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Geocaching

Rio Grande National Forest, CO AUG 21, 2019

With just one stop left in Colorado we left Great Sand Dunes National Park and headed to our campground west of Antonito in the Rio Grande National Forest. We had a nice trip except a passing RV threw a rock up and chipped our windshield. This is the third chip in the windshield we have had since May. We will need to call Safelite once again when we reach Santa Fe in a couple weeks.

Along the way we stopped in Alamosa to stock up on groceries at Walmart. We could see the sky starting to darken in the direction we were headed. Back on the road again we had a lengthy backup due to road construction that brought us to a standstill. The wind picked up and in the distance we saw streaks of lightning.

After the traffic delay we arrived at our campground and discovered a storm had hit thirty minutes before our arrival. The ground was covered with pea size hail that blanketed the ground like snow and the temperature had plummeted to 48 degrees. We were very thankful that traffic backup delayed our arrival.

Ponderosa Campground is a small campground located in a canyon amid tall mountains and is right along a river. It is a popular campground for those who enjoy fishing with many people returning year after year. It was a puzzle to me why people would stand for hours fishing when it is a catch and release campground. To each his own but if you can’t even eat what you catch, why bother?

We had a nice campsite right along the river and it was very relaxing to see and hear the river. Those fishing didn’t hesitate to enter our campsite to access the river but it didn’t matter since it was entertaining to watch them. With daytime highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 30’s to low 40’s, the weather was perfect.

After an enjoyable and relaxing four night stay it was time to say farewell to Colorado. We spent six weeks in western Colorado and will certainly miss the cool temperatures, beautiful views and excellent drinking water.

Next up: New Mexico and hot temperatures once again

Great Sand Dunes NP & Preserve, CO AUG 16, 2019

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We enjoyed our time in Dillon and hated to leave the cool mountain temperatures, but it was time to move south. The journey was not a piece of cake since we had to cross over three mountain passes including Poncha Pass, Trout Creek Pass and Hoosier Pass which was at an elevation of 11,539 and at the Continental Divide.

Our destination was Great Sands National Park and Preserve. This national park is located in the middle of nowhere. We had very limited Verizon but Bill was able to improve the signal with our cell phone booster.

Open this image up so you can zoom into the big picture.

We stayed at a private campground right outside the park entrance with great views of the sand dunes and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance.

The park was first named a National Monument in 1932 and was designated a National Park in 2004. The park is comprised of 107,342 acres with the preserve protecting an additional 41,686 acres. The dunes cover thirty square miles. We stopped by the Visitors Center and saw an interesting movie about the park.

These sand dunes are the highest in North America both in height and elevation. Some of the dunes are up to 750 feet tall. Who would have thought the highest sand dunes in North America would be found more than a thousand miles from any ocean beach?? The sand dunes have been building and shifting for eons due to the San Luis Valley’s unique wind patterns which trapped the sand along the west face of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range.

The park guide basically says most of the sand comes from erosion of the San Juan Mountains over 65 miles to the west where the sand grains are shattered by freezing and thawing and then tumbled by winds and streams. Larger grains of sand and pebbles also come from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Sand and sediment from both mountain ranges washed into a huge lake that once covered the valley floor. As the lake was reduced, southwesterly winds bounced the sand grains against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where they were trapped by the tall mountain ranges. Northwesterly storm winds blast through mountain passes piling the sand back on itself which creates North America’s tallest sand dunes.

Each spring the Medano and Sand Creeks carry snow melt through the park at the base of the dunes. The water recycles sand and provide a lifeline for the plants and animals in the park. In late spring and early summer the creeks are swollen and we saw pictures of children swimming and playing in the water. Now, in late summer, the creeks are almost dried up. You can see in the pictures wet looking places where the creeks are almost dry. But still enough water to get our feet wet. It is all so amazing!

There were people climbing up the dunes and the park rented sleds and sandboards for sliding down. But with sand temperatures up to 150 degrees in the summer, we passed on hiking the dunes. The dunes were very hot and absolutely no shade.

There were some fabulous sunsets from our campsite. Hard to decide which ones to include! These were taken during two sunsets.

These two pictures occurred during sunset facing north over the dunes.

While this was a fascinating national park and we are really glad we visited, it is very remote and probably not a park we would return to in the future.

Next up our last stop in Colorado

Dillon, CO AUG 13, 2019

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This blog posting is as much about the journey as it is about the destination.

