Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Missouri to Tilghman Island

I don't know how so many people do these 300, 400 sometimes 500 mile days. If we were not on a  deadline to meet this would not be happening. We drive, switching drivers every couple hours. Getting to the west side of the Appalachians is like almost being on the home stretch even though the Chesapeake Eastern Shore is a solid days drive away. Denver to Tilghman Island, Monday morning to Friday afternoon.


There is always something interesting sitting
in the yard at Severn Marine

Dead Horse State Park to mid Missouri #6

The run home. We had a a deadline to meet. Be home for Jennys 25th birthday, or else.

The race east part 1

Well... the first part was not so much of a race. First stop after Dead Horse was just east of Grand Junction, CO where we sort of holed up for the 4th July weekend. We almost never make reservations, let alone make them far in advance, but we have learned that for big holidays like July 4th you had better have reservations or there is no getting a spot. Just like Paradise Lake & Cup Match.

Island Acres State Recreation Area WP#2 on map

Island Acres


Island Acres

BOOM

From a little east of Grand Junction we get into very familiar territory especially past the Copper Mountain ski area & the Eisenhour tunnel on I70 where we run into the worst traffic jam of the trip caused by people headed back to the Denver area after the holiday. Lesson learned. Stay an extra day & avoid the homeward rush.

Back to the Boulder area for an optomotrist visit & contacts pickup then down to Chatfield State Park just south of Denver for an Irish Music Festival. Chatfield is one huge park the size of at least three of Bermudas parishes & a reservoir near the size of the Great Sound in the middle.

Chatfield SP looking SW WP#4 on map

Bagpipe band competition @ Irish Festival


A band from Nova Scotia

The Festival was a two day event starting mid day & going on to 11 or so.





Nature saved one of the most spectacular sunsets for right near the end of the trip. This is the back end of a thunderstorm that fortunately slid by ten or fifteen miles to the north of us. Fortunate because it dumped sizable hail ontop of N Denver.

Monday morning, after the rush, the race was on headed east. Lovely weather till near Colby, Kansas. Out on the plains is like being on the ocean. You can see for miles. We got lucky & dodged another thunderstorm that produced damaging hail in Colby less than half an hour after we passed through town. Thanks to the VHF ham radio in the truck we were able to talk to hams in Colby with radar access telling us where & which way the storm was headed. No tornadoes produced by this one.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP, Las Vegas to Dead Horse State Park, CO

There are no pics of our long days trip from Sequoia to Las Vegas. Lets just say it was extremely hot. The temp got up to 106 at times in low areas. Almost all of the trip was over 100. Most of the time it was around 104. We saw lots of veicles broken down beside the highway. More time was spent watching engine guages & trying to be easy on the truck than watching speed. We stopped from time to time to check tires. Never felt them so hot. A couple of seconds was all you could touch them for. That hot! Very stressful driving. Worse than any mountain, city or snow driving I've ever done. Didn't tell Carolyn at the time.

Dead Horse sunset

Dead Horse Sunset
Second time for us here. It is a special place high on a mesa
far from any other human habitation.


Colorado river passing through Dead Horse SP




 
Fremont Street: downtown Vegas

   
Freemont Street


Yosemite National Park & Sequoia Redwoods National Park

From San Francisco it was a days drive south in California's central valley then east up to Yosemite. Yosemite is the Disney World of the National Parks. More people visit this one than any other. Glad we did not try to stay inside the park. The CGs in the valley are not set up for RVs our size at all. We found a CG in Mariposa. We did 2 days in the area. First day we parked the truck & used our bikes on the very extensive paved bike trail system. The trails were very quiet compared to the very busy shuttle buses running between the sights. The second day we drove out to the end of Glacier Point road to get the views over the valley.

Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite. Must be 2nd to Niagara
as most photographed in the world


Mirror Lake

Half Dome from valley floor




Half Dome from Glacier Point high above the valley


Enlarge to look for vehicles on roads below

Winter snowmelt. rivers running very full.
Too bad there is no sound for this one.

Plenty of snow in June

Half Dome

Enlarge & look very carefully. There are about 50
people ONTOP of Half Dome. Little specks.

Yosemite Village below



Novato to Sequoia Kings Canyon
National Park

Sequoia Redwood National Park

A fallen giant

High in Kings Canyon National Park

Another very full very dangerous rapids


Road into Kings Canyon

Roadside wild flowers



It is why they are called redwoods



Redwood grove