Travel Day August 31, 2008

We left Moab Valley RV Park about 10:00 am, Leonard in the lead, Arnie, George, Ed N. and Ed L. It was a short trip today and arrived at Grand Junction KOA about noon in the rain!! YES, all back home in California, I actually saw rain today, felt rain today and actually was refreshing. I did not drive today, but will get plenty of time in on the next leg of our trip.


Because I am so short, it is difficult reaching the pedals so Ed and George rigged up some help..


For my left foot, a chock block to rest my foot since I can't reach the floor.



Then for the right foot a cristi box lid to rest my right foot after I get cruising and cruise control set.
I think Ed will try and make something a bit more sophisticated when we get home, but in the meantime, this works..


The big adventure today, was a trip to Subway for lunch and a WalMart fix. Sort of a lay back day, we will be here for two days and not sure what is on the agenda tomorrow.

Day 8 August 30, 2008 Part 2 Canyonlands Light Show

A big thanks to Bev and George for recommending the Canyonlands Light Show. We first had a great western dinner, choices of BBQ beef, pork, chicken, beef and gravy, beans, salad, and a special recipe of spicy pork, potatoes and homemade rolls. Delicious! We boarded a jet boat that held about 130 people for a gentle ride down the Colorado river, we had an entertaining moderator. The light show was beautiful and so peaceful. Someone this week had said it was like a spiritual experience. We all enjoyed the evening and was a great way to end our tour of Moab. Just a couple of shots of the lightshow..



We are back on the road again tomorrow, heading to Grand Junction, Colorado... Safe travels to all of us and Butch and Betty..

Day 8 August 30. 2008 Colorado River Raft Trip.

We woke up to windy conditions this morning and was not sure our Colorado River Raft trip was going to be a "go" with a call to Moab Adventure Center, and assured yes it was safe, Ed, George, Marilyn,Paula and I took off at 8:00 am. We were bussed about 17 miles up river and looking at the rapids, I am thinking this is suppose to be a very gentle trip.. I DO NOT swim well and was getting a bit nervous and thinking I could be doing retail therapy instead. We arrived at the docking point and they haul these big rubber rafts off and I am looking for the seats... hey where do we sit? I was informed on the side.. oh gosh.. and what do we hold on to? Our guide Tex who was an excellent guide just laughed. George, Paula and Marilyn have rafted before, Ed and I have not... so anything they told us at that time I would have believed. We started out with very smooth water about 9:00 am, no wind and very pleasant. There were four other folks in the raft with us that are staying at the same RV Park as we are.. coincidence.

We were told we would be going through some rapids, none being more than a three category. I glare at Ed and asked what is with this white water stuff? He assured me everything would be fine... Once we hit the rapids they did not last very long and I have to admit were extremely fun. Sure we got wet, but by that time the temps were high enough to feel very good getting all that water. Tex took us through a few tricky spots and guess I am just getting braver in my older years... he would ask you want to go category 2 or 3.. Let's go for it... I don't think the other four enjoyed our enthusiasm but it was fun. Another thing I never thought I would do, but glad I did it and plan to do some rafting when we get home...

As for the rest of our group, Sue and Steve took off this morning to Salt Lake City and will meet up with us end of the week, Pat and Bev did some retail therapy, Leonard and Arnie had a kick back day. We are anxiously awaiting Butch and Betty to join us midweek and if you are reading this, Safe travels...


George,Marilyn, Paula, Maureen just before we started.


Tex, our guide

The calm waters



Maureen



Ed and George
Tonight we are having dinner on the river and a jet boat ride down with a light show on the rocks. So many people have said this is a "must do" More to come on that later.. If I do not get back to the blog tonight, we are having a travel day tomorrow and not sure of the Internet connections at our next locations..

DAY 7 AUGUST 29, 2008 ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Today our group ventured off to Arches National Park Another spectacular day of Mother Nature’s wonders. This is a great park and you can see quite a bit from the car but to see these formations up close and personal is totally amazing. The park lies atop an underground salt bed that is responsible for the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins and eroded monoliths of this sightseeing mecca.

I did take one hike up to one of the Arches and the view was breathtaking. With my handy walking stick making the hike easier. I think the pictures will explain more of this amazing land.

