Change in Direction…..More Than Once!

Last post I had indicated that my plans where to head to Yellowstone on Monday….Got up Sunday and the weather was really lousy…it was raining, cold and low cloud cover…I decided to do a short “mission  trip”   Yellowstone to see how things where, campground and road closures, if any, weather, etc….Hey, its only 55 miles…should be back in a couple of hours. I left at 0800 and got back to my campsite at 3pm….Mmmm

Last morning at campground

What I did learn is one of the main roads was closing on 2 Sept and  to get to that area was about 75 miles longer with the detour….the campground I wanted was also closing 2 Sept…well it may stay open until the 5th,  but they where not for certain…..the lows every night I was planning on being there was forecast to be between the high 20’s to low 30’s and some rain…the alternate 2 campgrounds I was considering doesn’t let you run generators…

 

©Horst Kelly photographer…last morning

Sooo I decided to pack it in and head south…there is always another time for Yellowstone…as I mulled it over, Bryce and Zion came into my mind…not a bad second choice….ok them Bryce it is…first interim destination was at a campground off  of Rt191 on the Utah side of Flaming Gorge…its right on the lake, peaceful, no electric, but you can run generators, usually a nice breeze…

  ©2014Horst Kelly Photographer

Drove out  of the Tetons around eight, I needed one more fix, so I found a spot for Ms. Casita and I took some last shots of those magnificent peaks…BTW, they got some snow on them the other day….

©Horst Kelly Photographer

Flaming Gorge ©Horst Kelly Photographer

 

About 0900 after gassing up we headed South…260 miles later arrived at the campground….only one other person and the Host…nice….it was full this morning with “Boaters”….but now I had my choice of sites….unhitched as I planned on saying here 2 days…need to thaw out a bit….plus at 8 bucks a   day  not bad…Owned by the Forestry Service…

 

Its now 2 Sept. (Tuesday)..had a great grilled chicken dinner last evening… windows open…though it cooled down during the night where I had to close them…slept in until 0700 this morning…cup of java, watching the sun rays heat up the lake, walked for an hour..and started the “Genny”…

Found an Osprey nest and spent the morning sitting as close to the nest as Mom would allow me and got a few shots off…rest of the day was spent trying to figure  out where next….Bryce it is with an interim stop somewhere in-between. The Park was now empty except for me…talk about solitude…nice sunset reflecting off the lake…Dinner and to dream and early…by 0730 Wednesday(3Sept) I was

©2014Horst Kelly Photographer

saying my goodbyes to the Host and heading South along the Damn toward Vernal…I remember it well, steep climb and 10 switchbacks(8/9% decline)…I downshifted the automatic and about half way down something smelled…lucky for me there was a scenic  overlook. I checked the brakes on the Xterra and the front ones where extremely hot…waited for 30 plus minutes and then drove into Vernal…as I had recalled from taking this Route on a previous adventure there was one more pass and the switchbacks   are  more   “adventuress” than the one I just came down…Found a Forestry Office in Vernal, asked a gentleman working there….Since he had been a previous 18 Wheeler driver, he knew the route well and with my potential problem suggested not to go   that way.

©Horst Kelly Photographer

Mmmmmm, now what..I adjusted the “brake Controller” to a more robust setting, thinking that may help….but when push came to shove, I chickened out…regrouped and decided to go East then South and West….As I write this I am sitting at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park(Island acres section)…what a GEM!…Has Electric, showers and more…treed for the most part…with Mountains on two sides, The Colorado River Flowing Through it…. JerryC said    in a Blog entry of mine one time”Horst, you turned Lemons into Lemonade”…and it happened again….

So here I am, hoping I can post this through my smartphone, relaxing, just got finished grilling a steak…took a Lonnnng shower and will decide what tomorrow brings…I’m thinking Canyonlands…we’ll see…Until next post, Happy Trails…Horst sends,