Home at last

Thurs Oct 17 
Up and out of the Super 8 and on our way. We stopped at the town of Fort Scott, Kansas, where the actual fort is also a National Monument. We didn't end up visiting the fort but I took a walk around the town which was a typical old downtown area of about 2 blocks square. It was early and not many places were open but some of the restaurants looked good. Maybe next time.
Using the same route, off the Interstate, we by-passed Springfield and ended up eating in a little town called Lebanon, MO, which is on an Interstate and had an Italian restaurant that was in a mostly empty strip mall with a Mexican place. DaVinci's Italian Restaurant was not only delicious but also very inexpensive. Will had a huge plate of pasta with a meatball, a sausage, and meat sauce with grilled mushrooms on the side for $11.99 and the most expensive thing on the menu was $16.50. I had the ravioli combo which was amazing. Light as a feather, and perfect marinara sauce. Many places we ate in over the last few months would never make it on the Cape. This place would be packed every night. So lucky to have found it. We were also the only people there. It was the middle of the afternoon.
We continued on about another hour to Mansfield, MO, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder as an adult. We stayed in a campground in Mountain Grove, MO, Missouri RV Park. Another nearly empty campground and we had a spot right near the bathroom.
We had a quick camp fire before bed.

 Fri Oct 18 
Today we visited Laura Ingalls Wilder's home and museum.

 We were part of a large group that toured her home. No pictures inside. Across the property is another home 'Rock House' which Laura's daughter, Rose, built for them and where they lived for several years before moving back to the farmhouse. I took the short, but somewhat uphill, walk over to the Rock House. Will met me there with the van. We toured that house and had a nice conversation with the guide inside.
We also visited the new museum which is near the farmhouse and is quite large. It included dozens of items from Laura and Almanzo as well as other members of both of their families and some other people from the books. It was all very well presented. Finally we visited the cemetery and saw Laura's and Almanzo's graves.
We didn't think Mansfield had much in the way of restaurants so we headed up to Mountain Grove's Santa Fe Mexican Bar And Grill which was one of three 'nice' Mexican places in town. All three had good ratings so I guess we couldn't go wrong. It was good.
We did laundry back at the campsite and had another camp fire.

Sat Oct 19 
We drove all the way across Missouri and enjoyed the lovely rolling hills and scenery that included trees. Lots of bucolic beauty. I was intrigued by a place called 'Land Between the Lakes' at the western edge of Kentucky and we pushed a little to get there.
We went to the Visitor's Center to get help finding a camp site and the woman there called several places but none had a level site for us. Finally she asked 'Are you allergic to horses?'. We were puzzled by this but said no. I was wondering how many horses are we talking about? The woman called 'Wranglers' and they had a site for us so we headed off. It turns out it was only 6 miles away.
We wound our way down a relatively small road and found ourselves in the middle of a horse camp! Dozens, maybe hundreds of horses and their owners having a blast. Here's the van in our not very private site. There's the bathroom on the right. At one point I looked over at the porta-potty and there was a horse in front of it with the reins going inside!

It was very minimal but clean and convenient. There was a bathhouse somewhere but not near us.
The number of horses was amazing. Some sites had 4 or more horses. Folks brought big and small horses. Donkeys(mules?) too. Some had carts and did laps around the campground in the evening:

 Here's a guy hauling two trailers. The second one is a cart they hitch the horses to and then ride it around camp. Sometimes with LED lights underneath and/or music playing. Guys sitting in there drinking beer and riding around together(I presume they were drinking, although the camp 'rules' clearly stated Kentucky's law against public drinking. I think the rule is so they can kick out the unruly. We didn't see anyone being unruly. I suppose we could have gotten a ride as everyone was incredibly familiar and friendly.

 Another view showing how big this place was. That road goes off into a space with dozens more camp sites. Off to the left of that black horse was a long row of horse stalls which were very close to us. I thought they might keep us awake but eventually everyone settled down.

I wish we'd had more time to explore this very large park(Land Between the Lakes) but now we have an excuse to go back there.
We had a camp fire and a visit from another camper looking for a good cell phone signal. She said our camp site was the best place in the campground, but I actually didn't have much of a signal, cell phone or wifi.
This place was incredible. so many people enjoying their horses. I didn't know such places existed.

Sun Oct 20
Since the sinks were far away we got up early and drove up to the Visitor's Center to brush our teeth. This got us off to a good start.
The wind was blowing making driving tense. We made it most of the way across Kentucky to the KOA campground in Corbin, KY.

Mon Oct 21
Another long day of driving to get to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We got to the Boone KOA campground but it was quite remote so we ate the leftovers from the Italian Place in Lebanon, MO. Still very good.

Tues Oct 22
Awoke to fog and rain. Nothing to do but get on the road.
Blue Ridge Parkway was so overcast it was as if the view had been wiped clean.

 Nothing but white. (Actually this picture is from slightly later when it had lifted a little)
It seemed silly to continue so we pulled into a rest area while Will napped and we waited to see if the weather would clear.

It did and turned into a much nicer day.

