Route 163 - Bluff Utah to Monument Valley

 

 

While I was headed to Monument Valley the other day, it took me way longer than it should have to get there.  Only because the scenery was so amazing.  I had to stop to take photos, as you can see everyone else doing just that.  Enjoy the trip!

 

  

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Monument Valley

 

Monument Valley is another site in the middle of nowhere, on Navajo Indian land.  Most of it is in Arizona almost on the border, but I came down from southern Utah to tour it. 

 

 

There isn't a way to show how absolutely huge these rock formations are - just know that they are as large as multi-story buildings.  Some of them are as large as sprawling office complexes.  The one shown at the top is a butte.  Larger ones are called a mesa, because they're mostly flat on top and cover more territory.  It's also difficult to get good pictures of the ones far away, it seems like it was hazy the day I was there.

 

 

The monuments are accessed by a 17 mile road and I use the term very loosely.  It is more like a large hard-packed dirt path filled with rocks, mud holes full of water and ruts.  Some vehicles are not allowed on the road - including RVs, motorcycles and low cars (such as a Corvette) - and there's a good reason for that.

 

 

There have been movies made in the area, most notably a John Wayne flick called Stagecoach.  I'm not sure if it was filmed in this park, or outside.  Not all of the amazing formations are reached by the park road.

 

 

There are more photos below - just keep thinking - big buildings!

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

Classic Car Show - Cortez, Colorado

 

The town of Cortez, Colorado isn't very big, but they put on a pretty good classic car show. I've been to quite a few shows and I actually saw something there that I haven't seen anywhere else. The photo above and the two below are a 1942 Lincoln Continental. The owner has restored it, but instead of keeping to the original design, he has made the hood hinge at the front and the trunk is hinged from one side. The car doors have been changed to suicide doors. It was beautifully done, but I think I would have preferred it to be original as much as possible, especially since he said there were less than 200 built that year. He said it took him about 20 years to restore it.

This next car is interesting, especially the bullet holes, you can see them on the passenger windshield and above the door.

This Studebaker was in great condition and is interesting because it was the last of its kind to be built in 1963, and the plant was closed the day after this one came off the line. There were only 46 of these built during that year and this one is claiming only 48,000 original miles.

 

This next one is something I've never seen at a car show......
 

 

There were quite a few Mustangs, a VW, street rods and muscle cars. Below are a few that caught my eye - some of which would cause me to revive my dormant lead foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

McPhee Reservoir, Colorado

I wish I could say that the above photo was the scene out my window, but it's only a short walk away. I've been camping at McPhee Reservoir, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campground just outside Dolores, Colorado. Campsites are mostly without hookups, but there are some with electrical hookups.  There are water faucets throughout the park with water that actually tastes OK, a good change from Arizona. 

I have seen lots of jackrabbits and little cotton tails here as well as deer, including some little fawns.  And, of course, hummingbirds.

 

There are hiking trails that overlook parts of the reservoir, which is actually a river but looks like a lake.

 

 

It's close to some sites such as Hovenweep National Monument and The Canyons of the Ancients National Monuments, both of which include pueblo ruins. It's also close to two small towns which have activities of their own.  Plus, they have great libraries for internet.

 

Campfires!

 

One of the best things about boondocking (living without hookups in your RV) is the campfires you're allowed to have in those areas. Most RV parks will not allow campfires, although I have been in a rare few where they've had a group campfire area. Most of the RV parks have the sites spaced too close together anyway, it would be dangerous to have a campfire.

A few weeks ago I was camped with 2 other solo female RVers in the National Forest near Durango - almost 9000' elevation. We had a heck of a time getting the fires to burn as they should. We had a nice large metal fire ring that was probably over a foot tall, with a grill we could flip on or not. We finally decided that the lack of oxygen at that elevation was partly the cause. Nevertheless, we had a campfire almost every night - with marshmallows!

I have since moved to another National Forest campground and have made a few campfires here, at 7000' elevation. I do believe I've had an easier time getting it to start burning and to continue burning without alot of fanning and adding kindling. The fire ring here is the strangest one I've ever seen. It's shallow and small, with the back half permanently covered with a metal lid, from which you can flip a grill down over the front half. It's not conducive to having a nice full fire, but I've been cooking on it a few times. I guess I should try some baked potatoes and corn on the cob in the back half that never gets any air, but probably retains lots of heat.

I never eat hot dogs except when I can put them on a long fork and toast them over an open campfire. Same thing with marshmallows - I will never eat a raw one (except the tiny ones in ambrosia salad), and you can't get me to eat that white stuff in a jar.  Do they still make that?  But, get one on a long stick over the fire - just lightly toasted - perfect. I have been toasting the new square ones lately - they're easy to toast and you can pull off the first crusted shell and toast what's left. They are much more manageable than the giant round ones I tried last spring.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of setup my next site will have. 

 

Disclaimer - photos done with cell phone.

