Category Archives: National Park or Forest

National Park or Forest

Yellowstone NP part 3 June 24, 2020

Yellowstone is such an amazing national park. Whatever your interest, it has something for everyone. Geysers, hot springs, animals galore, gorgeous scenery and waterfalls. On our third day into the park we focused on waterfalls.

Yellowstone has a grand canyon. Not as huge or magnificent as THE Grand Canyon, but still fabulous and beautiful with not one but two magnificent waterfalls. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River was created from a lava flow 484,000 years ago. It is mainly made of rhyolite rock. Past and current hydrothermal activity weakened and altered the rock, making it softer. The Yellowstone River eroded these weakened rocks to deepen and widen the canyon, a process continuing today. The canyon is twenty miles long, more than a thousand feet deep, and between 1,500 and 4,000 feet wide with two waterfalls.

One end of the canyon begins at the 308 foot tall Lower Falls which may have formed because the river flows over volcanic rock more resistant to erosion than rocks downstream. The same is true for the 109 foot Upper Falls.

When we were here five years ago we hiked several trails around the falls and one strenuous hike with 13 switchbacks that took us to the top of the falls. This time the trail was closed due to the pandemic. Just one of many things still closed throughout the park. But we still had plenty to see and do to keep us busy.

Along with visiting the canyon we drove through Hayden Valley where we saw plenty more bison, some elk and a bear.

We didn’t get a picture of this bear since he was too far away to get a clear picture.

This area took us along Yellowstone Lake (elevation 7,733 feet) with stunning views of water with snow capped mountains in the distance.

We stopped at an area with rapids where we actually talked with a park ranger, our only real interaction with a ranger all week. He told us if we looked closely we could see fish. This time of year is when the water flows at its highest. The fish were waiting because they knew as the water flow decreased during the hotter summer months, it would be time to swim back to the lake. We enjoyed some time there, watching the fish near the surface occasionally jumping out of the water. Too fast to catch with a camera!

This hill side is called Roaring Mountain. On the hill side if you zoom in you can see two active steam vents.

We stopped at a mud volcano area with a nice boardwalk around the hot springs. There were plenty of signs warning people to stay on the boardwalk because thermal areas have a thin crust above boiling hot springs and scalding mud. Some of the pools are acidic enough to burn through boots! More than twenty people have been scalded to death and hundreds more badly burned or scarred because they left the boardwalks. Imagine our surprise when we saw three bison very close by as we reached the halfway point around the boardwalk. A ranger was there and stopped people from continuing to get close to the bison out of fear of them becoming agitated. We saw this happen on our first day when a lady with a camera got too close, and we were glad of the strong fence. One was rubbing against a small tree, evidently trying to rub off the last of his winter coat.

Another was drinking water from a small pool of muddy water, yuck!!

The third was actually inside a mud pot area and we wondered how hot the ground was on his hooves. Eventually another ranger came with yellow caution tape and stopped anyone from entering that area of the boardwalk.

The elevation drops significantly by a waterfall on the Gardner River as we travel to Mammoth Hot Springs and eventually to the North Entrance at 5,314 feet.

Near this waterfall we saw a lone Dall sheep high on the hillside feeding on the grass. He was so high up it was difficult to get a clear picture.

The next day Bill took a half day white water rafting trip on the Yellowstone River with the Yellowstone River Raft Company located in Gardiner MT.

They went right behind our RV and I was waiting to take his picture.

The river was running with a good volume/flow of 10,000 cubic feet per second. He had a great time/ride and was glad to add the Yellowstone River to the lists of rivers he has rafted.

Next up: Our last day in Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone NP part 2 June 22, 2020

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After our two night stay in Island Park to see the south part of Yellowstone and Old Faithful, we moved to a new location north of the park. In order to get to our next campground we drove into the west entrance of the park, quickly crossing from Idaho into Wyoming, through the park crossing from Wyoming into Montana and came out the north entrance. Three states in a short distance. Remember in the last blog I said Yellowstone is in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana with the largest section of the park located in Wyoming. Along the way we ran into a brief “buffalo jam” which is always fun!

