May 28-29 , Bakersfield to Red Bluff to Canyonville.

We got an early start for our long drive to Red Bluff.
Left just after 7, made sandwiches so we wouldn’t have to stop for lunch.
Fairly uneventful though long drive, not too much traffic until the freeway through Sacramento which was a little tense.
With a couple of stops for gas and pee breaks we got to the Durango RV Resort about 4 pm.
It’s a very nice park, we stayed here once before.
The place is full because of Memorial Day weekend, good thing we had a reservation.
Temperature is 30°.
We saw a pizza place across the street on the way in and found they give a discount for people staying at the RV park and they deliver so that was dinner.
Great pizza, loaded with toppings.
May 29,
We slept in a bit and got underway to Canyonville about 8:30.
Stopped at Safeway in Redding for a few things and gas.
Nice because a Safeway card gets a discount at their gas station.
Gas in California is the most expensive we have come across, usually over $3 a gallon.
Utah and Arizona were around $2.45.
We stopped at a rest stop near Weed for our lunch of leftover pizza.
Got coffee and  gas again in Medford, Oregon , $2.57, better than CA.
Approaching Grant’s Pass an overhead sign warned of a crash ahead and delays.
Traffic quickly slowed to a crawl but at least kept moving at 1 or 2 mph.
After about 30 minutes things sped up and by 3 we arrived at the Seven Feathers RV Resort.
This is one of our favorites,  we have stayed here  4 or 5 times.
Nicely kept , great showers, each shower is its own little individual  bathroom.
There is a casino across the highway and a free shuttle will pick you up at your site with a phone call and bring you back.
We got set up , put out our chairs and had a drink.
The Wi-Fi at our site is terrible but I hooked up my trusty cantenna Wi-Fi booster and we were in business! 
There was a short sprinkle of rain and some thunder but it has stopped now.

May 27, Bakersfield

We had an r&r day today.
Slept in a bit, used the showers then went out to do some grocery shopping.
Had to leave Mickey in the trailer with the ac on, too warm to leave him in the truck.
We went to Walmart which didn’t have a great food selection then on the way to another grocery store we came across a Mexican supermarket called Vallarta.
Wow, what a store !
A huge selection of nicely organized fresh produce, a gigantic meat counter with some pretty good looking fresh beef , pork, chicken and fish.
You could buy a whole skinned cows head for $39 !
Karen has been Googling  recipes !
We could have spent half a day looking at all the exotic stuff but wanted to get back to let the dog out.
We bought some tamales and a beef taco from their food counter to take home for lunch.
Delicious food, wish we had a store like that in Nanaimo.
After lunch I washed the truck which they allow at this park and cleaned the shady side of the trailer.
Too hot on the sunny side .
It feels good to take a break, we have a really long drive ahead of us to Red Bluff, CA  tomorrow .

May 25-26, Williams to Needles

May 25, Williams to Needles

Before leaving for Needles we bought a couple of breakfast sandwiches from the KOA chuck wagon.

Kind of greasy but it beats cooking !

Left about 9 for the 3 hour drive.

The highways in northern Arizona are the worst we have driven on, so many potholes and humps, very rough driving.

We stopped in Kingman for gas and coffee then proceeded on to Needles, California.

As we drove the temperature kept climbing, by the time we arrived it was 40 ° C or 100 F.

Our GPS, Gladys, led us on a bit of a mystery tour getting to the campground resulting in unnecessary stress on my part but we eventually found the place.

We stayed at the Desert View RV Park which was quite nice, private gravel sites divided by tall Oleander bushes.

This sign is on the gate to the pool.

The heat and 30 miles per hour wind made setting up a chore. We were only here one night so I didn’t unhook, just plugged in the power and connected the water.

The wind was like a blast furnace, no chance of sitting outside. I had to hang on to the door with two hands to stop the wind from grabbing it.

We sat inside with the AC on and watched TV for the afternoon as the wind blasted the trailer.

We didn’t get a good night’s sleep, the AC is so loud but when we turned it off the temperature was stifling.

Around 2 am it cooled off enough to turn it off and try and sleep.

