Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Chris was itching to go climbing !
Pikes Peak 14,115ft up !
(Unfortunately it will not let me upload the video, but i think you can see i am not entirely comfortable.)
Howdy Partner
Not bad for a free campsite.
So today is Sunday July 16. Its been about 10 days since I last hit the blog, mainly due to lack of Wifi. So where have we been???After leaving Mesa Verde we drove though Telluride and into Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP#14, this involved a very steep climb for Winnie and by the time we reached the campground there was the inevitable check engine light, but fortunately we had purchased one of those code readers and no biggie, just over heated and needed to cool down.
After setting up camp ,went for a stroll with Cole and was promptly chased by deer !! Just momma protecting her babies, but made for an amusing scene as i am running away with Cole who wants to make friends !! Next morning we got up early and took Piglet out to explore. Stunning National Park , 2000ft gorges, yes my fear of heights was way up there and consisted of my pulling Chris back from edges whilst he was trying to take photos !!
Wifi here (currently Idaho Crates of the Moon) will not let me upload photos so they will have to come in an update again.. Sorry.
From Black Canyon we travelled on to Pikes Peak. Sunday July 8th. Piglet rose to the challenge like a champ. Pikes peak is 14,115ft , starting point of 7800ft. 19 mile drive to the top. I believe Piglet set a world record of 62 minutes, that’s 19mph average, at most times Piglet was barely above walking speed. But we made it, and once again the height thing was an issue, you would think by now I would be getting used to it ! So if you can imagine 2 people on a scooter and the pillion is leaning so far over to middle of the road it looks like the whole thing is going to tip over ! When you see the pics and video ( found it took my mind off the sheer 1000ft drop 2 feet away from me ) you will understand. Next stop was Rocky Mountain National Park #16 (#15 was Florissant Fossil Beds , was not inspired). And Sam’s Club for the night.
Sunday July 9th we left Colorado (quick oil change on the way) and entered Wyoming #27, this was just a travel day and took us to within 150 miles of Yellowstone. I cannot believe the scale of the land here, just hundreds of miles in every direction of nothing, no houses, no trees, no animals, nothing but the long road in front. Until we reached Lander WY , here we stayed at a city park right beside the river and free, does not get much better. From here we headed into Cody WY, Rodeo Capital by all accounts . Visited Heart Mountain WW11 Japanese Confinement Camp, can not help but see history repeating itself.. There we stayed at Walmart, must be the most popular Walmart in the country, last one before Yellowstone. There were approx 30 RV’s parked overnight , either heading in or out. The Rodeo was just down the road so off we trotted. Yee Haw !
Tuesday July 11, day 66 we entered Yellowstone National Park #17. Which I am going to save for its own blog with photos. We spent 5 days here and was breathtaking .
Will put up photos for this blog asap. Hope everyone is well . I am currently attempting to cook a Roast dinner in the RV, beef, potatoes, carrots , peas and gravy . Now before the brits ask, No , no yorkshire puds. I know a disgrace but give me credit for attempting .
Love 48beforeitstoolate x
8948 miles and $1179 under budget !!
Sunday July 2nd we drove to Mesa Verde National Park #13. Stayed at a campground just at the entrance as it’s 4th of July and NP sites were full. But had a pool , full hook up and good views . Went into park briefly and booked 2 tours for the 3rd and 1 for the 4th. At $5 pp well worth it . As we were at Vistors Centre we happened upon some traditional Hopi Dancers performing their annual dance on the sacred ground.
Monday 3rd July
Up early and drove Piglet to the Balcony House tour, the most scary for me as there was a 30ft ladder to climb !! But well worth the effort. Then went onto Cliff Palace for another Ranger tour. Small world moment, another family on both tours were from Powell TN ! She teaches at Hardin Valley Elem. So if you know her and she was in Mesa Verde , say hi from me !
These pics are from Balcony House , Cliff Palace and Long House, all amazing places. Thoughts are they were occupied from approx 1100AD – 1300AD. As to why they left is up for debate..
Wildlife…. So far have been a little disappointed in the wildlife , but having said that we came across a young bear on the road into Mesa Verde..
ok not so bad…unless you are on a small scooter (like us) and I am busy thinking “where the **** is momma bear????” Do we ride though bear and momma , or ditch scooter and run ?? Fortunately baby bear was a yearling , so therefore kicked out by momma sometime ago. But so cool to see up close. This is what i was hoping for in this trip ! Close and personal !!
Dust Storm incoming
Truth or Consequences !
Monument Valley
McPhee Reservoir Camping
Hi there, Wifi is very poor at the moment so I am not even going to attempt to upload any photos. But to give you a quick update on where we are and where we have been. After leaving Carlsbad we drove to white Sands National monument and across the Great Continental Divide (8239 ft) for the first time and through Lincoln National Forest. Camped for the night at Leasburg Dam State park and experienced our first dust storm, even though we were shut up in the RV , the dust got in everywhere ! Just like in the movies… From there we headed north through a town called Truth or Consequences. I kid you not, i have the photo to prove it. Spent the night in Caballo State park. We are learning that State parks are a good place to stay, generally have electric and water for around $25 a night and very safe !
