting washed away by the flooding of the Virgin River. All of these people in these settlements needed to be near the water for survival and crop irrigation...but it is usually what drives them away.
We also went to Zion National Park...."AGAIN", you say?  Well, this time we went to the uppermost western corner of Zion to Kolob Canyon.  I would bet that if you have visited Zion you have never been to this part.  They have a visitors center, hiking and NO PEOPLE! It was very very beautiful and 20 degrees cooler than our Ghost Towns as it sits at an elevation of about 7000 feet. It can not be accessed from Zion Canyon which is where most everyone visits.  From Kolob you are looking down again instead of up and the smell of pine is all around much like the North Rim.  The bottom of the canyon has many "finger canyons" which are made by the lengthening erosion of sandstone  as the water spills from the top rather than the erosion that is made by the Virgin River throughout Zion Canyon. The area is also seismically active and many of the large monoliths have that crazy rock tilt to them.
Tomorrow will be our last day here in Harrisburg before we head to Henderson, NV to spend time with Bills Brother John and Sister-in-law Lora. And, of course, DAWSON....their new dog....

H

Harrisburg came to be in 1862 when a flood destroyed the settlement of Harrisville and its residence were forced to move elsewhere. They named there new place of refinance Harrisburg after Moses Harris (the man who settled Harrisville). By 1864 128 people lived here, almost all the houses were made out of stone. In 1869 many people started to move away due to grasshopper plagues and flooding. Navajo Indian raids also chased many away. By around 1895 the last people had moved away and Harrisburg became a ghost town. Today Interstate 15 runs right through the middle of the old town. The town sight left on east side of I15 is now a RV Camp. There are several old stone houses and walls left standing at this sight. A one lane road that goes under I15 from the RV Camp takes you over to what is left of Harrisburg on the west side of I15. The above photos are from the west side. Permission must be obtained from the RV Camp before going onto this property

risburg came to be in 1862 when a flood destroyed the settlement of Harrisville and its residence were forced to move elsewhere. They named there new place of refinance Harrisburg after Moses Harris (the man who settled Harrisville). By 1864 128 people lived here, almost all the houses were made out of stone. In 1869 many people started to move away due to grasshopper plagues and flooding. Navajo Indian raids also chased many away. By around 1895 the last people had moved away and Harrisburg became a ghost town. Today Interstate 15 runs right through the middle of the old town. The town sight left on east side of I15 is now a RV Camp. There are several old stone houses and walls left standing at this sight. A one lane road that goes under I15 from the RV Camp takes you over to what is left of Harrisburg on the west side of I15. The above photos are from the west side. Permission must be obtained from the RV Camp before going onto this property

Highlights from Zion National Park

We are back in Hurricane and I have internet access for a few days. Here is what we've been up to:

We headed out from Hurricane on Monday and were sorry we hadn’t spent more time exploring the area.  As we were leaving we found several small old historic towns worthy of a stop but we were headed to Zion so we just passed them by.  There are several Ghost towns as well since this used to be a mining area….and who doesn’t like an old Ghost Town?  But we were in the “Zion or Bust” mode so we just kept on truckin’.  Our campsite in Zion was in a loop with electricity.  Hoorah for me since somewhere in my subconscious I must have known it would be a roaring 100+ degrees during our stay and that our site would have no shade.  Actually, most of the sites here in the Watchman campground have no shade. We found that odd since there are trees everywhere…just not in the camp SITES. But we are near the roaring Virgin River so if we just walk a VERY short way we are on a sand beach along the swollen river that has carved it’s way through Zion Canyon, and the temp drops by about 15 degrees down there.  That’s because the water temp is 42 degrees. Bill, Rufus and I have all been in it and it really is 42 degrees. Really. It is this same Virgin River that is flowing so fast that many of the trails and hikes are closed.  The famous “Narrows” hike is off limits as well as several others. But undeterred Bill and I have found several others to do that have nearly killed us so we consider this trip a success nonetheless.  Yesterday’s hike to the UPPER Emerald pool in 100+ degrees with NO shade was a perfect example. We had gone into town and bought Camelbaks ( we had found it was impossible to carry enough water on a Zion hike without the aid of a MULE) so we thought we were prepared this time. At the lower pool (WHICH BY THE WAY IS not LOW) we were pretty miserable. But we stood under the dripping waterfalls and admired the hanging gardens and then pushed on thinking “How much worse could it get?”.  Well, the answer is “much”. Wow, straight up and straight back down in the blazing sun found us (finally) at the Upper Emerald Pool.  It was gorgeous and as with most things ….. if you put in the work you will be rewarded.  It was blissfully cool and shaded in this beautiful grotto of waterfalls, a pool of clear water, hanging gardens, boulders and sheer red rock walls of several hundred feet , sand , and peacefulness. It was Eden…I am certain of it.  But all good things come to an end and after eating our lunch and wiggling our toes in the cool water…..we had to trek back down in the same 100+ degree blazing sun. The party was over.

