Bryce Canyon, Utah

Saturday, September 12

We traveled 273 miles today, most we had traveled in one day since on the caravan.  We had arrived about 3:30, got set up, went to office to check for everyone's mail, but someone already delivered it.  We set up reservations for Sunday for a shuttle bus ride with a ranger talking at 1:30.  

Sunday, September 13

A lot of people went for horse and mule rides down into the canyon this morning, some on two hour and others in four hours, we decided early on we wouldn't go on this activity.  We shopped in the morning at Ruby's Inn and gift shop, then went for our shuttle bus ride in the afternoon.  In the evening we had a heavy appetizers and a driver's meeting.

Monday, September 14

Today we decided to drive through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, north to Boulder, Utah.  Beautiful scenery.  That evening we had dinner and a show at Ebenezer's.

Moab, Utah

Thursday, Sept. 10

After visiting Canyonlands we stopped by Dead Horse State Park, this is really a neat park where you can see the Colorado River curve around into a horseshoe curve.  It got its name because they would bring the horses to this area for them to die.

After we returned to the campground, that ending we had game night. They had three games of joker going, this is a game that a lot of airstreamers play.  It's played on a board with cards and marbles.  

Friday, September 11

 We had a free morning, late afternoon we had open house.  Whoever wanted to open their trailer for other people to look at, a lot of them where open, you can get some interesting ideas for decoration this way.  That evening we had a catered dinner of Mexican food and the owner of the campground, his son and other relatives put on a mini concert for us for free.

Moab, Utah

Wednesday, September 9

I did a load of laundry this morning, we went to the store and got water and was back for a jeep ride at 1 pm.  The jeep ride was driven by the owner of the campground, the jeep was built to crawl over rocks, we went outside of town and was at a course for jeeps, climbing rocks and going down steep rocks, it was really a neat experience, really different from our other jeep ride. After we got back we made dinner and sat around, once the sun goes over the mountain range here it really cools off fast.

 Our jeep

The other jeep that went out with us, there were two couples plus the driver in each jeep.

Thursday, September 10

We had driven to Canyonland National Park, stopped at different lookouts and drove to the southern most point in the park.

                                   

I had walked to see the Mesa Arch

Moab, Utah

Monday, September 7

We arrived in Moab, about 2 pm, got set up and had our last Fandango at 4 pm.  Had a free evening, made dinner and just sat around until dark.

Tuesday, September 8

Had a free day so we drove to Arches National Park.  We had driven past the Organ, Courthouse Towers, Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, Tower of Babel and the Balanced Rock, on the way to the Garden of Eden.  While at the Garden of Eden we saw two climbers, climbing one of the towers, I asked the ranger, that was picking up trash, if they allow climbers and she said the season just opened the first of September, because of the birds hatching, and they can only climb in certain areas.  We then drove to the North & South Windows, hiked to the arches and then over to the Turret Arch.

 North Window

 South Window

 Turret Arch 

We then drove up to the Delicate Arch, just walked to see it didn't hike to it.  We had driven the whole way to the end but it was too hot to hike anymore, so we just drove back to campground.

 Delicate Arch

That evening we had dinner at Red Cliif Resort & Winery.

Torrey, Utah

Sunday, September 6

We had another free day, so we talked to the lady at the office, and she said about driving south on Route 12.  We decided to give it a try, it wasn't really scenic except seeing a lot of trees, but there was overlooks that really were good looking into the valley.  We drove for about 50 miles until we got to Boulder, Utah, we got some fuel and headed back.  We went to see the petrographs at Capital Reef before going back to camp.  That evening we had another drivers meeting.

Monday, September 7

Left the campground early, driving to Moab, we decided to drive into Goblin Valley State Park.  The leader talked about this, but didn't know much about it, telling people not to go, but we did.  What a great experience, it has thousands of colorful rock formations that resemble gnomes.

Torrey, Utah

Friday, September 4

We had left the campground early this morning, we are parkers, which means we help park the rest of the caravan when arriving at the next stop.  The drive was the most beautiful drives we have ever driven, with hugh rock formations along the roadway.  We had stopped at a few places along the way for photo ops, and stopped for lunch at a busy fuel station and restaurant.  We had arrived in Torrey, Utah about 1:30 and everyone can arrive between 2-3:30 pm, not much time to get ready.  We had a Fandango at 4pm and then the rest of the evening was free.