We got to Hillsville, VA and ate at a place called 508N Brews and Co. and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.

Wed Oct 23
Back to normal, brilliant sunshine. More Blue Ridge Parkway. Amazing foliage.

But although lovely, it seems very slow. We stopped in this nice picnic area. Almost completely deserted.

Nice for relaxing but we want to get home to avoid additional rainy weather. Turns out it isn't very fun to drive in. We were so lucky to see so little of it for so long.
We managed to get to Charlottesville, VA to the KOA for the night and ate at the Timberwood Taphouse.

Thurs Oct 24 
We're on Interstates now, just focused on getting home. Guess we stayed a little too long as we haven't been hiking or anything.
Hops Fogelsville Hotel Restaurant bar was loud and food was only so-so but it was close to the campground, the Allentown PA KOA.
The office was closed and we had to use self check-in, it was almost dark when we got there.
There was a cute covered bridge over the stream to get to the bathrooms.
We had the shortest camp fire ever. Just more into getting to bed early and getting on the road.


Fri Oct 25 
 Slept in a little in the campground. It was very quiet. Although our self check-in offered only a few available sites, we were pretty much alone in our section with at least a dozen empty sites all around us.
We got on the road without incident. Ate at the Que Whiskey Kitchen
because it was very close to the Southington, CT HIE. It was an interesting barbecue place. Funny after so much barbecue out west we'd end up eating our last 'cue in CT!

Sat Oct 26 
Alternating between hotels and campgrounds is making us wake up in the night wondering exactly where we are. We woke up in the Holiday Inn Express and got on the road by 9:30 and went directly to the Stop and Shop then were home by 1:00.
We unpacked some, opened some mail and started to make lists of what needs to be done. The dryer is broken but fixable(a broken belt). The wood stove is not drawing so we'll need to call the chimney sweep. The credit card got replaced so I have to change all the autopay information at various vendors.
So it is great to be home but life sure is going to be different from now on!

Red Rocks All Around

Sunday Oct 6 - Another cold morning in Bryce Canyon City. We decided to go out to breakfast and ended up at the same restaurant because the diner was closed on Sunday. We had a good breakfast and got on the road relatively early.
The drive contained many interesting sights.

Pardon the car antenna in the picture. I take a lot of pictures through the windshield. This mountain seemed to have all the colors of the rainbow due to the changing foliage.

We arrived at the Zion Canyon Campground in the afternoon.

At Bryce Canyon visitors travel the rim of the canyon in the shuttle bus and can hike down into the canyon. At Zion the shuttle bus drives the floor of the canyon and visitors can hike up. Also at Zion there is a town with hotels, shops and restaurants all along the shuttle route. Our campground was a half mile from the park entrance, stop number 3. It was slightly uphill so we took the shuttle 'up' but walked the half mile back to the campground.
First time was just to go to the brewpub at the park entrance.

The beer and food were delicious here. It was nice to sit outside and be comfortable. Will is having a better time than he appears to be having in this photo.
We returned to the campsite and enjoyed the sun set then had a nice campfire before bedtime.

Mon Oct 7 Another cold morning. We thought we'd just huddle inside until 'the sun came up' but due to the high canyon walls it was 10:00 before the sun shone in the campground! We finally got up and got ready to explore Zion Canyon.
We queued up to take the shuttle bus into the park(a different shuttle than the one that brought us to the park entrance from town). This should have been a warning. Although there was a near-continuous line of shuttles we waited 15 minutes in a snaky line to get in a shuttle bus. Tons and tons of people are visiting Zion and it is a much smaller park that Bryce.
We took the shuttle to the end and then hiked further into the canyon. At times it was a conga line of people walking along the path.

We sometimes had the path to ourselves.

 

At the end of the trail the hike continues in the river. Lots of people rented waterproof shoes and pants to wear while hiking this part. We just turned around here.

 We hopped on the shuttle and off again at another stop where we took another short walk where there were fewer people.

The day turned warm and we were happy to stop at the Brewery again for our meal of the day.

 And another interesting sunset in the campground.

We hadn't expected the crowds at Zion. We also didn't attempt to hike up the canyon walls. We heard at one famous lookout at the top that there were 100 people waiting in line to look at the view. We were glad we hadn't tried to go up there. Between the fear of heights and the strenuous climb, it just isn't for us at this time.

Tues Oct 8
Up earlier and on our way. Lots of nice views along the way

We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express in Page, Arizona which is at the southern end of Lake Powell.

Wed Oct 9
Today's drive took us to Monument Valley, which straddles Arizona and Utah. Everyone is probably familiar with it as it is the backdrop for many western movies.

We got to the Visitor's Center and determined we could drive ourselves through the park. The road was pretty rough but we made the drive and were amazed at the formations. This one is called the Three Sisters.

 

We landed at the nearby KOA and had a nice view

 and another great sunset

Thurs Oct 10
We didn't travel far this day but we did make a circle of our route through Utah by going back up to Blanding where we did laundry before returning to Bluff to camp at the Cottonwood Campground and had dinner at the Cottonwood Steakhouse.
Still plenty of interesting sights along the way.

