Category Archives: Federal Forest

Heaton Bay, Colorado to Rocky Mountain NP

There was no rush to get to Rocky Mountain National Park.  We were within three hours of the park, and the route avoided the Berthoud pass.  We had been to the pass once before, just for fun, and the road is a steep, curving, tall bastard. I had difficulty with the altitude the night before, and sleep that night was a dear commodity.  I woke up feeling like I was swimming in oatmeal.  We were not in a rush to get going anywhere. Continue reading

Arches to Heaton Bay NF Campground

arches_camp_2We had an excellent evening.  Sometime during one of my mid-sleep forays, I stuck my head out of the RV.  It was cool, and it appeared to be just about an hour before dawn.  Venus was rising, and when I looked out to the other side of the RV, the stars that had been our companions while we watched the fire, were gone, replaced by others.  I think I saw the International Space Station pass overhead, but I didn’t buy that app for the iPad, so I guess I’ll never know. The night sky was beautiful, made even more so by the lack of man’s lighting. Continue reading

Yosemite to Ely, NV

monoThe day finally ended.  I usually don’t think that way, but today was far longer than I anticipated, mostly because I used only one GPS and followed the main road, even though the map indicated the main road made no turns.  Wrong! I thought that the main road was easy to follow, it wasn’t.  Sometimes you shouldn’t go with the flow, you should pay attention. Continue reading

The Badlands to Mount Rushmore

We slept later than we wanted, as it was a cool foggy morning. I’d been up around 6 and there was some haze to the west of the campground and I took a picture and closed up the RV.  We had left everything open and it was more damp than cool rushmoreAs we were leaving, I discovered that the group of men camping next to us were recently commissioned Officers in the US Army, having some fun before reporting to their individual duty stations.  One was in Armor, one in Communications and the other was with the Military Police.  Fortunately, the MP second Lieutenant was the stockiest of the three, it will suit him. They had some good stories both about their service thus far and their adventure in the Badlands with some rain mixed in. I wasn’t thinking, and didn’t get any of their names. They all were very fine men, and everyone should sleep sounder knowing that they are serving the country. Continue reading

Off to Charlestown

Buck Hall Campground

Buck Hall Campground

Today was a long day.  We had a great time in Virginia with the grandkids and their parents.  We returned a rental car early in the day and were on an un-crowded road by 8:30 AM.  Traffic heading south was light, and we were on cruise control for the better part of the 550 mile trip.  The Federal Government has made all the interstates look like any other place you might travel, so much of the regional differences that were in existence 40 years ago are gone. Continue reading