We left too hot Grand Junction and headed east to cooler temperatures. Following the Colorado River we saw amazing rock formations that are much like you would see in New Mexico and Utah.

Along the roadside every quarter to half a mile we saw wildlife ramps that had been constructed so animals could easily escape the busy highway and not get trapped.

People were out enjoying the river by fishing, kayaking or in some of the more rocky areas whitewater rafting.

We drove through two tunnels constructed in the sides of mountains. It is always amazing to think of all the hard labor that goes into constructing these tunnels.

We passed by the city of Vail, elevation 8,150 feet. Since Grand Junction had an elevation of 4,600, we were climbing higher and hopefully to cooler temperatures. We noticed all the condominiums, homes and lodges built along the mountainside in this popular ski resort. Visible were the ski slopes, now a beautiful green instead of white with snow.

Up, up, up we climbed on I-70 until we finally reached Vail Pass Summit at 10,603 feet. At this point we started to drop down a little to our destination of Dillon, Colorado, elevation 9,087. We stayed at White River National Forest campground just outside of town for three nights. We were so happy to have cooler temperatures. Our first night the temperature got down to 37 degrees with daily highs in the low 70’s. Perfect!

The towns of Dillon, Silverthorne and Frisco all run together and are ski resorts with tourism as their main economy. It is a thriving, bustling area with many big name stores and restaurants. Since it was busy in August, I can only imagine what it is like in the winter during ski season. We were amazed at the homes perched right on the edge of the mountains.

Dillon Dam and Reservoir, a large freshwater reservoir, has a 25 mile shoreline with a walking /biking path that appeared to be heavily used. It is a reservoir for the city of Denver. The dam diverts water through a 23.3 mile tunnel under the Continental Divide to Denver. During the Great Depression when many Dillon people could not pay their property taxes, the Denver Water Board acquired most of the water rights in the area. In 1956 the Denver Water Board told the remaining citizens of Dillon that a dam was going to be built and they had until 1961 to sell their property and leave. The dam construction began in 1961 and was completed by 1963. The Denver Water Board set aside 172 acres for the new town of Dillon. The citizens and businesses were responsible for moving their own homes and structures. Many chose not to and the population shrank to 57. Today Dillon’s population is 904 not counting the nearby towns of Silverthorne and Frisco. With that sad history, it is so nice to see the thriving community today.

One day we drove the car on Interstate 70 to the nearby Eisenhower – Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel which at 11,158 feet is one of the highest vehicle tunnels in the world. It is also the longest mountain tunnel and highest point in the interstate highway system. It is a two bore four lane vehicular tunnel under the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. We first headed eastbound through the tunnel named for Edwin C. Johnson the Colorado former governor and state senator. We then turned around and drove through the westbound bore which is named the Eisenhower Tunnel after President Dwight Eisenhower, for whom the Interstate System is also named. The Eisenhower Tunnel was built first and took five years to be be completed in 1973. The Johnson Tunnel took four years, was completed in 1979 and was one of the last major pieces of the country’s interstate system. Each tunnel is just shy of 1.7 miles long. The tunnels are sloped at 1.64% grade and have a steep approach of 7% grade on one side and 6% on the other. The tunnel has a clearance of 13 feet 11 inches. In 2012 approximately 28,000 vehicles passed through the tunnel bores each day, or 10.7 million vehicles per year. During construction of each tunnel bore, there were three fatalities in the Eisenhower bore and four in the Johnson tunnel bore.

Next up: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, CO

Ridgway, CO July 28, 2019

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After a wonderful time in Rico and Telluride we headed north on the San Juan Skyway to Ridgway State Park. Even though we were going north, we were dropping from 9,000 feet to just under 7,000 feet which meant warmer temperatures. We sure were going to miss the cool temperatures!

Ridgway State Park is located in Ridgway (yes, it doesn’t have an e). Ridgway, Colorado has a population of around 1,000 and an elevation of 6,985. Beginning in 1891 it was a railroad town until part of the rail line was abandoned in 1953 and then completely abandoned due to a reservoir being built. The original location of the dam for the reservoir would have placed Ridgway underwater. A 1975 decision to put the dam further downstream saved the town, earning it the nickname “The Town That Refused to Die”. Ridgway has the only stop light in Ouray County.

The Grammy Awards trophy is handcrafted by Billings Artworks in Ridgway. The trophies are hand cast in an alloy called grammium and then hand filed, ground and polished before being plated in 24k gold.