At 5 am we were awoken by our neighbor using an cordless impact driver to crank up his trailer jack’s,  sounded like a air tire wrench.

They then proceeded for the next 45 minutes to open and close hatches, slam truck doors  and talk out loud before finally leaving.

So, after all that we were up by 7 and headed off towards Bakersfield, happy to leave the excessive heat behind.

We stopped in Barstow for gas and coffee.

The drive took longer than our trip planner suggested, we arrived at A Country RV Park around 2 pm.

Thankfully the temperature is a moderate 25 and the park is very nice and clean.

Mickey was very happy to have some grass to lie on after several gravel only sites.

Hoping for a good night’s sleep, we are here for 2 nights and are looking forward to a day off without driving , starting to get tiring.

May 23-24 Monument Valley to Williams and Grand Canyon

Before leaving Goulding’s I stopped at their car wash and washed the truck and trailer.

They were pretty dirty after 2 weeks on the road.

The 4 hour drive to Williams went fine.

We stopped in Tuba City for coffee and Flagstaff for lunch.

There was some confusion about the time until we found that Arizona doesn’t do Daylight Savings Time, so we are one hour earlier than Utah which is on Mountain Time.

Got to our campground by 2.

After setting up we drove into Williams to Safeway for some supplies ( wine).

It is a cool retro little town on Route 66.

Back to the trailer with the wine and a rotisserie chicken and potato salad, we sat and enjoyed the warmth.

May 24.

We woke up early because of the time change and a dog wanting out.

After breakfast we were underway by 8:30 for the 50 mile drive to the park.

After the Park entrance and $30 fee we went to the visitor center then Mather Point right outside of it.

Impressive views after a short walk but we notice it is a little harder to breath at the 7000 ft. altitude.

Next we took the 25 mile drive along the Desert View road towards the east entrance and the Watchtower.

I climbed the stairs in the 70 ft. tower built in 1932. More great views of the canyon.

On the return drive we stopped at many of the canyon viewpoints which are on that side of the road.

At Navajo Point we had our lunch which we had brought with us.

After we had our fill of lunch and canyon views we headed back to the RV park, stopping on the way in Valle to see the metal horse sculptures and the rock and gem shop.

Bought a petrified clam ! No jokes please .

After getting cleaned up we till had time to sit and enjoy the 25 degrees with a welcome wind blowing.

May 22, Moab to Monument Valley,

We got away just after 9 am for the 2 ½  hour drive to Monument Valley  in southern Utah.

For the first hour we drove through typical Moab Marscapes. Huge red cliffs and rock formations.

The Hole is a tourist stop on the other side of the rock

Quite suddenly it changed to green fields of farmland then just as quickly we were back into more red rocks with the buttes of Monument Valley visible in the distance.

Stopped in a town called Mexican Hat for gas. It is named after a rock formation. Population 31.

Mexican Hat

We arrived at Gouldings Campground around 12:30 and got settled.

Time to do laundry and have proper showers.

The campground is in a small valley surrounded by more of those towering red bluffs.

Great views out towards the monuments.

The Gouldings bought the land here in the late 20’s and built a trading post.

In the 30’s when times went bad they had an idea to go to Hollywood to try and attract business.

They got lucky and met John Ford and he decided it was the perfect place to film westerns.

He filmed Stagecoach and many other John Wayne movies here and the Goulding’s built their lodge and cabins to house the film crews.

Nice and hot here, 26 today, but we hear it is just as hot in Nanaimo !

May 20. Moab

May 20, Moab

We awoke to another sunny morning in Moab.

The temperature is up to 23 already.

We took it easy then drove into Moab to explore a bit and find someplace for lunch.

We drove up the Colorado River Valley for a ways, admiring the stone walls towering over the river.

Back in town we found a restaurant with outside seating so we could tie Mickey up on the sidewalk beside us.

It’s up to 25 now and too hot to leave him in the truck.

The cottonwood trees are in bloom and there is so much fluff in the air it almost looks like snow.

Mickey in cottonwood snow

After a nice lunch we came back to the trailer to Skype with Stephen.

The wifi here is pretty good so we were able to see and talk to him.