Near the north side of Yellowstone we saw this coyote.

We went by the Park’s Post Office and noticed the bears had on face masks!
In this picture you can see the historic arch at the North entrance to the park and there is Bill making the turn in front of me. The cornerstone was laid down by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903.

Our next campground was located in the tiny town of Gardiner, Montana, conveniently located just outside the park. We checked into the campground and started to get settled into our new campsite along the Yellowstone River. Bill was outside getting things set up and talking to our new neighbors, also from Florida. Suddenly I heard a commotion and the lady next door was very upset. Going to the window I discovered a large snake had slithered up the tree behind us and was going after a nest of baby birds. Her husband grabbed a long pole and knocked the snake with a baby bird out of the tree. The snake coiled up and began to hiss.

Everyone backed off and the snake quickly ate the baby bird and then continued to coil and hiss. The neighbor managed to use the pole to flick the snake over the river bank. The mother bird was quite upset screeching and circling overhead. The neighbor looked at us and said, “Welcome to the neighborhood”. If we hadn’t prepaid and had nowhere else to go, I would have been tempted to pack up and leave. I wondered if there were more baby birds in the nest and the snake would come back. After some discussion it was determined it was most likely a bull snake since it didn’t have a rattle. In case you are wondering, we thankfully never saw the snake again and after a couple days I forgot about it.

The next day we left the campground early and spent the day touring one of my favorite places in the park, Lamar Valley, known as the premium place to see wildlife. This is a blog where pictures can describe better than words. We saw many bison, pronghorn sheep and even a bear. We loved every second of this day!

Next up: Yellowstone part 3 Waterfalls and more animals

Yellowstone NP part 1 June 20, 2020

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We looked forward to visiting Yellowstone National Park again this summer. We were last there in 2015. We left Idaho Falls and traveled to Island Park, Idaho for a two night stay. Along the way we could see the beautiful Grand Tetons mountain range in the distance.

Island Park, located just outside the west entrance of Yellowstone, was the perfect place to stay to visit the Old Faithful geyser.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone is the world’s first national park. Of the 2.2 million acres, 80% is forest, 15% is grassland and 5% is water. Ninety-six percent of the park is in Wyoming with 3% in Montana and 1% in Idaho.

Yellowstone is HUGE with:

five entrances into the park
ten visitor or information centers
three medical clinics
six gas stations
seven general stores
five hotels or lodges
twelve campgrounds of various sizes
and numerous restaurants and gift shops

But it was a very different Yellowstone than what we visited five years ago. The Visitors Centers were all closed. We always really enjoy the movies about the park shown at the Visitors Centers and we were disappointed not to see them again. With the Visitors Centers closed, access to Rangers and information on the park was very difficult. There were no informative Ranger talks and hikes. Restaurants were closed leaving tourists scrambling for food at the few general stores open. Most lodges and hotels were closed. Crowds were down but there were still plenty of people enjoying the park, some with masks and many without. In spite of it all, we were very grateful the park was open for us to visit and enjoy.

Unfortunately the day we chose to visit Old Faithful was cold and windy with rain showers. The cold and high humidity gave us a very different perspective at the geysers.

This was most noticeable at the Grand Prismatic Spring. The wind was blowing so hard and there was so much hot steam as we walked along the boardwalk, we were not able to see the beauty of the hot spring. We noticed that some Bison had stomped around before we got here.

As we walked along the boardwalk we were enveloped in hot blowing steam, which quickly would fog your glasses. Here are pictures taken today

followed by pictures taken five years ago on a much better weather day.

It is always a thrill to see Old Faithful, the most popular and famous attraction in Yellowstone. It is rightfully named because it faithfully erupts every 60 to 90 minutes, spewing 8,400 gallons of steaming hot water up to 180 feet into the air. It is one of the most predictable geysers on earth. We timed our visit just right so we only had a ten minute wait for the next eruption.