Saturday, September 5

We got to sleep in a little this morning, then went to the visitors center at Capital Reef National Park.   Capital Reef became a national monument in 1937 and a national park in 1971.  The park preserves unique geologic features, important archeological evidence, diverse plant and animal communities, and the homesteads and stories of early Mormon pioneer settlers.  We had driven the Scenic Drive which was about 10 miles one way.

In the evening, we all went to dinner at Cafe Diablo, expensive but good food.

Bluff, Utah

Thursday, September 3

We got up early today to caravan to Monument Valley, our tour was at 9 am.  We got loaded into jeeps and the Indians took us into the valley.  Our tour was 2 1/2 hours long, got to see the mittens, elephant, thumb, and other formations.  This is a very interesting spot for a tour, very enjoyable.  After our tour we went to lunch at The Goulding's Restaurant and had another Navajo Taco, fry bread with beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and salsa, we really enjoyed there tacos.  Later in the evening we had a driver's meeting, about the move for tomorrow.

Bluff, Utah

Tuesday, September 1

We have moved today from Mesa Verde, Co to Bluff, Ut.  On our trip we went to Four Corners, saw where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Utah all join, so you can stand in all four states at one time.  The Indians have stands at Four Corners to sell jewelry and other stuff, I bought a pair of earrings and the  we bought some lunch of Navajo Taco and Burrito, both made with fry bread, very good.  After arriving at the campground we had a Fandango and sat around and talked to, our friends from Alberta til dark.

Wednesday, September 2

We had carpooled to Valley of the Gods, a smaller scale version of Monument Valley, Moki Dugway, this is an extremely steep but scenic mountain road used in the past by trucks hauling uranium ore.  Onto, Muley Point, a scenic overlook of Monument Valley and the whole ares for miles around, and then to Natural Bridges National Monument.

Mesa Verde, Colorado

Saturday, August 29

We had left Farmington and went to Mesa Verde, Co. And parked in the National Park inside Mesa Verde.  The campground is great, all around you can see mountains and are parked with shrubs all around us.  After arriving we had a bus ride down to see the ancient ruins, some climbed down to see the Cliff Palace, we didn't the altitude seems to bother both of us.  Our tour on the bus lasted about 4 hours very informative.  The rest of the evening we were on our own, so we just sat around to talked to different people.

Sunday, August 30

We had a free day today, so we drove to see the Anasazi Heritage Cultural Center, about 12 miles away in they town of Delores.  The museum interpreting the history and Culture of the Ancients National Monument and the Four Corners region.  More than 3.5 million artifacts from Southwest Colorado are curated at the museum and are available for research.

We had stopped at WalMart in Cortez, and got a few groceries.  At 7pm we had another Fandango, got to meet two more couples, and we knew the other couple already from two other caravans.  After the Fandango was over we went to the Rangers talk at the amphitheater about the critters in Mesa Verde, really informative.

Monday, August 31

Had another free day, drove into Cortez again, fueled up, shopped at Notah Dineh Trading Post, didn't buy anothing, looking for a Pennington Blanket, didn't have the size I wanted.  Returned back to camp and have a steak dinner tonight, which we are helpers with.  Everyone got steaks, you can marinade them the way you want and then cook them on grills which everyone supplies.  We got cole slaw and baked beans, which some people want them cold, I'm heating half of them, and of course, pie for dessert.

If you want to see more pictures, go to Facebook and search Airstream Southwest Adventure Caravan 2015, there you will a lot more pictures, everyone can contribute.

Farmington, New Mexico

Wednesday, August 26

We moved today to Farmington, New Mexico, arriving at 1 pm, camping at San Juan Fairground next to Sub Ray Casino.  Most of us went to the casino for a prime rib dinner for $10 a meal, pretty good for casino meal.  After dinner, we had a Fandango meeting with two other couples, serving dessert.  While ther it started to rain.  We waiting for a while to leave and when we did walk back to trailer there was a river running under our trailers, half way up to our knees, with debris of sand, sage brush, lumber, tires, chairs, ladders.  The fire company came in and told to evacuate, so we hooked up and moved to higher ground until the next morning.  The groundskeepers came in pushed the mud and debris, loaded into trucks and took it away, they also washed down the parking spots where we were parked.  We were then parked into a different spot on the lot.

Thursday, August 27

We were to have a tour today but was cancelled because of roads closed because of flooding.  We weren't did laundry and later we had a pizza party and drivers meeting.  Ken decided to wash trailer before going in for the night.