Monday 26th drove up to Albuquerque (was a turkey…sorry always comes to mind) and onto Jemez Springs Indian Reservation, still in New Mexico, stunning red rock canyon and dry camped in a stunning setting. Tuesday we headed to Aztec Ruins National monument and another disappointing campground. Another thing we are seeing is that private campgrounds close to major attractions are appalling , it seems that they just want to make a quick buck, where they could be beautiful camping spots. We are learning !
Next day we headed to Monument Valley and wow is all I can say… Stunning ! Amazing ! and i promise to post pics asap. And a decent campground too ! Here we did 2 guided tours , one sunset into Mystery Valley and a day tour in Monument Valley. Had an Aussie family camped next to us for the 2nd evening, shared some wine with them, even thou it was a “dry” campground ! Friday we headed back into Arizona and drove right passed Four Corners Monument , the queue looked grim !!! and into Colorado. Camped for 2 nights at McPhee Reservoir up in the mountains making a much needed change from the desert !
Sunday and we headed into Mesa Verde . Have booked tours for the next couple of days and of course Independence day is tomorrow.Â
So Happy 4th to you all , enjoy, have fun and be safe xxxx
So after an uneventful night (day45) in a so called campground, i.e. no rattlers much to Chris’ disappointment. We set off into Big Bend National Park #8, took piglet into The Basin, could not take Winnie due to the switchbacks. Very pretty. Then we drove to Castolon and the Rio Grande, Mexican border. No Need for a wall here ! Whilst the scenery is stunning, not much in the way of differing cacti, mainly Prickly Pear, I thought there would be more. Maybe have to wait for the rains.
Spent the night in Alpine at a very nice site and got the laundry done !
Day 46/47 we travelled towards El Paso TX and into Hueco Tanks State park. One of the top climbing/bouldering areas in the world. So a natural stopping point for Chris.
And another anxious night and hike for me !
We had hoped to do some star gazing here but the clouds came in and the wine came out! Also not a single sighting of any kind of snake ! Not quite so anxious..
Day 48 headed north towards Carlsbad and Carlsbad Caverns National park #10, New Mexico #23. Stopped in at Guadalupe Mountains National Park #9 for lunch. The only campground close to the caverns is appalling. Unkept,, employees not at all helpful. Which really is a shame, it could be fantastic and make a fortune. Anyway it has full hook up which is very much needed, heat index of 126f/53c !!! We left Cole in the air conditioning and headed to the caverns on Piglet. Oh boy it was like riding in an oven !!! Caverns were amazing, possibly the most wow factor so far. So huge ! The photos do not do it justice. If you ever have the chance to visit, do it ! 800 ft down into the earth (rode the elevator back to top) and some of the most awesome natural formations i have ever seen !
So today Day 49 we are heading to Roswell to see some aliens and then White Sands National Monument. We are way ahead of our schedule so will probably stay a few days in NM.
So far we have travelled 6290 miles ! Crazy !!! But loving every minute of it.
So day 40 found us in Hot Springs Ak #20. Stayed in the National Park . Hot Springs itself was nothing special, the town was quite run down with lots of empty buildings. But it had preserved the spas from the 1940’s which were interesting to look around. You could just imagine the ladies and gentlemen of the time partaking of the hot springs .
From here we travelled to south into Oklahoma#21, had lunch at Hochatown State park, nothing to report. Then into Texas#22 and just stopped at Tyler in what can only be described as a concrete pad !! But it had full hook-up so we had air con – it was 98!!
Day 42 and we headed to Austin TX#22, to not only experience the music scene , but also to see the wonderful and hospitable (Jennifer) Newland. After arriving at her lovely home, several beers and a shower later we set off for downtown Austin. Mexican dinner, which was yum, and off to hear some music. Newland is herself a singer/songwriter #apianoandagirl , so who better to show us Austin’s music scene . The highlight of the night was finishing off with Bob Schneider ( who dated Sandra Bullock). If you don’t know who he is , look him up !
From Newland and Austin we headed through the Hill country and stopped at Enchanted Rock, a very large piece of pink granite !! From here we headed to Del Rio and the Rio Grande on the Mexican border. Miles and miles and miles of nothing but desert ! But fascinating. We stopped for the night at Seminole Canyon State Park. In the middle of nowhere !!! Loved it , the sky was amazing at night, so many stars, don’t think i have ever seen anything like it. Unfortunately we both could not get any photos, think it was just too dark. In the morning we got up and went on a pictograph tour in the canyon. The pictographs are over 4000 years old. Had 2 other couples on the tour with us, super sweet couple, Rob and Roger, and then a fellow brit from Lancashire , who was not so friendly !
