CuRVWander

  Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah Here it is early May and we are at our last layover campground before arriving at our summer destination.  But it is not a brief layover, no, we're here for a solid two weeks.  There is so much to do in this part of Utah that I am not sure two weeks is going to be enough to do it all.  But we're going to give it a go. Everything within a day's drive is on our radar.  With that as a guide we are going to get to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Colorado River Scenic Drive, and shopping trips to Moab and Green River, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado.  We burned up a lot of  electrons taking pictures.  Hundreds and hundreds of photographs.  I don't have the patience and I don't think you have the tolerance to read my narration of these two weeks so I will instead make this a photo essay with a pithy comment here and there.  First post: Arches NP. The bigge...

  We've had a grand time in Colorado but it is getting time to get closer to our summer gig location, Dutch John, Utah.  We're right on schedule and will be able to do our planned stop in Thompson Springs, Utah (a tiny berg just north of Moab) and base camp there to explore the southeast portion of Utah.  Meaning Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP and Moab. But first we have to get there.  It is a heck of pull through mountain valleys, passes, switchbacks, 8% grades (both up and down) and narrow two-lanes.  Thanking my lucky stars that I was able to replace my '06 truck, Big Gulp with Chief, a '22 F-550.  Big Gulp's motor was just too tired to ever have been able to make the grade.  Chief didn't exactly make it effortlessly, I used every drop of horsepower getting up some long inclines.  With my foot on the floor I topped out some of the climbs at a mere 35mph. Besides being a little white knuckle-ish, the drive was beautiful.  I kept...

  From a very young age Cyndee has been intrigued with Puebloan dwellings, Mesa Verde in particular.  We're as close as we have ever been to Mesa Verde here in Ignacio, CO.  Our time in Colorado is drawing to a close but we are going to use every bit of the time we have left in this first week of May.  It is off to Mesa Verde and more and fulfill a childhood desire of walking where the ancients dwelled. From Ignacio it is about an hour and forty minutes to Mesa Verde.  It is a large National Park and we want to make a whole day of it so we got an early start. The drive up to the top of the plateau afforded us a four state view; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. While the view is really nice, we came for the main attraction, Puebloan dwellings.  And the park did not disappoint. These are but one of several cliff dwellings in the park. Probably the most recognizable as they get used in all  the literature and documentary TV shows. Two dimensional p...