Two Years In

Two years ago today, Mark and I brought our “new to us” Airstream home from Ottawa, Canada. At that point, we had no idea that just two years later we would spend over 7 months, in 2018, on the road exploring this beautiful country we call home. What an amazing year it’s been. We finished this trip up in North Georgia at a park called Sloppy Floyd State Park. We loved the park for so many reasons; it’s beauty, fellow campers who went all out decorating for Halloween, having a washer/dryer in the park, wonderful showers and so much more. A long time ago a friend told me if you’re not on a trip, you should be planning the next one. Time to start planning, I guess!

Back to Rocky Top

Our trip felt like it had come to an end when we crossed the state line into Tennessee. The problem with that thought process is the fact that we can’t move into our condo for two more weeks. Because of  that reality we spent the weekend at Bledsoe Creek State Park, outside of Nashville, to spend time with kids and grandkids. This is a beautiful park and I couldn’t help recalling what a woman asked when we were camping in Iowa and she found out we were from Tennessee. “Don’t you have lakes, rivers and mountains in Tennessee?” she questioned. We do indeed, and it’s always good to be reminded to appreciate “home” and family.

Four reasons to come home 

Daughters and offspring 

Only son, oldest grandson 

Land of Lincoln

As our latest trip winds to a close, we found ourselves passing through southern Illinois again and decided to try a different park called Ferne Clyffe State Park. We weren’t disappointed. This is a tranquil park with wonderful hiking trails and spacious campsites. As the name suggests, this area has beautiful rocks and “cliffs” and an abundance of interesting vegetation including lush “ferns”.  The Shawnee National Forest and Garden of the Gods area is only about 48 miles away. We were also thankful to see blue sky again with no rain our entire stay!

The Show Me State

The sun seemed to be promising better weather, with this beautiful sunrise, our last morning in Kansas, but Missouri must not have been paying attention, because The Show Me State showed us the same weather pattern we’d hoped to leave behind. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Mark’s version of that was buying a stockpile of wood and with every break in the rain building a big fire. Lake of the Ozarks State Park is a beautiful place but we were really limited by what we could do here. We did some “rain hikes” and were thankful for a washer/dryer, in the park, to wash our muddy clothes, but a big chunk of our time was spent in coffee shops in nearby Osage Beach. This is definitely a park we would enjoy revisiting in better weather.

Last Sticker of this Trip

Nebraska and Kansas were the last two “new” states to add to our map, for this trip, and sadly, our week in these states, will probably be my least favorite week of this adventure. Not because the parks we’ve stayed  haven’t been beautiful (they have been) but because of the weather pattern we’ve been stuck in for most of our stay. We had one beautiful day, at Lake McChonaughy Recreation Area, in Nebraska, which is the largest lake in the state, but rain moved in and didn’t let up the entire weekend. Not only was the rain a challenge but we also had high temps in the 40’s and lows near freezing every night. We were hopeful that things would be better at Scott Lake State Park, in Kansas, but we found ourselves dealing with the worst flooding this area has dealt with in more than a decade. It was strange leaving western states, dealing with drought and fire bans, and then being forced to check local weather for road closures due to flooding. All part of life on the road, I guess!

No need for reservations during flood watch 

Day 6 and finally no rain! 

Kansas prairie dog

Rewind part 2

Because we are big John Wayne fans, we decided to do a walking tour, in Ridgway, that highlights the different buildings and areas, in town, used to film the movie True Grit. My favorite thing about the tour; our guide shared  that during the first of six weeks of filming, the Duke had dinner with the local sheriff who was in charge of crowd control. When the sheriff’s teenage son got home that evening, he couldn’t believe who was sitting at the dinner table. John Wayne told the young man that on the days he filmed, he would have lunch with the boy and one of his friends, but it had to be a different friend each time. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy being the sheriffs son, but in the fall of 1968  I’d say he was one of the most popular kids in town!

Rewind

This blog is more of a scrapbook than a blog. I realized, after looking through pictures, that there are a couple things I overlooked I’d like a record of. So, even though we are in Wyoming, for the week, I wanted to post about the last place we stayed in Colorado (Stagecoach State Park) and a post about a memorable day, before that, in Ridgeway, CO. Stagecoach is a park we loved and would have stayed longer had they not turned the water off and closed the showers. We loved our campsite, the terrific bike trail and beautiful hikes. We also loved the town of Steamboat Springs and the natural hot springs there called Strawberry Park.

