Archive for the ‘Arizona’ Category

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

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Have been visiting Capitol Reef National Park in Utah the past few days. Stayed in their campground for two days (second picture), but have retreated to a private campground to recharge my rv and all my electronics. The park campground has no hookups.

The Fremont River passes through the park and allowed Fremont Indians and then Mormon settlers to farm in the area. The Mormon’s left lots of fruit trees. The third picture above is a barn from the Mormon era.

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There is a 25 mile round trip scenic drive through the park (above).

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Robins are the most common bird seen in the campground. They would probably eat from your hand. Mule deer come through the campground every evening to graze.

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From Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico, I stayed one night at Santa Rosa Lake State Park and then three nights at Bluewater Lake State Park. At the Bluewater Park there were winds of 30-50 mph, which is why I stayed the three days till they had passed. I then went on to Canyon De Chelly National Monument for one night at their free, no hookup campground. Want to go back there sometime in the future. The route from Canyon De Chelly to Capitol Reef was incredible (pictures above). It had recently rained, so the red soil was super saturated in color. There was not much traffic, so I could go as slow as I wanted. The 178 miles took me all day. It was not till I got within 30 miles or so of Capitol Reef that I started to see more traffic. Everyone wants to go 75 mph on these two lane highways in these beautiful surroundings with gas prices what they are. Know I’m showing my age.

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Picture above is from a scenic overlook of Hite City, an old mining boom town that was engulfed by Lake Powell. There is a road and a campground there now, don’t know if it is the same exact spot Hite City was at.

San Diego to the Gulf Coast

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

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Left drizzling, congested San Diego before Christmas, heading to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Made three stops in Arizona—Yuma, Casa Grande, and Benson (seen above), at Escapee parks. Started to get some pretty cold weather at night that required the use of the furnace. Stayed at Rockhound State Park in New Mexico one night before heading into Texas via El Paso.

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Back-in rv sites at Balmorhea State Park.

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One word to describe Texas…vast! Stopped at Balmorhea State Park the first night. My pull through rv site is shown above. Beautiful park based on their spring water. An oasis in the desert. There is a spring fed swimming pool and canals run through the park. Not many people there this time of year, very quiet and peaceful. Next day started to climb out of the desert into the hill country. Stopped at South Llano River State Park near the small town of Junction, Texas. The land was donated to the state by a rancher who wanted to allow others to enjoy the area the way he had. In the summer, people ride down the river in innertubes. A lot of the park is closed from October to April to protect nesting wild turkeys. There are still trails and several bird watching blinds open, where you can observe birds without them seeing you. There were lots of red cardinals (below). The park presented me with a sort of bait and switch. It was beautiful when I arrived, so I decided to stay two days. The second day it was freezing cold, with biting winds making it hard to stay outside. Do hope to stay at these two parks again.

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Grand Canyon, Arizona, Desert View

Sunday, October 21st, 2007

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Views from Lipan Point on the desert view drive when leaving the Grand Canyon.

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Trail by Yaki Point.

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Crows and/or ravens were all over the Grand Canyon, as they are anywhere there are people. This guy hopped right up to me and would have probably eaten out of my hand…but I didn’t have anything for him.

Representatives of HawkWatch International were at two points in the Grand Canyon, Lipan and Yaki, for a fall raptor migration count. Condors are continuing to die from the lead in bullets used by hunters.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Saturday, October 20th, 2007

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Entered the Grand Canyon through the south rim entrance two days ago. Planned to leave today, but there is a wind warning for winds up to 50 mph in the area along the I-40 from Flagstaff to New Mexico, where I am heading next. This is the same area where the wind blew open my truck cover before, so I decided to stay another day at the Grand Canyon. It has gotten windy here today too, but at least here I can be in my trailer, rather than towing it. I’ll check for weather advisories later today, before deciding if I will leave tomorrow.

The Grand Canyon is really beautiful (duh!). Glad I came. There is a paved walkway for 13 miles along the rim with free shuttle rides you can get on and off of along the route. Taking a hike along the rim sounds a lot better to me than undertaking the narrow trails down to the canyon bottom.

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Western bluebirds getting water from a leaky faucet in the trailer village.

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Cannot understand people walking out onto a narrow ledge, just to get a picture.

Needles to New Mexico June 5-11, 2007

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

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Leaving California I took the #15 and then the #40. The #15 is really a steep haul. Might be better to take other routes next time, although my truck handled the grade ok. Stopped at Moabi Regional Park, 11 miles southeast of Needles on the Colorado River. Very nice park and it is near the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, which is of interest to me.

In crossing Arizona on #40, I encountered severe winds starting at Flagstaff. Don’t recall ever driving in such conditions. The lock on my tonneau cover was broken and the wind blew it up while I was driving. When I pulled over to put it down, had to use all my strength. I could see it being pulled up at the hinges and was afraid it was going to come off and cause an accident. I subsequently drove slowly and stopped for the night in Holbrook, Arizona. To the credit of my truck and trailer setup, the wind did not impede my towing of the trailer.

Next day continued on the #40 to New Mexico, changing to the #25 at Albuquerque, going through Sante Fe and staying in Las Vegas again. Sante Fe has to be one of the prettiest cities in the country and I love the university town of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, continued up the #25 to Raton. This time stayed at Sugarite Canyon State Park, by Lake Alice (pictured below-through the trees).

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Through Arizona

Monday, April 30th, 2007

Made two stops in Arizona, in Yuma and Benson.

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Just stayed the one night in Yuma. It was so hot, I got an early start the next day.

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Benson, Arizona

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Moon over Benson.