After all this activity we decided a nap was in order.

When we got back up the weather had changed. Clouds have moved in and it has cooled down a bit.

Still nice enough to sit outside for happy hour though.

our RV park

May 20 Dead Horse and Canyonlands parks

Karen was feeling better this morning, a little tired and her sugars were sky high after all the sugar she had eaten got into her system.
We had breakfast and headed off to explore Dead Horse State park and Canyonlands National park.

Lots of cattle grazing by the road, these calves kept an eye on us.

they are both about 35 miles north of Moab.

2 buttes named Merrimac and Monitor

The first park was Dead Horse, named after some wild horses that were herded to a narrow point that could be blocked off but that then were forgotten and left to die of thirst within sight of the Colorado river.
Not a pleasant story, but the views of the canyon and river are spectacular.
We ate our picnic lunch at the rim of the canyon near the visitor center before driving and stopping at the various viewpoints.

View of Colorado River from Dead Horse Point

After we had seen it all we drove another 5 miles to Canyonlands National Park.
It also offers some views of the Colorado River but on the other side  is of the Green River .
Amazing rock formations and views looking down from 6000 ft. to the river 2000 ft. below

Looking down at the Green River

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After we had seen enough we headed back to the trailer and enjoyed the sunshine.

May 18-19

May 18-19

Salt Lake City and Moab

We spent our day in S.L.C. shopping .

Checked out Costco and Karen found an amethyst ring similar to the one stolen in the break-in last August so she was happy.

Bought a few things for the trailer at Home Depot and Walmart then came back to the campground.

For dinner we ordered take out Mexican food from a little place next door.

It was very good and authentic.

Friday morning we left for the 200 mile drive to Moab.

The first 50 miles was on the 6 lane freeway that runs through the city.

Not a fun drive in all the traffic but we finally turned off and headed east towards Price and on to Moab.

Mickey got a whipped cream Puppaccino from Starbucks

The weather was sunny and it got warmer as we got closer,  reaching 17 by the time we arrived at about 3 pm.

It felt good after the last few cold days.

After we got set up we sat in the sun and read the paper and caught up with news on the Internet.

The RV park is full, lots of people with ATV’S,  there is a Rally on the Rocks with thousands of participants happening this week so Moab is really busy.

After dinner Karen checked her blood sugar and found she was very low, lower than she has ever been, so she had several juice boxes and chocolate bars and went up a bit but then started going lower again.

She only wanted to go to sleep but I couldn’t let her and we decided she had better go to the hospital so at about 9pm I bundled her and Mickey into the truck and we followed the GPS to the Moab hospital 3 miles up the road.

Luckily the Emergency Dept. was deserted , we were the only ones there.

After being admitted and having 4 pages of forms to fill out the nurse took her blood sugar and found she was returning to normal.

We had to wait and see the doctor, a woman whose parents live in Qualicum and who went to medical school in Victoria.

They were all very nice and let us leave without any charges after signing a release.

We got back to the trailer about 10:30 and had to stay up awhile to make sure Karen was stable then went to bed.

Not the best way to end the day ,she was feeling pretty rough but at least she was okay.

May 16-17

May 16-17   Yellowstone to Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City.

With 2 to 9 inches of snow forecast for later today we got an early start out of Yellowstone.

It was sunny again and we had a nice 2 hour drive through the Grand Teton’s.

Beautiful mountain scenery .

We stopped at the Jackson Wyoming Visitor Center to use the free Wi-Fi and  catch up on emails and news.

One of Jackson's elk antler arches.

The elk shed them naturally

From Jackson we drove over the Teton Pass, a very steep and long climb with no passing lanes or pullouts.

Another 2 hours and we were at Idaho Falls and the Snake River RV park.

The weather was nice when we arrived but a storm came in with high winds and the temperature dropped to freezing.

With the news calling for snow again we left at about 8:30 am for Salt Lake City.

It is 3 ½ hour drive and it went fine , no snow on the ground anywhere but we passed through a few snow and hail showers.

We pulled into the Salt Lake KOA campground at about 1:30.

We stayed here once before, it is a very nice park right in the city so it is close to everything.

