Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Ha! The Next Big Thing is kind of whatever you make it to be, yes?
It is Day 17 of the 100-day road trip, and it is another beautiful day! I am at Zion National Park. There was a strong breeze again all night. I left windows open in the van, which helped cool things down comfortably. It was 62 inside the van this morning. Yesterday was a hot day, with a high of 89, but with the low humidity it was not uncomfortable. Still, it does get hot inside the van. I had gone for a bike ride, and when I returned around 3PM, it was 94 inside the van. That is actually pretty good overall, and I credit the insulating window coverings that fit snuggly on every window.
Still, 94 is too hot to sit in the van. I cooked outside, as have done for years tent camping, using my Coleman stove with propane. Having a van is great for a number of reasons, but I don’t want to move away from some tried and true fun things completely, like cooking on that stove, having campfires, and sleeping under the stars with or without a tent, depending on the weather and location. These are some things that are just plain good fun that instill a closeness with nature through camping.
I have been remis in my posting of activities of the past 2+ weeks: places I have been, activities I have done, and the people I have seen and spent time with in my travel adventure. I am writing today to summarize this recent time period. I am sitting in my van, in the parking lot at Zion, and I plan to write most of the day, though I will probably do a short hike at some point. After this summary, I will write about some of my activities in individual posts, and I’ll include photos along with them. In the interests of moving along, I may not write too much.
There is one other issue that could hold up progress, lack of internet access. Even using my phone here at Zion as a hotspot seems problematic, as most of the time the phone shows 4G, 3G, or nothing.
I picked up my new van Monday, October 1, at Contravans in Commerce City, Colorado.
I drove up to Louisville, stopping to see Liz Rucker. Liz and I met working at the Harvest Restaurant and Bakery in Boulder in 1989, and we have kept in touch over the years. I have stayed with Liz a few times on recent trips to Colorado. She is a fantastic person.
From there I went to Longmont, where I stayed at Boulder County Fairgrounds Campground for four nights (10/2-10/5). I used this time to test out all the features and equipment of the van locally, before embarking on the wonderfully long road trip I planned. I also made several trips to Walmart and Target to acquire things I needed, such as several storage bins to utilize in organizing my cloths and equipment. Also while in Longmont, I did bike rides on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And, I went to my first every Barrel Race event at the Fairgrounds on Wednesday night. I was amazed at the acceleration, speed, and agility of the horses, as well as the ability of the women to guide them.
On Friday and Saturday (10/6-10/7), I moved up into the mountains outside of Boulder, staying with my friends Sue & Jim. I met Sue in 1984 on my first trip to Colorado, and I met Jim, after he came into Sue’s life, in 1988 on another trip there. They are a welcoming, adventurous individuals.
On Sunday (10/8) I drove to Salida, Colorado and stay with Robin and Zack. I had gone to school with Robin’s sister, Karen, and I knew Robin as Karen’s younger sister (like 15 years younger). I had not seen Robin, we figured, for something like 45 years, when she was around 7 and I was 22! We had an amazing visit. She and Zack are big into outdoors, camping, and bike riding, among other things altruistically good. We had a great time.
On Monday (10/9) I drove to Santa Fe and stayed at Hyde Memorial State Park, about ten miles outside of town. I had planned to go to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, but there were no tickets available for Tuesday, and there were no tickets available to visit her home for the next three weeks! Lesson learned, reserve well ahead of time.
On Tuesday (10/10) I drove to Petrified Forest National Park, near Holbrook, Arizona. I stayed there three nights (10/10-10/12). I did the most amazing bike rides and hikes! Had fantastic experiences. The park road goes 28 miles end to end. It has good pavement, and there was very little traffic. The panoramic views riding this road are phenomenal. I did hikes at Long Logs & Agate House (built with petrified wood), Crystal Forest, and Blue Mesa. They were fantastically mind-bending! The colors of the ”wood” and the layered landscape, was well as the spacious solitude imparted by the land.
On Friday evening (10/13), I drove to Cameron, Arizona. I stayed at the Cameron Trading Post RV Campground. There was an amazing sunset as I drove along I-40!
On Saturday morning (10/14), I drove to Page, Arizona, where I watched the Annular Solar Eclipse! It was fantastic. I visited Glen Canyon Dam, then drove a fantastic Route 89 to Kanab, Utah, where I spent the night at the “Kanab RV Corral.”
On Sunday morning (10/15) I rose early and drove to Zion National Park, arriving 7:30, early enough to obtain a parking spot. I am staying here three nights (10/15-10/17). I did the Angel’s Landing hike on Sunday and rode my bike up/down Zion Canyon twice on Monday.
Today is Tuesday, so I’ll be here tonight, and I am thinking I’ll go to Bryce Canyon National Park tomorrow morning for at least one night. I also want to go to Great Basin National Park a few nights, before hitting Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, where I have a reservation for four nights, 10/24-27.
On to the Next Big Thing ....
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