May 4, 2013 - At Canyonlands National Park, The Needles

Today we left our campsite and headed for the southern section of Canyonlands National Park, which is called The Needles. Canyonlands is divided into three sections—Needles, The Maze, and Island in the Sky. We’ll go to Island in the Sky, which is the northern section, in a few days. And The Maze we will skip for now, as it requires backcountry backpacking and we're not prepared to do that. The Needles don’t really resemble needles—they are spires which are much thicker and not as regular in shape as a needle. Most of them are banded red and...

Oct 17, 2012 - Monticello, UT

Leaving Colorado behind we headed back to Utah to Mountain View RV Park in Monticello, UT about 45 miles south of Moab. We decided to come back to this area and explore more of Canyonlands from the southeast. Taking US 191 to the Needles district turn off we traveled 35 miles down into the canyon to an area they call the Needles. These spires look very much like Bryce Canyon, but there is so much more to this area as you can tell from the pictures. Someone had told us that this wasn't worth the trip, but we highly disagreed. Once again we...

Apr 17, 2012 - En Route to Moab

Next stop on our road trip is Moab, Utah but along the way we stopped to play a round of golf at the Hideout Golf Club in Monticello, Utah. Our plan was to walk the course so we were a bit worried when we arrived to find that the course was at 7000' and we were told there was quite a bit of elevation change between holes. But it was a cool morning, only 50F when we arrived, so we decided to carry on with our plans to walk. The walk definitely kept us warm! As we were told, there was a lot of up and down and it turned out to be the best...

Jun 12, 2011 - Monticello, UT - Mountain View RV Park

It was a quick 62 miles from Cortez to Monticello through much of the same type of scenery we have been seeing. We are staying at Mountain View RV Park with 50 amp full hookups, cable and decent WiFi though it is a little weak at our site. The big rig sites are in the open so hitting the satellite was easy. It has a variety of sites, some fairly nice, but the big rig sites are very narrow and just long enough for the Mothership with Libby parked across the site. It is a Camp Club and Passport America campground so the price was right. We...

Sep 2, 2006 - Blanding UT

Somehow I had remembered Blanding as a larger town than it is! We arrived on Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, and the town had already rolled up the sidewalks for the weekend! The RV park was nearly deserted and we made the mistake of not going grocery shopping - the only store in town was closed on Sunday! We drove over to Natural Bridges National Park on Sunday and took the overlook road around the park. There was thunder, lightning and rain threatening (and it actually did rain on us part of the way), so we didn't feel...

Aug 28, 2006 - Monticello

After we left Monument Valley, we started heading for the Arches National Park, although we won't get there today, as we are trying to take it a bit easier. Seen as it was on our way, we visited the Natural bridges Park, all that was there, were three unspectacular stone bridges, two of which where pretty small, we wouldn't recommend going there, even if it's on your way to somewhere else. We also had our first run in with the law. We passed a cop, who was driving in the opposite direction, I saw him spin his car around, he caught us up and...

Jul 10, 2006 - Torrey to Blanding, UT

Before sunrise, the cyclists hit the road with the goal of getting to the Colorado River and making up lost time. Dawn emerged while we were riding downhill on a wonderful and smooth road. The morning light help create some wonderful scenes with dramatic colors projected on to the western canyon walls. The morning portion of the ride couldn't have been better. A fun and winding road with no cars, terrific canyon views and high walls surrounding the group. Pedaling strong, we cruised along quickly, getting to Hanksville (our original...

May 31, 2006 - Mesa Verde National Park

Well today was dedicated to exploring Mesa Verde National Park. This park includes more than 4,000 acheological sites, approximately 600 of which are Cliff Dwellings. It is believed that the Ancient Puebloans first occupied the Mesa top in 550 AD. They initially lived in pit houses ( basically holes dug in the ground with a roof ), around 750 AD they began building houses above ground using poles and mud. By about 1000 AD they began building their homes with stone. The houses were joined together and were often two or three stories tall. By...

May 19, 2003 - Canyonlands Park and onto to Blanding, UT

Today is my birthday. Mom checked in early feeling badly she couldn't even send me a card! Tonight I got an e-card and e-gift certificate from Nicholas and Maggie -- what a difference a generation or two makes! Now I have to figure out how to access it and use it! We were out of cell range most of the day in Canyonlands Park, and missed several calls from friends with good wishes. It helped make the day more special out here in the middle of nowhere. Tonight we are in Blanding, UT -- a dry town! Couldn't even toast my birthday -- except in...

May 19, 2003 - Canyonlands Park and onto to Blanding, UT

Today is my birthday. Mom checked in early feeling badly she couldn't even send me a card! Tonight I got an e-card and e-gift certificate from Nicholas and Maggie -- what a difference a generation or two makes! Now I have to figure out how to access it and use it! We were out of cell range most of the day in Canyonlands Park, and missed several calls from friends with good wishes. It helped make the day more special out here in the middle of nowhere. Tonight we are in Blanding, UT -- a dry town! Couldn't even toast my birthday -- except in...