"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"-MARK TWAIN

Sunday, December 27, 2020

It's Almost Gone!!



2020, that is. Thankfully, the year, with all its headaches, will be history in just a few more days.  In all my years, I remember nothing to compare it to.  The Kennedy assassination, the civil rights and vietnam war demonstrations, the gasoline shortage,  9-11; nothing compares to what our Country has experienced in 2020.

 

 It was a year full of promise as far as travels were concerned.  There were trips after trips planned from January till October.  A herniated disc put the Arizona trip of January and February in the can.  We did attend a small gathering in Alabama the third week of March. Life was getting better.  Word was of some virus from China making its appearance in the USA. 

Just a few weeks later the Country is in lock-down.  Shortages of basic items, and threats of more.  Reservations cancelled as I prepared a garden.  At least we'll have something to eat.

We ran away from home the month of August, and once again in October.  Social distancing was actually easier on the road than at home.  Since October, we've been close to home, visiting only with family and our close neighbor.

Now that 2021 is just a few days away, we are planning to start it off on the right track.  I received word there aren't many folks hanging out in the Southwest this Winter.   Social distancing shouldn't be a problem.  


 As the sun sets on 2020,  may the year 2021 be the light at the end of the tunnel for everyone. 

.......jc
 



Friday, October 30, 2020

Almost November!!!

 September 4th.  The date of my last blog.  I guess that says something about how exciting the past two months have been for us.  Routine doctor's appointments, dodging three hurricanes, cleaning up minor debris after two of them; not much to blog about.  Thankfully, we are still dodging the Covid mess the best we can, while still trying to live a near normal life.

Three weeks after getting back home I was heading back to Colorado.  Brother had closed the deal on a mountain cabin north of Craig, and we went to do a little remodeling on it before Winter arrived.  Two long days driving/riding to get there.  I'm getting too old for that.  We tore out some stuff,  rearranged some space to add two bedrooms and a bath, and put in the plumbing.  We had beautiful weather all week and the Aspens were showing off.  

Eight days later we were back home.  From that time till last week, not much happened exciting enough to talk about. We did get our votes in early.

We are part of a small group of friends that meet together each October.  We all met because we own molded fiberglass trailers.  Not just Casita's, but Oliver's, Scamp's, and Escapes.  That "fiberglass cult", as we are known by some.😀 

Anyway, we camp together for a week each October in different areas of the Southeast.  We've spent a week in Savannah, along with many Alabama and Georgia state parks.  Last year we agreed to visit Natchez, Mississippi for the week.  12 trailers, 23 folks; we all met at Riverview RV park in Vidalia, LA for a week.  South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi were represented. Missed our Tennessee friends.  There was nothing planned such as potlucks or eating out in a large group.  It was all free range.  Do what you want, with the folks you want.  Everyone appeared to have a great time. Touring the big homes, historic walking tours around the area, and enjoying the food.  Even had a hot air balloon festival going on. We had beautiful weather till the last day when rain arrived.

We watched as everyone prepared to leave on Sunday morning.  Sad to see everyone go. Some we possibly won't see again till next October.  The location has already been picked, and reservations made.  Hopefully, we all will be there, again.

I had a number of edited photos which I planned to add to this blog.  With the new Blogger, it appears that I can't easily add them from my computer, anymore.  The couple that I was able to download, I couldn't place where I wanted.  Due to that, along with the fact we aren't traveling like we used to, this very well could be the last Eggrollings  I cherish all the friends and acquaintances that we've met through the years which were a result of this blog.  Most of you are now friends on facebook, so you've seen all this, anyway. 

I'm not going away. If you take the time to post a blog, rest assured I'll be reading it.



It's been a good run; 2011-2020.....jc










Friday, September 4, 2020

August!!..

We departed Yellowstone before 7 AM on Sunday, August 9th.  Two days before our scheduled departure date.  Yellowstone wasn't a fun place to be for us. 