Yellowstone is home to more geysers than any other place on earth and is one of the world’s most active geothermal areas. Within the park are hundreds of geysers, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents. This is because the park sits atop an enormous “supervolcano” and the immense heat from the underground magma powers the geysers. The volcano last erupted 640,000 years ago and shows no signs of erupting anytime soon. Water from precipitation seeps into the ground, meeting the superheated earth near the underground magma chamber. Tremendous pressure builds up until the water is forced back to the surface. Some geysers like Old Faithful have their own underground “plumbing systems” and erupt at predictable intervals. Other geysers share plumbing “pipes” with adjacent geysers and erupt more sporadically.

Yellowstone has approximately 700 to 3,000 earthquakes a year, most not felt.

After seeing Old Faithful show off, we explored some more of this side of the park.

We stopped by beautiful Kepler Cascades

and then impressive Gibbon Falls.

We also stopped at the Continental Divide and had lunch.

Despite the weather, a great first day in the park!

Next up: Yellowstone part 2: Bison, pronghorn sheep and bears, oh my!

Bryce Canyon N.P. May 8, 2020

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We left Cedar City, Utah and traveled north on Interstate 15, still during the isolation rules of COVID-19 Pandemic. Since it was a short distance and we would be traveling over a steep pass, we decided I would follow behind in the car rather than towing. Look! There is Bill ahead of me with snow capped mountains in the distance.

We arrived at our campground near the tiny town of Panguitch, Utah. Its claim to fame is Butch Cassidy was born just down the road. Butch Cassidy and his gang once had their photograph taken in Panguitch. We last camped here in late August, 2015. It is a no frills and very reasonably priced campground. We settled in for a two week stay. The first few days the temperatures were perfect during the day but too cold at night. One night the temperature got down to 21 degrees! We left the faucet dripping during the night and fortunately had no problems.

Since our last visit here in 2015 we had been anxious to visit Bryce Canyon NP again. Of the five national parks in Utah, this was our favorite. While many Utah national parks remained closed, because of the virus, we were very fortunate to have Bryce reopen with some restrictions. The Visitors Center, most restrooms and most trails were closed.

On Friday we made the 25 mile drive from our campground to Bryce Canyon. To get to Bryce Canyon we drove on Highway 12, The All American Road. We passed through Red Canyon, part of Dixie National Forest with its beautiful red sandstone and limestone formations and through two tunnels.

The fee booth at the park entrance was not manned but they had maps and park information available.

Our goal today was to do the eighteen mile scenic drive and stop at the fourteen overlooks. Bryce Canyon isn’t really a canyon but a plateau with a series of horseshoe shaped amphitheaters carved in the edges of the eroding plateau. Bryce Canyon was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850’s and is named for Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who homesteaded the area in 1874. It became a national park in 1928.

Some viewpoints could be seen from the road while others required short walks, usually on paved walkways. The views were all amazing. Our favorite was the many hoodoos, which are towering rock formations sculptured over time by ice freezing and thawing, some as much as ten stories tall. There are approximately 200 days of freezing/thawing at Bryce Canyon each year.

It was fun to let our imaginations run wild and imagine faces or figures in the formations. The Paiutes, original inhabitants of the area, believed that the rock figures were people turned to stone by angry gods. If you look closely you can also see fairy tale castle formations. Iron oxide gives red, yellow and brown tints to the limestone.

One overlook was at 9,100 feet and it was very chilly. The number of tourists was low and it was nice to be able to drive through the park with very little traffic and no crowds at the overlooks.

The following Friday we went back to the park. This time there was a person at the fee booth with the window closed, not taking fees but handing out information through a slot. Unlike the previous Friday the Visitors Center was open with limited capacity but the theater was closed. We wanted to see the informative movie about the park we remembered from 2015, but since the theater was closed we didn’t stop.

