Merry Christmass to all

 

                                                  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Have a Dino of a new year, I snapped this at the Hagel Zoo in Salt Lake last fall.

 

Winter Camping in Utah

Winter camping in Utah is fun.  The nights can get in the twenties but the days can reach into the sixties if there is no snow.

I love being along a water supply especially when not in prime flash flood season.  Nature can be wonderful most of the time.

Only pit toilets are open in a few camp areas during the winter which is fine with me.  This also means less people and more sites to choose from:)

Along a creek in November

Along a creek in November 2015 in Utah with 60 degrees in the day and the 20s at night.

 

 You can see the creek with ice and snow along the edges, makes a interesting pattern.  Also a walk along the road gives a good view of the cliffs overlooking the creek.

The Atlantic at sun rise.

My son shared this photo of himself watching the sunrise off the Florida cost. Kathy and I hope to be spending a lot of time there soon ourselves.

Also have put up a photo of me in the past on the same beach. I have been gathering costs to spend a few months down there during some of the winter months. Not cheap and many have waiting lists, but it beats the cold:)

Retiring My Old Stove

It is that time to retire my old Coleman Stove it has been with us since we started camping together. It has been through our tents trailers and motor homes. We (I) will miss her since most of the outdoor cooking is in my area by choice. We bought a new Coleman Guide series, it is a little smaller and is still multi-fuel so I am happy.

Tire Pressure Monitors Work

I was taking out our motor home for a day trip.  Part of my pre trip prep I plugged in the tire monitors (takes several minutes to sync up).  Once synced up, one tire kept coming up at 25 pounds.  So with this I pulled out my truck tire pump and filled up the tire and take the rig in to have it fixed.   Just over a year ago, I had a major tire blow out that cost over six thousand dollars to repair.  If I did not have these tire monitors it could have been another six thousand dollar repair bill.

This little black transmitter on the left is a great warning device, you can also see one for the outer tire on the right.  Set of six cost $300.00 and well worth it.

Samon Run

On Flaming Gorge the salmon run starts in October and ends around the first of November.  I have been told the Bears do not come out here to catch the salmon going up stream.  They come out once the fish die, the Bears then come out to clean up their bodies along the stream at the end of the run.

This was the first time Kathy and I ever saw a run other then in the movies or on TV, it was great!  You can see some of their read bodies in the water.  I was on a bridge shooting down.

Corn on the cob!!!!!!

I love corn on the cob!

I can eat several a day if my nurse wife would let me:)  During the winter months I have to suffer with canned or frozen, but no more!!!  I found packaged corn at Walmart!

Two ears in a vacuum sealed bag, with a shelf life around a year.  They are mid size ears and come two in a pack their taste is good too.  Cost just under a dollar an ear (currently).

Out Our Front Door in Sept.

On loop A 11 at Lucerne Camp Ground overlooking a bay on Flaming Gorge UT September 2015.

Have our spotting scope out watching the boats and the far hill side for animals and other things of interest.

 Just got set up for the night time to relax and have some BLT's and views for the night.

End of the Summer

One of our last stays for the season in Lucerne Camp Grounds on the Gorge.  As the fall moves in the crowds thin out.  Cant wait till we are totally free to travel all seasons.

Visit at Terry Bison

We had a great visit with our daughter Dana at the Terry Bison Ranch south of Cheyenne.  Below are our two outfits.

 Kathy and I took a ranch train ride through a small group of their Bison and saw mothers with their babies.

My Tire Monitoring System has been a good education for me

My tire monitoring system has been a good education for me.  Not only is pressure important but so is temperature!

The little sensor put on the valves is a great tool for all RVs. They tell me the tire pressure and temps on a on going basis while parked or driving down the road.  In August it was 100 degrees and the tires in the sun had a temp of 120, so I put some towel's over these two tires.  Within 15 minutes the temps were under 100.  This has taught me I need to buy a set of tire covers.

End of the Day

End of the day is time to relax. 

Often there are fire bans or fire wood restrictions so often just a lantern provides a relaxing effect.

This along with a setting sun and rising night sky are a nice way to end any day:)

Flaming Gorge - Manns and Willows CG

Flaming Gorge - Manns and Willows CG is only $12.00 a night.  Both are dry campgrounds with pit toilets.  The are within a mile of each other in a canyon with a creek running through it.  Beyond the creek are cliffs that rise hundreds of feet and Rocky Mountain Sheep can be seen there.

Cannot fish here from late August through November because of the fall salmon run from the gorge.

Flaming Gorge- Anval Draw Dispersed Camping Area

Flaming Gorge- Anvil Draw Dispersed Camping Area in S/W Wyoming is another very nice dry camping area with great views and no nightly fees.  It is about an hour away from Rock Springs.  The photo below shows one group of dispersed campers. 

 Just across the bay to the left of the boat ramp parking area is a large overnight parking area with pit toilets some folks set up camp there as well.

