Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah and Colorful Colorado

We left Idaho on Sep 10 and stayed overnight at Yuba State Park at Scipio, Utah on our way to Colorado. We decided at the last minute to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and planned to stay at Dead Horse Point State Park which is located right between the two national parks. Their campground was full so the ranger directed us to Horsethief Campground just outside the state park on BLM land. This park is in the high desert and was just fabulous. No water, we already had a full tank because the state park doesn't have water; but 30 amp electric. Here is a picture of our site at Horsethief CG.

And with being so far from any town, and no artificial lighting in the park, I was able to get some great sunset pictures from our site.



We spent one day exploring Canyonlands National Park from the "Island in the Sky" mesa at the north side and another at Arches NP. Both parks really require a lot more time, but we had tentatively told the kids we would arrive on Saturday.
Here are slideshows from both parks. The first two are from Arches NP and the last is Canyonlands. Place your mouse over the bottom of the picture to bring up the toolbar.





We did do some "off the main road" driving and walked several short trails. We will for sure be going back to spend more time at these two beautiful parks and will probably stay again at the BLM campground.

On Saturday morning we left the high desert of southeastern Utah and headed for Colorful Colorado and its tall mountains, mountain rivers and tall pine trees.
We arrived at Redstone Campground in the White River National Forest about 3:00 pm after a really easy drive. The campground is about 15 miles south of Carbondale, CO where Tim, Karen, Elijah and Isaac live. Tim is our oldest child and if you've been following our blog you know we were here in June/July to help them get moved into their new house. They moved from flat, hot, high humidity McKinney, Texas to mountains, rivers, fly fishing, low humidity Colorado. And they seem to have settled in real well.

Dan's brother, Larry and his wife Phyllis, arrived on Sunday and parked right across from us at Redstone.

Don't you just love that scenery?


Redstone is a National Forest Campground (managed by Thousand Trails), so our Golden Age Passport allows for 1/2 price camping. Regular price is $25 + $5 for electric. We pay $12.50 + $5 for electric. We use 2 small electric heaters at night rather than use the propane furnace. There is one non-hookup loop and 2 loops with electric and water. No dump station so we have to be sure we have empty waste tanks when we come in. They do have showers with solar heated water, so at this time of the year it is wise to take evening showers because the water really cools off overnight. :)

Tim and Karen were especially glad to have us visit again since Karen's boss had called her back to Memphis for 2 days. Karen works from home for Hilton. He wouldn't tell her the reason she needed to come back, but did say "it is all good." Dan took her to the Aspen airport Tuesday morning R 7:30 and she'll return Friday morning. Soooo, we are all waiting to hear from her tonight. Elijah started in a new preschool on Tuesday, so Grandpa and Grandma are spending the days with Isaac at home. Elijah's school is in El Jelbel, about 20 minutes from their house, and on the way to Basalt where Tim works. Elijah really likes his new school. He was missing going to school and having a routine to his days.
Meet Isaac and Elijah



We haven't been spending much time in the campground, but are looking forward to having the kids come out on Saturday for a weiner roast and s'mores. The boys should really enjoy that, especially since there are lots of chipmunks in the campground and they may get to see some deer. I bet their dad does some fishing in the Crystal River which flows right past the campground. :)

I think that just about gets this blog up to date again. As I've said before, we are really enjoying this lifestyle. Not sure where we'll end up after leaving here. Will check out the maps and see what tweaks our curiosity.

More later........

RESTING

We left Carbondale, CO Tuesday morning. Sure was hard to leave Elijah & Isaac and their parents. I'll post pictures from our visit tomorrow. I've been really tired; and realized we've been busy every day for the past month.

We had originally planned to only stay 2 days in Provo or Salt Lake City, but found this really great campground, Lakeside RV Campground. I would give it a 9 rating on a 1-10 scale, but the sites are really close to each other. Otherwise, it is great. It's right next to Utah Lake with a walking trail along the lake, lots of trees, but excellent satellite signal; level sites; excellent WiFi throughout the park and plenty of things to do in the area.

We do plan on some drives into the mountains and will visit the Mormon Temple, but this stop is really intended for rest and recuperation. I hope Erin will tolerate the slower pace for a few days. Hopefully we'll be able to mix in just enough activity to keep her happy.

I'll get some pictures and text posted tomorrow about Carbondale and the kids. Just plan on vegging out the rest of today.

More later.....