Spent the afternoon binging on tv and internet, reception for both was poor in Idaho Falls.

May 15, Yellowstone

May 15, Yellowstone

Another comfortable night and a relaxed breakfast.

Today we are going to explore the area around our campground which  is near the end of the closed road we couldn’t drive through from the other direction.

First we drove a mile down the road the Lake Village.

There is a huge hotel and lots of cabins next to Yellowstone Lake which is still partially frozen over.

Beautiful  views of the lake and mountains on this sunny day.

We then drove north towards the road closure which is at the south side of  Yellowstone Canyon Falls.

It was a great drive , only 14 miles through the Hayden Valley along the banks of the Yellowstone River.

Wonderful river views and also open grasslands with the occasional plume of steam from a hot spring.

Saw lots of bison and stopped at The Mud Volcano which is a hot spring of bubbling and sometimes erupting mud.

The smell of sulphur was really strong .

At the road closure was a turnoff to the south rim of the Yellowstone River Canyon which ends at Artist Point with  great views of the falls and canyon which is called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

It was truly spectacular and we were glad we made the trip. So different from the much busier west side of the park.

We had sandwich for lunch at the viewpoint then headed back to the campground.

The return drive went very quickly .

We filled up with gas at the previously unknown gas station and we were back at the trailer before 2pm.

It was nice and warm so we sat out in our chairs with a glass of wine and enjoyed the peace and quiet and fed the whisky jack’s.

Mickey climbed the snow bank but couldn't get down

Tomorrow we leave for Idaho Falls , stopping in Jackson ,Wyoming on the way.

Hopefully about a 4 hour drive through the Grand Teton’s .

May 14 Yellowstone

Sunday May 14, Yellowstone

We had a good night’s sleep and didn’t freeze so the day is off to a good start.

Finally had a proper breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns for Karen on Mother’s Day.

We took our time and headed out about 10:45 to see some of the park.

The weather is clear and sunny but cool at 3 °C.

First stop was Old Faithful, about a 45 minute drive .

As we pulled into the parking lot a big bison wandered through in front of us.

There are quite a few in the park but not always where they are easy to photograph.

We went to the viewing area for the geyser and sat waiting, not knowing when the next eruption would be. Nobody else knew either so I walked to the visitor center and found that it wouldn’t be for almost an hour so we explored the center for awhile the went back to wait .

Old Faithful erupts approximately every 60 to 90 minutes.

We had to wait about 1/2  an hour but it was pretty impressive.

There was a huge crowd watching, you can’t come to Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful !

After it was over we went to the gift shop and bought a couple of souvenirs.

We then drove up the road a few miles to see the Grand Prismatic Spring.

It is a series of hot springs bubbling up and leaving colourful mineral deposits.

It was interesting but there was so much steam coming off the it hard to see some of it.

Once again there were lots of people , glad we didn’t come in the summer when it gets really busy !

Next we drove back towards the campground and stopped at Black Sand Basin.

Lots of small geysers and more mineral deposits and less people.

The temperature is now up to 8 .

By then it was time to head  back and start getting dinner ready.

Tonight it’s spareribs, baked potatoes and asparagus for a Mother’s  Day dinner.

Butte to Yellowstone

Saturday, May 13. Butte to Yellowstone.

The day did not start out well.

After a stormy night when I looked out the window I thought it was foggy out but it was snowing and 0 ° outside.

Only a trace at the campground but I could see that the surrounding hills were covered.

Snow on Butte

I wasn’t sure if we should continue on to Yellowstone since it is much higher but after looking on the computer and the highway cams I saw that points east and  Yellowstone were clear and bare so we decided to go for it.

It was snowing heavily on the pass out of Butte, the trees were all covered but the road was bare.

Over the pass the snow disappeared and it was clear all the way to Yellowstone.

We decided we needed more rum and some Kahlua for a Black Russian which we probably will need by the end of the day so searched out a Safeway only to discover after quite a detour that they only sell beer and wine so we would have to find a liquor store.

Back to the highway and search by GPS for one and after one false search found one in a town on the way.

Another detour and with booze in hand we head towards the park.