Ridgway and the surrounding area was the setting for John Wayne’s “True Grit” and “How the West Was Won”. In fact more than 100 films have been made in southwestern Colorado.

Actor Dennis Weaver, from Gunsmoke and McCloud fame had a home in Ridgway and died there in 2006. Weaver was committed to preserving the environment and commissioned an architect to design and build his home from recycled materials such as old automobile tires and discarded cans. The Dennis Weaver Memorial Park in Ridgway is a sixty acre wildlife preserve with several walking trails.

Ridgway State Park has three campgrounds and our campsite was located in the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk section with full hookups.

We stopped by the park’s Visitors Center where they had a large display of animals native to the area.

The highlight of our stay here was the drive we took on the US Highway 550, also called “The Million Dollar Highway”. I thought it was called this because of the million dollar views but research says the reason is disputed. Some say it is because it took a million dollars to build it in the late 1880’s, while others say it is because the fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore. Another idea is that people say you couldn’t pay them a million dollars to drive it during bad winter weather. Regardless of the reason, it is known as one of the most scenic drives in America but is also known as one of the 25 most dangerous roads in America.

US Highway 550 runs from New Mexico and ends/starts at Montrose Colorado but the most scenic, and dangerous part runs 25 miles between Ouray and Silverton that goes over Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018. And that is the part we drove!

The road is cut into the side of a mountain with steep drop offs, narrow lanes, hair pin curves and no guardrails. It takes 100% of the driver’s concentration while passengers hold their breath as they look over the side. Along with 8% grades there are 153 curves!

We first passed through Ouray, known as the “Switzerland of America” and the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Colorado”. It is a picturesque mountain town at the base of the San Juan Mountains with one main street and no traffic lights.

We stopped by Cascade Falls Park with a lovely waterfall.

Red Mountain Pass at 11,018 feet is one of Colorado’s highest paved passes.

We saw avalanche signs and could see damage to trees that happened during an avalanche.

Along the way we saw waterfalls such as Bear Creek Falls, tunnels and evidence of once active mining in the area.

This area was used by gold and silver miners in the 1870’s. It produced four million ounces of gold, 21 million ounces of silver and twelve million tons of lead, zinc and copper. It helped fuel the industrial revolution and supplied raw materials to support America’s involvement in two World Wars.

Our turn around point was Silverton, a former silver mining camp. With a population of 630, its main source of income today is tourism, like Ouray.

We drove a dirt road that took us to a nice spot overlooking the town and the Christ of the Mines Shrine.

After lunch at a little barbecue restaurant we headed back home. The road wasn’t quite as scary going the other direction, but we still had the hairpin turns and the occasional steep drop offs. It was the lack of guardrails that made it very unsettling.

Another day we drove a short distance from our campsite to the Dallas Divide Summit, elevation 8,970 ft, to take pictures of the mountains. So beautiful!

One evening we had visitors stop by our campsite.

Next stop: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Rico & Telluride, CO July 26, 2019

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Leaving McPhee Reservoir Recreation Area, we drove an hour on the San Juan Skyway, called “Road to the Sky” to our next destination. Along the way we had beautiful views of the towering 14,000 foot San Juan Mountains and green rolling hillsides.

We arrived at our campground, Cayton Campground in the San Juan National Forest for a six night stay. We had a very nice electric site along the Dolores River. At night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of softly flowing water.

The only drawback to this campground was we had absolutely no cell phone service which meant no internet. We were able to get satellite TV so we had news and weather. At an elevation of 9,400 feet, the daytime highs were in the low 70’s and nighttime lows in the mid 40’s. A wonderful respite from the hot weather we had recently experienced. Each afternoon we had a brief thunderstorm or rain shower.

Our campsite had 50 AMP power and even though it worked, the 50 AMP power connector was cracked and potentially unsafe. The camp host brought a new one by and Bill offered to replace it.

Six miles south of our campground was the tiny town of Rico. Twice we drove into town to use the internet access at the public library. Thank heavens for these friendly public libraries that are a big help to travelers like us.

