On The Move!

 

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area Reservoir

September 18, 2023

The above pic was our last look at the reservoir before leaving Utah.  It doesn't look like it but the locals said winter could set in in a couple of weeks.  We want to be well clear of the area before that happens as we have many 8% grades and hairpin switchbacks to negotiate to exit the state.

One last hurrah was held before departures began.  All our fellow volunteers gathered at the volunteer campground's common firepit for a cookout and saying of goodbyes.  The fire ring area was so big one couldn't get everybody in in a single shot so I put a group shot of us in with fire ring pics.

The group above operated the FGNRA's visitor center, Green River boat ramps, the Swett Ranch, and Ute Mountain Firewatch Tower.  We didn't see much of each other during working hours but did do things together on off-hours.  These folks "meshed" very well, we had a great time with them.

One of our mantras since beginning full-timing is 'we don't collect things, we collect experiences'.  This summer has been one for the books.  

Six places in New Mexico

• Ft Sumner, Billy The Kid Museum
• El Bosque Redondo Memorial
• El Malpais National Monument
• El Morro National Monument
• Aztec National Monument
• Chaco Canyon National Historical Park

Three Places in Colorado

• Durango
• Silverton
• Mesa Verde National Park

Twelve places in Utah

• Arches National Park
• Sego Canyon
• Moab
• Colorado River Scenic Drive (out of Moab)
• Canyonlands, Islands In The Sky National Park
• Canyonlands, The Needles National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
• Jones Hole Fish Hatchery, US Fish and Wildlife
• Skinwalker Ranch
• Antelope Island State Park
• Great Salt Lake

We didn't go to Bryce, Zion or Pipe Spring since we had visited these parks in previous years.

Four Places in Wyoming

• Cody - Buffalo Bill Center of the West
• Yellowstone National Park
• Grand Teton National Park
• Jackson

All of the above done between the last of April and middle of September 2024.  What a whirlwind summer.

And to throw a little icing on the cake, we blew the engine on our little grocery-getter, Pepe, on our way home from Capitol Reef.  This bit of drama started late in the afternoon on May 17 while we were based in Thompson Springs, UT.  The nearest car lot was east, an hour away in Grand Junction, CO and we had to report to work, a 4.5 hr drive north of Thompson Springs on the 19th.  So a new experience for us; disposing of a lame vehicle and acquiring a replacement that had a tow package and capable of handling the weight of the cargo trailer in less than 24 hours.  No research, no shopping, just seek and purchase and pray it won't put us in the poorhouse.  Someone was looking out for us.  We had a replacement picked by 10:00am on the 18th.  After more than a couple hours paperwork we were on our way back to Thompson Springs and prepping for an early departure the next day.  While we maintain an emergency fund in our budget it was nowhere near enough to cover the purchase of a vehicle.  We had to dip into funds we were putting away for replacement of aging appliances and discretionary spending but we covered it. 

Cyndee's new rig all hitched up and ready to go 
27 hours after we knew we needed a vehicle.

But that was then (the beginning of summer) and this is now (heading to winter location).  First extended stop is to be the town in Texas where we grew up, Borger.  But the large petrochemical complex is undergoing routine turnarounds as well as some new construction.  There is not a RV pad to be had.  Contractors in RVs are stacked like cord wood for miles around.  We finally found a spot 45 miles away in Dumas.  Home of the Dumas Demons, a high school rival to our Borger Bulldogs.

We decided to exit Utah differently than we came in.  We came in from the south but we are departing by going north to Wyoming and jumping on I-80.  This route will eliminate 8% grades and narrow hairpin switchbacks.  It's more miles but less time because of the improved driving conditions.  All-in-all 864 miles that we did over a four day period.

Our Dumas campground is essentially right in the middle of town.  Neighborhoods and high school athletic fields all around us.  The park we're in looks like a converted mobile home park.

Shortly after our arrival in Dumas we were treated with 
this huge rainbow, full from side to side with a faint double.

Driving south on the east (flat) side of Colorado yielded grasshoppermagedon.
I dropped $12 at the car wash and still had to take it home and do individual
spot cleaning for over an hour.

We arrived in Dumas the weekend of September 23rd and have a week or more of things to take care of in Borger before we head east for the long trek to North Carolina.