By 1 pm we approached the park by the north entrance ,the sun is shining and it is 15° c.

We ate our lunch of leftover fried chicken in the truck in the town of Gardiner which is right at the entrance.

$50 later for a pass for Yellowstone and Grand Teton park and we are here !

Almost immediately we start climbing a  very narrow 2 lane highway and soon are at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Calcium carbonite flow at Mammoth Hop Springs

Very busy with lots of tourists taking pictures and not much room for RV parking but we find a spot and stop for a few pictures thinking we might come back later after we can leave the trailer at the a Fishing Bridge Campground in the park.

Well, it turns out that is a lot further than we thought.

One of the roads that provide a loop of the park is closed due some damage so we have to take the long way around.

This adds at least 1 1/2 hours to our drive on a narrow twisting highway with most speed limits 35 mph.

2 ½ hours later we finally arrived  at our turnoff with then another 30 miles to go to the Campground.

Now, I had decided we needed more gas which is available near the turnoff, however I ignored  Karen’s directions, thinking I knew the way even though she had the map !

After a bad experience of almost running out I don’t  like to let the tank get too low.

So now we are going away from the gas station and it takes about 3 miles to find a place to turn around which we do.

By now it is 4:30 and we have been on the road for almost 8 hours and we are tired and the dog wants out.

Karen remains calm and holds thing together, doubling back for gas only added ½ hour to the day.

We finally arrived at the RV park just after 5 pm, the only one in Yellowstone with power and water. However no WiFi or TV.

Thankfully I have anticipated such a situation and have plenty of shows downloaded to watch.

As we pull in we see they  have a gas station that isn’t mentioned on the map ! Oh well, what can

you do ?

Cramped campground plus snow at Yellowstone

The temperature is down to 3° C.

We are informed that although it was 70° here yesterday it is expected to go down to 12° f.  tonight so don’t leave the water hose connected as it will freeze.

Finally we are set up, the furnace is roaring and with Black Russian in hand we hope tomorrow goes smoother.

May 12

May 12 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Butte ,Montana
We got a fairly early start this morning , on the road by 8 am.
Karen wanted to go back to Fred Meyers for a few things then we were on the highway by 9:30.
It rained hard overnight but now is just an occasional shower.
Went over several passes into Montana, stopped for a sandwich and fuel in Missoula then finished the long drive to Butte.
We found the RV park easily and are having fried chicken from the place next door for dinner tonight.
Weather is windy and about 23.
No pictures today other than one of us under a giant U.S flag at the Butte KOA.

2017 Trailer Trip

I somehow deleted the may 10 post so have added it here

May 10,

Nanaimo to Wenatchee.
We caught the 5:15 ferry, made it to the border by 8am and were happy not to have the trailer searched. It can cause quite a delay.
Stopped for groceries at Haggen’s in Bellingham then headed over Steven’s Pass to the Wenatchee River County R V park.
It is a very nice park, paved sites with lots of grassy spaces between units.
We were lucky to score a riverfront site.
After a short nap we had some wine and then I cooked some Maui ribs for dinner.

Mickey and Friend

May 11
We got a pretty good night's sleep at Wenatchee, just a few loud trains going by.
There was a bit of thunder and some rain but by the time we pulled out the weather was good again.
It is a 4 1/2 hour drive to Couer de Alene.
It went smoothly, nice scenery changing from the Columbia River Valley to miles of rolling farmland then climbing into pine forests near  Spokane and Idaho.
We stopped in Ritzville  for lunch and gas .
Another of those sad towns that were once booming but now in decay. Nice houses with  big verandas  but downtown is pretty bleak. A few grain elevators and closed shops.
We used the GPS to find a Fred Meyer in Couer d' Alene,  quite near our RV park .
Karen likes their clothing selection and we needed more groceries.
The trailer fridge doesn't hold a lot and I don't think we will find any stores in Yellowstone Park so we are trying to get a few  meals  stocked up.
We found our RV park easily, Blackwell Island RV.
Nice and clean, next to a river and it has good free WiFi.
Weather slightly overcast but still warm at 25°.
Lamb sliders for dinner tonight.