Mule Deer are plentiful here and I have 2000 more pictures to prove it. One was having breakfast about 3 feet from Rufus…Rufus barking and carrying on all the while and the deer just looked at him and kept on eating..  I’ll try to post a picture of Rufus and the deer when I can. Today while in town to buy groceries one was walking through town. Crazy.

Since we are going to be here for 6 days and have only electricity we decided to build ourselves an outdoor shower. Now our son , Bill ,has one that is made by Coleman, very nice and I am sure we could have borrowed it had we planned ahead but we didn’t.  We tried every gear store in Springdale and couldn’t find one so we bought a tarp and with a couple of bungees a few pieces of rope and the long pole thing Bill uses to scrub the

to scrub the motorhome…we were in business. We have a very functional albeit silly looking outdoor shower with solar heated water that we spray on ourselves with an old black pump style insecticide sprayer (never had insecticide in it so don’t freak out) and a spray nozzle attachment.  Ingenious if I may say so myself. And heavenly to be able to use all of the water you want and not worry about filling up the gray water tank or running out of water. Perfect.

More hiking here in Zion lies ahead over the next few days and then we have decided to go back to Hurricane and spend a few days seeing those great old Ghost Towns and small towns we whizzed by on our way here.

We are so blessed to have the time to do this…..

Paiute Campground..Being Bitten while bing Smitten for only $10 per night!

Navajo Bridge and the Colorado River

I've fallen and I can't get up....AGAIN!

Only this time it is my computer!  Yesterday morning I dropped it on it's head.  I now have 3/4 of a screen and not the part that allows me to connect to the internet!  Having had some experience in this particular problem (my Grandson Nick did the same to his) I watched him connect his to a TV set.  So, off we went to Best Buy in Washington, UT to see about getting the proper cable. So while it was successful, I now can only use the computer while I'm in the motorhome hooked up to the TV....no more blogging from a "hotspot".  This severely affects my blogging capabilities which had already been affected by the shear fact that hotspots were hard to find!  So after this post it may be a while before you see another. Maybe that's not such a bad thing for you!

While at the Kaibab Indian Reservation at Pipe Springs on Friday the Indians got the last laugh on us.  We got eaten alive by the no-see-ums again and are a mass of red itchy bump bites.  The thing is with these little suckers is 

1.  You don't know they are biting you because you can't feel or see them AND

2.  It's usually a day or two before they erupt with these big red itchy bumps.

So while we were praising the Paiutes for the cheap gasoline and camping......we paid a high price and just didn't know it.

