Time Flies – Part IV – There to Here

I last left you at the conclusion of our time in Southern Oregon from February 4, 2022 to May 5, 2022. A fantastic stay, ending with a bang on the Lower Rogue River and a next day departure on another monumental road trip. I told you it would blow your mind. Well, buckle up buttercup! Here it goes.

We planned on doing a lot of boondocking on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land on this trip, and our first stop was such. Despite some snow on our drive through Klamath Falls, OR, we arrived at Antelope Ranch Campground as our first stop with hot (warm) springs right on site. It was quiet and chill despite our morning curses as our passenger side jack would not retract upon departure – a minor bump we figured out.

From there we had booked a “BoonDockers Welcome” spot which is basically someone’s property that can house an RV +/- basic hookups. This spot was southeast of Elko, NV at the base of the Ruby mountains. The owner of the property on which we stayed was a very warm and welcoming underground gem & mineral miner! He was kind enough to allow us to use his water to rinse off the Mormon Cricket guts off the front of the RV and jacks. Yeah… we were unsure what these things were as we were driving across a particular valley, but apparently, there is a somewhat unpredictable migration of crickets across this area. Legend has it, these crickets were decimating the crops of Moron settlers a few centuries back.  A desperate prayer was sent up to assist and low and behold flocks of seagulls and birds came through making a mighty fine meal of these critters. Well…we had the pleasure of driving right through one of these migrations (make sure you watch the video below)!

Our next stop was at Utah Lake State Park in Provo, Utah. We stayed at this spot two years ago. Remember Yelling At Cows? Yeah, it was on the way to this location in which that well responded to blog originated. we had visited the Provo Rec Center then, and decided to treat the kids to another fun afternoon at this fantastic indoor water park. They really figured it out here.

On 5/15/22 we drove to Dead Horse State Park – tragically named for a tragic event…but Beautiful!!! This place has a tone of history and natural beauty. In my opinion could easily be a National Park. Fitting our rig into the camp site was a bit tricky, yet it offered 50amp service, which we took advantage of in the desert heat! We wasted no time enjoying this fantastic park in which we took our first legit family mountain bike ride, enjoying the terrain and views along the way, ending our ride at twilight with a lunar eclipse! The next morning, Leah and I got up at 5:30 to catch the sunrise over the vast landscape – magical!

The reason we chose Dead Horse State Park, despite what it had to offer, was the fact that it is situated perfectly between Canyonland and Arches National Parks. One day we drove into Canyonlands NP for hiking and rock scrambling along Aztec Butte and the Pueblo Pantry to see ancient Native American dwellings as well as Whale Rock!

The very next day we decided to visit Arches NP via the “backroad”. This road is meant for vehicles with high clearance – doing it again, I would choose a high clearance vehicle with a shorter wheelbase.  Brutus did fine, however we scraped the running board navigating the rocks on the way in. We did find a specially designated area that boasted real, preserved dinosaur tracks to check out. This “back way” allowed us entrance into the park without waiting at the main entrance – advisable with the right vehicle and an adventurous spirit! The park itself was cool – however on the hot day we visited, with strict orders to stay on the path and not climb on the fragile rock structures, it was a bit torturous for the kiddos…

From this spot in Utah, we drove to a “Hipcamp” site. Again, residential, Hipcamp can offer dry camping sites to full RV campgrounds.  This one was in fact a few full hook-ups on someone’s property just outside Cortez, CO. From this spot, we were able to enjoy a few local towns and visit Mesa Verde NP to explore the Native American pit and cliff dwellings as we hiked and explored the park. We also tried our luck again with mountain biking at “Phil’s World” – the third ranked mountain bike park in U.S.!