There was more traffic than the previous Friday. We passed by the prairie dog natural habitat area with signs warning of wildlife crossings. A prairie dog ran out in front of us and we stopped. He ran to the center of the two lane road, got confused and stopped. He then ran toward our car. We were unable to move until he moved to one side or the other. An impatient driver behind us honked his horn, and when we didn’t move, he zoomed past us on our right hand side. Not knowing where the prairie dog was we held our breath that he didn’t get hit. Usually when somebody does something irresponsible like this there are no police around to see it. But fortunately there was a Ranger headed in the opposite direction and saw what happened. He made a u-turn, turned on his lights and pulled the driver over. The Ranger looked pretty annoyed when he stepped out of his car. I never can understand why people come to places like national parks and are so impatient and in such a hurry. As for the prairie dog, he ran to the side of the road and lived happily ever after!

Our main focus today was to walk the rim trail along the top of the canyon. When we were here five years ago we made the arduous hike on the Navajo Trail down into the canyon. On this day the Navajo Trail was closed indefinitely due to severe damage from winter weather. We talked with a Ranger who said they were going to have to call in a geologist for advice on how best to repair the popular trail.

Our last days in Panguitch were very windy with gusts up to 45+ mph. We delayed leaving by one day because of the windy conditions since we would have to go back over the pass on the way to our next destination. Most of Utah is now open for business but physical distance and masks are required.

Next up: Provo, Utah

Big Bend NP Texas Oct 25, 2019

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We left cold, windy Marfa and headed to Big Bend National Park located in southwestern Texas along the Rio Grande River and the boundary with Mexico. It is a long drive to Big Bend, one of the most remote and least visited national parks in the contiguous United States. The nearest city is 75 miles away and there is no cell phone service and very limited WiFi which is only available at the park visitors centers. Conveniently there are two gas stations located in the park.

Big Bend gets its name from the 90 degree turn in the Rio Grande River near the southern tip of the park. The river is the natural border between the United States and Mexico which creates some complicated security issues for the Border Patrol in the area. We saw border patrol vehicles throughout the park.

We had a wide range of temperatures the week we were there with daytime highs ranging from a high of 97 to a high of only 67 degrees in a matter of days. A cold front blew in near the end of our seven day stay and we had winds of 25 to 35 mph for almost 24 hours.

One striking thing about this park is how big the park is and how far you have to drive to get from one side to the other. To get from the east side of the park to the west side is over fifty miles and takes an hour and a half. Because of the extreme heat in the summer, the high season here begins Nov 15th and runs to April 15th. The park is so large it has five visitors centers but only two were open this time of year. The park has a limited number of paved roads and many gravel and dirt roads. We learned from a park ranger that since they had just finished their rainy season, any unpaved roads were in too bad a shape to drive our Honda CRV. This was disappointing because it limited the amount of park we could explore.

The first day we visited Panther Junction Visitors Center and saw the park movie.

Our First Texas View Of The Rio Grande River West OF The Park

During our time in the park we saw many roadrunner and sharp eyed Bill caught sight of a javelina along the side of the road. He managed to get a picture before it got spooked and ran off. We learned from the park movie that javelinas have a snout like a pig and smell like a skunk.

One day we drove to Santa Elena Canyon to do a hike into the canyon. When we arrived we discovered that the river bed that is normally dried up and must be crossed to reach the trail, was now covered in knee deep water. We seriously considered taking off our shoes and socks and walking across until we heard from others that there was thick deep mud we would have to plow through. We watched other people cross and when they emerged from the sludge it looked like they had on gray knee socks from the mud. No thanks.

We were content looking at the canyon from a distance. This canyon, like others in the park, had nearly vertical walls made primarily of limestone.

We drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive enjoying the geologic splendor of the park.

We stopped by the Fossil Discovery Exhibit where we learned about the plants and animals that lived here millions of years ago. At one time a shallow sea covered Big Bend and much of Texas, leaving behind fossils of fish, sharks and swimming reptiles. As the water receded the area was inhabited by dinosaurs and giant alligators.

Over the years many fossils and bones have been discovered in the park.

Another day we drove an hour from our campground which was located in the park to the Chisos Basin section. To get to this area the car climbed two thousand feet above the desert floor. Here there is a lodge and the other visitors center which was open. We took a nice walk on a paved trail to the “Window View” with beautiful views of mountain vistas and the valley basin below.