We are in a nice RV park in Hurricane, UT now. Lots of amenities like a pool and jacuzzi,really nice laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards, an exercise machine, cable TV,WIFI, full hook-ups, lots of activities all for $18 per night! It has some old settlement ruins on the property as well. The weather here is quite warm so we spent today at the pool rather than sight-seeing.  We just needed some down time. Bill is off washing the car since it looks like a homeless persons condo right now it's so dirty and filled with "stuff". They even have a spot here for you to do that and even wash your motorhome.Tomorrow we head for Zion National Park for 6 days and then we will meet up with Bill's brother John and Sister-in-law Lora for a few days at Lake Mead. We'll get to meet their new rescue dog Dawson and we can't wait! I will try and post some pictures before we leave here.

The North Rim

Coral Pink Sand Dunes

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Friday June 10, 2011

The Good:  We are in Pipe Springs, AZ at the Kaibab Piute Indian Reservation where we are 1 of 3 people camping in the entire place. Full hook-ups for $10.00 per night.  Gas here is $3.64 per gallon. What's not to love about the American Indian?! We give them BEADS for Manhattan and they give us cheap camping and gasoline!

The Bad: Around 8pm (about the time I was going to take a shower) the water ceased to flow….here in Pipe Springs ….which is really pretty ironic since the entire concept of the Pipe Springs National Monument and Kaibab Reservation is the co-mingling of cultures of the Mormon settlers, the Federal Government, and the Piute Indians figuring out how to share the water from the springs and live peacefully together. Obviously they decided not to share it with us this evening however. People from the Reservation were out here working hard to restore the flow….and we now have a trickle…but not enough for a shower. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow. I guess we should have travelled with a full tank!

The Ugly:  On our way down here this morning from Jacob Lake on the narrow winding Hwy 67 a semi trailer truck was going too fast …he was a few minutes ahead of us …we were 5 cars behind him…and he didn't make one of the curves.  He rolled and burst into flames. Help was a long ways away and by the time the fire/medics/marshalls/state police/rangers (all hands on deck) arrived the truck was just mangled burned metal and they just had to work on keeping the fire from spreading through the Kaibab National Forest. The ambulance did not have it's lights/siren on. Enough said.  I said a prayer for him and for his family and then thanked God that we had stayed a few minutes later in the campground talking to the camp hosts about their Grandson who was returning from his LDS Mission in Oregon in September. A few minutes earlier and we could have been involved.  The police managed to get us all off the hill safely after some time and here we are.

After a tour of Pipe Springs Fort we headed to Colorado City. If you aren't familiar with the area…..well it's a bit different.  You really should Google it but here's a teaser: Large homes with high walls (like compounds) and all of the women and female children are dressed in the same style of long dresses (homemade) and leggings. Only the color changed on these "uniforms".All of the women wear their hair in the same style of a poof in front and a long braid down the back. They had "Sherry's Beauty Salon" in town but it was closed down and out of business. Duh. The few homes that did not have the compound- like walls all had the shades drawn on every window. There were cars and horses living in harmony on the streets. Young boys (maybe 10 yrs old) driving John Deere tractors down the streets of town. Big community garden, a dairy, a corral, a Radio Shack (yep) a co-op market and no infrastructure as the roads were in terrible shape.  (Horses, cars, Tractors….maybe that's the reason). Polygamy may be illegal but it is alive and well in Colorado City.  Colorado City….5000 residents. Established in 1985. That's what the sign said. Bill was astounded as he had no idea where I was taking him….or what it was like..or maybe he was just astounded at the thought that someone would actually WANT more than one wife……

Here Today...Gone Tomorrow

We are cutting our North Rim stop short by several days.  We've done all that we "Old Geezers" can do as far as hikes.  The ones we didn't do are just too strenuous for us. Today we had a lovely lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge and scored one of the coveted window tables.  It was great!  As I type this 3 deer are munching on the grass outside the window. Nice.  This is so much more than the south rim. Thanks to my sister-in-law Lora who said we HAD to see this. She, once again, was SO right.
Bill wanted to see Lee's Ferry (near Page) and we didn't do it so we will head back to Jacob Lake and do a day trip from there so he can see it.  Then we'll head for Pipe Spring National Monument before we get to Zion National Park.  