Rico was settled in 1879 as a silver mining town. At its peak Rico had a population of nearly 5,000. It had two dozen saloons and a thriving red light district. No longer a mining town, today it has a population of 266 and is made up of a main street with an inn, gas station, post office and town hall. The public library is open four hours a day Monday through Saturday and is located in two rooms of the town hall building. I talked a bit with the librarian who said the public school in Rico closed last year due to declining enrollment. Today the parents have to take their children either 35 minutes north to the town of Telluride or an hour south to Dolores. Parents are responsible for getting their children to and from school. She said most parents work in Telluride and therefore their children go to school there. Quite different from most towns and cities in the United States where children just walk a block or less to catch the local school bus. The librarian said she wonders if the Rico library would ever close and expressed sadness that she no longer has children come by after school. She said the library summer reading program ended a couple years ago. Now she averages six or seven people who visit the library each day, less than fifty a week. The two times we visited we only saw two locals come in to use the library internet. I never saw anyone return a book or check one out. Very sad. We did note that after many many years of significant declining population, the population did rise by 65 people between 2000 and 2010. Maybe there is hope for this sweet little town.

We visited the Rico post office while we were there and noticed it is also open only four hours a day but it had a steadier stream of traffic.

On Friday we drove our car north to Telluride for the day. Also once a mining town, what a difference from Rico. With a population of 2,400, Telluride is a busy, active resort community similar to Vail. In the winter it is crowded with skiers staying in the many condominiums, resorts and hotels. In the summer people visit to enjoy the cool weather and gorgeous views. It is nicknamed the “Festival of the Rockies” because of the vast array of cultural events each summer. The name Telluride came from gold telluride minerals found in parts of Colorado. Strangely, telluride minerals were never found in Telluride but zinc, lead, copper, silver and other gold ores were mined there.

One of the best things about Telluride was the FREE gondola rides. We have been on several gondola rides in our travels and they are usually pretty pricey. This is the first free gondola ride we have ever seen and according to Telluride it is the first and only free gondola public transportation in the United States. It was begun in 1996 to address air quality concerns by keeping cars off the eight mile route between Mountain Village and Telluride. Since 1996 it has transported over forty million people.

We read it is best to park at the free parking garage at Station Village and ride a gondola down to Telluride because street parking is very limited in Telluride. We parked the car at Station Village, elevation 9,545 and rode a gondola to Mountain Village Resort, elevation 9,540. We got off there and got another gondola which took us to Station St Sophia, elevation 10,535 and then continued down to Telluride, elevation 8,750. The whole trip took about thirty minutes. All the gondola workers were extremely friendly and helpful. The tricky thing about gondolas is they never completely come to a stop so you have to quickly jump on and off. Pets, bikes and skis are all allowed on the gondolas. It was interesting to see how the bikes are attached to the outside of the gondolas. The Big Mountain Enduro bike event was going on during our visit. Bikers ride the gondola up the mountain and they ride bike trails to the bottom.

As we descended to Telluride we could see the town In the distance as well as beautiful Bridal Veil Falls, at 365 feet the tallest waterfall in Colorado.

Every Friday they have a Farmers Market with fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods and beautiful flowers. We found a geocache at the Galloping Goose, a unique hybrid vehicle that was a truck and train combination. It was powered by a truck engine that rode on train tracks beginning around 1930. It ran on gasoline and carried both passengers and freight until 1951. We noticed the hybrid buses around town today are nicknamed Galloping Goose. We really enjoyed walking around Telluride!

We caught the gondola back from Telluride to Station St Sophia and got off and walked around the area. In the summer this is a popular area for bike riders to ride up and down the steep slopes. We went in the Nature Center where they had the biggest container of sunscreen I have ever seen. It was freely available to everyone. At 10,535 feet, you burn quickly. By this time our ears were stopped up and I was starting to feel some altitude sickness. I was lightheaded, slightly nauseous and my skin was clammy. We still had to ride two more gondolas to get back to the parking garage. I was dragging by the time we got back to the car. But after drinking an entire bottle of cold water from the cooler, I was feeling much better. We drove into Telluride and had a nice dinner. I think just the act of chewing food helped our ears recover. We both agreed this was the most fun we have had in awhile!

The mountain views and alpine meadows were beautiful.

Lizard Head Peak

Next up: Ridgway, CO

Show Low, AZ May 15, 2019

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Beginning May 1st we spent six weeks in Show Low, AZ in the White Mountains of northeast Arizona. At an elevation of 6,400 feet we thought it would be a pleasantly cool place to spend some time in the spring without the need for air conditioning. After arriving we discovered the month of May in the White Mountains is known to be very windy. At the same time, we heard on the local weather that all of Arizona was experiencing 20+ temperatures BELOW normal. We didn’t need air conditioning but we sure needed the heat on. During our six weeks there we had winds almost every day of 25-30 mph with occasional gusts of 45+. We had nighttime temps in the 30’s, more rainy days than we thought possible in Arizona and to our amazement we had snow on the 20th of May!