Near the end of our stay we drove to the hot springs section of the park. In the early 1900’s people began to come to the area to bathe in the hot springs. It was believed that the mineral springs had healing powers. The owner of the land recognized the potential monetary value of the 105 degree mineral springs and built a bathhouse and desert health resort. By 1927 the availability of automobiles and improved roads meant even more people visiting and so a store, post office and motel were added. In 1942 the landowner sold the land to the state of Texas. In 1944 Texas gave the land to the United States for a national park.

The unpaved gravel road was very narrow and a little tricky to navigate but the Ranger assured us it was the one unpaved road still accessible. We parked and began the short trail to the springs.

We could see the remains of some of the buildings from this once prosperous community.

We arrived at the hot springs where three older women had arrived just ahead of us. They nonchalantly glanced at us and then proceeded to completely strip off their clothes and walk naked down into the springs. Any desire to go down and dip our toes in disappeared at that point. We didn’t stay long.

Next up we drove to the Boquillas Canyon overlook with more spectacular canyon and Rio Grande river views.

Across the river, we could see the Mexican town of Boquillas. There is a border water crossing there that is open several times a week.

We enjoyed our time in Big Bend National Park. It had been on Bill’s bucket list for several years. We probably would not return mainly because it is so remote and takes so much driving time to get there.

On the way back west in one small Texas town a crowd of people had stopped along the train tracks, some with cameras on tripods. We wondered what they were waiting for and then Bill remembered seeing on the El Paso TV news about the 150th anniversary of the Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest steam locomotive. It was doing a “Great Race Across the Southwest” run with stops in El Paso, San Antonio and Houston. We stopped along the roadside and snapped a few pictures as it went by. Great timing!

This ends our summer travels which took us to Monument Valley and into Colorado before making our way back down to New Mexico and Texas.

Next up we are headed back west to spend some time in Tucson and Casa Grande before spending the winter once again in Yuma, Arizona.

New Mexico & Texas, OCT 2019

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After our visit to the Trinity Site we left Socorro and headed to Caballo Lake, New Mexico. We stayed a week at a small RV park owned by an 82 year old lady. It was one of the cleanest parks we have ever stayed at. Every afternoon she had Happy Hour on her covered veranda for everyone. She furnished snacks and each person brought something to drink. By snacks I am talking about meatballs in a delicious sauce, cheese and crackers, chips and guacamole, watermelon, cookies and cakes. Every day! After talking with other people we realized many of them come back for a visit year after year. I think these Happy Hours give the owner some social interaction and also enable everyone in the park to get to know each other. We can see why people come back year after year.

Next up was Las Cruces, our last stop in New Mexico. When we arrived we unhooked the tow car and discovered the battery was dead. Using the RV, Bill was able to jumpstart the car. We took it to Walmart and since the battery was bad and still under warranty, they gave us another one. But we also learned that the alternator was bad. After learning it would be over $500 plus labor at the Las Cruces Honda dealer, we hired the Walmart mechanic to come to the RV park when he got off work and replace the alternator. For a total of $280 he picked up a new alternator at Autozone, took out the old one and put the new one in.

After seven weeks, our time in New Mexico came to an end as we crossed into Texas. We took the bypass around the very congested El Paso and after overnighting in Van Horn, we stopped in Marfa, Texas for a three night stay.

Our reason for spending three nights in Marfa was to visit three nearby places we wanted to visit.

First up was the Fort Davis National Historic Site. Named after Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, it is one of the best remaining examples of a frontier military post and the role the military played in the settlement and development of the western frontier.

From 1854 until 1891 troops stationed at Fort Davis protected pioneers, freighters, mail coaches and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. The troops spent much of their time protecting area travelers from attack by Comanches and Apaches. During the Civil War the fort was first occupied by Confederate troops in the spring of 1861 until the summer of 1862 when Union forces took possession back. After the war ended the fort once again protected travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road from Indian attack. By June, 1891 the fort had outlived its usefulness and was abandoned. It became a National Historic Site in 1963.
During the summer months they have more activities and living history programs, but on this late October mid week visit things were very quiet. After watching a film at the Visitors Center, we enjoyed walking through the buildings that were open including the enlisted men’s barracks, the commissary, Officer’s kitchen, the post hospital and Officer’s Quarters.

