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Photo taken from the Dead Horse Point Overlook at Dead Horse Point State Park

Waking to a morning of mixed clouds and sunshine, I knew that we might not have the right light for taking a photo of the early sun rising in the east and reflecting on the underside of Mesa Arch.  The image of sun on the underside of the arch is used to advertise Canyonlands in many places.

Just for fun, I inserted a screen shot below of only a tiny portion of the photos that show up for a google search of Mesa Arch images.

Located on the east side of the uplift called the Island in the Sky, Mesa Arch was a must see for me on this visit to Canyonlands

We left at 7:30 this morning, an hour later then yesterday, but still early enough to beat the worst of the crowds, I hoped.  Our first destination was the Mesa Arch trail but we planned to view the rest of the easily accessible viewpoints at the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands.

I have been to Mesa Arch a few times in the past, and even 25 years ago the trail could be crowded.  Especially at dawn, there are often hordes of photographers with tripods set up to capture the famous light on the underside of the arch.

My boss and friend, Eva, walking across the arch in 2000 before the park sign said no climbing on the arch 

Chere decided that the steep parts were not fun and waved to us when we reached the arch

The short half mile trail out to the arch is “moderately easy”, but there are some stairs and a few steep areas.  Still, there were many people on the trail walking toward the arch and many more walking back from the arch carrying their tripods.  Who knows if the morning clouds allowed them to get the famous light on the underside of the arch.

This is as good as it got for me on this slightly overcast morning

The fun thing about Mesa Arch is that the drop on the mesa side of the arch is only 20 feet or so, but the drop on the canyon side is more than 1300 feet.  It is a dizzying feeling that triggers some intense vertigo if you are trying to stand anywhere near the top of the arch. 

Thanks to my lack of balance at this point, you can see me holding on to Mo for dear life in this photo. I realized later something I forgot about.  Take off the dang progressive lenses!  I remember this when trying to go down steep trails and steps and should have remembered this when I climbed up to a high point above the arch for the view.

Dan, Mo, and I had fun waiting our turn for photos at the arch, with most people being kind and thoughtful and not dominating the site for others wanting that same photo.

 See the famous “Washer Woman” in the upper part of this photo?

The Island in the Sky is bisected by a paved road that goes to the end of the mesa, with a “grand” view at Grand View Point.  I learned on this trip something I never knew after all my years traveling the Colorado Plateau.  Until 1921, the Colorado River didn’t start in the state that bears the same name. It began in Utah, where the Green River from Wyoming and the Grand River from Colorado met at the infamous confluence of the two rivers that can be seen from space in the google maps image below.

We planned to visit each of the scenic viewpoints that could be reached by car in Canyonlands.  We would then return to Dead Horse Point State Park on the northeast side of the plateau to view the iconic landscape from another perspective.

From our previous day visiting Arches, we knew that it was wise to get to the most important viewpoints first, knowing that the parking lots and trails were likely to be crowded.  When we left the Mesa Arch parking lot, we headed immediately for the most distant spot on paved road to the Grand View Point Overlook.

As expected, the parking lot was already full and one more time the handicap hang tag gave us access to the only open parking space at the overlook. The view from this site is breathtaking. 

A ranger working near the parking lot said that the overcast sky was actually a blessing for viewing the expansive landscape since bright sunshine often wiped out much of the detail in photos.

We returned to the main road and traveled northwest to the Upheaval Dome Overlook parking lot. What I had forgotten is that there is no view from this point.  Instead of hiking the steep, rocky trail to the overlooks, we settled at a nice picnic table to enjoy some snacks for lunch.  Later, we returned to the road toward the Green River Overlook where we were gifted with expansive views toward the west. 

The views from the Green River Overlook were awe-inspiring.  We could see the far northwestern part of the White Rim Trail, a 4-wheel drive road that is the destination of many a mountain biker and 4-wheeler enthusiast.

Yes, that is Mt Ellen in the distance on the left side of the photo below, at the high point of the Henry Mountain Range.  Dan and Chere got a bit tired of me continuously pointing out Mt Ellen and I promised that this was the last time I would do so.

We drove back to the east side of the mesa for a great view toward the La Sals at the Buck Canyon Overlook. We could see virga, “streaks or wisps of precipitation falling from a cloud but evaporating before reaching the ground” in the distance. Rain was predicted on the mesa by noon, but for us, so far so good.  No rain while we were on our explorations of the Island in the Sky.

