Interesting Encounters

Yesterday on the trail we met a woman in an Oregon shirt, and asked, of course, if they were from Oregon.  Well, the accent told us before she got it out, that they were from Australia.  They have been touring for three months in a fifth wheel that they own and leave here for their twice a year visits to the US!  We chatted about where they had been in the parks, and in the US, and they were so much fun we laughed and laughed!  She told of her experience of hiking to the Arches, which was the steep trail we had skipped, and not being able to get back down, and an ANGEL of a man taking her hand and then telling her to sit down and guiding her down, while her husband said he was behind her pushing her and telling her to get out of the way!  That the Angel guy told her to jump, and then she could be an angel , too!  Not really, but he was so funny!   Said she finally got down, but with foot prints on her back!  But how neat that they keep an RV here to explore!!  

We met an English couple who were doing the same thing.....although we did not have as much exchange with them, that was the first I heard of such a thing.  They come only once a year for 6 weeeks.  You have to wonder how many people do that.  

There were probably a hundred rental RV's in the parks in the last couple of days, and I believe the majority of them were European, and our Aussie friend concurred, saying "you have a beautiful country! " We certainly heard many languages being spoken, whether they were in RV's or in cars.  And a busload of Asians yesterday.  And we saw so many different license plates from the US, that I actually started writing them down, much to Clem's chagrin, to see if I could collect the entire country!  Well, I think I cam pretty close!  Without looking at my list, I can think of only a few I was missing, which were PA, NY, NC, SC, GA, Virginia......seriously!  I even got NJ and Alaska and Maryland!  Clem thinks I am very silly.....I thought it was kind of fun!  haha!  

Well, we leave our site in Utah this morning for New Mexico.  Although we had planned on traveling Rt 70 into Colorado and across, the snows have moved in.  The Australian couple told us they were surprised by it, as he stood in his shorts in knee high snow!  They got out of there, but others they knew had stayed, and told of frozen pipes and cut off water!  Definitely not where we want to go!  Ok.....gotta round 'em up and move 'em out!  Have a great day!!

Whew! Are we almost there????

Two parks

Deadhorse Point State Park contains a canyon through which runs the Colorado River, some 2000 feet below.  Hiking and off road trails abound, but we just enjoyed the views  from the overlooks.  Legend has it that wild horses were corralled on the point, and after the best were selected, the rest were just left, and confused, died, and hence the name.  Sad story for a pretty place.  We had a picnic lunch in this park before heading to our next stop, and the chipmunks enjoyed part of our trail mix!

Canyonlands, which is a National Park, stands at 6000 feet above sea level, and covers 542 square miles.   Although it does contain red rock mesas, fins and spires, the most dramatic part is the canyon cut by the Colorado and Green Rivers.  We did hike here in order to see an arch, and Upheaval Dome, whose creation remains  a geological mystery.

 Once thought to be useless, this area provided a rich uranium source, making at least one man rich, before losing its value. What was once his home is now a restaurant that sits on a hilltop in the town of Moab, which during the 50's was bursting at the seams with folks coming to find their fortune.

These areas are just so vast, pictures just can't do them justice, but there are a few more in the gallery if you care to see them.

Moab

Staying in Moab, Utah and Clem had the MOAB for dinner. The Mother Of All Burritos!

Windows

A little more on Arches.  The park encompasses 119 square miles, and is endowed with more than 2,000 recognized arches, like the ones above, called "Windows."  This is the largest concentration of arches on the planet.  Made mostly of Entrada Sandstone, and the result of water erosion for the most part, they are believed to have been created in the last million years.  Since 1929 forty two of them in the park have collapsed.

Arches National Park , Utah

Balance Rock

The park was amazing, and we spent the entire day exploring and hiking, leaving no rock unturned!  Well, maybe a couple!  Actually, the only thing we didn't do that I would like to have done, was hike right up to the famous Delicate Arch.  We opted for the shorter hike to the overlook after being told the last part was steep and on rock.  Clem was not terribly excited about the prospect of that.  And I wanted him to pace himself so we could do the hike to the Landscape Arch, which had a chunk fall out in 1991.  It could disappear any day, so I really wanted to see it .  One giant arch stretching the length of a football field.  We arrived back hot and tired from a full day, and though I have looked through the many photos,  they will have to wait for another time to put up an album so you can see more, if you are interested.