Friday, August 28

Left early this morning for our tour of Chaco Culture National Hostorial Park.  We rode with another couple and the leader, the ride was 2 hrs long, driving about 13 miles on dirt road.  The Chaco Canyon's high desert landscape, is an unlikely place for a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture, yet it was the center of a thriving culture 1,000 years ago.  This is the largest culture building that we have seen, with over 150 rooms and 5 kivas.

Durango, Colorado

Saturday, August 22

At 2 pm there was a "First Timers" meeting, we have half the caravan (14 units) with people that this is their first time on a caravan, we have 32 units in all.  At 3 pm we all had a meeting and given our books with driver directions, roster, jobs and the budget.  At 6 pm we all had a cookout of pork lion, green bean salad, potato, salad and cake.  By 7:30 we had a fandango or get acquainted meeting of 5 units with 7 meetings in all.  This way you get to know 10 people, where they are from, how many children, grandchildren, jobs and anything else you want to talk about, these last about an hour.

Sunday, August 23

A lot of the people went on a raft trip for about 4 hours.  Ken and I decided that since they just had a spill here and contaminated the water where they were going, we didn't not to go along.  This was some white water and some of the water was low and they had to get out and push.  We had sat around and talked to our friends from Calgary, Alberta.  We had then had another meeting, which lasted about 2 hours.  We had cooked on the grill for dinner, and then walked around and talked to different people.

Monday, August 24

Got up early today, to be at train station by 7:15 to get tickets and be on the train for the 8 am leave time.  We had dressed in layers to be prepared for cold weather, but it really wasn't to cold, in fact when we got to Silverton, it was hot.  Silverton is 9,280 ft. elevation.  It had taken about 4 hours to reach Silverton, with a couple stops to fill the engine with water and to let some people and hikers off.  After getting off the train, we had a group picture taken, and walked to Grumpy's for lunch.  We had a wait, when the train comes to town it really gets full.  We had about 3 hours in town, but til we ate lunch and shopped a little, there wasn't much time left.  The town is a real western town, one street was paved and the rest are dirt.  The restaurant that we ate in, is only open from 11-3 pm only when the train comes to town, not sure about the stores hours.  We rode a chartered bus to come back, which was nice, but a really tiring day.

Tuesday, August 26

Got up early again today.  We went on a jeep ride, had to be there by 8:30, rode outside of town for 10 miles before getting on the dirt road.  Our ride was on a rough road going up to the top of the mountains, what beautiful scenery.  Mountain ranges far away which they say is hazy from the wild fires in Washington state, but still great views.  Saw wild flowers and berries everywhere, but didn't see any animals.  It was a great ride but tiring with all the bumps.  Later that night, we had dinner as a group at the Strater Hotel and then a play next door.  Dinner was very good and the show was good.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Wednesday & Thursday, August 19 & 20

After leaving Colorado Springs, we drove south and came upon the Great Sand Dunes and decided to stay at the National Park for two nights.  The dunes are 30 square miles and the highest is 755ft., there are creeks that go around it, they say by July the creeks are dry, but this year still some water running along side on the east.  Most of the sand comes from the San Juan Mountians, over 65 miles to the west.  Larger, rougher grains and pebbles come from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east.  As the winds prevailed the sand couldn't go over the mountain and piled up creating the North America's tallest dunes.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Tuesday, August 18

Did some laundry this morning, right before lunch we left went to Camping World, they didn't have the part that we needed.  We drove a short distance and ate lunch at Culver's, a franchise known for there sandwiches on butter rolls and great ice cream.  There was an accident on the main road today so we took another route north or town to the U S Air Force Academy.  We went to visit the Cadet Chapel, a modern aluminum, glass,and steel structure with 17 spires.  Inside there was a big pipe organ with 4300 pipes.  What a beautiful site to see.

We plan to leave tomorrow morning and travel south and west to Durango, Colorado for the start of the SW Caravan.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Sunday, August 16

We arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado toward evening, had reservations at a Passport America campground.  Our campsite is on top of a teired hill, overlooking the city.  It has rained every night since we got here, with double rainbows, two of the three nights.

Monday, August 17

We left the campground shorty after 9 am. and drove up Pikes Peak.  The 14,110 peaks are visible from a long distance on the Great Plains.  The view from the peaks inspired Katherine Lee Bates in 1893 to write "America The Beautiful."  They also have a cog that you can ride up, but we decided to drive and not go on the cog, we both had a little problem with the altitude.

Later in the day we visited Garden of the Gods, a 1,323 acre city park at the base of Pikes Peak.   The park is known for its towering red sandstone formations, which include Kissing Camels and Balanced Rock.