A Good Adventure Ends

We made it! A journey of 29 days, 6579 miles, 14 states and countless towns. Good company, good health, good luck, good memories and good night! Thanks for following along. 🌵💚🚐

Tennessee and Georgia

The storm blew through the Gulf states and we blew out of Arkansas at sunrise Thursday. Not sure how far we would drive at the start of our journey home, we passed through Memphis and then Atlanta. It was almost dark at High Falls State Park in Jackson GA when we pulled into the Lakeside camp. That made for an 11 hour day behind the wheel. The most ever for a driving day in the van. The temps got into the low 50s. Perfect for a great night sleep. This is a sunrise picture Friday over the falls as we left on the final push to Marco.

A Full Day in Arkansas

Chris, Son the Elder, entertained us with a Wednesday morning text about a nearby destination, which holds a lower tier spot on his bucket list. Hence, we had to make Crater of Diamonds SP a part of our day. It was a worthwhile part indeed. This diamond mine attracts people from all over in hopes of digging, finding and keeping gem stones. Who knew Arkansas was famous for diamonds? Take another look at their state flag and license plate.

We did a little browsing through curio shops and on to lunch at the Fish Nest in Glenwood. A typical southern buffet with fried everything and foreign looking sides filled us up before grocery shopping.

Back at camp, we followed the incredible Hurricane Michael's path on our devices and killed a bottle of wine by a blazing fire.

Fwd: Rainy Day at Daisy SP

> The morning was pleasant by the lake with my book but quickly escalated into an all-day rain event. We were cozy in the van, making popcorn and immersed in our Kindles. Pasta, garlic bread, avocado slices and a nice red for dinner indoors and bed early.
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> We woke to a beautiful morning and enjoyed a lakeside breakfast. Hurricane Michael is a strong Category 4 storm this Wednesday morning; expected to hit Panama City FL early afternoon. We'll start our journey home in Thursday.
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Holding Pattern in Arkansas

The simple pleasure of just sitting by a lake with a soothing breeze and gentle waves lapping the shore can never be underestimated. Just sitting. Once again, we found a beautiful slice of nature at Daisy State Park.

From Wichita Falls, we ventured northeast to Arkansas on little state roads through lush countryside. A lovely and memorable drive off the interstate for a day in an attempt to steer clear from weather patterns emerging in the Gulf and effecting the states on our route home.

We decided to make our campsite overlooking Lake Greeson our home for a few days while we remain in a holding pattern for Hurricane Michael to pass through on Thursday. Not a bad place to be at all.

Wichita Falls TX

It was a rainy drive from NM to TX. At some places, the visibility was very low with fog or torrential rain. The temperature went from 65° to 82° within a mile. We just took our sweet time and rolled into Lake Arrowhead State Park, outside of Wichita Falls, late Sunday afternoon. The campground was sparsely occupied but we were assigned a site just yards away from an active, loud oil pump. Bizarre. We moved to another site with loads of fire ants and flies, then another with a soggy fire pit, finally another where we closed up with air conditioning and stayed indoors. We were told the area had four inches of rain that day. Reminiscing of how nice it was in the mountains with fresh, dry, cool air for sleeping. Oh well, back in the SE and deciding where to go as gulf Hurricane Michael could potentially interfere with our path home.

I-40 East NM

We just can't pull all-nighters anymore. Too old. After a poor night sleep and then awake at 4am for the balloon fiesta, we were dragging our butts all day Saturday. We had trouble finding a campsite as we headed out of Albuquerque because of folks heading into the area for the fiesta. A fun late lunch break at Watson's BBQ in Tucumcari NM revived us a bit. We threw in the towel and settled for an easy KOA in the same town. A nice hot shower, jammies, my book and I was hunkered down for the night at 4pm. Nice!

Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque

Had it not been for a friendly chat while doing laundry in Moab, Bill and I would not have found ourselves waiting for a bus at five in the morning Saturday in Albuquerque. Upon leaving Moab, we got the crazy idea from a random stranger in the laundromat to go to the opening day at the balloon fiesta. And as luck would have it, we were able to find a campsite, purchase tickets, park the van and enjoy the magical splendor of mass ascension at sunrise. Awesome!