This is called Balanced Rock.. there are quite a few but this one is very impressive.


This is Sheeprock, just about eveyone in our group saw a different animal.

This is about 3/4 of the way up to the Arches Pat,Paula.Leanord,George,Ed and I hike to.Some of us at the ArchesI made it!! YES!!!Ed and I at the top of the Arches

We got the fantastic news that Butch and Betty are on the road and will be meeting us at Estes Park!!

Part 2 Day 6 August 28,2008 Hummer Ride

WOW, AMAZING, AWESOME!!!

Eight of us went out on the Sunset Hummer Ride and what a trip it was. I was not thrilled about going but so glad I did and would do it again. Ed and I sat in the back seat, and the Hummer holds 10 people. The only bad thing was when we went up the rocks if I looked behind, could almost touch the rocks.. Some very steep terain and some areas we were NOT on all four wheels. Our driver is a retired sheriff and other skills in rescue, also takes folks out of elk hunts.. A really nice guy who could drive the dang thing very well.. Below are some pictures that will give you an idea, but they do not do the trip 100 % justice.

After we came down this rock, we backed up the dang thing!!

I kid you not, that is all of us and there were only two wheels on the ground, I am in the back next to Ed.

This is one of the trails we came over, you can see the tire tracks and the white vehicle is a couple that were late and missed our car.Ed and Maureen at the top

We really had a great time, everyone enjoyed the ride and I think would do it again..

DAY 6 AUGUST 28, 2008 CANYONLAND AND HUMMER RIDE

Today we ventured out to Canyonland National Park. The canyons and river looks so different from different vista points. We stopped at several of the vista points for a bit of hiking and picture opportunities. There is a road one can take down to the river that is dirt and switchback turns, Ed and George thought I should drive it and my answer was a ABSOLUTE NO!!!! Two pictures below.


Later in the day, we went to lunch in town, we decided since we are going on the Hummer Rock Ride we should have an early meal. Not sure if I will be able to eat after .

Pictures of friends on the trip with us..

Leonard and Paula

George, Sue and Steve
Pat and EdArnie and Marilyn

More to come later on the Hummer ride!!!

Day 5 August 27, 2008 Dead Horse Point

HOT HOT HOT!! What a night, it was not a good sleeping night. We had to run the A/C the entire night and a small storm came through about 4:00 am to cool things down a bit. The morning was warm but oh so beautiful. After a light breakfast, Ed and I, George and Bev took a ride up to Dead Horse Point. There are two legends to Dead Horse Point, many years ago horses were brought to the area and corralled and only the best horses were taken from the herd . The other legend is horses were there and saw the river and jumped to get to the water which is so far down they were all killed. What is true and what is not, makes for a story The colors of the mountains are totally awesome. Evaporation ponds made for some great pictures also.
These ponds are used for the production of potash which is a mineral used in fertilizer among other things. The potash starts out underground. Water is pumped down in to the ground where the potash is and it mixes with the potash forming a slurry which is pumped back out of the ground into the ponds where the water evaporates leaving the potash to be scooped up and hauled away. The water is just a vehicle to move the potash from underground to the ponds.

A view from the top!
Just loved this pictureMaureen and Ed
The rest of our group arrived today and was great having everyone here, except for our trail boss and wife who will not be able to join us until next week. Butch and Betty, WE MISS YOU!! We had a pot luck of light food and made some plans for the rest of the week.
Today was my birthday and good friends Bev and Pat had a cake made for the festivities and I so appreciate the kind gesture. Ed was very generous with white gold diamond earrings that are gorgeous. It was a great day with great friends ………

Tomorrow we are going to Canyonland National Park, back to Dead Horse Point for those that did not see it today and good grief, end the day on a Hummer Ride over the rocks….


George and Bev, great friends!

The Birthday Girl!!

Thanks to all family and friends for the phone calls and text messages today, it really meant a lot to me... Huggggs!!!

