Salt Lake City, Antelope Island, and the Great Salt Lake

Thursday we left Moab and drove 191 into Utah. Canyon drives, curvy roads, lot's of sagebrush, and tumbleweeds. We ate lunch at a Walmart and picked up supplies. We have found that the state park reservations office are of no help while planning each day. If you call the park itself or the lady at the booth, they are really in charge. We camped at Antelope Island SP in Syracuse UT. It is in the Great Salt Lake and they have reintroduced Buffalo, Elk, and Longhorn Sheep. We drove the island road and toured the Fielding Garr Ranch which is a historic sheep ranch. Afterwards we drove back Salt Lake City to tour the Tabernacle and watch the choir practice. The large Tabernacle is under construction, but we got to see the rest. The Morman's give us the tour of the conference center and we ate dinner at the mall. After the choir practice we drove by the Utah State capital building and pulled over on the side of the road to watch the sunset. A couple of Elk walked out on the hill beside us. As we sat out that night we heard the coyote's and owl.

Pictures:

Arches NP, Canyonlands NS, and Portal RV resort

Tuesday August 13th we headed West again. After getting into Utah we took 128 to Moab. It is a scenic hwy following the Colorado river. Saw some antelope. We ate lunch at Dewey Bridge campground. Very beautiful. We camped at Portal RV resort. We headed to Arches National Park and hiked the three mile trail to Delicate Arch. After dinner we went back and hiked the Windows and Double Arch.

Wednesday August 14th we started at the Canyonlands National Park after we did some shopping. We had to be back at Arches by noon so this was a quick car trip. We did see all the overlooks except the Grand View Point overlook which was closed. Then we headed back to the Arches NP. We hiked back to the Landscape arch and saw all the other arches on the way back. Went to the campground to hike those arches and then all the arches on the drive back out of the park. We finally made it to the Park Avenue Viewpoint as well. Made for a long hot day.

Pictures:

Glenwood Canyon and Rifle Falls SP

Monday August 12th we headed West again. We took 70 through Vail Pass and had lunch in Eagle. They had a museum and other buildings at the visitor center. We drove through the Glenwood Canyon which was really cool and then camped North of Rifle at the Rifle Falls SP. It is a very clean and fun place to stay. Beautiful falls and caves. We went over to Rifle Gap SP and swam in the reservoir. We got to see Long Horn sheep and turkeys in the area.

Pictures:

Marjorie's in Colorado

Thursday August 8th we headed West. The winds were blowing hard so we didn't make good time or gas mileage. When we got to Colorado there were a couple of DOT trucks that were used as pace cars for a while slowing down traffic on the Interstate. We still don't know why. When we got to Marjorie's in Denver we parked in her driveway. We did a walk around Sloan Lake and ate at Edgewater Public Market.

Friday August 9th we started the day out with a wildflower hike. We drove to Green Ranch where Holly the ranger led us on a three mile hike pointing out all the flowers. This was in an area of the park that was not open to the public. We saw a couple of coyotes and some rabbits, but were hoping to see some Elk and Moose. After the hike we stopped at the Golden Gate Canyon Visitor Center and ate our lunch. Then we drove back and did a hike up North Table Mountain Park. Steep climb, but great views. We climbed up to Lichen Peak. On the way down we had some rangers visit us and let us know that we needed to keep Zeplin on a leash at all times. That night Marjorie showed us her recovery leg massager's.

Saturday August 10th we did a tour of Golden. They were having a Art Fair and Farmers Market going on. We walked all along the river seeing the Coors Brewing company, campground, and businesses. We ate lunch at the Golden Mill. After that we got the kayaks and headed to Bear Creek Lake where we did some paddling until the storm came in and ran us off.

Sunday August 11th we went back to Golden Gate Canyon SP and hiked the Raccoon trail up to the overlook. We got to eat raspberries and strawberries on the trail. We ate lunch at the parking lot and then drove down to see the Red Rocks Amphitheatre where Sammy Hagar was playing that night. Really cool rock formations all around.

Pictures:

Budweiser's Warm Springs Farm

Wednesday August 7th we went to the Budweiser's Warm Springs Farm in Boonville. We had to argue a little, but they let us join a tour about how the Clydesdale horses were bred and trained. Really cool adventure. We drove on after that to Wilson Kansas to get some fuel and see the big egg we found on Roadside America. After that we checked in at the Wilson SP for the night. We hiked around the campground a bit. They have a nice lake and it is a clean campground.

Pictures:

Tuesday August 6th we got up and hiked to the Hawk's Cave trail and did the one mile loop. Very pretty rock walls. We got to see some deer. Our next stop was St. Louis Missouri for a tour of the Gateway Arch National Park. We did the museum and hiked around the arch. We drove on to New Franklin and stayed at Katy Roundhouse Campground. Another great campground. We got to see an owl and a fox in the campground.

Pictures:

Ferne Clyffe State Park

We decided to spend some time with the grandbabies in Oregon this summer and decided to drive. We left on Monday August 5th. We drove through TN, KY, and into Illinois staying at Ferne Clyffe SP for the night. Really nice campground. It was crazy hot but hiked along the Bluff and saw the sunset.  

Tuesday August 6th we got up and hiked to the Hawk's Cave trail and did the one mile loop. Very pretty rock walls. We got to see some deer.

Pictures:

Short Springs/Old Stone Fort TTA

I joined the Clarksville TTA for this hike to see waterfalls. 14 hikers led by Terry had a great day at this beautiful SNA. Machine Falls was flowing well and lots of people were there enjoying the water on a hot day. We hiked to Upper and Lower Busby Falls and Adams Falls and Laurel Bluff Loop. It started raining as we were heading out to the parking lot. Some of the group stopped at Rutledge Falls. I was going to stop but the parking area was packed. We regrouped at a local BBQ restaurant for lunch. Then five of us went on the Old Stone Fort SP and hiked the Enclosure Trail, about 1.3 miles. 

Pictures from Hike Clarksville FB page

Pictures:

North Chick TTA

 

We got a late start on the trail because the CTC website said the gate at North Chick opened at 9. Scenic City starts their hikes at 7:30 in the summer. So it was already getting really warm. The Ranger at the parking lot said the gate opens at 7. Oh well. We got started with Tammy leading. Upper Hogskin Loop to the main trail. It was getting hot as we got out by the sunny bluff walls. We made it to the wooden steps, and 4 of us decided we'd had enough, the others bravely kept going. Too hot for me.

Pictures:

Michigan 2024

This year we had some last minute changes this year. We lost our Aunt, age 90, so we had a funeral to attend. We took Dad and Mom with us and headed North. Our first stop was Lake Loramie State Park in Minster Ohio. We have stayed here twice before. It is a nice park on a lake. From there we headed to my brothers house in Lowell. We did the visitation thing and funeral on Thursday and Friday. Saturday we hung out with family at my brothers. Sunday we went to Lake Michigan for the day. Monday we visited my brothers vet clinic and got some jobs done around the house. 

Tuesday we headed North to Elk Lake in Gladwin to visit my Aunt and Uncle. We got some projects done around the house and watched some fireworks. Wednesday was more of the same. Thursday we participated in the 4th of July boat parade. 28 boats doing laps around the lake. One had a good stereo system, one had a bubble machine, one was throwing out oreo cookies, and one was throwing out hotdogs. After the parade we were invited into a home to hear a concert with some singing, piano playing and violin playing. Later that evening was another concert on the lake followed by fireworks.

Sunday we got to visit with my sister and her husbands family. His dad passed away that night.

We headed back South on Monday and stayed at the Wright Patterson Famcamp for the night. Made it back home Tuesday night.

Pictures: