MAY 2008
USA-Colorado-South Fork
Thursday
1st with an early start we
arrived at Pagosa Springs before elevenses, we found the Post Office
but our mail was not ready, the letters and the parcels had not been
sorted. We set off to try to find a mechanic to change the fuel
filter. When we reached the fourth garage, we saw some oil
dripping down, the mechanic diagnosed a loose oil filter which he
tightened and he also changed the fuel filter (£15-). We
returned to the Post Office, our parcels were there. We visited
the Tourist Centre where they found us an open camp with Wi-fi.
After five miles we 
arrived in time for lunch and a restful
afternoon. Friday
after an awful start to the day for Howard, there was no heat from the
diesel air heater and then he had to wash off the soap in the shower
with icy water. We continued west and soon reached Durango.
The third garage we visited said “come back early Monday and he would
search the net for information, to see if he could get the heater
working properly“. We continued on to the entrance to Mesa Verde
National Park. The campsite was closed (till Monday), we returned
one mile to the nearest camp, there was room no problem.
Saturday 3rd after an early start we entered into Mesa Verde, at the Visitor’s Centre we bought tickets for guided tours of Cliff Palace (1000) and Balcony House (1200). Cliff Palace was superb. Balcony House required the climb of a thirty foot ladder to enter and a crawl through an eighteen inch wide and thirty inch high passage way. We both made it. The tours were followed by lunch!! In the afternoon we drove round the other loop visiting several Pit Houses in “Pueblo” surroundings. We exited the Park at 1640, we were looking for Chris, Fred, Katherine and Tony who had left a note on our van. They were in the second camp we entered and it had room for us. After dinner we visited our friends for a brief chat, which lasted two hours. Sunday a lazy start, we were ready to leave after
elevenses. We went across to our
friends to say “bye for now”. Half an hour later we left and had
a leisurely drive (36miles) to Durango where we arrived just in time for
lunch. Monday
we made an early start to be at the garage by 0800, we were not looked
at till 0900. Sean, the mechanic found an air bubble in the fuel
pipe. He cleared it and the heater ran perfectly. By the
time everything was completed, we decided to return to the local camp
to check things for Tuesday. We had an excellent meal out. Tuesday the heater ran for
ten min and then stopped. We returned to the garage. A
faulty fuel pump was suspected, it was now 1100, 1700 UK time so we
returned to the camp. A check of Howard’s e-mail found a Canadian
dealer. Back again to the garage, Sean phoned the Canadian dealer and
was given three dealers in Colorado. He phoned one and we are to
go there in about ten days time. We returned to camp for the rest
of the day. We finally set off on Wednesday for Monument
Valley, after a steady drive we arrived by 1400, we booked in for two
nights and booked a tour for 0845 on Thursday. Thursday we were at the
office by 0845 for our tour. It went off very well, the scenery
was magnificent but too huge to allow a photo to do it justice.
We were back in the caravan by lunchtime. A heavy rain shower and
thunder about 1100 which lasted a few 
minutes was the only blot on a cloudy
day. Howard found the massive red mountain mesas and buttes,
together with the orange sand overpowering. We ate Buffalo Hump
for dinner, it was nothing special, just like beef. Friday the trip from
Monument Valley to Grand Canyon went off easily. The day was
sunny, ideal for photos but there was nothing there to photo, unlike
yesterday.
Saturday 10th the system for touring the Grand Canyon National Park has changed, for large vehicles over 20ft. As only a few places are accessible, we decided to use the shuttle buses. From the camp the first bus took us east to change to the second bus. There were two overlook stops and then we walked two miles along the rim, from Pipe Creek Vista to Yavapai Observation Station, there were a few views but we saw mostly trees and flowers. Howard saw a California Condor, the highlight of his day! It was lunchtime so we had a meal in the Yavapai Lodge. We took the bus back to the camp for a relaxing afternoon. Sunday yesterday’s walk along the rim continued, from Yavapai Observation Station to El Tovar for hot chocolate and cake, then we went on to Bright Angel Trail Head where we caught a shuttle bus to Hopi Point, the remainder of the road being closed for reconstruction. We took bus back to the camp for lunch. As we had no luck trying to book a dinner, Howard took the shuttle bus into town, firstly to try to buy a DVD on rafting down
the canyon, there was not one available,
then on to El Tovar to book dinner. The early
attempts on the house phone were unsuccessful the receptionist tried
and gave Howard her phone to speak (across the hall) to the dining
room. Howard walked across the hall and all was arranged.
We spent a couple of hours in the caravan and set off to dinner.
We were surprised to find an Elk grazing on the hotel lawn. It
was not a tame Elk. there was nothing exceptional about the
meal. Monday we made a reasonably early
start for the drive to Page, the only open camp on our route.
Howard went off to the doctors as the ankle he had grazed was becoming
even more swollen, it was cleaned and bandaged and a prescription for
antibiotics was given to him. Tuesday another day of
driving from Page to the Zion National Park, where we arrived soon
after lunch. Since Monument Valley the days have been fine and
sunny. Wednesday
we walked from the caravan to the Visitor’s Centre to
catch the shuttle bus for a tour of the canyon. Our first stop
was at the Court Of The Three Patriarchs, three massive
mountains. The next sto
p was at Zion Lodge, Mervyn walked up to
the first Emerald (Muddy Brown) Pool and then we found that it took
fifteen min. to find a place to buy a hot chocolate, no buns. The
tour continued to Weeping Rock which was up a short sharp climb, very
interesting. At Big Bend we saw hikers on top of the cliffs, six
hundred feet up from the canyon floor. The Temple Of Sinawava was
the last stop, huge vertical cliffs towering above the valley
floor. The shuttle bus brought us back to the Visitor’s Centre
for a short walk to the van and lunch. On the way back to the van
a group of people were looking at a bush, we joined them and saw a
Whipsnake, the people ran one way the snake the went other way.
Zion Canyon is awe inspiring with it’s vertical cliffs from 350 yards
to 20 feet apart. Thursday
we started reasonably early and drove to Bryce Canyon. The
planned visit to Cedar Breaks failed as it was closed. Just short
of the National Park we saw a camp with full hook-ups (there are no
hook-ups in the park), we booked in for two nights. Friday we were told the
free shuttle bus starts next week so we took the van for our visit to
Bryce Canyon, the sce
nery is different from all the scenery we
have seen before. In the afternoon we relaxed Mervyn editing his
videos and Howard working on the laptop.
Saturday 17th we made an early start, followed by a day of driving, from Bryce Canyon to Hanksville where we arrived at 1500 and settled into a nice campsite. On the way we passed through the Escalante and Capital Reef National Parks, full of layers of coloured rock. It was a fine sunny day, not too windy, with fluffy clouds in the sky. Sunday a day for chores (washing), this took most of the morning and left the rest of the day free. Monday we went north from Hanksville to I-70, where we turned east to cross the Green River, then south to turn west just before Moab, to go into the Canyonlands National Park, where we camped. It was a primitive site without electricity, water or sewer. Tuesday we spent the morning driving round the park, the views were too huge to photograph, but some photography was successful. We arrived on the Archesview RV site for lunch and then went into Moab to shop, we crossed the Colorado River on the way. Wednesday we visited the Arches National Park. The tour of the park took us well into the afternoon, and involved quite a bit of walking to photograph the various arches. The day was overcast with occasional rain towards the end of the tour, mostly when we walked back to the van. Thursday we relaxed and sorted photos etc. There were rain showers. This is the desert!!! Friday we drove back into the Arches Park as Howard wanted to take some more photos. The sky was still overcast with smatterings of rain. When we left the park we drove along a minor road alongside the Colorado River, the scenery was rocky with vertical cliffs on both sides, up to 200 feet high. We saw some rubber rafts on the river and arrived at Grand Junction soon after lunch. Shopping took a short time. We had a hail storm in the evening.
Saturday 24th was another overcast rainy day. We stayed in the camp as we are waiting to have the Air Heater looked at on Tuesday. Sunday the forecast was for sun so we went for a drive through the Colorado National Monument. This was the last of the canyon country and although it has high vertical walls and overlooks, we have seen it all before in the previous months. Monday a fine sunny, if windy, day. We relaxed in the caravan. Tuesday the mechanic was unable to do anything for the Air Heater, “you must go on to Denver” was the verdict. On another fine sunny day we continued alongside the Colorado to Glenwood Springs. In places the canyon was just wide enough to allow the road and railway to run alongside the river. Wednesday we continued along the Colorado, in places the canyon was only wide enough for the river. Tunnels on the left bank for vehicles and on the right bank for the trains allowed us to continue. In places the duel carriageway was on split levels. We passed through the Colorado ski area including Vail where Howard skied in 1991. It was a disappointment to see the ski slopes and the lifts which were not working. Denver was our camping town. In the afternoon Howard went to the hospital as his leg was not improving. Thursday was spent mostly in a repair shop for the diesel air heater, parts were required to be flown in. Friday the parts arrived and we spent a long time in the garage but were able to go to Golden to camp. Howard’s tablets from the hospital made him feel a little rough.
Saturday 31st was a fine sunny day for the trip north to the Rocky Mountains National Park, we passed many small ski areas. Howard was feeling better after a night’s sleep. We arrived mid afternoon to camp just inside the park.
arrived in time for lunch and a restful
afternoon. Friday
after an awful start to the day for Howard, there was no heat from the
diesel air heater and then he had to wash off the soap in the shower
with icy water. We continued west and soon reached Durango.
The third garage we visited said “come back early Monday and he would
search the net for information, to see if he could get the heater
working properly“. We continued on to the entrance to Mesa Verde
National Park. The campsite was closed (till Monday), we returned
one mile to the nearest camp, there was room no problem.Saturday 3rd after an early start we entered into Mesa Verde, at the Visitor’s Centre we bought tickets for guided tours of Cliff Palace (1000) and Balcony House (1200). Cliff Palace was superb. Balcony House required the climb of a thirty foot ladder to enter and a crawl through an eighteen inch wide and thirty inch high passage way. We both made it. The tours were followed by lunch!! In the afternoon we drove round the other loop visiting several Pit Houses in “Pueblo” surroundings. We exited the Park at 1640, we were looking for Chris, Fred, Katherine and Tony who had left a note on our van. They were in the second camp we entered and it had room for us. After dinner we visited our friends for a brief chat, which lasted two hours. Sunday a lazy start, we were ready to leave after
elevenses. We went across to our
friends to say “bye for now”. Half an hour later we left and had
a leisurely drive (36miles) to Durango where we arrived just in time for
lunch. Monday
we made an early start to be at the garage by 0800, we were not looked
at till 0900. Sean, the mechanic found an air bubble in the fuel
pipe. He cleared it and the heater ran perfectly. By the
time everything was completed, we decided to return to the local camp
to check things for Tuesday. We had an excellent meal out. Tuesday the heater ran for
ten min and then stopped. We returned to the garage. A
faulty fuel pump was suspected, it was now 1100, 1700 UK time so we
returned to the camp. A check of Howard’s e-mail found a Canadian
dealer. Back again to the garage, Sean phoned the Canadian dealer and
was given three dealers in Colorado. He phoned one and we are to
go there in about ten days time. We returned to camp for the rest
of the day. We finally set off on Wednesday for Monument
Valley, after a steady drive we arrived by 1400, we booked in for two
nights and booked a tour for 0845 on Thursday. Thursday we were at the
office by 0845 for our tour. It went off very well, the scenery
was magnificent but too huge to allow a photo to do it justice.
We were back in the caravan by lunchtime. A heavy rain shower and
thunder about 1100 which lasted a few minutes was the only blot on a cloudy
day. Howard found the massive red mountain mesas and buttes,
together with the orange sand overpowering. We ate Buffalo Hump
for dinner, it was nothing special, just like beef. Friday the trip from
Monument Valley to Grand Canyon went off easily. The day was
sunny, ideal for photos but there was nothing there to photo, unlike
yesterday.Saturday 10th the system for touring the Grand Canyon National Park has changed, for large vehicles over 20ft. As only a few places are accessible, we decided to use the shuttle buses. From the camp the first bus took us east to change to the second bus. There were two overlook stops and then we walked two miles along the rim, from Pipe Creek Vista to Yavapai Observation Station, there were a few views but we saw mostly trees and flowers. Howard saw a California Condor, the highlight of his day! It was lunchtime so we had a meal in the Yavapai Lodge. We took the bus back to the camp for a relaxing afternoon. Sunday yesterday’s walk along the rim continued, from Yavapai Observation Station to El Tovar for hot chocolate and cake, then we went on to Bright Angel Trail Head where we caught a shuttle bus to Hopi Point, the remainder of the road being closed for reconstruction. We took bus back to the camp for lunch. As we had no luck trying to book a dinner, Howard took the shuttle bus into town, firstly to try to buy a DVD on rafting down
the canyon, there was not one available,
then on to El Tovar to book dinner. The early
attempts on the house phone were unsuccessful the receptionist tried
and gave Howard her phone to speak (across the hall) to the dining
room. Howard walked across the hall and all was arranged.
We spent a couple of hours in the caravan and set off to dinner.
We were surprised to find an Elk grazing on the hotel lawn. It
was not a tame Elk. there was nothing exceptional about the
meal. Monday we made a reasonably early
start for the drive to Page, the only open camp on our route.
Howard went off to the doctors as the ankle he had grazed was becoming
even more swollen, it was cleaned and bandaged and a prescription for
antibiotics was given to him. Tuesday another day of
driving from Page to the Zion National Park, where we arrived soon
after lunch. Since Monument Valley the days have been fine and
sunny. Wednesday
we walked from the caravan to the Visitor’s Centre to
catch the shuttle bus for a tour of the canyon. Our first stop
was at the Court Of The Three Patriarchs, three massive
mountains. The next stop was at Zion Lodge, Mervyn walked up to
the first Emerald (Muddy Brown) Pool and then we found that it took
fifteen min. to find a place to buy a hot chocolate, no buns. The
tour continued to Weeping Rock which was up a short sharp climb, very
interesting. At Big Bend we saw hikers on top of the cliffs, six
hundred feet up from the canyon floor. The Temple Of Sinawava was
the last stop, huge vertical cliffs towering above the valley
floor. The shuttle bus brought us back to the Visitor’s Centre
for a short walk to the van and lunch. On the way back to the van
a group of people were looking at a bush, we joined them and saw a
Whipsnake, the people ran one way the snake the went other way.
Zion Canyon is awe inspiring with it’s vertical cliffs from 350 yards
to 20 feet apart. Thursday
we started reasonably early and drove to Bryce Canyon. The
planned visit to Cedar Breaks failed as it was closed. Just short
of the National Park we saw a camp with full hook-ups (there are no
hook-ups in the park), we booked in for two nights. Friday we were told the
free shuttle bus starts next week so we took the van for our visit to
Bryce Canyon, the scenery is different from all the scenery we
have seen before. In the afternoon we relaxed Mervyn editing his
videos and Howard working on the laptop.Saturday 17th we made an early start, followed by a day of driving, from Bryce Canyon to Hanksville where we arrived at 1500 and settled into a nice campsite. On the way we passed through the Escalante and Capital Reef National Parks, full of layers of coloured rock. It was a fine sunny day, not too windy, with fluffy clouds in the sky. Sunday a day for chores (washing), this took most of the morning and left the rest of the day free. Monday we went north from Hanksville to I-70, where we turned east to cross the Green River, then south to turn west just before Moab, to go into the Canyonlands National Park, where we camped. It was a primitive site without electricity, water or sewer. Tuesday we spent the morning driving round the park, the views were too huge to photograph, but some photography was successful. We arrived on the Archesview RV site for lunch and then went into Moab to shop, we crossed the Colorado River on the way. Wednesday we visited the Arches National Park. The tour of the park took us well into the afternoon, and involved quite a bit of walking to photograph the various arches. The day was overcast with occasional rain towards the end of the tour, mostly when we walked back to the van. Thursday we relaxed and sorted photos etc. There were rain showers. This is the desert!!! Friday we drove back into the Arches Park as Howard wanted to take some more photos. The sky was still overcast with smatterings of rain. When we left the park we drove along a minor road alongside the Colorado River, the scenery was rocky with vertical cliffs on both sides, up to 200 feet high. We saw some rubber rafts on the river and arrived at Grand Junction soon after lunch. Shopping took a short time. We had a hail storm in the evening.
Saturday 24th was another overcast rainy day. We stayed in the camp as we are waiting to have the Air Heater looked at on Tuesday. Sunday the forecast was for sun so we went for a drive through the Colorado National Monument. This was the last of the canyon country and although it has high vertical walls and overlooks, we have seen it all before in the previous months. Monday a fine sunny, if windy, day. We relaxed in the caravan. Tuesday the mechanic was unable to do anything for the Air Heater, “you must go on to Denver” was the verdict. On another fine sunny day we continued alongside the Colorado to Glenwood Springs. In places the canyon was just wide enough to allow the road and railway to run alongside the river. Wednesday we continued along the Colorado, in places the canyon was only wide enough for the river. Tunnels on the left bank for vehicles and on the right bank for the trains allowed us to continue. In places the duel carriageway was on split levels. We passed through the Colorado ski area including Vail where Howard skied in 1991. It was a disappointment to see the ski slopes and the lifts which were not working. Denver was our camping town. In the afternoon Howard went to the hospital as his leg was not improving. Thursday was spent mostly in a repair shop for the diesel air heater, parts were required to be flown in. Friday the parts arrived and we spent a long time in the garage but were able to go to Golden to camp. Howard’s tablets from the hospital made him feel a little rough.
Saturday 31st was a fine sunny day for the trip north to the Rocky Mountains National Park, we passed many small ski areas. Howard was feeling better after a night’s sleep. We arrived mid afternoon to camp just inside the park.
USA-Colorado-Golden