Dan and Chere at the Buck Canyon Overlook

We continued to the Shafer Trail Overlook.  There are actually two spots with parking where the Shafer Trail is visible.  We chose what appeared to be the less crowded site a bit south of the main overlook.  The Shafer Trail is a narrow dirt road with sharp switchbacks that descends to the White Rim Road that circles around the Island in the Sky on the White Rim Sandstone. 

We stayed a bit at this overlook, watching the tiny vehicles negotiation the sharp turns.  There were quite a few rigs traveling up and down the road and it was fun to watch them passing each other and bumping around the steep, sharp switchbacks.  I knew exactly how it felt, because I drove the Shafer Trail in my Dakota pickup back in 1997.  I only drove about 50 miles of the White Rim Road before my friend Shera said she had enough of all that rough driving, and we backtracked up the steep part of the Shafer Trail.  It was an experience I will never forget. The next three photos are grainy scans of photos from that trip in 1997.

We ended our day’s travels with a visit to Dead Horse Point State Park. The legend of Dead Horse Point originates around the turn of the 19th century when cowboys would round up the wild mustangs that roamed the mesa. It is said that a herd was driven down the neck of the peninsula, its sheer cliffs forming a natural corral, and the 30-foot-wide entrance was then fenced off with branches and brush.

This was to be our final shared day in Utah’s red rock country.  A friendly guy at the overlook agreed to take a photo of the four of us.  It was a fitting tribute to what has been a wonderful trip.

This will be a rather short post, with no photos.  Our plans for the day included breakfast at the wonderful Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe, but when we arrived at 8am there was a closed sign on the door saying they were closed for the day due to lack of staff.  glitch number one.

Instead we found a restaurant connected with a hotel east of Torrey, the Pioneer Kitchen, and in spite of the busload of tourists that were finishing up breakfast, we had a table in a short time.  The breakfast and service were decent too, but it didn’t have the ambience of Capitol Reef Inn.

The next plan for the day was for Dan to install the brake pads that Mo and I drove to Loa to buy yesterday afternoon.  Long story short, we knew the brakes on the MoHo were making funny noises and managed to get an appointment at Les Schwab to have them checked.  They rotated the tires and charged us for checking the brakes.  They said they were fine. We chose them because most other shops in Grants Pass had either no lifts big enough for a motorhome, or a wait of weeks to months for an appointment.  Les Schwab said the brakes all checked out fine.

On the trip, the brake sounds were getting noisier than ever, and thought maybe it was blowing sand that was in the brake lining.Once we arrived here on Monday afternoon we had Dan drive the MoHo and listen. Yeah…worn out pads grinding the rotors.  Sigh.  Of course there was no one within 200 miles that could work on the brakes in less then two weeks.  Lucky us, Dan agreed to put in the pads and said that if we didn’t replace the rotor we would just have to do the job again when we get home because the pad will wear out quickly.  So we finally found pads in Loa and made the round trip to pick them up.

After breakfast, Dan started working on installing the pads.  Our plan was to get that done, and then pile into his Suzuki for the gorgeous drive over Thousand Lakes Mountain to visit the remote Cathedral Valley portion of Capitol Reef National Park. Instead, Dan worked for hours on the brakes, with problems entailed by not having the right tools.  He and Mo made two trips back to Bicknell for clamps and sockets that would fit.  Not fun.  It was mid afternoon when Dan finished the difficult job.  We also had to try to camouflage the work site because in most parks it is a rule that you not work on vehicles in the park. 

By the time everything was finished, Dan was exhausted, and we nixed the trip to Cathedral Valley.  Hence no photos from this visit to Capitol Reef and Dan and Sherry will have to return to see it. 

In case you have never been there, it is a must see that many people never bother to see.  It requires scheduling and effort.  This time we had a park notification that the Hartnet Road the crosses the Fremont River was closed.  The only access to Cathedral Valley is over Thousand Lakes Mountain.  The roads are high clearance and remote. 

I enjoyed driving on this gorgeous clear day

Traveling east through Utah on Highway 50 is pleasant enough, but not nearly as lonely and dramatic as the Nevada portions of the historic highway.  Still, there are some lovely views.  The highway crosses a large flat basin, with many large farms and ranches dotting the landscape.  Highway 50 merges with I-15 for a few miles before continuing east at Scipio.  The mountains were beautiful and crystal clear.

Once we were on Highway 24 the signs for Capitol Reef National Park were posted every few miles.  This is the main route to Capitol Reef from the west. 