So tonight find us just outside of Big Bend National Park in an RV park (??) if you can call it that, in butt f*** nowhere !!! And for those that know me i will not be stepping outside of the Rv unless it is on fire !!! (I will be out looking for anything that moves, Chris)
Think it is wine time
lots of love #48beforeitstoolate xxxx
Day 32 saw us heading to Manchester TN after a few days at home, where we recharged the batteries (literally and metaphorically). We met up with the girls in McMinnville for lunch and then headed to join the throngs heading into Bonnaroo. We joined a large queue running though the center of Manchester itself and prepared for a long wait. We arrived at 4pm local time and camping was due to open at 8 pm. We started to inch forward quite soon after arriving, and thought hey maybe they have opened early ! Nope, we were diverted onto the freeway where we travelled 20 miles south to directed off at an exit, only to be told your are too big to go this way , go back ! Well why weren’t all RV’s diverted correctly in the first place. So 20 miles back up the freeway and we join another queue on the hard shoulder and started to wait again. But to our surprise we were on the move again and were let into the grounds, after a quick search of the RV and a scan of wristbands we set up camp. So camp was set and beer opened by 7.30pm ! Not too shabby ..
Day 33 Thursday the music started at 4pm with little known bands , Chris and I went and saw Luke Combs and The Lemon Twigs , neither of which really did it for us so we wondered Centeroo and got our bearings for the days ahead.
Day 34 Friday was a day of British bands, starting with Blossoms heralding from Stockport, they have had some success in Britain and hoping to make it here.
Next up was The XX, excellent indie band from Wandsworth, and finishing up the night with none other than U2 ! Who started straight into Sunday Bloody Sunday and then proceeded to play the whole of Joshua Tree and yes they still have it !!
Day 35 Saturday, after a fairly good nights sleep Saturdays music had a late start for us with Joesph at 5.45. band of 3 sisters from Pacific Northwest, well worth seeking out .From there we headed over to The Head and The Heart, American folk band , again very good. Then it was Cage The Elephant !!!! Fantastic, loved them , gave a great show !
Finally the highlight of the weekend for me Red Hot Chilli Peppers !!!! Love love love ! They know how to rock , played all my favorites and ended on Give it Away . Crawled into bed around 1.30am.
The final day Sunday started with another British band Royal Blood heralding from one of my old haunts Brighton in East Sussex. Excellent band, from there it was over to Umphery’s Magee, who unfortunately gave a below par performance, very disappointing, maybe they had rocked it out too hard the night before. To finish the festival off we saw Lorde and The Weeknd, both not favorites of ours. But both gave very good performances and thoroughly enjoyed them.
So here ended Chris and I’s first Bonnaroo, will we go back ? Most definitely .
Fun facts :
Approx 75,000 people attended.
The farm is 700 acres. It becomes TN 6th largest city when the festival is at full throttle.
It was started by 4 college grads who wanted to pay off their student debt. They hit the jackpot !
The name Bonnaroo is homage to a Louisiana’s musical history and comes from a Dr John album “Desitively Bonnaroo “.
Over 160 bands played this year.
Live by The Roo code, recycle, reduce and reuse whatcha got !
BONNAROO was amazing. Loved it. Will post a full blog with pics when we have wifi.
Currently in Hot Springs AK (#20) National Park #7. Were going to boondock (non campground/free ) but too bloody hot !!! Need electric for AC . So at NP campground. Loving the AC . Hiking some tomorrow before heading to Texas . Promise to post pics when on wifi.
Lots of love
#48beforeitstoolate
So after developing a transmission problem , we called Budget Transmission of Knoxville (they overhauled the transmission in January) advised us to slowly try and make it to a Ford dealership to get codes read. Which we did. This place told us we needed a whole new transmission at a cost of $5000 !!!! Called Jerry at Budget, his advice, if you can get to me i will fix it , it is a sensor issue ! So basically after pulling an all nighter with Jim’s Wrecker and Towing , we pulled into Knoxville at 8 am Wednesday .
This is where I have to give a big shout out to both Jim’s Wrecker and Towing, Jeff drove a 750 mile round trip to get us back and to Jerry at Budget Transmission who had correctly diagnosed the issues in the first place and then covered the repair for the damage caused by the sensor issue. So to a certain Ford dealership in Charlottesville VA, some not very polite words, Thank you very much ! NOT !
Very much a WTF are we doing few days !!!
Anyway we are now home for a few days and are getting ready for Bonnaroo !!! Festival time ! Very excited about our first Roo. Cant wait to get back on the road !!
As a side note , thinking and sending positive vibes to my homeland today , feeling broken hearted.
Will blog again after Bonnaroo xxx
48 before its too late 