 

Hovenweep National Monument

The name Hovenweep is a Ute Indian word meaning "deserted valley", which it now is. This area of puebloan ruins is way out in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything but farmland. The trip was through rollling fields of crops growing and other crops being harvested, not to mention some really rough cattle guards - rough enough to require warning signs.

During the 2 mile hike to see the ruins, I went down into the canyon to the other side and around the rim where I could view numerous buildings that had made up the village.

The ruins of this area are mostly built around the rim of a canyon, with some inside the canyon. For some reason, these people built towers, both square and round, with multiple stories. These towers have multiple little square openings, smaller than windows, as if they were lookouts for invaders. It is not really known what these openings were used for, but they do look over a large empty stretch of land on each side.

 

The square tower is about two stories and was constructed down in the canyon.  It has the same small holes, but if they were used for lookouts for enemies, they wouldn't see much inside the canyon.

 

Other structures include larger openings, obviously windows and doors.

The twin towers have one flat wall, the rest of the structures are round shaped. There were 16 rooms in the two towers and they are known to be the most carefully constructed structures in the area that includes many pueblos.

 

It is amazing how many of these areas are still standing and I'm sure that some ruins that were on the neighboring farmland have been cleared away during the centuries after the puebloan people left.

 

Hot Air Balloons in Cortez, Colorado

I found out there would be a Hot Air Balloon Fest in a nearby town this weekend, so I called for information. I have been to a couple small balloon launches and it was fun watching the setup. The woman who answered the information phone told me where it was and then asked me if I wanted to be on a crew. I told her that sounded like fun and that I would like to do it.

When I arrived at the park launch site, at 6 AM (when I'm usually still sleeping), it was overcast and at the pilot briefing, there was a discussion if they should even launch because rain was predicted. The general consensus was that if the individual pilots felt it was safe, it was their decision.

I was set up as crew with a couple other people and trudged across the soggy lawn to the small trailer containing the balloon we were to set up. The first thing out of the trailer was the wicker basket, about 4' tall and maybe about 4' x 3'. It has a sturdy wooden floor, and it was easy to tip out of the trailer, but heavy to move away from the trailer. It had two large propane tanks in it also. The next thing to come out was a huge canvas bag containing the balloon itself, which they call an "envelope". It was heavy to move also, but as we started unloading it and moved the bag down the field, it got lighter. 

 

Luckily, one of the guys crewing was a balloon pilot also, so he knew how to set things up. The other two of us were given jobs as needed. While the two pilots set up the basket, the other novice and I were given the task of spreading out the balloon, which was laying on the ground. By then, the basket was laying down and the burner connected to 2 large propane tanks in the basket. There was a large fan powered by a Honda generator and while we held up the bottom part of the balloon (with a flexible hoop inside it), so that the fan could pump air into the balloon to inflate it. This took quite a while and my arms were getting tired, but it was fascinating to watch it inflate. There was so much material lying on the ground that we could look inside and see how much was left to inflate. 

When we finally got it all inflated, it was still lying on the ground, but when the burners were turned on and shot warm air into the balloon, it started to slowly rise. The pilot wanted to move further into the field to a less crowded spot, so he turned on the burners so the basket lifted off the ground slightly while the crew maneuvered it to where he wanted it.

Since he didn't have any paying customers, he said he was only going to do a couple take offs and landings and asked the first crew member if she and her 5 year old son wanted a ride. She wanted to go, but the son was scared so they declined. He turned to me and asked if I wanted a ride - I hopped into the basket (not as easy as it looks) as fast as I could.

 

I've been wanting to go on a balloon ride, but they're really pricey out here. I was so glad that I had this chance for a short trip. The only photos I had a chance to take were during the trip, since I was working during the assembly. It was a bit of a strange feeling to be floating along in the open air with just the sound of the burners once in a while when he needed a lift.

 

Halfway through the trip, he told me he was going to land and give the other pilot a ride. He brought it down in an open field, with just a few bumps. The other passenger got in and then I got out and headed over to the chase vehicle. We then followed the balloon to another open field where it seemed like most of them were landing. The second landing was a bit more bumpy, and when he finally set down he must have hit a soft spot because the basket tipped almost halfway over. I'm glad I had the first landing!



Then, of course, we had to pack it all up and stow it in the trailer. It was hard work for such a short trip, but I can see why these people fly balloons. I could get used to floating through the sky with very little noise. I guess I'll have to check to see where these balloon festivals are being held.

 

 

 

 

The Galloping Goose

As I was driving down the main street of Dolores, Colorado, I noticed the vehicle shown in the photo above. I decided I had to check it out, to see what it was, since it looked like two separate vehicles attached together.

This turned out to be one of several vehicles that were used starting in the 1930s for about 20 years on the local railroad for both passengers and freight.  It was powered by gasoline and ran between Durango and Ridgway. Some of them were built with an open flatbed behind the front area, but this one had been converted to carry passengers. After World War II, the Goose was used for tourism until 1951.

The inside of the front had a few passenger seats, along with the driver seat. The second photo below shows the passenger area in the back, accessible by the rear door.

It's amazing what you'll find in these little towns.