We'll be out of touch for a few days and post again next time we have Wifi. 

The North Rim

Come here. No people, lots of beautiful Grand C to see,many great hiking trails. Spectacular views.
Come here. Forget the South Rim.
That's all I have to say about our visit here.

Did you say FIVE MORE for Breakfast?

We spent the day hitting the trails here at the North Rim.  True to form I have snake pictures as they seem to follow me wherever I go. It’s just as beautiful as the south rim (the north rim not the snakes) but without the crowds. The wind has howled all day…though not really cold ….and is expected to howl all night.  It roared through the trails along the rim. The tent campers are chasing their belongings all over the park as I write this. This morning we had 5 mule deer show up at breakfast in our campsite. I took a zillion photos and RUFUS was on high alert as we watched them. It made me sad, however, to know that they weren’t afraid of us or Rufus even when he barked. It’s just not natural nor is it safe for them. But we enjoyed them just the same.

Yesterday when we arrived we put out the awning to find that the damage that had been done last Thanksgiving in the wind had gotten even worse. So Bill got out the ladder and I climbed up (very little fear of ANYTHING anymore after this trip!) with my sail repair kit and attempted to shore it up as best as I could. All of those years on the boat gone unwasted, I managed to stitch it up with only a little bit of pain and blood and hopefully it will hold steady for the rest of the trip.  Unfortunately I think a new awning is in our near future.

Tomorrow we will head out to Cape Royal and take more pictures of the Big Hole in The Ground and do a couple of hikes out there. I’ll keep you posted!

If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it!

And now it’s Thursday:

OK….no WIFI here in Jacob Lake…heck the Jacob Lake Inn (located here at the corner of gas station and street with no real name) has no phones or TV in the rooms however they do make a great chocolate milkshake so they get my vote as a  5 star resort. AND…there was an old wooden telephone booth in the lobby with a dial phone and a wooden seat and it even worked! I went and sat in it since I figured I might never see one again.  The National Forest Service Ranger told us that there had been talk of WIFI a year or so ago at the Inn…but nothing ever came of it. Apparently things move slowly up here. We did see the strangest squirrel which only  lives here on the Kaibab Plateau. Aptly named the White tailed Kaibab Squirrel,  it has a LONG while fluffy tail and really really long ears.  It’s the craziest squirrel (or perhaps I should say the “squirreliest” looking squirrel) I have ever seen! There are no bears here on the Plateau because water is so scarce.

Our neighbors here are full timers from New York…they’ve been doing this for 2 yrs. We spent a couple of hours with them looking at pictures and having a great afternoon.

Tomorrow is the dreaded laundry day since it’s chilly up here and my only 2 pair of blue jeans (silly me, I expected warm weather on this May and June trip!) as you can probably imagine are rather funky from Dog Town and Cat World.  But at least I will be able to crawl across the passenger seat of the Tracker, open the driver door and if the wind isn’t blowing it will still be open by the time I run around to the drivers side to get in it….and then I can at least PARK in front of the LARGE laundry facility that they have here….unlike the Woodalls 3 star rated Arch View Resort in Moab(sorry, I just couldn’t NOT get in one more shot)

Today is Friday:  Everything’s better with butter

Well, there will be a special place in heaven for Bill when the time comes. I came home from doing mountains of laundry to a clean (inside) motorhome. Vacuumed, dusted, trash emptied….what a wonderful treat. Only topped by the last time I did laundry and came home to soft music, wine and a lovely dinner. He is a true gem. We walked a trail through the woods to the Jacob Lake Inn for lunch today where I had the best burger I have ever eaten.  The trail head marker said it was 1 mile from the campground. The trail head marker coming BACK said it was 1 ¼ mile from the Inn. I figured a woman measured it from the campground and a man measured it from the Inn. But I digress. The burger was 1/3 lb of ground beef with mushrooms and onions molded into the patty. Then topped with carmelized onions, green chili’s more mushrooms, bacon slices  and tomato. THEN..it’s served on homemade bread that has been soaked in BUTTER and fried in a pan. OMG.  No ketchup or mustard needed as it had all the flavor you could ever want “as-is”.

