Newmar Newbies

Thursday, September 22, 2016
We left early and watched the sun rise as we drove to Pueblo, Co for the Newmar International Rally.  We travelled along US 50, winding up and down through the mountains across Monarch Pass which is on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 11,000 ft!

As the sun rose, the beautiful colorful Aspens greeted us around every turn.  At several places they lined both sides of the highway, as if waving to welcome the fall season on this Autumnal equinox!
The mountains were a real test of Jim’s driving ability as he had to keep up with the steep inclines and hairpin turns, and then we had to come down the other side!  But, what a treat to see the beautiful scenery along the way.
We arrived at the Colorado State Fairground in Pueblo, greeted by flag waving volunteers, directing us to a staging lot for parking instructions.  They handed us a jar of Pueblo salsa as a welcome gift, and directed us to our site.  We are one of about 400 rv’s here for the week!   There are so many that look alike…wonder how many people will go in the wrong one??  We are parked next to a couple from New York that used to live in Ft. Wayne!!  Small world! 
Newmar is the maker of our motorhome, and sponsors an annual rally for Newmar owners.  This is the 31st annual rally, but the first that we have been to. There is a 50-page program describing the sessions, tours, events, vendor show, presentations, etc.  (There is even a pet contest, but Spot might be too shy to enter!)  We have already met another silky terrier!  All of the new RV models are on display, and the president of Newmar, along with several people from the home office in Napanee, IN are here for the rally.  Can’t wait to get started!

Into the clouds…

September 21, 22, 2016; Tuesday, Wednesday
We drove to Gunnison, Colorado, along scenic highway 50, through the Black Canyon, ears popping as we approached an altitude of 8000 ft.  It is a huge recreation area, with hunting and fishing lodges every few miles.  We saw a bunch of fishermen in the streams fishing for either trout or salmon. We can really tell the difference in the air—dry and thin.  The temperatures are getting cooler too—low of 48, high of 65.  And, the colors and scenery continue to be breathtaking around each curve. 

We stopped at the Alpine brewery in town and sampled the Spent Grain Cobbler.  The crust is made from the grains used to brew the beer, after they’ve been used in the fermenting process.  Yummy…it was delicious!  (Better to use spent grain for desserts rather than send to the animals for feed!)
And, speaking of animals, when we arrived at the campground, there was a friendly donkey greeting us!

On Wednesday we saw the first rain and drizzle since we left home.  It brought cool temps overnight, and a cloud cover.  We had breakfast at a small cafe in town, and a lady there from Louisiana stopped me and said that Jim looks just like Jeb Bush!!  Ha ha!  Now, that’s one I’ve never heard before!
We took a drive north to Crested Butte, a former coal mining town that is now a ski town.  As we approached the town, it felt like we could reach out and touch the clouds that were hanging over the mountains.  We climbed to an altitude of about 9900 ft.   You have to wonder how the pioneers were able to cross the country and how they discovered these places.  We were amazed at all of the cabins, condos, hotels, houses, etc. on the mountain that fill up for winter activities. 


The quaint downtown was very colorful with  shuttles painted by local artists.  We also took an extra breath when we noticed the Oxygen Bar…something you don’t see very often! 

The hillsides looked like they were covered in velvet.  It’s too bad the sun wasn’t out because the colors would have been even more brilliant!  By the end of the day, the sun greeted us again... 

The scenery has been a welcome surprise—we didn’t know what to expect in this area.  It would be fun to come back in the winter and see how different it looks.
Hard to believe we’ve already been gone almost three weeks (my hair keeps reminding me--I'm ready for another haircut!)

Mass, Markets and Mesa

September 18-19, 2016; Sunday-Monday

We went to mass on Sunday morning at a little church close to downtown, and then to the Palisade Farmer’s Market which was framed by a beautiful blue sky and the bookcliffs in the background. We had to buy some Palisade peaches and a few other goodies.  On the way home we spotted Sprout’s, one of our favorite grocery stores in Scottsdale.  We stopped to visit and stocked up on more veggies and fruits. We spent the rest of the day watching football games and races (really hoped to watch #24 get a win…darn, so close for Chase).  JIm washed the motorhome in between the exciting tv programs.

I updated our travel map, adding Kansas, Colorado and Utah.  We are missing only a few states—Nevada, Nebraska, Iowa and Rhode Island. Pretty amazing that we have covered most of the country in our motorhome!