Arches National Park

We had a super fun Thursday starting with a pancake breakfast in bed during a loud thunderstorm. The storm moved out and it was a beautiful day for touring the last of the Mighty Five Utah National Parks: Arches. We did a few short hikes in pursuit of arches and then the big pilgrimage to see the Delicate Arch. The road to the arch was shut due to wash out from the morning storm so the hearty folks hiked up the mountainous route a mile and a half (felt like way more actually) to view the famous arch. Great people watching and so rewarding. Back at camp we relaxed a bit before Ubering to La Sal for a special dinner to celebrate our wonderful time in Utah. Where to next?

Moab

For being a global destination, home to the amazing Capital Reef NP, Torrey UT was a throwback little town to days long gone by. It was our first really rainy day as we departed Torrey for Moab, home to the final two of the Mighty Five National Parks in Utah. It was another scenic journey on UT 24 east. Goblin Valley State Park was a fun detour with magical rock formations under a moody sky. We rolled into Moab early afternoon and had lunch at Spokes, a cute bike-themed restaurant. Luckily, we were able to find a campsite right in the town of Moab.

After settling in our site at Canyonlands RV Resort and Campground we walked through town and did a little shopping. It's a big town filled with thrill-seeking, outdoor adventurers. Great vibe and lots of people keeping a basecamp to the wilderness in Moab. We even walked to the Moab Brewery and joined two strangers at a table for a lively dinner and conversation.

Dead Horse and Canyonlands

Another day, another natural wonder or three. Wednesday we took in Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park. We did short hikes in both parks and enjoyed the drama of the scenery. We were able to extend our stay in Moab for another two nights. It's nice to be in an urban campground for a change. We took an Uber to Sabaku Sushi and then a stroll for ice cream. Moab is a great town with loads of visitors.

Technical Difficulties

I have not been able to post my updates for some unexplained reason through the Blogger platform via gmail. I’ll try to resolve this issue and post travel updates ASAP. Thanks for following along.

Capital Reef State Park

Thousands Lakes RV Park in Torrey UT was our home for two nights while exploring Capital Reef NP. The RV park was nice but close sites. The NP however...what a beautiful place. The “reef” was so named by explorers/sailors when confronted with a massive land barrier to travel with geologic features resembling a capital dome. Red rock formations and deep canyons changed color and dimension with each view. We had a fairly strenuous hike through Cohob Canyon with amazing panoramas. The clouds were accumulating and I was getting worried about all the flash floor horrors people shared with us this week. We rewarded ourselves with the freshest fruit pie ever in the quaint visitor center of Fruita. Back at camp we showered and made broccoli cheese risotto in the InstaPot. Yes, we glamp with an InstaPot.

East on Route 12

The All-American Scenic Byway did not disappoint. We drove east for the entire 124 miles. The landscape changed frequently with just magnificent colors and vistas. We took a detour to Kodachrome Basin State Park for our daily workout. It was an easy hike among the red rocks. On to Torrey UT, we were able to get a campsite at 1000 Lakes. We had an nice dinner at camp and enjoyed the stunning view out of the van's rear screen door. Internet is not so good as we travel this beautiful state, but we get lucky sometimes.

Perfect Weather

We couldn't have asked for better weather in this trip. The nights are cool by the fire, downright cold for great sleeping and comfortably warm for our touring, hiking and biking activities. We've enjoyed some incredible sunsets and sunrises; like this beautiful Sunday morning.

Saturday in the Parks

Another lazy morning at Riverside Ranch camp before a big bike ride through Red Canyon Saturday. There is a pretty awesome bike path that goes to the summit of 7777 feet and then down again. The incline and altitude was a good workout for us FL bikers. Then we did short hikes around some of the Bryce Canyon highlights. Lots of energy from this amazing landscape.

Cedar Breaks, Red Canyon and Bryce

It was a full Friday out of our basecamp at Riverside in Hatch. Aside from a morning hike at Cedar Breaks National Monument, our day was leisurely, filled with awe and complete with a lunch sandwich from Burger Barn. We drove the scenic byway Route 12 into Bryce National Park and did some reconnaissance for Saturday in the park. Back at camp, we grilled Utah beef and enjoyed the fire and amazing sunset over the river.

Duck Creek

The Aspen trees in full color at 8500 feet elevation. Pretty ride today out of our basecamp at Hatch UT, 7000 ft. Riverside is a private campground, kind of dumpy but nice scenic view of the little river. We booked two nights for convenience between Zion and Bryce. It was down in the 30s during the night. Chilly, but nice sleeping weather in the van. We cranked on the furnace in the morning for our bacon & eggs at camp.