September 10, 2010




We left our camp and got on the road again. We drove to Pasco, Washington and got a campsite at Hood Park on the Snake River. We visited Yakima Craft Brewing, Snipes Mountain Brewing, Rattlesnake Brewing and Ice Harbor Brewing today.

September 11, 2010







We left camp and headed toward Walla Walla, Washington. Karen went to Whitman College here. Whitman Mission National Historic Site is nearby. This is where early pioneering missionaries established an outpost to convert the Indians to Christianity. The Indians ended up massacring them and the other settlers living there. An obelisk on a hill marks the spot where they are buried. We headed out again to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and made it just before they closed at 4 pm. They told us of a good place to camp and we went to Lone Pine BLM campground on the North Fork of the John Day River. Our site was so close to the river you could hear the water rushing over the rocks. Jim sat outside and listened to the UT football game on the radio.

September 12, 2010





We drove back through John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and hiked a few trails. One was a two hour hike and very steep. The greenish looking rocks were the ones that had the fossils in them. My knees were killing me. We also visited the James Cant Ranch inside the park. This is the only National Park that employs a farmer. The ranch still has a lot of its old machinery. We camped just outside Unity, Oregon, at Yellow Pine Campground in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

September 13, 2010



We left camp and headed out for the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. Jim loved this area when we were here in 2008. On the way there we went through Boise, Idaho and stopped for lunch at Sockeye Brewing. The area just before Boise is known for their onions. The air was full of the aroma and they we in the middle of harvesting. The truck in front of us lost a couple and Jim stopped for me to get them. We got a campsite just out of Lowman, Idaho, at Pine Flats campground in the Boise National Forest on the Payette River. This campground had a hot springs flowing off a cliff into a pool and then into the Payettte River. Jim and I got in it. It was marvelous.

September 14, 2010






We got up and continued on to the Sawtooth Mountains. Along the way we saw another hot springs with a couple relaxing in it. We got a campsite at Stanley Lake Inlet Campground where we stayed last time. Two of the campgrounds here were already closed for the season. We got a secluded site on the lake with a great view of the mountains. We went to the ranger station and located the dump and fresh water for tomorrow. Jim's computer isn't working and we went to the library. They let us download our pictures onto our portable hard drive for storage to clear up our camera cards for more pictures. Most libraries won't let you use plug ins. We updated the blog also. Jim grilled chicken at camp for dinner.

September 15, 2010





We left our camp and drove a beautiful scenic drive through the Sawtooth Mountains. We stopped at the Galena Summit overlook and met a couple from Alaska. After talking to them a while we learned that they were John Coghill and his wife Luann. John is an Alaskan State Senator. We stopped at Sun Valley Brew Pub in Hailey, Idaho. Jim drove me to the Golden Spike National Historic Site. This is where the transcontinental railroads from the east and west coasts met. It was out in the middle of nowhere and we got there 30 minutes before they closed. We were lucky to see them move the steam engine back to storage for the night. Jim got me a site with electricity tonight for me to watch Survivor. We camped at Williard Bay State Park in North Ogden, Utah.

September 16, 2010





We left North Ogden and headed for Capital Reef National Park. We stopped at Drapper, Utah at the library for Jim to use the computer. We drove all day and when we got to Capital Reef at 6:45 pm, all of the camping spaces were taken. We drove back four miles and stayed at a trail head with a beautiful view of the red cliffs in the sunset. There were two other trailers there also.

September 17, 2010







We left camp and drove back into Capital Reef National Park. This park has an historic old Mormon farm called Fruita and also the surrounding area of red cliffs. There are still fruit trees there and some of the descendants can fruit and bake bread and pies for sale. You can also pick fruit for $1.00 per pound to take home. We got some molasses wheat bread and an apple pie. We drove through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and stopped at the very high overlook to Lake Powell. Then we continued on to Natural Bridges National Monument and drove the loop road through the park. We pulled out at several overlooks to see the natural bridges and Indian ruins. There was no room at the campground here either. They only have a few spaces and at 1 pm they were already full. The park rangers told us about a BLM camping area outside the park about five miles and we went there. We were all by ourselves in conifer trees. It is beginning to get hot now and it was 86 degrees today. The park ranger and his wife toured the Casita. They have been looking at them online.

September 18, 2010





We left our camp and drove to Hovenweep National Monument. We got a space in the campground here and there was another Casita beside us. We hiked the two mile loop trail down into the canyon and around the rim to view all of the Indian ruins. This is a pretty neat place - the Indians here build their structures on top of the rocks instead of under cliff overhangs like in Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. It is hot today, the fridge is having trouble keeping up. There are no hookups here. The temperature reached 92 degrees today. I cooked some of the apples and pears that we picked this week.

September 19, 2010













We left Hovenweep and drove to Four Corners. This is where the Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico states meet. We had a Navajo Fry Bread Taco for lunch. They are really good. The lady makes fry bread and then puts chili beans, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and picante on top. We got a site at Canyon de Chelly National Monument campground in Arizona. This campground is huge and it is totally free. There are no hookups and it was 93 degrees today but we had lots of shade in the campground. We drove the South Rim road in the afternoon to see the canyon floor and sheer cliffs. Some of the Navajo still live on the canyon floor without any amenities.

September 20, 2010







We got up and Jim made pancakes with some of the blueberries from Alaska, then we drove the North Rim road and saw more canyon overlooks and cliff dwellings. We left and drove to Hubble Trading Post National Historic Site in Arizona. We got a campsite at Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have hookups tonight, it was 92 degrees today.