Grand Tetons in Wyoming

Wow! Never seen such contrast....blue blue sky, white snow-capped, craggy mountains and green meadows and forest. The Teton Range is breathtaking.
I hiked up over a moraine to a lake that was formed by a glacier sliding off the mountain, gouging out a big hole and pushing the earth to form a berm called a moraine.
Herd of elk.
About 3 hours into the hike the sky turned dark and suddenly rain drops were falling....I hastened my pace as I had not brought a raincoat, then came the HAIL....I was practically running down the trail laughing and cussing as I still had over a mile to go...thank God I had a hat on or it would have hurt. I got back to the van soaked. Lesson learned...never hike without a raincoat!

Flaming Gorge

Flaming Gorge named by John Wesley Powell in 1869 “The Green River enters the range by a flaring, brilliant red gorge”. The rusty orange formation is comprised of 220 million-year-old mudstones deposited along the edge of shallow seas, on mudflats, flood plains and stream channels. Fluctuating seas left the varied gray and brown strata along with fossil shells, shark teeth and fish bones. Decomposition of the marine life has resulted in a phosphate-rich formation which is mined today for use as commercial fertilitzer.

Driving/hiking in Flaming Gorge NRC

This was my view when I woke up this morning! Then before I got on the road I went for a hike....BEARS..hmmmm...now I already read where you are supposed to make noise, not hike alone, don't carry food, etc.....I got one of the 3 right...I didn't have food!
I didn't see any bears, but I did see a big mule deer....you have to look good in the center of the photo....one reason I don't take photos of wildlife is that I don't have a very good zoom on this camera.
This was the prize at the end of the trail....a great view of a part of the lake.

One of the cool things about this navigation GPS is that it gives the speed limit of where you are as well as your own speed....and it is very accurate...you can watch it change about the same time as the sign on the road changes...notice I slowed down to take this picture....also gives you an ETA (estimated time of arrival).

Flaming Gorge Recreational Area

I drove to Flaming Gorge today....about 7 hours...I had mapped out a route looking at my roadmaps, but when I put it in my new Garmin GPS....it recommended another way....I would have never thought to go that way...but actually it was much better....more backroads..ones that were not even on my map...so that was cool...took me back into Colorado then back into Utah...through lots of mining country and Dinosaur National Monument, which I did not go into but sure enjoyed all teh signs that told me what era all the rocks were from. This is the Flaming Gorge Dam...

....tonight I am at the Fireman's Memorial Campground on Flaming Gorge Lake I guess....more photos later..I got here right at dark...just in time to cook some dinner...steaming the asparagus and the rest goes on the fire.....

Arches National Park

I am lazy and photographed a location map rather than make one..
I arrived to the Park about 7 AM so I could get some hiking in before it got too hot....I started at Delicate Arch which was about a 3 mile hike...the red sandstone is just so vividly brilliant! these photos do not do it justice. I suppose this is one of the most photographed arches....out of the more than 2000 Arches! (They have to be at least 3 feet wide to be classified as an Arch)....they are everywhere...
One lady I was talking to said it looked like the legs of the "Transformers"....her husband added "missing a few parts" HA....after that comment, that is all I could see were Transformer legs...

Some of the arches are just so big that you cant include them in the photo....but sitting underneath them is daunting...one collapsed just last year.


I went back to my river campsite to take a nap in the heat of the day...also because I was so tired from staying up the night before til the wee hours of the morning blogging...and then getting up at 6 to make the hike.....this place reminds me so much of the Rio Grande in Big Bend....in fact this campsite is called Big Bend!

Camping on the Colorado River...the big one!

Wow!!! I am about 7 miles north of Moab...havent even made it to Arches National Park yet as I talked to some locals and they told me that the campground there would be full and that a much better place to camp was on the river between Moab and there...I didn't even know which river they were talking about as I have not really looked at my maps...imagine that! Well here I am on the real Colorado River (verses the one in Texas)...this is my campspot tonight!!...you can barely see the river to the left...it is roaring...swift and COLD!!! This is near the headwaters as it is BEFORE it reaches the Grand Canyon... There are only 3 spots in this campground and when I drove up a young man came to greet me telling me they were with a river rafting company and had 35 Boy Scouts as clients and that I could have the third camp spot as they were only using 2 of them...AND they had paid for all 3 so I could be their guest....AND they invited me to dinner...wellll....just my luck!! They cooked hamburgers and I cooked some squash I bought in town from the locals who told me to come here. Then I came back and sat here and ate my fresh cherries while listening to the crazy river and taking in the unbelievable scenery.....then made a fire with some wood another camper had given me earlier....am now sitting here with my laptop watching the Full Moon writing to all of you!! This is what I intended the aircard to do....and I don't even have cell phone reception but I am amazed I have internet!! Camping alone really is fun...I can do it just like I want to...HA!!! I am meeting all sorts of people....and having this connection to all of you is cool too.....going to Arches manana manana!! hasta.........

Approaching Moab, UTAH

I finally made it to UTAH!!!! Never been here but it has been a lifelong dream! On my way to Moab and Arches National Park...seen way too many National Geographic pictures....soooo worthy to come up here and see for yourself... this is the first rock outcropping I saw as my Garmin GPS navigator told me I was 42 miles away.... I don't know what it is called, but here it is looking back at it. Shows how much a slight twist on perspective can make a big difference!!
Then not too much further down the road, there was a beautiful arch just sitting there next to the road..jejejejee.....well when I climbed the steep hill to reach it, there was an Indian sleeping...I kid you not....perfect place for a nap as the wind was really blowing up there...I am sure he was totally in the shade when he started the nap.....then along came a family from Germany that spoke French and they took my picture...I LOVE THIS WORLD!!

Driving in Colorado

Today driving down the road I saw a sign for fresh Sweet Cherries....so naturally I pulled over....well it was in front of a livestock auction barn and there were several trucks selling hay.....
I just had to take a picture for my friends and family to show how cheap it is selling up here as I am fairly certain that due to the severe drought that hay is pricier or even non existent in central Texas!

Mesa Verde National Park in New Mexico

My first National Park experience of this trip......Wow what a place to begin!! The park is huge.....once inside you drive for miles to get around. The cliff dwellings were just breathtaking....built around 1250 AD by the Pueblo Indians, these particular ones built in less than 100 years and then abandoned..???...noone sure why...but the Puebloans moved on.....leaving these quite amazing structures (well preserved by our National Park system).

One has to take a guided tour to see some of the sites, but then you can hike around on your own to see some beautiful country. And since I am alone now, most of the photos of me will be timed exposures....I have to laugh at myself sometimes!
A Petroglyph carved into the rock.

The scars of fire.....
and the beautiful recovery in the midst of it all.......

Celebrating 4th of July in NEW Mexico

Went to El Cerrito, New Mexico to celebrate the holiday, mostly to get away from crowded celebrations but also to visit the schoolhouse that Richard and Brock have built. I plan on returning here to build them an outdoor composting toilet and to breath some life into it....it does need a woman's touch!We camped there in the backyard and was invited to celebrate with the Quintana Family.....we spent the day collecting rocks from the road and taking them to a house that Danny has recently purchased and as you can see the rock work being done... he will tell you it was a dump when he bought it, he didn't care...he bought it for this...the artesian water!! how sweet it is...I am building ties with this family and the village as someday I think I will live here...I had that feeling the first time I came about 10 years ago! And good rapport is important in a village of 11 people!!
On the way back we stopped at the home of Leroy who treated us to a song on his lovely patio. And well the 4th is not complete without boys and their fireworks!!