My Journey

[JerryYukon]

Today we were up with the sun and on the road early. After (4) days on the road and (4) nights at Wal Marts we were both ready for some back country adventure. We made it to Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve in the early morning hours and hiked up to the highest points on the dunes. By the time we began to descend the place was packed with tourist and the sand was so hot the poor dogs were dancing. Below is a picture of my friend and my dog Montana on the sand dunes.

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[mph]

Love the dog/wheat field shots! Nice!
Enjoy your travels...
Headed to Durango area next week for a trip. Can't wait...Enjoy your time in Colorado!

[JerryYukon]

After the sand dunes we continued west towards Durango, Colorado. We found a nice forest service road near Wolf Creek Pass for some back country camping. After (4) nights at Wal Marts I couldn't wait. We found a waterfall in the late afternoon and did some rock scrambling. Since we we were camped along the Continental Divide Trail we decided to take an evening hike and we came across some elk. Pretty nice hike. Slept well that night and woke up to a welcomed 29 degrees.

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[JerryYukon]

Up early again the next day and off to Mesa Verde. We checked out the Indian ruins and enjoyed the scenery as well as the brand new Earth Roamer. Later that afternoon we continued west again with the Grand Canyon being our next destination. Since it was 90 degrees that evening we decided to stay in a campsite where we could hook up to electricity and use the a/c for the night. We were up the next morning at 4:00 a.m. and were able to catch the sunrise over the canyons. Well worth the early wake up and so very beautiful. It seems as though I can never get enough of the national parks in the western U.S.

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[JerryYukon]

After leaving the Grand Canyon that afternoon, we went to Lee's Ferry for a swim in the Colorado River. The water temperature was 49 degrees but it didn't matter to us since we were feeling so grubby. The dogs couldn't get enough of it while we were happy for just a quick dip. Afterwards we found ourselves a cool spot in the higher elevations near the north rim of the Grand Canyon with lots of shade from the large pine trees. It was so beautiful and truly one of my favorite spots out west. This morning we finally chose to sleep in and we are now in Hurricane, Utah on our way to Zion National Park. All is good.

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[JerryYukon]

I've never done a trip at the pace we are doing this one but my friend only has three weeks so we are moving right along. We spent the day at Zion National Park climbing several of the rock formations. We had a good time watching the dogs climb some of the steeper pitches but they were actually quite good at it. The heat kind of sucked for the dogs. After Zion we headed northeast to Bryce Canyon National Park. We stopped along the Sevier River and let the dogs have a well needed swim after the hot day at Zion. We are now camping outside the park entrance in the Dixie National Forest. As soon as we stopped the dogs chased a bunch of Elk in the pine trees which gave me a bit of a scare. Fortunately they returned after about fifteen minutes. Time for dinner............

Zion National Park

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Camping In Dixie National Forest

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[JerryYukon]

Up at 6:00 a.m. and having that first cup of coffee. I love to get up early and get the day going. My friend loves to sleep in as late as possible. Unfortunately for him the kitchen table folds out for his bed so he has to get up when I do. I posted a picture of the back half of the camper if anyone might be interested. After arriving here yesterday evening we decided to hunt for elk antler sheds. We spent two hours walking through the forest but came up empty handed. The temperature was perfect with a slight breeze and a setting sun. We really didn't care if we found antlers......the setting was perfect. I awoke during the middle of the night and went outside to observe the stars. We don't have the same night sky back east and enjoyed a minutes of star gazing. Shortly we are leaving to hike in Bryce Canyon. We'll leave the dogs behind this morning as they aren't allowed on the trails below the rim (seems to be norm with the national parks and trails).

I'm having problems loading pictures on this site. It seems to work best if I load text and then edit and add pictures so maybe many of my posts will be edited (in case anyone cares)......Ugh..........not working at all now.

[Jim Oaks]

Get off the interstate.


My wife and I have found that the best sites you see while travelling are along the old US Routes. We often travel cross country on the US Routes instead if the interstate, and stop off to see the interesting sights and landmarks along the way.

[JerryYukon]

Well, I think that's good advice if you have the time but I only have three weeks to show my friend some of my favorite places and they're out west. So I use the interstates even though I don't much care for them.

After a good night's sleep we unhooked the Jeep and drove into Bryce National Park for a day of hiking. More awesome views and the diversity of the western states and parks continue to amaze me.

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We left late in the afternoon and headed north towards Capital Reef National Park. I knew of a nice spot from a previous trip to overnight and we made it there late evening.

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[JerryYukon]

The next day we traveled north to Capitol Reef National Park. Miles more of awesome rock formations. I love the southwest but I must admit at this point I'm looking forward to getting to Montana (my favorite state). We didn't spend much time here and didn't hike, but only drove through the park.

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Late afternoon we were back on the road heading north towards Salt Lake City. Four years ago I traveled this route and spent a week camped at a small reservoir along Route 24. I met a guy back then that lived in his camper and spent every summer there. So I stopped in and there he was. We spent the afternoon together and he treated me to some freshly caught trout. My friend and I both took baths in the lake, it felt great, and the dogs loved swimming again.

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We decided to move on that evening as we needed food from the Wal Mart in Richfield. We spent the night on top of a mountain in Fishlake National Forest. This guy's rig was camped nearby and I thought it was quite unique and worthy of a picture.

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