Steve's Blog Review - 2012 PART 3 of 4

2012 Blog Review Part 3 of 4

If you missed my 2010-2012 Part 2 Blog Reviews go to the header at the top of the page

September 17th-24th

2012 RV Dreams Rally at River Bend Resort in Harrisburg, Oregon

I wish we had the opportunity to attend one of these rally's before we started full timing. It would have saved us a lot of money. We've always been campers but never RV'ers. It was educational on all aspects of RVing from maintenance to lifestyle. We made new lifelong friends and had a lot of fun!

We lucked out and got parked next to our hosts Howard and Linda...

They had a nice sitting area with a firepit next to the Willamette River...

Dianne and Rose working the registration table...

Our rally hosts Howard and Linda Payne...

They even had guest speakers one of which was Greg from AM Solar Inc

After our dinner we played games or had show and tell. Here 2 tea bags are taped to a baseball cap and you had to swing the bags up so they landed on the brim and stay there. Not easy to do. I'm second from the right...

One evening we had a potluck dinner...

Guaranty RV had offered to do minor repairs for just the cost of the parts. We all attended their RV 101 seminar on batteries and black tanks at their facility. They also threw us a BBQ...

We had the opportunity to go to their driving course if you wanted to drive a Class A motor home, truck and 5th wheel, or truck and travel trailer. Some attendees still didn't have an RV so this was great for them especially. Then they had a social hour with beer, wine, cheese and cold cuts. 

Everyone got colourful RV themed shirts. Dianne with some of the other gals...

With Howard and Linda...

After a catered Italian dinner we had a 70's themed party. Many of us didn't have anything from the 70's to wear but Howard got right into it!

Some of you may recognize these faces that have become lifelong friends...

Sherry and Jessie...sadly Jessie has since passed away... 

Harry and Vicki...

Dave and Diane...

Bob and Karen...

Allen and Donna...

Campfire story time...

After a farewell breakfast Howard and Linda were weighing rigs. They did our truck and trailer. 

Those of us that had appointments at Guaranty RV drove to their facility. After dinner I pulled out our propane fire pit and we had a small gathering...

I had learned from AM Solar's talk at the rally that Camping World had undersold me on my my system so we had an appointment to add onto it. They aren't cheap but are a leader in their field.

We went from a 246 watt system to a 446 system. Unfortunately for us dollar wise the system installed by Camping World wasn't expandable so everything had to be redone...wiring, controller and display panel!! This is when I learned to go to the professionals that are experienced in their field...not the jack of all trades RV Dealerships...IMHO :)

 

October 1st-7th

On a travel day we passed by this antler covered driveway entrance to a private residence. (I think Jim and Barb should start on one of these with the antlers they found.)

We stopped for a lunch break at an abandoned cattle ranch on US Route 50...

US Route 50 is also known as The Loneliest Road in America. No cell service and at times we wouldn't see another vehicle for 20-30 minutes...a very eerie feeling. 

Our destination was Castle Rock Campground at Fremont Indian State Park, Utah. We wanted to ride some of the Paiute ATV Trails that consists of a 275 mile loop trail, and approximately 2500 miles in total of interconnecting trails and roads. You are able to ride into several small towns for gas, restaurants and lodging if you wish. This is just like the Hatfield McCoy Trail system we rode in W. Virginia in 2010.

We rode our quads to the Visitor Center and Museum

Reconstruction from skeletal remains of a Fremont Indian girl in her teens... 

We did a short walk to the Parade of Rock Art...

We began exploring the trails...

Great views!

With fall in the air the morning temperatures were 32F/0C but the colours were spectacular...

We explored some of the structures at the Silver King Mine (1894)

I spotted a bunch of white objects across the valley...

A herd of Mountain Sheep. I was very impressed with the zoom on my Canon Power Shot point and shoot camera!

We ended up above the treeline at 11,480' where it was very cold and windy...

We turned around down below and headed back...

The whole area is extremely scenic!

Paiute South Side Web Album 

We explored these rock formations...

We checked out more petroglyph's. This is how the ancient people used to blog...LOL!

We hiked the trail from the Visitor Center. This is the entrance to a Pit House...

Reconstruction of a grainery up the hill. A trail goes up to it...

Modern meditation circle...

Castle Rock Campground is over 6000' in elevation so we found ourselves easily winded when we first arrived...