The gorge is over 91 miles long and has a shore line of almost 400 miles.  Comments are welcome.

Flaming Gorge - Fire Hole CG in Wyoming

Nice view of the Green River flowing into the gorge.  Below is a table shelter at a site across the road.   Nearly all the sites have a view of the gorge or river and the stars at night are great.  Even though the sites have no hook ups it is a very nice camp ground. 

Here is a sun is reflecting off the Bluffs along the river as it sets in July.  Every evening and morning has a different look.

My son joined me at Fire Hole CG with his Travel Lite camper below.  The last photo is a shot of our covered dining area at our site.

Kathy and I had a great time in Nashville and other towns down south.  We saw Europe in the 80's and now will focus at home over the next decade. We have already been to over thirty of our great states and many parks, with many more to see and explore.

 Here a container ship is coming into port to off load the containers on the Atlantic coast, the bulk of our goods come to us by ship.

 One of many nice RV parks on our travels with our motor home in the foreground after a rainy night.

Big Horn Sheep in Red Canyon Campgrounds

Big Horn Sheep in Red Canyon Campgrounds on Flaming Gorge, Utah.  Later down by the cliffs we saw the babies climbing all over the canyon walls.

 Here a bunch are grazing along a road and are use to people in this area, so they do not move off at first site of people.  We saw dozens of them this afternoon.

You can see the babies on the side of the cliffs 1300 feet above the water below, one is in the middle of the photograph.

Out with our Daughter

Our daughter running her dogs along Flaming Gorge.  She just finished her LPN Nursing courses and is working on her RN courses starting this fall.  She already has a degree as a Certified Veterinary Technician and worked several years in the field.  I decided to stay near the vehicle and enjoy the day.

Fishing the Black Fork with my son

Fishing the Black Fork River with my son by Flaming Gorge no keepers but a great time.  This river along with the Green River feed Flaming Gorge and have small salmon runs in the fall.

This river is not large by eastern standards but is large in the high plains of Wyoming.  Here if the fishing is not good at least you can have a swim.

Distilling Water

Been reading about distilling salt and fresh water so I put together a simple set-up I saw on YouTube.

Bought a 1.2 quart tea pot which my wife was looking at anyway plus a few parts from Home Depot.  It took 2 hours to distil one cup of water.  If I would of had the heat all the way up I could of done more, but I did not want to burn the small pot.

So, I learned distilling is simple and I should use a pot that holds a half gallon or more to reach a usable production level.  A pot suitable for a camp fire would also make it more energy efficient.

Kids visit with their RV's

Kids visit with their RV's and we have a great time. Our Daughter has the trailer and our Son has the in bed camper.  Our sons dog is next to the table and our daughter is in the trailer with hers.

Below our son coming back from fishing.  He dropped out of college to join the Marines for five years and was an IED Bomb Dog Handler in Afghanistan in the 2nd Light Armor Recon Unit.  Six months after leaving the Marines and returning to college he got a call.  His IED dog was being retired and did he want her.  He and Sargent Libby are now happy together here in the states.

Our daughter loves the out doors and running her dogs whenever she can.  I covered her background in another post.

Taking the back roads on the high plains of Wyoming

Taking the back roads on the high plains of Wyoming is an adventure in the summer.  On many of the gravel roads, rain can wash them out in only one down pour so be careful.   Recommend you only drive these with a four wheel drive vehicles and have a few gallons of water with you.  Always let some one know what route you plan to take and when you come back.  Two auto exploring is even better especially if you have a tow chain/cable/line.

 

Many of the gravel/dirt roads in Wyoming are great roads to travel on.  Those on  state and federal campgrounds and private parks are often just fine.  However some of the other roads are more for small to medium ranch and pick-up trucks.

 The Desert is a beautiful place and yet it is also a dangerous place, drive slow and stop often to enjoy.

Count on getting at least one flat tire and prepare for two and you should be OK.  Test your jacks and make sure you can jack up your auto on sandy uneven ground.

Flaming Gorge - Buckboard CG

Most views are of the sagebrush plains.  For 2015 it was listed at $20.00 a night with flush toilets.  Only 5 or 6 sites have electric (extra charge for electric) the rest are totally dry camps.  But is is right up from the boat ramp and marina.

 Above are the restroom and showers, below is my camp site in July.  All generators need to be off between 10pm and 8am.  My solar and 3 batteries will run my CPAP and Concentrator for one whole night.  The second night I can only run my CPAP and use an O2 bottle.  It takes two days to recharge the batteries completely. So with two bottles and solar I can go 3 to 4 nights off the grid.

Preparing for fall classes

I like reviewing new and updated text books during the summer around the Gorge from our Motor Home when we are in town.  Some days I just drive out for the morning to enjoy.

Our RV acts a a blind to some degree so the animals often get a lot closer if you stay inside or if you stay still.

Below is a bay near Lucerne Campgrounds looking toward the Gorge at mid day.  Saw a bull snake today as he crossed a jeep trail did not think to take a picture:)