On May 21, 2022, we got our first taste of real elevation and the Colorado Rockies when we parked in Ouray, CO. We cannot say enough about this special little town nestled in its own little bowl amongst the beautiful mountains. “The Swiss Alps” of America is what it is known for, and it did not disappoint. Recreation abounds here as there is a strenuous, yet doable, hike with awesome variety that circles the perimeter of the town. We walked, literally from our RV campground in town to join up with the trail, experienced awesome views of peaks, played in rocky canyons and waterfalls, Fisher landed on a prickly pear cactus earning a full bur-in-the butt experience, all to take the trail down to an ice cream shop before meandering through town back to the RV park! We did not drive to any of the locations or trailheads pictured below from our in-town campground!

While at this location, we could not pass up the opportunity to surprise the kids with a family horseback trip in which everyone had their own horse while touring the mountain side! And of course, we had to drive the “million-dollar highway” to Silverton, CO. On the way into Silverton, we were able to visit a few mining ghost towns, play disc golf at the highest elevation course I’ve ever played at, and check out the steam engine that runs from Durango to and from Silverton. Oh, and we even had time for me to make progress on my work to make a few bucks!

Our next planned stop required some flexibility as the park service had not yet opened the campground in which we planned on staying. Luckily, we found some vacancy at a sweet little place a bit down the road. It was here that we were able to do some pond fishing, feed a flock of funny sheep and explore Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. A site to behold, this park boasts some extreme vertical challenges amongst the steepest canyon walls I’ve ever witnessed. Just revisiting the pictures produces vertigo induced by the sheer depth and steepness of the canyon. We did not do the permit only hike down to the river. Instead, we chose to drive the winding road down to play by the river’s edge.

From this location, we prepared ourselves for seven days of book docking – the longest stretch we’ve done without hook-ups. And in my mind, the most memorable, validating and fulfilling stint of our time RVing. Our drive to our first boondocking spot really tested Brutus as he hauled the RV over the steepest/tallest pass he ever had or ever will – Monarch Pass. He did awesome! Our first of the three no hook-up nights were spent in the Shivano Wilderness Area outside Salida, CO. A great dispersed camping area with awesome views, random cattle herds wondering through and access to the Arkansas River via Salida and Buena Vista. In fact, we were right by the outfitters in which I stayed to do my Christian Wilderness Training two years ago – Noah’s Ark Outfitters! It was not through them, but another rafting company in which I was able to talk the owners into renting me a framed raft to take the family on the Arkansas river over some fun class I-III water.

I had no idea how living in elevation really changes things until our next spot at Twin Lakes, near Leadville, CO – the highest incorporated town in America. We could see Mt. Elbert – the tallest peak in the Rockies – from our living room! Bringing our water craft up and down to the water left me surprisingly winded, and our propane furnace struggled to stay lit – that’s how high and how little oxygen was up there! But, oh my goodness, was it worth it! The water was crystal clear and like glass as we paddled across to an abandoned early 1900’s resort. The trout were plentiful to catch – and eat! The towns were chalk full of wild west history, and we even drove out to the continental divide! These particular four nights with my family has made all the ups and downs of our adventure 100% worth it!

Anyone who has traveled from Colorado to the Midwest will begin to grumble at this part: Kansas and Missouri. Sure, the people are warm, and things were safe, however we pretty much just pushed through this drive with a couple stops to break things up. Kansas was uneventful, but we did stop near the St. Louis Arch in Missouri – which recently became a National Park – so that’s cool. One place we visited worth mentioning is the City Museum in St. Louis. A very challenging place to explain; it is an adventure park/art/climbing museum in which all types of re-purposed material has been artistically used to create a seemingly endless jungle gym for families to explore. An absolute must to visit if ever in the area!

From there, we made it back to our hometown in Indiana all in one piece. If you were keeping track on that run, from January to June of 2022, we went from Troy Alabama across the southwest, up through California to Oregon, through Nevada and Utah with a month in Colorado and back to Indiana in time to celebrate Fisher’s sixth birthday in which he asked me to make a “Fish” birthday cake! My family is awesome!