 
Our destination was Gros Ventre campground in Grand Teton national park.  We had been advised by a friend to get there early if we wanted to secure a site.  We pulled in shortly after 9 AM and were sixth or seventh in line.  After a short wait we were assigned a site.  A perfect match for us.  A paved back-in, morning through mid-day sun, evening shade, room for the Clam, etc.  We had friends already there from Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  We spent eight wonderful days doing little but cruising the backroads and visiting with our friends.  We saw Elk, a grizzly with cubs, moose and deer in the campground, and numerous smaller animals.  The Tetons were crowded also, with the campground filling each day by noon.  We went to Jackson twice for groceries, and traffic there was unbelievable for that small town.  Temperatures there were from the 40's to mid 70's.


From the Teton's, we dropped down to Craig, Colorado for a couple of days.  My brother and nephew were doing some real estate dealings there, and needed a third opinion.  It's alway fun to spend someone elses money.


Then it was on to the summit of Rabit Ears Pass, East of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  We lucked out again and managed to get a site in a NFS campground named Demont Lake.  Elevation 9500 feet.  A beautiful Alpine landscape.  We spent two nights there while I did a little hiking.


From there we moved South of I-70, and found ourselves seeing smoke in all directions from the forest fires.  We spent three nights along the Taylor River north of Gunnison, then moved to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP for two more nights.  Smoke concealed the mountains and filled Black Canyon.
While in the Gunnison area, we had a change of plans.  We were tired of the smoke, and checked our options.  Capitol Reef NP is one of our most favorite places in all the West.  The campground there is now all reservation, but we got lucky and reserved two nights there.  We were able to add a third by switching sites after the second day.  We have always wanted to visit when some of the fruit was ripe for picking.  Only a pear orchard was open, but we picked a couple of pounds.  Donations of $1.00 per pound requested.


We met some friends from home while there, and showed them some of the beautiful back country surrounding the park.  I'm not sure I'll ever get all the dust from the cab of my truck.
We had originally planed to be gone from home till after Labor Day, but while at Capitol Reef we both decided that it was time to go.  There wasn't any other locations that we desired to visit.  We spent Saturday night, the 29th, in Blanding, Utah. From there it was Del Norte, CO; Lakin, KS;  Joplin, MO;  Little Rock, AR; and home.


Some pictures are included below, but thanks to Blogger, they're in no particular order.





















Spent today cleaning the trailer inside and out, and unloading the truck.  94 degrees and 57% humidity.  We're still glad to be home......jc

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Madness of it All

 We departed Vedauwoo campground around 8:30 AM on Sunday morning.  Stopped by the Territorial prison in Laramie for a dump and water.  They ask for a contribution of $10.00 with an iron ranger.  From there we traveled I-80 westward to Rawlins, then northwest up 287 toward Lander, Wyoming.  We had word that the city park in Lander was ok for an overnight.  We arrived around 1 PM and found a couple of rv's already there.  A gravel parking lot between a nice park with green grass, and the Popo Agie river.  A few picnic tables scatted around.  We picked a spot close to one of the tables with grass for Sally to roll around in.  Later,  Wanda said we should order a pizza, and that's what we did.  It took a few minutes to convince the young man at Pizza Hut that we were in a camper in the park, but he finally came on board.  Forty five minutes later the driver arrives with a fresh hot pizza.  She departed a happier person, and we enjoyed every bite. 

 We were early leaving Lander on Monday morning.  On the road by 6 AM.  We wanted to get a USFS campsite somewhere along the Shoshone River  between Cody, WY and the East gate of Yellowstone. A quick stop at McDonalds in Lander for coffee and biscuits,  and a longer stop at Walmart in Cody, had us traveling along the Shoshone River Westward around noon.  I had picked Wapiti campground as a target because it was about halfway between Cody and the park, and it had some sites with electric hookups.  We pulled into the campground and took a right onto the electric loop. Appeared all sites were taken when we noticed a guy trying to flag us down.  He said that he was scheduled to leave the next day, but was departing early, and we could have his site if we could wait about 10 minutes.  He said it was already paid for and we would have it for free.  We thanked him profusely, and were so grateful for our luck that we went and paid for the site again for the night.  