Didn't manage to capture an image of the campsite but these Twin Rocks were next to a restaurant at the other end of town.

Fri Oct 11 Another short driving day, we made our way into Colorado passing through Four Corners.

 Our base was Cortez, Colorado where we stayed at the KOA campground which was preparing to close for the season.

We stopped in at the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument Visitor Center and got information about how to visit the site. Seeing how much there was to do here we decided to spend 3 nights instead of the originally planned 2 nights.
It was very cold overnight, forecast 19 degrees. We woke up to 37 degrees inside the van. We managed to make coffee and have breakfast but it was still rather cold. We started the engine to warm us up but it took about a half hour which seemed rather inefficient. We decided to look for a small electric space heater at Walmart. We found one for under $20. It made a huge difference. As long as we have electricity, we'll be able to stay warm.

Sat Oct 12 Cortez KOA
We woke up and made the van warm and cozy inside quickly with the heater. We set out to explore the Canyon of the Ancients. We started with a hike which could have been as long as 12 miles but we only walked one mile out and back again. Mostly it was a gentle uphill which made it a little tougher for us.

 This area is where several different civilizations lived including early Pueblo populations. Evidence of their lives exists in the form of stone walls, remnants of their homes. A lot like the Edge of the Cedars

 And some interesting rock formations

Some of the antique sites were not well marked which gave us a sense of discovery.

It was a challenging walk for us although many hikers and bikers passed us as we walked. We felt good when we reached the site above as it indicated we'd completed the first mile of the hike and we returned, downhill most of the way, feeling accomplished.
Next stop was a site called Hovenweep the access to which we'd passed from 2 other angles, one in Blanding and the other near Bluff. At those times we didn't know what it was and decided not to travel 20-40 miles to find out. So it was interesting that this was on our agenda now.
Hovenweep is a narrow canyon with over a dozen old dwellings, some resembling castles.

There was a walk around the rim of the canyon but to complete the circle the path descended to the canyon floor and returned to the top. It wasn't huge distance but my knee was already bothering me and most of the interesting things were viewable from the rim. We walked about halfway around and back. Also remember we're at 7000+ft of elevation.

Next stop was the Lowry Pueblo which had been extensively excavated by George Lowry in the 1930's. I neglected to take pictures here. Somehow knowing the sites are considered sacred by the current native tribes I think that made me reluctant to photograph them. See the links for more complete information.
We returned to Cortez and realized we'd driven over 100 miles. There is a lot more to explore here but it would require a lot of time and hiking. We felt we'd captured the spirit of the place. We stopped at the J Fargo Brewpub on the way back to the campground and met a guy who'd also had a good experience in the Canyon that day.

Sun Oct 13 Today we visited Mesa Verde National Park which was a lot closer to the campground but involved driving up to a canyon rim and a lot of scary, cliffside driving. We should have anticipated this but somehow missed this detail.
So, our enjoyment was inhibited by the treacherous driving.

To really see the cliff dwellings, a reserved trip with a ranger is required. We didn't feel compelled to descend ladders and squeeze through narrow openings.
Also, it seems we may finally be burning out on sightseeing. We find ourselves less compelled to make any extra effort to immerse ourselves in the spirit of the parks.
Maybe it is time to go home. We enjoyed the full moon rising over the mountains.

Monday Oct 14
We had no agenda today. Just drive and see how far we could get without pushing too hard. We headed East in Colorado. We crossed the Continental Divide again(We think that makes 8 times?)

We decided if we pushed to drive 300 miles, we'd stay in a hotel. And we found a Holiday Inn Express in La Junta, CO. We ate at the Boss Hog Saloon where we caught the Early Bird Filet Mignon special 6oz wrapped in bacon. $12.99 and just delicious. Came with a nice salad.
No pictures today.

Tuesday Oct 15 Continued to drive East through Colorado. We crossed the border into Kansas and saw all of the cows, and all of the hay fields. The 'feed lots' beside the road contained hundreds and hundreds of cows, well, steers actually. Getting fattened up in crowded pens. As we drove on the single lane highway cattle carriers passed us regularly in the opposite direction. There was a fair wind out of the North as we made our way East. The cattle carriers would cause a huge amount of turbulence around the van. It made for tense and uncomfortable driving. We managed to make it to Pratt, KS where we checked into the Holiday Inn Express. Google pointed is to the Uptown Cafe which provided a delicious steak. A nice friendly bar with folks from Louisiana and Minnesota made for an enjoyable evening.

Wed Oct 16 After 2 long days of driving we drove a shorter distance today. But we decided to stay in a hotel because the cooler smelled bad and needed careful cleaning, not always possible in a campground.
We ended up in Iola, KS in a Super 8 Motel. Had a nice Mexican meal in El Charro, downtown.
So here we are. The current plan is to head for the Blue Ridge Parkway, then possibly toward Kent Narrows, a favorite place for us to eat blue crab, and home.
Stay tuned to see where we end up. I'll try to take pictures. For the last few days I haven't been taking any.