Enlisted Barracks

Hospital Beds

Operating Table

Officer Housing For Two Families

In the kitchen there was a woman in period costume making chili, corn bread and banana bread over a wood burning stove. She was a little flustered because her wood fire had gone out and she had promised to provide lunch to the staff at the Visitors Center.

The second attraction was the McDonald Observatory located 45 minutes from Marfa. The observatory is part of the University of Texas at Austin.

We had booked online a two and a half tour of the observatory. Before our tour started we looked around the Visitors Center and saw a movie. Our tour was a nice small group of fourteen and we had a fantastic tour guide. A former public school science teacher, it was quite obvious that she loves her job. After talking about the sun and showing us a live picture of the sun from one of the telescopes, we all boarded a shuttle bus to tour two telescopes.

The first telescope we visited was located on Mt Locke which at 6,790 feet is the highest point on the Texas highway system. The view from there was beautiful. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope was completed in 1968 and supported NASA. This telescope’s mirror is 2.7 meters or 107 inches.

Our guide told us and showed us about how the telescope and dome moved. She talked about the mirror monthly maintenance which involves cleaning with dry ice.

We all boarded the bus again to the summit of Mt Fowlkes (6,660 ft) to see the Hobby-Eberly Telescope dedicated in 1997. This telescope, after upgrades, is now tied with another telescope as the second largest optical telescope in the world (11-meter or 433-inch).
The mirror looks like a honeycomb made up of 91 hexagonal mirrors.

Hexagonal Mirrors – The Curved Bars Are Reflections

Our guide was so enthusiastic and eager to answer questions, our tour ended up lasting three hours instead of two and a half. Amazing to get such an interesting and informative tour for $7 (senior rate).

Mark you calendars – here is the time and places for the next Total Solar Eclipse.

Marfa is an interesting tiny Texas town. Most of the visitors, like us, pass through here on their way to Big Bend National Park. It has a very pretty courthouse and some interesting sounding restaurants, unfortunately for us most are only open on the weekend.

We did read about a Mediterranean food truck which had excellent reviews. Bill got a falafel called a Marfalafel named after the town. While Bill enjoys Mediterranean food, it was his first falafel and probably his last.

Marfa is also known as having a phenomenon known as the Marfa ghost lights. The town built a large viewing area outside of town with bathroom facilities and benches. One evening, just to say we did it, we drove to the viewing area and spent about thirty minutes looking for the lights. Other people there were convinced they saw the Marfa lights. We didn’t see anything that couldn’t be explained as man made such as lights from cars in the distance or radio towers.

Our last day in Marfa a cold front blew in. We had wind gusts up to 30 mph and that night a low of 27. Time to move on!

Next stop: Big Bend National Park, Texas

Abiquiu Lake, NM AUG 25, 2019

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We said a sad farewell to beautiful Colorado and headed to New Mexico. We drove over two passes, our last two passes of the summer.

The road was an open range area and we had to watch carefully for cattle in the roadway.

As we neared our campground it looked more and more like New Mexico landscape, just beautiful!

We had a four night reservation at the Abiquiu Lake Reservoir in the Riana section campground, a COE (Corps of Engineers) facility. We were last here in Sept, 2017.

I remembered this sign and wasn’t any happier to see it now than I was the last time. Luckily, none were spotted. Whew! But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t on guard every time I stepped out the door.

Boy was it hot with temperatures in the mid 90’s. It didn’t take us long to miss Colorado even more.

Abiquiu Lake is a reservoir of water impounded from the Rio Chama River by the earth-filled Abiquiu Dam. The Rio Chama River is a major tributary of the Rio Grande River. We drove over the dam and could see the water in the reservoir is significantly down this visit.

Next up: A week long visit to Santa Fe to attend the Family Motor Coach Association Amateur Radio Fall Rally

Rio Grande National Forest, CO AUG 21, 2019

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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

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: National Park or Forest

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Dillon, CO AUG 13, 2019