Fall into Utah

The fall (autumn) colours stayed with me all the way through Utah.

The highway became busier with increasing lanes as I drove towards Salt Lake City. I stopped for a night at a Walmart in Ogden, then decided to explore Antelope Island State Park, accessible by a causeway on the Great Salt Lake. The campground was full but it was a pleasant drive and I even saw some buffalo grazing along the way. 

Great Salt Lake

The lake covers 1700 sq mi. Water flows into the lake from 4 rivers carrying minerals into the lake but Great Salt Lake has no outlet and water leaves by evaporation only, resulting in such salty water.


That night I stayed at a Cracker Barrel restaurant parking lot in Salt Lake City. On the way there I noticed some flashing lights and thought perhaps it was an accident as there were some areas cordoned off. I was on a side street and not sure which way to go. A policeman came up and directed me telling me there was a big hockey game going on at the arena near there. As one of his buddies came up, he told him  "it's OK, she just got confused. She's Canadian!"
The next day I drove to a city transit station to park then took the train to the public library downtown. I was impressed by the efficiency of their transit system and the cost ( $2.50 return for seniors!)
I had been to that library before and wanted to spend time catching up on my 
e-mails and internet. That library is fantastic with its wide open spaces and windows.                    

 On the ground level I met some women doing       

crafts and had a fun chat. There was also a small
restaurant where I had some delicious seafood
chowder.
At the lower level, they happened to have a huge book sale and I was able to stock up on books and movies at incredibly low prices.
Returning to my RV, I drove south to Provo on #15 which was the busiest stretch so far with up to 12 lanes of  heavy, fast moving traffic.
In Provo, I stayed at another Walmart then continued to Green River State Park where I stayed a couple of days.  

Camping at Green River SP

It's been an ongoing dilemma for me whether to keep driving to stay ahead of cold weather or to stop for a few days to explore a part of the country I had never been to before. The days were nice and warm but the nights getting colder and I was concerned that I may run into snow given I would rather not get winterized ( dump all tanks and pour antifreeze into the drains, meaning I can't run any water) I noticed that, except in very popular places, there were less campers now.
I then drove east towards "The Arches" national park. My pass got me in but the campground was full. I spent a few hours exploring that park with its Arches and magnificent scenery. A hike took me closer to some of the interesting formations.

Fortunately I have had very good weather so far with mostly sunny days.

After the day at The Arches, I headed to Kane Springs campground just west of Moab which was a nearby town.
I followed my GPS and it guided me to a bend in the road with a cliff on one side and the Colorado River on the other! No house or sign in sight. I kept driving this very narrow road with no place to turn around until I came to a warehouse of sorts where I phoned for info. The camp manager came to get me telling me that for some reason his campground was incorrectly listed with GPS.
Jim was very helpful and told me the campground was previously his family's ranch.He took me there and showed me around. The area for dry camping (no hook ups) was in a large field and no one was camped there. I told him I didn't feel comfortable camping there on my own and he let me stay at a site for hook ups for only $15/night. It was a small campground with only about 5 sites and he introduced me to some of the other campers. It felt like a friendly community and the scenery was wonderful. There was also a movie being made in that area and some of the area was closed off.

The next day, I hiked about 4 mi along a popular trail made for 4 wheelers but none came by me while I was on it. It's considered one of the most difficult trails for driving but fun to hike.

Trail through canyon

All the time I was on the trail, I never saw anyone until just before I got back.
I felt somewhat anxious at times being in such a remote area where there was no cell phone service. What if I run across a mountain lion or sprain my ankle? 
Doing things like this is a risk but a much smaller risk than driving on the highway and I don't usually get anxious about that!
It was a nurturing kind of experience to be in the deep silence along that trail
and I decided to call it my "Solitary unconfinement" which I have often experienced in the far north or in the desert. Although I don't enjoy being alone all the time, I do love the feeling of solitude and stillness. At times like that I am in awe of the beauty of nature and am so moved I almost stop breathing.
I was almost back to the campground but had to do a quick "pit stop". I was just getting going again when 3 joggers came running by...whew!
After I got back, the camper next to me invited me for dinner.
Floyd camped there all summer in his trailer and drove his motorcycle to work in town every day. He went all out laying quite a spread on the picnic table. Along with a good conversation and a campfire, it was quite an unexpected gift.
I so value these experiences!
The next morning I drove that narrow road back to Moab and south to " The Natural Bridges National Monument", stopping at "The Needles Overlook".
The scenery on the way was an ongoing wow at times. I didn't know Utah had so much desert and wide open spaces.

The campground at Natural Bridges   ( turned west onto hway 95 to get there) was very nice and once again I was able to use my pass to get in. The fee for camping was only $10 and I decided to stay 2 days. The campers beside me were Ellen and Klaus from Germany, moving to Seattle quite a few years ago. They recently sold their house and bought a 34 ft Motorhome, towing their car and traveling full time. They invited me to go with them next day to see some sights. Before going to bed, I walked for a while enjoying the darkness and stars. With no light pollution except from campers, the milky way was more visible than I had seen before. It was awesome.
I got up early for the next day's adventure. My friends drove their car to places I would not be able to get to with my RV. We drove south to "Muley park Overlook", a hair raising ride down a narrow very steep road with sharp switchbacks, sheer drops and no guard rails.

The road went along the side of this cliff face !

We carried on to see part of  " The Goosenecks State Park":

What amazing designs occur in nature!







That afternoon I went hiking on a trail near the campsite to check out the natural Bridges. It was only about 1 km one way but very challenging with some stairs and also ladders to get down to the valley. I met a couple from Quebec to hike with and that felt comforting since there was no one else on the trail and no phone signal. It was another beautiful sunny day.

The Sipapu bridge

Hiking back up the 500 ft incline was a good workout.Driving back, I came across some cows on the side of the road and then 2 deer being chased by some kind of animal I saw only a glimpse of. Those deer must have been relieved to have the chase interrupted by my RV!
That evening some other campers invited me to their campfire and we shared travel stories. One of the things I love about RVing is meeting so many interesting and friendly people.
It rained all that night but sunny again the next morning.
I left, this time to go north on #95 to Hanksville where I fuelled up. Gas here was the highest cost yet at $2.99/gal due to the remote area. I saw a sign for the Goblin Valley State Park , only 45 min north and since it was now Oct 31 and Halloween, it seemed like the ideal place to go. I'll tell you about those goblins in my next blog.
Boooooooo!

patches of warm fall colours along my route


"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step".

              --- Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher

"Despair comes from trying to control matters over which you have no power.
Hope comes from taking responsibility for yourself. "
       --- from "Notes from the Song of Life" by Tolbert McCarroll

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I would enjoy any comments sent to me by my e-mail:

whyknotrvmaria@gmail. com
( note the k )

Have a wonderful day

Maria