Jacob Lake used to be a decent size lake. However when the owners of this campground decided to “improve” upon Mother Nature, it was ruined.  They wanted an even BIGGER lake so they started digging it out.  They broke the crust and the lake shrunk in size.  Now it is Jacob Puddle.  You can see where the lake used to be as there are no trees in the old lake bed.  It can be repaired but it “costs too much”…so Jacob Lake is really not a lake anymore. Sad. As one young man up at the Inn said “ They broke it, they should fix it. That’s how I was raised.” Amen, brother.

We're in the PINK!

A really nasty road brings us to a really nice campground in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It is amazing to find huge dunes of very fine soft sand in this area surrounded by pine trees and red rock cliffs. This is where many movies thought to be filmed in the Sahara Desert have actually been filmed ( Lawrence of Arabiaand  Arabian Nights just to name a couple.) I hope to be able to post pictures when I get a good WIFI connection because it is truly a sight to behold. Every day they change because of the wind and footprints are never on the dunes for more than a day. They encourage you to bring a jar of sand from your “home town” which they keep in the visitor center.  There are jars from all over the world and you just can’t believe how many different colors there are out there!  But here they are definitely Coral colored. Unless you are Bill.  Then you think they are GOLD. But I have to remind him how often he is sent back to the dresser to get a pair of socks that match so we take his color wheel with a grain of salt…or SAND as the case might be. Anyway, you can walk all over them (Rufus too!) and it’s warm and soft….and good for the calf muscles!

We spent 1 full day in the town of Kanab visiting museums, historical homes and chatting with local historians.  We had no idea you could spend an entire day in this tiny town and still not see it all. We were able to tie it all in to Lex Chamberlain , who we met at Moqui Cave (see previous post),  and his family so we felt we had a complete picture of one of the founding families of this area. Kanab is also known as “Little Hollywood” because of all of the movies and TV shows filmed here. We went through Parry’s Lodge which is the place where all of the old time movie stars stayed…complete with their autographed photos and names above the rooms they slept in. Sammy Davis, Jr., Arlene Dahl, Ronnie Reagan,Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Omar Shariff (sp? Sorry Omar), Dean Martin…well, more than you can imagine. It was a good day.

Tomorrow we will do some sand dune hiking and then prepare to head to Jacob Lake on Thursday for a few days where I can get some laundry done (fun) and hopefully have some good WIFI so I can post 

Best Friends Day 2

Day 2 at Best Friends took me to Cat World. Notice that the dogs have Dog Town and the cats have Cat World. If you’ve ever owned a cat you wouldn’t even question the distinction. I requested to work with the Special Needs cats.  These cats are the ones who are not necessarily old, nor necessarily feral or missing limbs but those who have severe neurological disorders, paralysis, terminal illnesses( but who are still functioning in a good “quality of life” modeand have not been placed on a Quality of Life Watch list)  and generally just cats who need assistance with everyday living. Kind of like a Long Term Care Facility for cats. I was the only volunteer in this area and there’s a lot of hard work to be done here. These cats are “fighters” and it is awe inspiring to watch them live with their disabilities. These cats, like our human kind who prosper despite of their circumstances, are inspiring.  I am SO glad I worked in this particular “home”..we had ONLY 68 in residence ( capacity I think was 130) and I was able to not only work my pa-tootie off but also had a lot of time to play  with them and give attention.   I even took one fellow on a walk.  It was exhausting but yet a wonderful day. I NEVER felt sorry for them as they had a wonderful home and a wonderful life with people who cared for them daily.

Bill was feeling better by the time I got back and ready for a short car ride after having been on his back for days. We went to Moqui Cave…an actual cave owned by the Chamberlain family and filled with antiquities found on their property. Even dinosaur tracks…LOTs of them! The items had been authenticated (for you doubting Thomas’s out there) by the U of Utah. It was an interesting tour and cold in that cave!!

