Provo to Canyonlands

Good morning friends and rellies,

Another amazing day of unusual sights and vistas.  We didn't have much driving to do today so we did a spot of shopping in Provo.  Nice city!  Clancy finally got her video camera so she is now head-down into the owner's manual.  Here is some of the snow leaving Provo, which is just one county over from Salt Lake City County.  They are busy building new freeways around here and they are smooth and sleek and efficient although the condition of the highways leaves much to be desired at time.  There is plenty of land for spreading out and, like L.A. everything is big and far away.  You need a vehicle!

We soon started to come across stunted Juniper trees.  Such a lot of twisted shapes to consider.  Here is one example.

And this is a lizard.  Very cute.  Clancy also spotted Ravens and a Blue Canyon Jay.  She is good at spotting.  Also gigantic ants and a lonely little rabbit.  

As we arrived around 2.30 or 3 p.m. we decided to stay in Arch View Resort which is handy to two national parks.  This was lucky as we got the last RV parking space.  Apparently things are a little busier on the weekends.  Apparently this is a weekend.  

As we want to spend more time in Arches National Park, we decided to head into Canyonlands.  We were gob-smacked right away but the pictures we took on the way in all got deleted as the goal was spectacular.  It looks just like the Grand Canyon but without the crowds.

And on our walk to 'Whale Rock' which was fabulous we spied the little-mentioned dinasaur prints in the side of the rock.  We saw about 7 or 8 of them of which this is an example. 

After rushing around just a little bit seeing unusual geological formations, we ended up back at the Green River lookout for sunset.    We set up our tripod on the rock and waited.  Truth to tell, we both thought the light was better an hour before sunset and this is what we saw.  

Green River is one of the major rivers explored by John Powell, a one-armed Civil-war veteran who explored both the Green and the Colorado rivers and lived to tell the tale.  By all accounts a harrowing adventure.  

Today we're off to Arches National Park.  Also doing laundry etc.  It's sort of a day of rest.  

Twin Falls to Provo

We're okay....just didn't have WiFi last night for Internet connection so we had to be old-fashioned and write post cards.  Still we have had 2 days of great sightseeing.  I have said 'Wow' so many times, I am now officially bored with myself.  

It has been somewhat colder than we expected at times.  We woke up in Twin Falls with our water hose frozen solid.  After spending some time boiling the kettle and applying boiling water to the entire length of the hose, we said stuff it, rolled it up and put it in the shower.  And away we went.  

We drove through flatlands for ages, potato country and the sprinklers that were left running all night were a frozen spectacle in the morning.  You will see them at the bottom of this page as I've put them on all backwards.  We're both pretty tired tonight.  

However, as I was starving at about 1:30 on the Interstate, good ol' Clancy checked out the map and pointed to Antelope Island at the edge of the Great Salt Lake.  We nearly gave up as it seemed quite a long way, and then they wanted $9.00 but we paid up and boy was it worth it.  Fantastic views and more.    Here is us with the Great Salt Lake in the background and a few snowy mountains.  

We were amazed at the geographic setting of Salt Lake City.  It is flanked by mile after mile of snowy mountains and the city and its townships run on for some time.  Not at all what we imagined.  This is just a picture from the Interstate....as you can see.

This is a shot back across the causeway from Antelope Island.

And THIS is one of the last wild herd of bison in the world.  Really, this place is the same as it was 160 years ago with Bison and Antelope grazing the prairie.  This guy was just heading down to the waterhole for a drink.  We were busy snapping a quick shot and then pushing each other out of the way to get into the RV.  I'll go first.  

Frozen sprinklers of the morning. 

 And then we camped at Provo which is not as far as we hoped to get thanks to Antelope Island.  I'm going to make that another posting so goodbye for now.  

Oh and thanks for all the comments and encouraging emails.  It is certainly keeping us going withe the computer stuff.  

We've also been stocking up on DVDs so we can watch the odd movie or some such in the evening before drifting off to sleep in our bed designed by wardens for prisoners.  Hmmm.

Leaving Oregon and arriving in Idaho

Who would have thought Oregon was so big?  Nevertheless, we are now parked up at Twin Falls in Idaho.  We have seen another amazing array of landscapes today starting with marshes, moving on to mountain passes and then settling into wide-open plains.  Last night the water hose froze (and I was a bit cold).  Tonight, we expect it to freeze again so we are removing the connection at 9 p.m.  We also shopped at WalMart for the first time in our lives and googled a Harley Davidson Motorcycle apparel so we are both set for life.  

Oregon's top speed is 55 mph but the minute you cross into Idaho it's 75 mph so we made good time today.  I don't think I'll say much more.  The pictures will have to speak for me.  

Except for these amazing marshes outside Burns.  They are on both sides of the road and are home to all manner of aquatic bird.  Unfortunately there are few places to stop for the scenic moment, so most of these are shot from a moving car.  

Not this one.  This is Clancy near the snow.

We stopped for coffee in Vale (I think) and snooped around some f the shops.  Good coffee too.