We saw what appeared to be a nice rest area on the north side of the highway and were delighted to find plenty of parking for both our rigs, a beautiful view, and a nice picnic table in the shade.  However, the wind made the weather a bit nippy we didn’t linger long.

When approaching Torrey from the west on Highway 24 it is always thrilling to see the first views of Thousand Lakes Mountain.  The mountain looms from 7,000 feet, where the terrain is craggy and rugged, to alpine meadows and forests at its peak elevation of 11,306 feet.  Thousand Lakes Mountain is notably flat at the summit, which offers up expansive views of the Henry and Tushar mountain ranges, Capitol Reef National Park and the Aquarius Plateau.  When the Fremont River crossing that accesses the back roads to Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef NP, there is another way to get there.  We hope to travel across this mountain sometime during our week in Torrey to see Cathedral Valley.

The first views of red rock cliffs appear a few miles west of Torrey, and while they are beautiful, they are just a tiny taste of what we will see in the next few days as we explore the park.

Dan had made reservations for two sites at Thousand Lakes RV Park many months in advance, and even then there were no sites with full hookups with 50 amp power available.  We were assigned two great sites on the north edge of the park with a gorgeous view and 30 amp power.  We don’t have sewer at our sites, but there are two dumps in the campground. 

The park is quite nice, well maintained and clean, although the sites along this north edge are quite close together.  No matter, since our entry door is very close to our neighbor’s slide, and our neighbors happen to be Dan and Chere

The sites may be close together, but the view from the back of the sites where there are picnic tables and camp fire rings is gorgeous.

Taking Mattie for a short walk around the perimeter of the park I found this lovely desert globe mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua. Sadly, most of the open land just north of the park is privately owned and walking freely requires driving north to get to BLM land.

We settled in to our sites with plenty of time for me to prepare dinner to share at our table.  I made green chile chicken enchiladas back at home so supper was quick and easy.  Chere and I have discussed sharing responsibility for evening meals on this trip, taking turns and sometimes simply eating on our own.  The plan seems to be working well, and it is nice to have a break from dinner cooking sometimes.

It is great to have a chance to share this place with family and we are all looking forward to the next few days here in Torrey as we explore Capitol Reef National Park.

This blog has few words.  We are heading out for some time in Southern Utah red rock country.  My favorite thing.  Of course I will blog about our travels.  However, when I realized I hadn’t written a word about the time between our reunion at South Beach and our Utah departure, I thought I had better at least get something in here.  I know from past experience, when I think I am going to go back and write about some time that I missed, I almost never do.

Smoky smoky smoky.  What can I say.

Once in awhile the winds would blow the smoke away, almost.  The mountains to the north of our home weren’t often visible to us when the smoke was at its worst.

Hot summers mean cool food.  I can’t count the number of chicken cobb salads we had with the award winning Rogue Creamery blue cheese.

Kayaking this year was nearly impossible, with everything local almost empty, and we didn’t bother to try to head over the mountain to Klamath Basin because of the smoke.  Who wants to kayak in low water and smoky skies.

This is what 1 percent full at Hyatt Lake looks like

I joined a local book club.  This was our second get together, outdoors at Schmidt.  Before the big Oregon Covid delta variant surge.  We were all so optimistic about being vaccinated and beating the virus.  Ah well….it goes on, with Josephine County being the worst it has been throughout the entire pandemic. 

Check out the lovely young woman in the red shirt.  Kristin is my “newest” friend.  She reached out for a coffee date and we found we really enjoy someone new to talk to about stuff in general.  Kristin has three of the cutest little girls you could imagine, and a great husband who works at home so she can get a coffee date break every couple weeks or so.  Everyone in the group is interesting in their own way, with lots of diversity here in age and thoughts.  I am enjoying it, although the book was a bit fluffy.

Mo kept busy doing what she does, keeping up the maintenance around Sunset Hous.

Two of my daughters came to visit for an early birthday present, staying the weekend and taking me shopping to our local glass forge for some truly fabulous gifts.  Daughter Melody got in on the fun as well, with a remote purchase to add to the birthday treats.

Mo and I went to the Britt Festival to see Chicago.  Vaccinations and masks required at the outdoor venue.  It was fun, but smoky.  The music was some I don’t remember, and others that brought back memories of my kids listening to the radio in the 80’s.  It was great to get back to Britt though, more for the nostalgia than the actual event.  Mo and I have been going to Britt ever since we met.