May 1st, the day we arrived was our eighth wedding anniversary and we celebrated with dinner at a steakhouse in Show Low. It was a very nice meal but I was really feeling under the weather. Five days later Bill insisted I go to the Urgent Care in Show Low where I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. They gave me a breathing treatment and sent me home with lots of prescriptions. I don’t know if the elevation along with the cold rainy weather complicated things, but I was really down for the count and it took me most of May to recover.

Bill kept himself busy doing maintenance inside the RV such as cleaning vents, replacing the water and ice maker filters and flushing the hot water heater. He attended a few Show Low amateur radio events and enjoyed their nightly radio net call-ins.

As May turned to June it was like a switch was turned off and the winds died down. The weather warmed up and I was finally feeling better. With only a week left in Show Low, we wanted to spend some time exploring the area and doing some geocaching.

Show Low is an unusual name for a town. You may be wondering where the name came from and so were we! The answer came in a tiny little city park where we found statues of two men sitting at a table. In 1876 two ranchers by the last names of Cooley and Clark claimed and became partners in managing 100,000 acres of land in this area. As it became evident that the land could not support two families, neither man was willing to buy the other out. To settle the matter, the two men agreed to play a friendly card game of Seven Up at the kitchen table in Colley’s house across from where this small park stands today. As the game neared completion, Cooley needed just one point to win. Clark held a three card and feeling he had nothing to lose said, “show low and you win the ranch”. Cooley drew the deuce of clubs and won the game. He renamed the ranch “Show Low” and today the main street through town is called Deuce of Clubs.

Another day we walked the Mongollon Rim Trail, a nice easy paved trail with lovely views. The Mongollon (pronounced Muggy-Own) Rim is a topographical and geological feature that cuts across Arizona and forms the southern limit of the Colorado Plateau. It extends 200 miles eastward and ends near the New Mexico border. While it can’t begin to be compared to the views at the Grand Canyon, it does have some nice far reaching views of the Plateau Country and Desert Canyon of Arizona with drops of up to 2,000 feet in places. After so much time inside it was nice to be outside and get some fresh air and exercise!

Show Low is a really nice town with small town friendliness while having the convenience of many stores and restaurants, including a Walmart Supercenter. We would not mind returning again, though we would wait until after the May windy season!

Currently we are in Prescott, AZ until mid July.

Boulder City, NV APR 12, 2019

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Leaving Lake Havasu City we drove to Boulder City, Utah for a six night stay. Boulder City (pop 15,600) is a lovely city which was built in 1931 to house workers contracted to build Hoover Dam, formerly called Boulder Dam. Previously, men who hoped to work on the Dam were living with their families in tents and shacks on land chosen as the site of the Dam. The town was built by the Bureau of Reclamation as the “Boulder Canyon Project Federal Reservation”. Federal rangers maintained law and order on the “reservation”. Boulder City is very rare in that it was fully planned under government supervision. The town was designed to house around 5,000 workers and the status of the workers was reflected by the size and location of their house. Commercial development was restricted and severely limited by a stern, iron fisted city manager. There was no provision for schools at first because it was assumed only single men would be working on the Dam. No hospital was built for years with injured workers taken to nearby Las Vegas. When a hospital was eventually built, it was a number of years before females were allowed to be admitted. Visitors to Boulder City had to go through a gatehouse, and gambling was prohibited. Today, Boulder City is one of only two Nevada cities which prohibit gambling. Alcohol was prohibited until 1969. Las Vegas had campaigned to have the workers housed in Las Vegas but because of its rowdy, risqué reputation, it was passed over in favor of Boulder City. Today Boulder City is very proud of its nickname “Home of Hoover Dam”. The federal government gave up control of Boulder City in 1959 when it was incorporated.