 

 

We were really glad we had electric hookups as it was very warm during the afternoon and early evening.  Actually ran the air conditioner till around midnight or so.  After a quick breakfast we entered the park around 9 AM.  Traffic through the East gate wasn't too bad and we quickly made our way to Fishing Bridge, and the junction with the Loop Road.  That's where things really picked up.  Lots and lots of traffic.  Every wayside we passed was overflowing with cars, trucks, and rv's of different sizes and shapes.  People, some masked, some not, were everywhere.  Reminded me of ants scrambling around.  With a buffalo jam or two, it took us over two hours from Fishing Bridge to Canyon, then to Madison campground.

 

Now here's a really wierd thing.  One doesn't reserve a particular site in Yellowstone.  You input the size of whatever you're camping in, along with your vehicle, when making a reservation, and you get assigned a site when you arrive.  This is our third time in 11 years to be in Madison campground, and have had the same site assigned all three times.  A wonderful little pull-thru at the back of C loop.  Out of nearly two hundred rv sites in the campground, what do you think the odds are of that happening?
With the crowds like they were, we decided that we wouldn't even attempt to ride around the park.  We've been here numerous times before, with and without the Casita,  and seen and done the normal tourist things.  

On Wednesday we made a day trip over into Montana, and the town of Virginia City.  A beautiful drive down the Madison River gorge, and out into the wide open Madison River Valley.  We stumbled upon Earthquake Lake and the USFS visitor center dedicated to the site.  Back in August of 1959, around 11 PM, there was an earthquake underneath Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone.  This triggered a massive landslide near the very end of the gorge. Half a mountain on the move.  Millions and millions of tons of earth and rock came tumbling down into the river gorge,  wiping away farms, camps, and campgrounds.  If memory serves me correctly, there  were fourteen people buried in the rubble whose bodies were never recovered.  One information board said that enough material was moved that night to build a highway 30 feet wide and three feet thick from there to New York City.  Very interesting, though sad.

 

 

 

 

The town of Virginia City appears frozen in time from the 1870's.  Most every building still looks the same on the outside, and has historical displays of the area inside.  The entire town is a national Historic site.  There were a couple of small restaurants and ice cream parlors but for the most part it all was "old".  I took a few pictures, but it was midday, and hot.  Sally wasn't enjoying the wooden sidewalks, so we only spent a short time there.  The ride there and back made the trip worthwhile.









 

Back to Yellowstone, itself.  Lots and lots of people.  We can hear the traffic from and to West Yellowstone from the campground.  You'll hear the first vehicles entering the park around 5 AM.  It builds all morning till by 9 AM, it's a constant sound.  It slows around noon, and then about 3 PM it reverses.  We;ve made two early morning excursions; one toward the Lamar Valley, and another toward the Old Faithful area.  We were out of the campground by 6:30 AM and never made it past halfway of the Lamar Valley before giving up and turning around. Took us till noon to get back to the campground.  Another day we did the same toward Old Faithful.  We walked a couple of the geyser basins, checked email and phone calls, and were back at the campground by 10 or so.  
Tomorrow, Saturday, we're doing laundry and packing up.  Though we were scheduled to stay here till Tuesday, it's no fun.  Sunday, we're on the road.   The most entertaining thing we've found so far in the park is watching all the folks arriving at the campground each evening.  Most stay only one night, many can't back their car, much less an RV, into a back-in site, and they have waayyy too much "stuff".  The campground ranger spends most of her time telling them to park on the asphalt, put away their clothes and dish's, and turn off that darn generator after 8 PM.