On Monday, we headed out along the 63 mile scenic byway across Grand Mesa.  Grand Mesa is the largest flattop mountain in the world!  It has an area of about 500 square miles.  We got to Crater Peak, the highest point which was an elevation of 11,333 ft!  I don’t know why this is considered a flattop mountain because there was a lot of steep terrain (even a ski area..Powderhorn Resort), lakes, and rolling hills. 

We were treated to an unbelievable view of the Aspens showing their brilliant fall color.  The pictures don’t capture the magnificent beauty of the yellow and orange trees set against the dark green of the tall spruce trees.

 

Everywhere you look was a landscape photograph for a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle!  We saw a lot of bicyclists and a couple of kayakers enjoying the day. 

The temperature was 58 at the top, and 80 when we got to the bottom. 

“Aspen” a good day!

Colorado Canyons

September 16-17; Friday-Saturday

We traveled to Grand Junction, Colorado, the largest Colorado city on the Western slope.  It’s an interesting place…the area is loaded with fruit growers and wineries, and even has a special “Fruit and Wine Byway” to route drivers through the orchards, gardens and vineyards. Two rivers converge here, making the soil a fertile area.  We never would have imagined finding green areas among the rocky area that surrounds the city.   When we checked in at the campground, they asked if we were here for the Winefest…hey, we didn’t even know about it!  We went to check it out, and found 23 wineries and distilleries in close proximity to the city.  We did stop at a few places—the Peach Street Distillers and Palisade Brewing Company to check things out  and sample the products!

 

 

 

 

We got a little confused with the map because they have funny street names—like F5/8 road, 32 1/2 road, 33 3/4 road…very weird, and never did find out why they are named this way.

After breakfast on Saturday we took off for a drive through Colorado National Monument, along the 23-mile scenic Rim Rock Drive.  Interesting factoid: the difference between a National Park and a National Monument, is that a President can declare a National Monument, whereas it takes an act of congress to declare a National Park.  All of the oversight and funding is the same through the National Park Service.  This park was named a national monument by President Taft in 1911.

There are 4 large canyons that run through the area providing stunning views of the towering cliffs, and interesting rock formations.  Spot even enjoyed the views!  There is one tall rock formation called Independence Tower which is 450 ft. high.  Each year on the 4th of July, a group of climbers scale the tower and places an American flag on top—bet that’s neat to see.                            We spotted some bighorn sheep on a rock shelf above the road.  With the color against the rock, they almost looked like the petroglyphs we saw in Arches!

 

A photographer at work provided a neat picture with a view across the canyon. It’s amazing that this area is nestled behind the rocks, so close to town.  It is obviously popular with cyclists, as we saw probably 25 hard core (crazy?) bikers tackling the winding hilly roads through the park. (We aren’t that brave!)

Update on the wallet mystery—I got a call from the owner’s wife with a thank you for returning the wallet.  Apparently he pulled out his drivers license and park pass when he entered the park, and put the wallet between his legs.  It must have fallen out unnoticed when they got out at the visitor center.  Someone picked it up, took out all of the charge cards and tossed it out the window.  Makes you wonder what kind of a person would steal charge cards in a national park?  But, I felt good that at least they got the rest of the stuff back and didn’t have to worry about losing that too.

A Wilderness of Rocks

Thursday, September 15

Today we ventured out to Canyonlands National Park.  This park is a geologist’s dream!  There are big rocks and layers of rock wherever you look across the wide canyons.  The park is huge…it covers 337,500 acres. There is not one road that connects all the parts of the park, as there are few places to cross the two rivers in the park.   It’s amazing that Arches National Park is so close, but the parks are so totally different.  Canyonlands seems to be more peaceful and remote…and more spread out and  rugged, but still beautiful!  We visited the main part of the park..Island in the Sky…which is a huge mesa, so you can see canyons all around.  We started with Mesa Arch observing stunning views beyond the arch. 

Then we hiked the Grand View Point trail, which follows the canyon edge, and provided spectacular panoramic views.  Pictures just don’t do it justice…there is too much for the camera to capture. That’s Jim on the edge of a rock!  In the far distance you can barely see Needles, another section of the park.  The vastness of the land is remarkable. There was a bit of a haze on the horizon, perhaps due to the wind over the past few days.  The wind was gone today, and the weather was very pleasant.  And today I remembered my fitbit!