We visited the Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum located inside the historic Boulder Dam Hotel. The hotel, built in 1933, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the 1930’s and 1940’s the hotel was the accommodation for Shirley Temple, Betts Davis, Howard Hughes, Will Rogers, Boris Karloff and other celebrities who came to see the Dam being built. The museum had an excellent movie and exhibits on life in Boulder City in the 1930’s as well as the construction of the Dam. Working conditions were hard and treacherous to say the least. Because of a fine of $3,000 for every day the construction ran over deadline, the men were pushed to the limit and often competitions were used to push the men even harder. Occurring in the days immediately after the Great Depression, men were afraid to complain of unbearable heat and working conditions for fear of being fired. Only American citizens could work on the Dam which essentially meant whites only. In 1932 only a few African Americans were hired but were not allowed to live in Boulder City. This changed after Franklin Roosevelt was elected.

We enjoyed walking around the town doing some geocaching. Evidence of the town’s history was everywhere.

34 Ton Water Runner Converts Water Power To One Generator

One day we drove to the nearby Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This is the nation’s first national recreation area and the largest reservoir in the country. It was formed by the Hoover Dam in 1935 and provides water to twenty million people and farmland in Arizona, California and Nevada as well as some to Mexico. The Lake has not reached full capacity since 1983 due to water demands and drought. In August, 2017 it was only at 40%.

Our main reason for going there was to hike the Historic Railroad Trail. This trail is a portion of the former railroad route that carried supplies from Boulder City to Hoover Dam during construction of the Dam. The trail is no longer a railroad but has been replaced with crushed rock. Along the trail are panoramic views of Lake Mead. Hikers pass through five tunnels approximately 300 feet in length and 25 feet in diameter. The trail can take you all the way to Hoover Dam but on this day we had to stop at tunnel three because the tunnel was closed due to unstable conditions. Since it was a hot sunny day with no shade on the trail, we were okay with turning around at that point. We had walked 10,000 steps by the time we returned to the car.

We then drove to Hoover Dam. Back in Jan, 2015 we visited Hoover Dam and took a tour of the facility. This time we wanted to stop at the visitor area at the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which is the first concrete-steel composite bridge in the United States and the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. At 880 feet above the Colorado River it is the second highest bridge in the United States and the world’s highest concrete arch bridge. The bridge connects Arizona and Nevada. The visitor’s area, in Nevada was super busy with limited parking. I did the musical chairs game with all the other cars trying to find a parking spot. In the meantime Bill walked up the steep trail to the top of the Bridge. It was a very windy day and when he walked out onto the bridge he took his sunglasses off because he was afraid they would blow off his face! He took some great shots of Hoover Dam from the top of the bridge.

We then drove from Nevada over the dam to the Arizona side to have another look at this marvelous structure.

Hoover Dam from the Arizona Side With Memorial Bridge in the Distance

Another day we hiked around the Nature Discovery Trail and Rock Garden. We loved the beautiful rocks, desert flora and giant statues of desert animals. Plaques gave interesting facts about the animals and flora. Did you know jackrabbits can run up to forty miles an hour or that the roadrunner can survive its entire life without drinking water but receives moisture from its prey?

We finished the day by finding a geocache at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. We not only found a geocache but some great old trains too.

Railway Post Offices (RPO) were used to transport and sort mail using the hanging mail bag system. RPO were started in the 1830’s and ended in 1950’s.

We had a wonderful time in Boulder City.

Here is the link to our previous visit to Hoover Dam where we took the inside tour January 27, 2015 Boulder City, Nevada

Next up : Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Catching Up & Lake Havasu, AZ Apr 8, 2019

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Yes, it has been a long time since our last blog posting. We spent the winter in Yuma, AZ, one of our favorite winter destinations. It was cooler with more rain than past winters there, but still better than cold and snow.

A Saturday Sunrise In Yuma AZ

In February we took a two week break from Yuma and attended the amateur radio Quartzsfest in Quartzsite, AZ. This year the amateur radio gathering broke a record with over one thousand people attending. Bill spent the time at seminars on all things related to amateur radio and we both attended the daily happy hour gathering where hundreds of prizes were given away. We didn’t win anything but the daily anticipation of possibly winning was fun.

March found us back in Yuma and Bill helped out with the three day Yuma Amateur Radio Hamfest. One day was cool and rainy and unfortunately that was the day Bill had to be outside all day helping park RVs attending the event.

Waiting To Win A Super Radio At Yuma Hamfest

By the end of March there was a mass exodus of snowbirds since Yuma was getting way too hot. It was time to move on with our spring travels.

First stop was Lake Havasu City, best known for their London Bridge and water sports. Lake Havasu is a large reservoir formed by Parker Dam and provides lots of opportunities for boating and fishing. The city website advertises 400 miles of coastline, 300 days of sunshine and 60 miles of navigable waterways.