Tomorrow we head out for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It was not on our original radar but it looks interesting and we have a few days to kill before heading to Jacob Lake.

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up! (photos to follow)

Hello from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary! This VERY early morning I began my day feeding the dogs in Dog Town. I was assigned the "Old Friends" neighborhood in Dogtown Heights (a gated community). Then washing a zillion bowls, socializing time and then the walks begin. (after breakfast settles). Many, many walks! A big plus for ME....if you volunteer in the morning you don't have to pick up dog poop! 
Tomorrow I will move on to Cat World...again in the VERY early morning.  This is an amazing place and very beautiful.  Our campsite is overlooking a river /canyon to one side and red sandstone cliffs to the other. The people here work very hard and are very grateful for the volunteer help.   2000 animals require a lot of attention. They have lovely quarters and the views are spectacular!  This is truly a sanctuary.  It is peaceful and serene with nothing but goodness all around. (My son is reading this and laughing at his "hippie mom".) Huge (and not so huge) wind chimes are everywhere so it's practically like being in a serene meditation room all throughout the sanctuary.It is very clean and all of the animals are so well cared for.  Just the sheer logistics of moving them around because of illness, or weather, or whatever is mind boggling. Speaking of weather.....The weather here is beautiful...we had a perfect 85 degrees yesterday and the evening was around 70. The wind just picked up and the temp is supposed to drop tomorrow...so I was told.
Bill has been on the floor for several days. He was leveling up the motorhome and his back went out (I have pictures much to his chagrin). So he didn't get to work today and we won't be doing any sight seeing for a while.  He is in a LOT of pain.So, please, cross your fingers, pray to whoever you pray to, chant or do a dance that his recovery is swift.
My car is giving us trouble (click, nothing. Click Nothing. then all of a sudden it will start) and Bill is thinking a new starter might be the answer but he is no position to go look for one. I did get stuck on the Best Friends property for a while this morning so my confidence level is quite low right now. 
Our Karma must have been good, however , when we left our cozy campground at Bryce Canyon Pines and headed up to the National Park campground.  The weather turned much nicer and the 27 degree nights never happened.  We did every hike that we old folks could do (Bill even did a 4 mile with his bad back hoping to work the muscles out . It didn't but he saw some nice stuff! Of course now he can barely move so it probably wasn't the smartest idea).  
I urge you all to try to support Best Friends either by donation, adoption  or a visit for a few days of relaxation with some of the luckiest animals (now) that have ever lived. They all have a story. Some of those stories are hideous. But boy....have these animals scored! Please visit their website at www.bestfriends.org and you'll see some of the great dogs that I had the pleasure of spending my day with!

The last post for a while

Tomorrow we leave our warm cozy campground (read heater,electric blanket etc.)and head to Bryce Canyon Campground in the park where we won't have any hook-ups nor will we have WiFi.  Today it snowed up there so it should be interesting!
Yesterday we left here again dressed in layers since it was so cold...but headed for Kodachrome State Park which is "down the hill" near Tropic (remember Tropic where the weather is about 10-15 degrees warmer?) On our way we stopped and did a hike to a cave (called Mossy Cave)and a waterfall....easy and beautiful. Then off to Kodachrome.  National Geographic did a story on this beautiful park back in the 1940's and were so taken with it that they dubbed it "Kodachrome" because of it's beauty and spectacular colors. It has these chimneys that just sprout up out of the ground...not a Hoodoo but similar.  There are many different theories about how they came to be but no one seems to be able to come up with a definitive answer. There's a beautiful campground there ($16 per night) , very private and surrounded by the red rock formations and a couple even have hook-ups. Here's a view of the only arch in the park that we saw from one of the hikes we did there:

A picnic lunch and another hike and we headed home.  By the time we got back to our campsite the wind was howling and the temp had dropped.....and yet it was a pleasant 65 degrees in Kodachrome! So, again, we had a great sunny and perfect hiking day!
Today we headed for a short hike in Red Canyon. It was cold but sunny.  Here's a picture of me in my new hat that Bill bought me in Red Canyon. Now you will see it in every photo from here on out because my roots are so long and gray.