I found a neat little app for the phone called Gypsy Guide.  Once you download on your phone, it runs on GPS, and automatically activates commentary that describes the things you are seeing as you approach.  It’s a personal tour guide…right in your pocket..the best $6 I’ve spent in a long time!   It’s pretty amazing, and helped us navigate through both parks here, and educated us on the park history, and features.

When looking across the canyon, it almost looks like a moon landscape.  The spire in the picture is Candlestick Tower, which is 5,865 ft. high! 

I thought this tree along the trail was interesting!

 

The roads down to the bottom of the canyon were once used by farmers and cowboys, taking their cattle and horses to the river.  Then, the roads were used by miners getting to uranium deposits! 

Another very interesting and weird event of the day was finding a wallet in the middle of the road.  Jim spotted it as we drove by, and at first thought it was just a reflector that had detached from the road.  But, we did a u-turn, and sure enough, it was a wallet full of id…social security card, veterans card, loyalty cards, doctors names and numbers, etc. etc.  There was $30 in cash, but no drivers license or charge cards.   I found a list of emergency numbers and called the wife, and left a voice mail, then texted, but didn’t get a response.  So, we left the wallet at the visitor center with a ranger, who looked a little scared to take it.  We’ve been coming up with all kinds of scenarios on how the wallet ended up there in the middle of a road, not really close to any viewpoint or trailhead…was it stolen and tossed out the window? (but why didn’t a thief take the cash?); maybe somebody left it on top of the car and drove off?; maybe it was a bicyclist that dropped it out of a backpack?  Sure would like to solve the mystery, but most of all, I hope the guy gets his wallet back.

After a stop for frozen yogurt in downtown Moab, we returned to the campground to rest our legs and feet. Boy am I glad I got new hiking boots before we left home!  We’ve put in a few miles the past few days.

It is our last day here—we move on tomorrow for a new area looking for new adventures.  Hopefully I can find a wifi to be able to post the blog.

Blown Away!

Wednesday, September 14

We’ve been blown away, both literally and figuratively!  We experienced heavy gusty winds all night last night which continued into today.  Then, with our return to Arches National Park, we were blown away by even more spectacular sights.  Just when we thought we’d seen everything, we hiked 3 miles to get up close to Delicate Arch and were blown away by the incredible scenery!  Very close to the hiking trail, we saw this wall of petroglyphs from the Ute Indians, carved sometime between 1650 and 1850!

The hike took us up and down and over slick rock terrain.  The trail climbed 480 ft over the distance, and darn it, I forgot to wear my fitbit! 

There were beautiful sights along the way, including a window high above the trail where you could see Delicate Arch on the other side!  Jim was brave enough to climb up and take a pic!

 

 

 

 

 

Once we turned the corner and saw Delicate Arch close up, it was magnificent!  The light opening beneath the arch is 64 ft high and 45 ft wide, making it the largest freestanding arch in the park.  Here’s a picture of me standing in the arch center.  It was really windy, and one guy almost lost his backpack which was picked up by the wind.  Not everyone who reached the viewpoint walked out to the arch, because it’s a little scary, especially with the wind!

We continued on to the end of the park, Devil’s Garden, and took another 2 mile hike to see more arches.

We got to see Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch along the way. (That’s Jim in the center of Pinetree Arch!)  The spectacular sight was Landscape Arch which spans 306 ft across!  A 60 ft rock slab broke away from the arch in 1991, leaving about 180 tons of debris around the base.  Park visitors are no longer allowed under the arch because it could still be unstable.  We were happy to look from the trail!

We also got to see the Double O Arch from a distance…we elected not to venture the additional mile on a primitive trail to get close!

Over one million visitors come to the park each year, and it’s not hard to understand why!

We were joined at the RV park by two couples from our Alaska trip –what a nice surprise!   Together we enjoyed dinner and a cruise down the Colorado River among the canyon walls.  We learned a lot of history, including the origin of Utah—it was named after those Ute Indians that made the petroglyphs many years ago!  

There was almost a full moon that added to the ambiance of a nice peaceful evening on the water, and a beautiful, clear night sky that treated us to another view that blew us away!