In 1968 Businessman Robert McCulloch bought the London Bridge from England for $2.5 million. The bridge was being replaced in England and McCulloch hoped bringing the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City would attract tourists and encourage people to select the city as their home. The Bridge was disassembled and shipped stone by stone for another $7 million and it took three years to complete putting it back together. The Lake Havasu City website says it is the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona after the Grand Canyon. I question whether that is really true.

One day we rode over to see Parker Dam located on the Colorado River, 155 miles downstream from Hoover Dam. Parker Dam is known as the deepest dam in the world. Engineers digging for bedrock to build the dam upon had to excavate very deep beneath the Colorado River. 73% of Parker Dam’s 320 foot structural height is not visible.

Construction began in 1934 and was completed in 1938. Located on the border of Arizona and California, arguments over water rights began almost immediately with the Arizona Governor calling out the National Guard in 1934 to take possession of the land around the dam site. He was angry that water stored behind the Dam was going to be pumped to California. Continuing arguments and litigation stopped construction at times and contributed to the long completion time.

We drove across the Dam into California and looked for the burros that were supposed to roam freely along the roadway. We saw many signs cautioning us to watch for them but had a very difficult time finding any.

We saw evidence of them by the burro poop on and alongside the road. It was a very hot day and we decided they were resting in the shady trees out of sight. Someone decorated this large rock to appear like a alien head.

We turned around and headed home and suddenly Bill spotted several burros yards from the roadway. Seeing the Dam and the burros made for a fun day.

The Colorado River is enjoyed by all.

Next stop: Boulder City, home of Hoover Dam

Yuma, AZ Jan 11, 2019

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We are continuing to enjoy our time in Yuma. We had a very nice Christmas dinner at our RV resort.

Bill is continuing to participate in meetings and breakfast get-togethers with fellow amateur radio friends.

The weather has been cooler than past winters we have experienced here, but this week has been warmer with beautiful sunny skies.

One day we drove south to San Luis, the southwest corner of Arizona. Along the way we saw several fields of very dirty sheep.

We were curious to see what the border barrier looked like here and a geocache had been placed on or near the border. This barrier was constructed in the Yuma area in 2007 in response to many illegal crossings and criminal activity. The Yuma sheriff recently said it has helped a lot. This impressive barrier is much different than what we saw a year ago on the border near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

As we looked for the geocache container a border patrol vehicle went by on the other side of the barrier and the agent waved. We didn’t find the geocache and we suspect it has been removed by the border patrol. That is fine with us since we didn’t think a geocache should have been placed there to begin with. The border patrol has enough to do without people looking near the border for geocaches!

We welcomed in the New Year by celebrating in each time zone. Easy to do when you are on the West Coast!

Next week we will head to Quartzsite, AZ for the annual get-together of RVers in the desert. As usual we will be parking with the amateur radio group. Always great fun! Then we will be back to Yuma for the Yuma Hamfest the third weekend in February.

We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Until next time!

Aguanga, CA Nov 18, 2018

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After a fabulous stay in the Los Angeles area we headed south and east to the Jojoba Hills RV Park in Aguanga, CA near Temecula. Along the way we passed some interesting rock formations.

Our main reason for visiting Jojoba Hills was to meet up with our friends Bob and Sharon. Back in 2014 we traveled with them as part of an RV caravan down to Mexico. We last saw them in the fall of 2016. Whenever we see them we pick right back up where we left off like we saw them yesterday.

We had a lovely campsite at Jojoba Hills and one day Bob and Sharon gave us a tour of the park and all the facilities available there.

On Thanksgiving Day we enjoyed a wonderful community Thanksgiving dinner.

While we were there Bill celebrated his 65th birthday on Thanksgiving Day and Bob and Sharon came by for a little celebration.

One day Bob drove us into Temecula to give us a tour of the town. On the way back we stopped at an metal sculpture area where all kinds of amazing sculptures are for sale. Sculptors are by Ricardo Breceda. We also found a geocache there!

Bill’s cousin Sandra and her husband Ed live about fifteen miles away in Warner Springs. Sandra’s family was having their Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and invited us. Wow! Two Thanksgiving dinners in one week! Always wonderful to spend time with family!

Our week at Jojoba Hills passed too quickly.

Next up: Palm Desert, CA

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: Geocaching

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