Day 4 August 26, 2008 Arriving in Moab Utah

Today was our last travel day for awhile. We arrived in Moab Utah about 1:00 this afternoon. What gorgeous country, I am still in awe of all the colors in this part of the country. We drove 135 miles today and I drove 87 of those miles. We are staying at the Moab Valley RV Resort, a nice place, shade trees, nice pool and spa and the sites are fairly nice and level. Three more couples will arrive tomorrow. This trip started out with about 14 couples and we are down to six and hopefully Butch and Betty the couple that put this trip together will join us in Colorado.
We drove into town and had lunch at the Moab Brewery. It was OK but I think we will venture out to other restaurants while here. While waiting for the rest of our group, one couple will play golf in the morning and the rest of us are going to wander out and see the sights. We have a few things planned for the week which should be exciting. On Thursday we are going to do the rock climbing in those Huge Hummer vehicles. I have to admit I am not thrilled about this adventure but promised I would try it. Another planned outing is a dinner and cruise down the river at Sunset that is suppose to be spectacular. We have a lot to see before we leave on Sunday, going to be a fun game!

Below are some of the pictures coming into Moab.

Day 3 August 25, 2008

Today was an uneventful travel day. We traveled 192 miles today and I drove 83 miles with some mountain passes and twisty roads. I prefer the straight away but this was very good experience. The desert is pretty and did not realize how many colors and greenbelts that can be found in this area. We had lunch in a little town in Delta Utah.
Below is a picture of my first mountain pass that I drove, was not expecting it but again great experience, just slow down and take those curves slowly.


Below is a picture of what I thought was a lake in the middle of the desert, it really looked like a nice waterway but was just sand. Very deceiving.

Tomorrow we will drive to Moab and stay until the 31st and will meet up with the rest of our group. There are three rigs behind us by a day and another couple not able to catch up with us until the weekend...

Day 2 August 24, 2008

Day 2, August 24, 2008

We started our day at Jerrys Diner for a great breakfast, after a night of restless sleep. The electricity at the camp was not the best and we all had issues with air conditioning and power going on and off.

We traveled 260 miles today of which I drove 118 miles. Getting more and more miles in per day. Ed took over when we left the town of Austin Nevada and I was glad as we were in some pretty tight curves going over the passes. We arrived at Ely KOA campground and what a difference in parks. Very nice accomodations and full electric which will be nice to cool off the rig after driving in the heat all day. We are planning on going to town for dinner and maybe hit the casino a bit. On the road tomorrow at 9:00 to Filmore Utah. I will probably be driving a bit more tomorrow as Ed’s back is giving him some trouble.

Maureen Driving Highway 50 toward Ely Nevada.

Below, Ely Nevada, view from the rig. KOA Campground, great folks here and a major improvement from last night!

Below, Ed getting all those nasty bugs off the window!!!

Trip to Rushmore Day 1

Trip to Mt. Rushmore Day 1 August 23, 2008

The trip officially started at 9:00 am this morning, we had a very pleasant ride up highway 88 in Amador County and met up with George and Bev. And pooch Max. George was delayed a bit because of a battery change on the tow car. We met up with the third party of our travel group, Ed and Pat along with Star the pooch and three cats. We had lunch at Carson Valley Inn, and Casino in Carson City Nevada. I started my first turn of driving on this trip and drove about 75 miles, I was suppose to lead but decided to stay in the last place slot. I think Ed enjoyed being a passenger and must have felt comfy with me driving because he seemed to doze a bit along the way. Below a picture of the Caravan. We will meet up with four more rigs in Moab Utah.

We pulled into the RV park that WE ALL had reservations at, and they claimed no reservations were made and they were full. There were three NOT SO Happy Campers in search of a place to stay the night. We almost stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot, which I have never done before but a place was found down the road. We thought maybe we would be on the TV show COPS by the looks of the place, but the gal at the office was nice and did get us set up for the night. A few mishaps for the first day and decided to go out to dinner, a place recommended by the gal in the office. Great food but there were staff issues but we all took it in stride. Our server was a prior employee that just happened to come in for a beer and ended up working. Another few mishaps with orders and the other Ed wearing sour cream on jis shirt instead of on his potato. We had to laugh and in spite of it all enjoyed dinner with good friends. Tomorrow we travel to Ely, Nevada and I hope to get more miles on the road and we are checking first thing in the morning that our reservations are in fact valid. I do not have a connection tonight so will be posting several days at a time..