We finally decided to add to our deck.  It required moving the plants from the herb bed I planted three years ago from 4 inch pots.

We were lucky to get Joel to do the work for us, same guy who did all the woodwork finishing in our house when we had it built almost 4 years ago.

Old deck was nice enough, but a bit too small to hold enough chairs and the bbq when we have guests

Mattie approves of the addition

Our friends from California, Nevada City, also approve.  Nickie and Jimmy stopped for an overnight on their way to the north coast. 

Yes, I stole the photos of our dinner time at the Taprock Grill.  Love enjoying the deck and view of the Rogue River.

As I said, few words and a fast post with only a few minutes until our departure time.  Edits can come later.

 

Mo has made it an important priority to get out in the MoHo at least once a month.  Weather be danged, we need to go somewhere!  Often our winter getaway begins in late January and includes a week or a month or whatever it takes to get south to the warm deserts.  We had reservations in early February for a trip to Catalina Spa, but with COVID raging in Southern California finally decided that we needed to cancel or at least delay that trip until it feels a bit safer to be traveling to that part of the world.

Site #69 at Bastendorff Beach County Park

We can stay fairly well distanced in the MoHo, but much of what we love to do in the warm deserts while near Palm Springs include dining out, spending time in the pools and the hot tub, and going to the big movie house with wine and comfy recliners.  When I called Catalina I found out that the pools are open, but the spa, restrooms, and all other facilities at the park are closed for now.  Ah well, time to figure out something to do in January since our early February trip is a bust.

Mo spent a bit of time researching coastal locations and parks and found a Coos County park near Coos Bay that sounded interesting.  When I called  Bastendorff Beach County Park the lady on the phone said we probably wouldn’t need a reservation and could waive the $12. reservation fee by just arriving, finding a caretaker, and picking a site.

We loaded up the MoHo in the rain the day before our departure, and planned once again to spend some time at the beach, in spite of the predicted rainy weather. The familiar drive north on I-5 was uneventful.  We stopped for fuel in Canyonville at Seven Feathers since they have the best price around, even less than the Love’s Truck Stop just a few miles north.  Neither of us can figure out why gas is sneaking back up again, and instead of the $2.29 we have been paying it has risen to $2.57 at our local Fred Meyer, and $2.45 at Seven Feathers.  I read some old blogs of mine recently talking about gas being close to $4. a gallon on some of our trips, so the complaint isn’t a huge one, just a bit of a surprise.

Arriving at the park right at 2PM we were a bit lost as we attempted to figure out the process of checking in.  We unhooked the baby car in the big parking lot and then saw a caretaker near the main office/garage and the mechanic took us inside to check for empty spaces. 

Lower campground area at Bastendorff Beach Park

He was surprised that the park was almost filled up beginning Friday night and we planned to stay through Saturday.  Both of us laughed when we looked at the calendar and realized that the upcoming weekend was the 3 day holiday weekend for Martin Luther King Day. We drove through the park a bit, first leaving the MoHo in his recommended site #46 with “an ocean view” before driving up the hill to a sunnier part of the park, minus the view. 

We decided on site #69, long and fairly level, with a table and a firepit in a space that looked like it got lots of sun.  That was important to me for this time at the beach, and the older sites in the lower part of the park were intensely shaded.  It didn’t help that a storm on the previous night had left lots of tree branches and debris all over the camp road, and site 46 while somewhat level was surrounded by mud.

The roads through the park are quite narrow

Settling into our spot, we were quite happy with our choice.  Within a short time we were ready to bundle up and go explore a ‘new to us’ beach.  There are a few narrow roads north of the park that wind toward Coos Head and a Coast Guard facility high on the bluff overlooking the point where the water from Coos Bay enters the ocean. 

There is a rock jetty on each side of the river, with the one by Bastendorff Beach having a paved walking path at the top of the jetty.  With high tide warnings and king tides ongoing this time of year on the Oregon Coast, we knew it wasn’t wise to walk on the jetty.

Instead, we walked down along the path that bordered the BLM off-road area that crisscrossed the sand.  There is no driving on the actual beach, but the off road section seemed quite popular.  There are also no enforced dog leash rules, in spite of what the sign said.  Someone later told me that the rules don’t apply to the hard sand portion of the beach where dogs can run at will.  We let Mattie run a tiny bit that first afternoon.

Heading back home to our cozy spot we settled in with a card game, casting a bit of live news from the phone to the TV, and enjoying a good pre-cooked chile verde supper brought from home.