Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana & N California - May/June 2016

[Pmount]

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Start: Elk Creek Campground, Curecanti NRA, Gunnison, CO
Finish: McPhee Reservoir Campground (USFS), Dolores, CO

Yep, the Sage Thrasher sang through the night. When I was awake I would hear a short song, not as long as the one before we went to bed - thank you very much!

We drove back into Gunnison for passport stamps at the BLM and USFS offices, breakfast, ice, & the post office. We continued west on US 50 to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. We drove out to several viewpoints for me to complete the Junior Ranger program, which I had picked up at Curecanti NRA. The views along the south rim drive for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison are dramatic, not for the 'faint of heart'. I find the views spectacular, but a bit scary.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP




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We continued on to Montrose, then south on US 550. Just south of Montrose we got hit with a sudden storm with hail. We had just passed a large group of motorcyclists who had pulled off to put on wet weather gear. While traveling through the storm we saw another motorcyclist pulled off to the side of the road removing his helmet - still hailing, I guess the noise inside the helmet was too much. Eventually the storm let up and even though it looked like it could storm again it stayed clear the rest of the day. We turned onto CO 62 towards Telluride, then picked up CO 145 over Lizard Head Pass, at 10,222ft., heading south. We stopped at the Mountain Top Store, south of Rico for a yummy fresh-baked muffin.

Views along CO 145, south of Telluride




Lizard Head Peak at 13,114 ft, the 556th highest peak in Colorado and considered the hardest to climb.


After traveling through Delores we drove out to the McPhee Reservoir and got a great campsite. This campground has sites with electric hook-ups. Our site was nicely shaded with a nice variety of birds, some new.

Wildlife Sightings

Great Blue Heron
Black-billed Magpie
Sage Thrasher
Western Kingbird
Canada Goose
Brewer's Blackbird
Turkey Vulture
Mountain Bluebird
Western Scrub Jay
Mourning Dove
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Juniper Titmouse
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Gray Flycatcher

Cottontail Rabbit
Mule Deer

[Pmount]

Friday, June 24, 2016

Start: McPhee Reservoir Campground, Dolores, CO
Finish: Navajo National Monument, AZ, 9 mi. N of US 160

License Plate game -Saw District of Columbia today, so we saw all 50 states + 1.

Near the McPhee Reservoir is the Arizona Heritage Center, an exceptional Visitor Center managed by the BLM. Their permanent exhibits of pots and other artifacts are superb. Currently their special exhibit was about basketry which was also very well done. They also have a rotating art exhibit which is always interesting to view. There is a $3 fee for adults, under 18 are free. The site is SW of the town of Dolores which has great parks and interesting building, plus all travel services.

Anasazi Heritage Center


Basket exhibit


Museum display


Pottery


From there we traveled to Mesa Verde National Park. It was a pleasure to see their new visitor center, long overdue. It is at the base of the mesa, with all the services provided; trailer & RV parking, tour ticket sales, exhibits and bookstore. There is a section which allows you to look into their collection/archive.

Mesa Verde NP - Visitor and Research Center


From there we drove out to the end of the park to Chapin Mesa, the museum and Post Office. My husband was able to get a postal cancellation with pin the park. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and helped out some kids who were on a day trip with the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, in Cortez, CO. Before they boarded their bus after cleaning up from lunch they were told to find at least 2 pieces of trash from around the picnic ground in order to 'earn' their afternoon snack. To be honest the picnic grounds were very clean, I quickly called the kids over and emptied our bag of carrots and potato chip bag and then helped to tear them into pieces so they could get their 'trash'.

Chapin Mesa
Spruce House Ruins


Post Office


Mariposa Lilly


In Cortez, heading west on US 160 we stopped for more passport stamps at the Welcome Center, postal cancellation and groceries before returning to Arizona after more than 6 weeks. We ended the day at one of our favorite park sites and campgrounds; Navajo National Monument. We stopped at the visitor center for the passport stamps and Junior Ranger booklet before settling into camp. The camping is free here, even with water and flush toilets. There was a large group for the monthly evening Star Party. Except for a couple of generators that ran past Quiet Hours it was peaceful, luckily there were far enough away it wasn't too annoying. Not as many bird to observe, but we are back in Lizard Country!

Free camping at Navajo NM
Great Sunset - nearing the end of the trip!



Wildlife Sightings

American Goldfinch
House Finch
American Robin
Mourning Dove
Mountain Bluebird
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Turkey Vulture
Common Raven
Gray Flycatcher
Western Scrub Jay

Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Side Blotched Lizard

[Pmount]

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Start: Navajo National Monument
Finish: Tucson, AZ

Getting close to the end, enjoyed a morning walk on the Sandal Trail to Betakin Ruin Overlook from the campground.



Dinosaur print from the area


Pinyon Pine needle growth


Cliffrose seed whorls


Betakin Ruin




We continued down the road to visit Canyon de Chelly NM and Hubbell Trading Post NHS for the Centennial park stamps. We decided to make the run to Tucson. It was Saturday and finding a campsite along the way, before heading down the hill into the heat, was going to be a problem. Plus there was a large forest fire in the area, which was probably going to cause the Show Low area to be smokey. We learned that US 60, down through the Salt River Canyon, had just opened that day, after being closed for several days due to the fire. We saw equipment and fire fighters in staging areas and smoldering hillsides.

As we drove back into Tucson we were greeted with a summer monsoon storm; wind, lightning, rain and a double rainbow - perfect ending to a fun trip.



Wildlife Sightings

Juniper Titmouse
Chipping Sparrow
Common Raven
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Mockingbird

Lizard

[Pmount]

As in the past my husband has created a trip report based on the stamps he collected along the route, a fun reminder of our adventures.

[Pmount]

Wrap -up for Western Trip May-June 2016

A quick summary of our recent trip;
45 days (includes 6 days spent off the road with family)

9,580 miles
213 mi/day

9 states
52 National Park Service sites, plus numerous USFS, BLM and NWR sites

Saw all 50 states plus District of Columbia license plates

$80 per day

22% Lodging - primarily camping with 4 nights of motel
41% Meals
36% Local Transport - all gas refill
- Low - $1.81 Tucson
- High- $2.65 Eureka, CA
1% Misc - ice and showers

That's all folks! Great memories!
Thanks for 'riding' along, I hope something along the way caught your interest and you will have an opportunity to experience it yourself. Safe travels....

[Mark Sedenquist]

$80 per day

Seriously, $80 per day including fuel and lodging and food?

Wow!

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

As in the past my husband has created a trip report

Pat, this is a really an impressive page! Thanks for sharing

[Pmount]

Seriously, $80 per day including fuel and lodging and food?

Wow!

Mark

Yep! Gas at an average of $2.50 sure helps! Also camping, and having the Senior Pass, which gives us a 50% discount at federal sites makes this possible.
We head East this week and that average daily cost will be unattainable. For 2 weeks of the trip we plan to rent a car and stay in a motel - camping on the East Coast in August is not pleasant. We are heading to Philadelphia for our club's, National Park Travelers Club, meeting and the NPS Centennial.
-Pat