Exploring the north side of the Paiute Trail. Very different scenery but still beautiful!

We explored the old mining town of Kimberly...

We had no idea that this day was the opening season of the Elk Hunt. We passed this hunter earlier and saw the Elk he had harvested earlier in the morning. We saw lots of red vests that day!

Here comes Dianne! On the Black Trail...most difficult...but not really...

We saw a total of 6 deer on this ride...

What an awesome place to camp and explore!

North Side Paiute Trail Web Album

October 8th-10th

Not wanting to tempt fate driving thru this arch we decided to stay at the Red Canyon RV Park, near Panquitch, UT.  We were hoping to stay at one of the campgrounds at Bryce Canyon... 

We've seen many beautiful areas in our 10 plus years on the road but Bryce Canyon is still our favourite. 

The views during our hikes were absolutely stunning!

Many of these structures have names but we never made note of them...

No matter where you look no two views are the same...

Warning...lots of very beautiful photos :)

Hike Web Album

We drove to the end of the road and worked our way back checking out the various viewpoints.

Natural Bridge

We went to explore Old Bryce Town but most of the shops were closed...

We did a half day trail ride thru Bryce Canyon. Dianne riding Lucky Strike...

For the most part the ride followed different trails than the hiking trails so the views were different...

My mule, yes I got one of the few mules in our group. It stumbled slightly a few times which kicked in my pucker factor because many of these animals tended to walk on the outside of the trail. Don't know if it's true but I heard they tend to do this so they can keep an eye out for predators above them...makes sense!

If you're not a hiker or have mobility issues this is an awesome way to see Bryce Canyon!

Warning...lots more very beautiful photos :)

Trail Ride Web Album

Me and my trusted stead Keystone...what a blast!

October 11th-13th

We tried to get a campsite at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park but wouldn't fit in the two sites that were available. That was okay because we noticed on the way in they had a huge OHV staging area where we could camp for free and ride our quads to the dunes.

We paid our $6 park entrance fee to check out the dune trails...

Some 4 wheelers were out riding the dunes. This is the tallest dune at 100'...

Here comes Dianne...

I'm standing at the top of the 100' dune. Follow Dianne's track below in the distance...

Come on Dianne...it's only sand! But nope...not doing it so she went around. This was our first time riding in dunes. I had a blast but Dianne didn't care for it...

October 14th-21st

We had stopped at the BLM Visitor Center at Big Water and were told about Lone Rock Beach Campground on Lake Powell near Page, AZ

There's an upper area to camp or a much larger area on the beach...

Of course we chose the beach...

Lone Rock Utah is almost on the border with Arizona. You have to cross the Colorado River on a bridge next to the Glen Canyon Dam to get to Page. We got groceries and did a little exploring along the Loop Drive then to the Scenic View Drive where we got a good view of the dam. 

I offloaded the boat and we toured the lake...this is Lone Rock...

With the damming of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon there are some really cool inlets to explore... 

This was very cool but with no flushing action the surface of the water was quite scummy with debris...

Not being able to see the bottom I eventually had to use the oars instead of the motor. Eventually it got too narrow to continue. More photos on the blog :)

We went to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center to take the tour of the Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell...

I walked to the middle of the bridge to get this shot of the Colorado River. Note the rafts below left that you can take a tour on...

The bridge next to the dam...

Back at camp a dinner cruise boat sailed by...

We went to the Lake Powell Resort and Marina for their Canyon Adventure Boat Tour We forgot about the time difference between Utah and Arizona so were an hour early, which forced us to have a drink in the lounge...LOL!

 

On the way there we stopped at the Wahweap Bay Scenic Outlook. There's a marina and campground there.

All aboard!

We headed to Antelope Canyon...

We cruised by some very high end house boats at Antelope Marina. That first one has 3 jet skis parked on it's stern...

Navajo Tapestry Wall. It was a great scenic day out on the water!

I offloaded our quads and we explored the area. Dianne coming up the hill...

Dianne again...

We played around in a high banked trail similar to a figure 8. I played so long going around and around that I felt sick for a couple of hours after. I never did well on a merry-go-round as a kid either...LOL!

Dianne...

Me...

Dianne taking in the beauty of the area...

Sunset. It was so nice to have the boat and quads to play with here!

We headed out in the boat and explored a little further down the lake...

Lone Rock has become a favourite stop...

That's a wrap of my 2012 Blog Review Part 3 of 4