Hwy 12 Escalante Staircase NP and Kodachrome Basin SP

Yesterday we left home thinking we would drive down Hwy 12 for a few miles and check it out.  We had been on this road several years ago.  So we didn't think we would drive to far.  Well....100 miles later and at Kodachrome Basin SP.  We decided to turn around.

The campground we are staying at is at the intersection of Hwy 24 and 12. It was only natural we would take a little trip down Hwy 12.  The landscape of 12 is very different than 24.

 More information on Escalante National Monument

Kodachrome Basin SP is pretty close to Bryce Canyon as the Canyon can be seen from some of higher elevation in the park.

 

Kodachrome Basin State Park

 

What started out to be a short day ended up being an all day trip, a very enjoyable trip.
The weather has been windy almost everyday and it is a good thing I got some sun in Tucson cause I don't think we are going to be getting any really warm weather soon.  That is what happens when you get tired of the desert and start heading North before the weather warms up.  It's okay cause we are still having a great time and it is still better than being in 90 degree weather.

Here are a couple more pictures.

Hope you enjoy!

Escalante - Kodachrome

Still Living the dream.....

 

 

Capitol Reef and Hwy 24

Yesterday we took a day trip on Hwy 24 through Capitol Reef and the Fruita area within the NP.
The views are amazing and around every turn there is a new experience.

Part of Capitol Reef is the Fruita area and the Gifford House.  The area is populated with one of the largest orchards in the National Park service.   Gifford House.  Fruita area.

We took the scenic drive through the Fruita area and enjoyed a stop at the Gifford House.

We had to leave with a sample of a couple of pies, cherry and apple.  We had them for dessert after dinner.  Best pie I have had in a long time.  We also sampled the home churned ice cream. YUM!

Right down the road from the Gifford house was the Fruita Campground, dry camping, very nice campground large sites and very well maintained.   Also down the road were several of the orchards.

Back on Hwy 24 again we stopped at the one room schoolhouse.  It was completely furnished as it was in the day.  Brought back memories, I went to a country one room school for my first seven years of school. There were seven different grades in one room.  Fruita Schoolhouse

Another stop along the way were the petroglyphs.

One of the things we noticed when we were on the walkway checking out the petroglyphs were what looked like giant webs in the trees.  Then we noticed on the railing were thousands of little caterpillars.

Not quite sure what that was all about.

Beautiful area and if you are into hiking you could spend weeks here.

Here is a link to more pictures, as usual. 
Hope you enjoy.

Capitol Reef

Living the dream......

San Juan Byway, Silverton Co.

A couple of days ago we took the San Juan Scenic byway that took us through Telluride, Ouray, Silverton and Durango.

San Juan Scenic Byway

The part of the byway from Quray to Silverton has been referred to as the Million Dollar Highway.
The weather was sunny and warm, perfect for a road trip.  The landscape is beautiful.  Lots of snow in some of the areas.  The trees were just starting to bud.  This would be a great trip to take in the fall when the leaves are changing as there were lots of Aspens in some areas.

The snow covered peaks were awesome.

The small towns have kept the historic downtowns areas in their original forms.

We enjoyed walking the streets and doing some window shopping. 

The sun was out and the snow was melting creating water falls all along the road.

 

We went through a couple of little tunnels, one of the tunnels was created for snow slides so the slides wouldn't cover the road.

It was an awesome day and as usual the pictures don't do the landscape justice.

More pictures.

San Juan Scenic Byway

We will be leaving for the Capitol Reef area in Utah in a couple of days to check out the area.


Living the dream............

Canyon of the Ancients

One of the side trips we took was heading out to Delores, Co and more Indian ruins.  This trip took us on a loop through farm country.  It actually took us to some of the more complete ruins we have seen and we got to look at them up  close and personal.

We had taken a little trip out to the little town of Delores the day before and stopped at a little grocery store that had fresh meat and farm fresh eggs.  We bought a couple of pork chops and a dozen eggs.  The pork chops were awesome.  I hadn't eaten pork that good since I left Minnesota.  Eggs were very good as well. 

We first stopped at the Canyon of the Ancients visitor center and museum to get some information on where to go in the area.

The best stop we made was at the Lowry Ruins. Of course we had to get there via a dirt road.

We could even walk through some of the housing.

The second was Hovenweep National Monument.

Another wonderful day of site seeing and learning.

More pictures, hope you enjoy.

Indian Ruins

Living the dream.......