I have to say a word about being hot.  The day started out in the 40's and we layered up.  By afternoon, it was only 69 degrees, yet the sun was so strong, we were very warm.  It topped out at 72 degrees, and yet folks were in the pool when we got back to our RV.  Dry air, and elevation of about 5000 feet, makes for hot sunshine!

It was very interesting to go on a guided walk with a park ranger, who described the process of the formations, and the vegetation and life forms.  We saw only chipmunks, and cute little things called White Tailed Antelope Squirrels, who managed to elude my lens!  About the size of chipmunks, they are light colored, with white  bushy tails, that they carry them over their back to shield them from the sunshine.  

The ranger demonstrated how the ground is really alive, by pouring water from her bottle on a small area of red sandy ground, and it amazingly turned green and fuzzy!  Just one step can destroy the layer that holds it all together, and take 250 years to revive.

The Great Salt Lake

Absolutely beautiful!  We drove out to Antelope Island, reputed to be the best place to experience it, and were not disappointed.  We saw thousands of grebes on the waters as we drove the 6 mile causeway onto the island, and bison roaming free, often close to the road.  We even spotted a couple of antelope.

This is the highest concentration of salt water in the world, because water flows into the lake, but not out, and therefore evaporates, leaving high concentrations of salt.  Sometimes several feet thick!  It can be 8-10 times saltier than the ocean, and in fact one explorer, having tasted it, assumed he had reached the Pacific.

Salt Lake City

 This was once Brigham Young's home, called the Lion House after the reposing figure over the door.  It now occupies a restaurant with homey meals, and we had a lovely lunch, which filled us for the day!

As we walked around the city, we encountered this marker where the pony express rode.  Our RV resort was the Pony Express, and they had a map depicting the route, which passed just south of the park.  I had forgotten that the express lasted only about one year.

Temple Square

 Of course, our destination here was Temple Square.  I had heard you were not allowed inside the Temple, but there was a visitors center with a model that allowed you to see what it looked like.  In retrospect, it seems curious to me, as we have visited mosques and cathedrals and even the Vatican, and yet we were not allowed here.  Anyway, it was pretty impressive from the outside.

We were in the Tabernacle, when two young ladies approached and asked if we had questions, and they were quite informative.  They were doing their 1 1/2 years duty to the church, spending 12 hours a day walking around and spreading the word.  Though they did not really try to convert us, they did ask if we would like to purchase the Book of Mormon, and one of them would deliver it to us.  We passed.  But they were lovely, and quite informative, and it was very interesting.

Each day at noon, you can attend an organ recital, which we did, and it was astounding to hear the 11,000 pipes.  The organist demonstrated the amazing acoustics of the building, which was built in the 1800's mind you, by dropping straight pins and tearing a newspaper, both clearly audible.  We did not do our homework early enough, as we could also have listened to the choir practice (360 members) on Thursday night.  I mention this so anyone who may visit should be aware!  I got a video on line, and we listened!  haha!

Day 2 we drove through more barren land in Idaho, though that terrain is marked with uplifted lava boulders, and an unusual shelf on top of the hills.  We decided Idaho deserves a look and will make it a destination someday, but our goal for day 2 was  Salt Lake City, and we accomplished that, settling into our site in view of snow capped mountains.   We will relax and get a good night's rest, and be fresh to explore the city on Tuesday.

view from road in Utah.....dots are bugs on windshield!

We left Portland on Sunday, Oct 9, leaving the gray and drizzle to head for sunnier skies.  We have decided to make this trip by heading to a destination, and spending several days there exploring.  It took us longer to load than anticipated, and we headed out and spent what was left of the day driving to reach just short of the border between Oregon and Idaho.  The terrain is so different as you head out of the lush green of the Columbia River Gorge, and enter brown barren land of the eastern part of the state.  It is a stark beauty that always amazes me.  We drove a couple miles off the highway to a sight right alongside a river, where we enjoyed a lovely sunset, and a quiet night.

Home made turkey chili...mmmmm.

Of course, I decorated the coach for Halloween!