Dry Camp Along Highway 50 Near Nevada Border

On the way from Bryce Canyon, we decided to take a less traveled road through Utah and avoid Salt Lake City. We traveled Highway 50 west toward Ely, Nevada. Along the way, we found a great spot along the road that offered a good dry camping spot. It was just four miles from here to the Nevada border. It was a peaceful night. We slept great and headed toward Jackpot, Nevada early the next morniing.

Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Kodachrome Basin

 Utah is GREAT !  We visited Zion and Bryce National Parks and the Kodachrome Basin. Zion was congested with holiday visitors and hikers. Bryce was much less congested. Bryce was my favorite. It was visitor friendly, clean and very cool due to the high altitude. We enjoyed them all.

Grand Canyon, South Rim and Williams, AZ.

We spent two days parked in Williams, Arizona visiting the South Rim of Grand Canyon. Carmel and Leah were impressed. I had seen it once before and frankly, it's not a giant deal to me. I must be missing something. Williams, Arizona is an old stop on old Route 66 and has all the cafes, diners, and etc. to prove it. We parked at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. It's basically a paved parking lot within walking distance to the main drag in Williams. It's OK. But, we would not stay there again as they have not one blade of grass for pets. The "pet walking area" is a rocked pathway around the inside perimeter of the park. I could tell the rocks were hurting our dog's feet.  The park is not pet friendly in our opinion, so we'll opt for a different park if we ever return to Williams.

Carlsbad-First Day

We arrived in Carlsbad in late afternoon, Saturday, May 19. We were planning on a trip the the Caverns here but that may be delayed while we deal with a coach leveling system problem. The coach's auto leveling system manufactured by HWH Corp. in Moscow, Idaho is acting up and the jacks (after lowering initially) will not retract to position the coach in a good level position. So, some work to do on the HWH system.

So, we took a break and visited the Living Desert Zoo and State Park just north of Carlsbad. It was just outstanding. At this facility, they take in native animals who have been injured or otherwise need a home. What a great, well managed, spotless facility. The animals which we found most interesting are some Mexican Wolves (all brothers), two mountain lions, bald eagle, sea eagle, and some native hawks. The bear was resting in it's cave early in the morning, and we missed it. If you're ever in the area, it is well worth the stop. They also have a temperature controlled house filled with cactus and plants from New Mexico. We saw cactus we had never heard of or seen.

Well, we finally departed Corpus Christi on 18 May, around 10:30 A.M. after a short morning battle with the electrical hook-ups from the Dutch Star to the Jeep.  We skirted around San Antonio on Highway 1604 and it was a pleasant alternative to Interstate 10 through San Antonio, which seems to always have construction in progress with narrow lanes restricted by the concrete barriers. We love San Antonio, but not I-10 through the city with our coach and Jeep.

We stopped at a I-10 picnic area near Junction, Texas late in the afternoon on the 18th, and after relaxing there, just decided to spend the night. We were all alone until around midnight when a few 18 wheelers pulled in. Even with the company, it was quiet and we rested well. There were no blinding parking lot lights and no restrooms to attract stop and go traffic, so it was a great overnight parking spot.

Finally Departing Next Week

Since returning from a job in Africa, Jim has been in the hospital twice for tests. We finally have the green light from all the doctors and plan on departing on the 18th for the northwest. Sure looking forward to the mountain air.  We are lucky to have a couple who will be staying in our home and taking care of it. That sure provides some peace of mind. Our trip this year will include Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce in Utah, a long stay in Montana, a long visit to the Glacier Park area, Yellowstone Park, Red Lodge, Montana, Cody Wyoming, Rocky Mountain Park, visiting family in Missouri, then visiting friends in Oklahoma on our return south. Naturally, we will enjoy all the interesting spots along the way and especially enjoy the time together.  We'll try to do a better job keeping up the blog.