And that's it for today.  We're coming to grips with living in the RV.  One is quite independent really and although you are sometimes quite close to your neighbours, you don't really see them.  Is this a good thing?  Probably.  You would not believe the number of RVs, Cars, Motorbikes, trailers and everything imaginable for sale in huge lots that we whiz by on the highway.  People drive by with 4-door utes with a huge campervan attached and dragging a trailer with either a car, a 4-wheel drive jeep, a boat or 2 motorbikes.  But the highways here can really handle the big traffic.  The little things are for the off-highway adventures.  

We're heading towards Salt Lake City, Utah tomorrow and beyond but not sure where to from there.  We'll keep you posted.  

Bye for now.

Cascade Locks to Burns

For those who think the latest boots were just a bit of fluff, you need to know they feature the state of the art stability, cushioning technology and is the footwear of choice for top riders. They are stirrup-friendly and deliver peak performance for the serious rider.  Therefore I am now looking for a quarter-horse!

In the meantime we drove from Cascade Locks to Burns today crossing an amazing array of countryside.  We had no idea Oregon was so varied.  After we left the Columbia border and headed off into the hinterland, most of the time we were at a fairly high altitude and bits of leftover snow were evident.   Without more ado....

Precariously perched on the side of the cliffs. 

This seems to be the way the reinforce the strainer post for the fencing.  This is a pretty major one, but smaller ones can be seen all over.  

A welcoming flag in Burns.  We drove about 400 miles today and arrived about 6.30 seeing gas and rest.  

Going as far as we can tomorrow towards Salt Lake City.  Good night all.  Sleep well.

Actually today was my birthday.  I'm a little confused and thought it was yesterday.  In NZ it's probably 2 days ago by now, but I say party on....!

Hummingbirds, Boots and the Columbia River

As requested by those who haven't seen hummingirds, here are 2 views.  Their little wings go a mile a minute and they don't stay long for their photograph to be taken.  

This is a view from the RV driving along the Columbian River Gorge between Oregon and Washington.  As you can see it was a bit of a rainy, drizzly day.  Also you can't actually see much of the road as they've planted trees on both sides that block the view.  Must be to help with wind protection.

A bluejay, again, for those who haven't seen them.  It's about half the size again of a blackbird and very dashing with its cone head feathers and flashing blue colours.

Now for the main feature of tonight's blog.....the American's version of Doc Martin's / Cowgirl boots and Mary's face says it all - jealousy.

And note the lovely details including the lovely mauve lining.  And the are so comfortable.  Have you ever seen anything like them before?

And you thought the M & Ms were Clancy's ruin!

We are currently at Cascade Locks for the night and tomorrow we head out on Hwy 97 to Bend, missing out the snowy mountains and then heading East on Hwy 20.  Not sure how far we'll get but we are heading to the Southwest which is our goal.  

Change of Plans

The weather wasn't really that kind to us today.  The forecast was for snow over the mountain pass we wished to cross so we have diverted a little bit north to the Columbia River so we can skirt the mountains and still head generally East.  So....it's raining now but we are already in our RV camp for the night.  Clancy has gone out to see where the hot pools are as it would be a perfect day for it.  

For those of you following the map we took Hwy 5 up to Portland and then caught the 84 along the Columbia River.  We are currently camped at Cascade Locks and apparently the hot pools are not available.  We will have to think of alternative amusements.  

The rain is really coming down now and we really don't care.  

Bye for now.

Slice of Heaven

Another oasis on our travels.  Another lovely environment and good company.  In no particular order are the following photos, (a small selection out of hundreds, I might add).   Everyone in this house has Apple computers, large and small.  And they know tons more than we do as we are novices of the first order.   Jay and I hard at work. 

This is an example of the funky attention to detail Alison and Mike take in their renovations.  The tiles on the stair risers are laid out like the theory of evolution.  Fish at the bottom and birds at the top.  Alison is mainly a bird vet and mainly parrots.  

My cousin Jay posing with us and one of the goat family. 

Clancy and Alison were out feeding the babies when this little one decided to make its appearance into the world.  Note also the woods in the background.  The field's pest is digging squirrels who leave little mounds of soil in their wake.  A bit of a nuisance.  

This is Dr Mike Hare (the A and E doc) feeding the kids.  He's a lanky 6'5" bloke with a wicked sense of humour.  Works hard, plays hard, laughs all the time.  He loves rocks and they have a stake in an opal mine that we might get to fossic in.  He's also Alison's better half these past 34 years. 

Here's Alison hard at work.  She is little, laughs all the time and is generous to a fault.  We are so loving it here and as there are no more time pressures, we have decided to stay an extra day.  

Nice pic of the valley in front of the house.  Clancy and Mike.

And that's all for now. 

We're not going to Ohio just yet but intend to book something for 2 or 3 weeks from now.  It is much cheaper if you book in advance.  Today we are doing a spot of shopping for farm clothes and possibly rounding up some rams and feeding the kids twice a day.  Bird watching in between.  Clancy found a robin's nest not a foot of the ground.  Still trying to photograph a hummingbird.  The buggers won't stay still.  He he he.  

Breakfast now.  Love to all.