The Cowboy State

We arrived in Wyoming, October 1st, which was opening day of elk season around the National Forests where we are staying, at Curt Gowdy State Park. I guess the mule deer know they are next, on the hunting roster, because there are so many around our campsite. They must sense the state park is off limits for hunting. I loved this picture, Mark captured, on our first morning here. We are finding that many parks shut off their water and close restrooms, this time of the year, so we were glad to discover this park’s visitor center (complete with showers/restrooms) doesn’t shut down and is open 24/7. We are also excited that southeastern Wyoming has beautiful fall colors too. It has been interesting, as we continue homeward, to find “popular parks” almost deserted because of the colder temps and oncoming winter.

Another cool thing about Curt Gowdy State Park is the fact that it lies exactly between the cities of Laramie and Cheyenne. Twenty-four miles west - Laramie; Twenty-four miles east - Cheyenne. We’ve loved exploring both of these western towns.

Unusual Sightings

Steamboat Springs is the closest town to the state park where we are staying so we have traveled there to resupply, do laundry, play disc golf and visit the hot springs. As we have traveled on the country road between the two, this ski lift chair hangs suspended beside the road with no explanation. Aspen is over 150 miles away. There have been other pictures I’ve made, on this trip, that are unusual so I thought I’d post those as well. One of the fun things about traveling is discovering things you didn’t know existed in other places.

Outside of Benton, Illinois, beside I 57, artist John Cerney, created this temporary mural of George Harrison as a “not for profit” art piece commemorating George Harrison’s visit to the town, in the summer of 1963, to see his sister who lived there at the time. His visit was the first by a “Beatle”, before the group landed in NY, a year later on their way to unprecedented stardom. Once a year, Cerney creates a project to donate to a town free of charge.

Leaving Ridgeway

We hated to say goodbye to Ridgeway but packed and headed northeast to Rifle Falls State Park. This park is tiny (only 13 electric sites) but has a beautiful triple falls and caves that riddle the limestone cliffs behind the falls. It was the perfect place for a two night stop as we make our way to Steamboat Springs.

First Day of Fall

It’s hard to believe we began this trip on the first day of summer and today is the first day of autumn. I can’t think of a better place to welcome fall than here in southern Colorado. After two weeks in Colorado the plan was to head east but we have decided to head north and extend our time just a bit longer. Our first major hiccup of the trip has been the demise of our eleven year old air conditioner. Because a big area of our journey home isn’t experiencing fall like temps, we’ve decided to stay in the mountains,where there is no need for air conditioning, and then follow the changing leaves home in a few more weeks.

One day fishing pass pays off

Riding the RAT Trails

Alpine Lakes and Aspen

Our latest hike took us to an area outside Silverton, CO, to a trail leading to Ice Lake. You see pictures of alpine lakes and wonder, “have people added filters to make the water a more vibrant color?”; the answer is no. The same is true for the classic aspen and it’s signature yellow. In real life the leaves look like they are being back lit by electric lights. Mark and I are SO thankful to just happen to be here for “peak” aspen season without even meaning to be. We are feeling so thankful to be able to experience all this beauty!

Hike to Ice Lake

Starbaby made it!

One Last Canyon

One of the reasons we decided to stay for a couple weeks in this part of Colorado is the variety of things to do in the area. Probably the last National Park we will visit, on this trip, is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which is only 37 miles from our campsite. Sometimes called “Colorado’s own Grand Canyon”, it features some of the steepest cliffs and oldest rocks (2 billion years old) in the USA. Deeper than it is wide, sunlight can only reach the bottom at midday and then for only 33 minutes or so. We loved hiking along the rim and seeing the dramatic vistas. Another beautiful part of “America the Beautiful! “

Pinion-juniper along the rim

2,700 feet to the bottom 

Colorful Colorado

We are at Ridgeway State Park, in Colorado, for the next two weeks. This park sits at the base of the beautiful San Juan Mountains near the town of Ridgeway where the original “True Grit” movie was filmed in 1969. Because most of our Colorado travel, in the past, has revolved around the northern part of the state, this area is relatively new to us. Our first outing, a hike to the Blue Lakes, did not disappoint. Three pristine alpine lakes, at 12,400 feet, took our breath away.

Aspen starting to change

Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park nestles right beside Canyonlands National Park and sits 2,000 feet above Moab, Utah. Where Escalante was a hiking mecca, this area is all about mountain biking. We have loved being at a higher elevation because this time of the year can still be really warm. The extra 2,000 feet, where we are camping, is consistently about 10 degrees cooler than the valley below. The newly visited National Parks, for me, that have warranted day trips in this area, are Capitol Reef and Canyonlands. Both just beautiful but the main thing we’ve enjoyed is the biking! We are discovering that many places across the country rank their biking trails like ski resort hills; green, blue and black diamond. Moab has it all!