And a picture of Bill whose hair doesn't require a hat and who makes the scenery pale by comparison....he's such a cutie:

Then off to the grocery store in Panguitch which had a tree like this in 4 out of 5 

homes and office buildings. Just beautiful:

So that's been the last few days and now we are off to do more hiking and sight seeing in Bryce NP tomorrow.  From there we go to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary to work for the Memorial Day weekend where we will be allowed to use the facilities WIFI in the office. It's not real convenient so I'm doubting I'll be updating the blog but only checking my emails. Then off to other dry camping areas with no WIFI or facilities like Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Grand Canyon NORTH Rim.  I'll update as I can but his will probably be the last "long" post for a while.
However, as promised here are the pictures from Calf Creek Camping Area:

You've got to drive through the creek to get from one side of the campground to the other.

One of the campsites along the creek.

And just some random pictures for you to enjoy:

Catch up with you later.......

Navajo Loop Trail Head /Sunset Point Bryce Canyon National Park

It's a beautiful hike to the bottom!

Oh DEER!

We started the day at our campground in Bryce in many many layers of clothing and Uggs. A few miles down the road in the town of Tropic (maybe 10 miles and a town of 435 people)we were peeling them off. It's not called Tropic for nothing! It was amazing the huge temperature change when you change elevation. It was supposed to be a rainy day but we figured we'd drive the Scenic Byway 12 anyway.  The first 10 or so miles was really beautiful...after all, it was still Bryce we were looking at.  Then as we went along it got just kind of "blah"....seen it, seen it, seen it. I commented to Bill that I hoped it got to be more Scenic than Seen It as we went along. We were not disappointed. About midway through the drive we hit Escalante and everything changed. I couldn't begin to write about everything we saw and the beauty of it all so I will just hit VERY few.  Calf Creek Campground was where we stopped for a picnic. If you ever find yourself in Bryce NP, going to drive the Scenic Byway 12  and are in a tent or an RV UNDER 25 feet, you absolutely MUST stay at this campground. I will post pictures soon but suffice to say that it is without a doubt the most beautiful camping area I have ever seen. You can walk to the falls and Calf Creek runs through the middle of the camping area. It costs $3.50 per day if you are a Geezer like us, or $7 per day if not.  Bathrooms (real flush toilets!) and drinking water. If you don't camp there while in the area....well, then you are just stupid.
White Birch Forest up in the Boulder Mountain (elevation 9600 ft)...something that took me back to the days when I was little and lived in northern Wisconsin. It was beautiful and snowy. The Hogback....a frighteningly beautiful 2 lane piece of road that is a sheer drop off on both sides. It's like flying over the Grand Canyon since all you see when you look out the window is DOWN.
We had sun and great weather today until we got near Capital Reef National Park where the weather turned snowy ugly and we turned back. We'll have to save Cap. Reef for our next trip.
On the way home I spotted a small herd of deer up on a hillside...they stopped feeding and started to bolt down the hill onto the road. Fortunately I saw them and warned Bill so he was able to stop in time to let them fly across the road in front of us.  A few miles later in the town of Boulder we stopped to let Rufus stretch his legs. I went into the little store and Bill and Rufus were standing in the parking lot when 5 deer started running toward them. When Rufus reacted, so did the deer...skidding to change direction and leaping, once again, on to the highway and over a large fence. Fortunately no cars were coming and they made it safely. I wish I had been outside to see it. Oh, dear, gotta watch out for those DEER.

Snow yesterday,Sunny hike at Bryce Canyon today!

Bill enjoying our "SPRING TRIP"