'Goosed'

This winter has been about revisiting favorite 'boondocking' places from the winter of 2014, and then spending extended periods of time at those sites just enjoying them.  Last winter we were in 'site seeing mode' and just went from one thing to the next spending a few days here and there.  That we must be back in Yuma, AZ for TLE's dental work by April 27th has made it easier to just slow down and sit still.  It has also enabled us to really work on our 'boondocking' skills.

Even though we are in Utah (Mountain Daylight Savings) we have kept our clocks on Arizona time (Mountain Standard).  It just makes it easier not having to change our clocks back and forth as we meander along the Arizona/Utah border, plus it means prime time TV begins at 8 pm, not 9 pm.  The only time we have to worry about the time of day is if we have an appointment such as our 'Deluxe' tour of Monument Valley Friday.  So, I said that to say this.....any times I relate in the blog today, and most days, will reflect Arizona time.

I was up by 6 am Saturday, not because I had anything special to do, but just because I was awake and why lie in bed staring at the ceiling?  We only had 30 miles to drive Saturday.......I know, huh?  Another tough driving day!  Our destination was Goosenecks State Park......a little northeast of Mexican Hat.  Last year we had quite literally stumbled upon this cool state park on a whim while out driving the VW (we were staying at an RV park in Bluff, UT at the time), and were blown away.  You can park your RV right next to the 1,000' drop into the chasm.  Technically this area of the San Juan River is called an 'entrenched meander'.....this aerial view provided by the USDA shows this section of the river.

We departed Goulding's Campground just before 10 am to begin the 30 mile drive to Goosenecks.  Of course, we were still driving HWY 163.....that narrow, unforgiving ribbon of highway we almost got blown off of on Thursday.  There were no winds, but due to the twisty, rough nature of the road we rarely ever got over 50 mph.  Just before Mexican Hat there is a 10% grade downhill that takes you (after a HARD left turn) across the San Juan River, and into Mexican Hat......this section of road is not for the faint of heart.

We arrived at Goosenecks about 10:30 (Arizona Time) to find that they now charge a fee to camp here.  Previously there was no charge, only a 14 day stay limit.  Now they charge $5 to enter the park, or, if you are camping, $10/day....free is better, but for us it is still worth it to camp here.  This place definitely has the 'it factor' for us, which is why we returned.

Took this picture literally 30 feet from where we parked the RV (TLE prefers not to camp right next to 1,000' cliffs)

 Big horizon......long view

 A perspective shot.....there is the abyss right across the dirt road

We paid the ranger for four days in advance.....we will probably stay here 7-10 days, but don't want to lock ourselves into anything long term right now.  We drove down the dirt road that parallels the chasm about an eighth of a mile where we were able to do a 'U' turn and set up facing west (actually about 245 degrees, which is closer to northwest).  This way the sun comes up directly behind the coach, and we should get sun on the solar panels for a little bit more time each day.

While TLE removed all the various bungees she uses to keep the cupboards and drawers closed I went outside to glam up our camp a tad.  We actually have a firepit at our site, as well as two picnic tables.  And the bonus, for me anyway, is there is no room for anyone else to park behind, next to, or in front of our coach.

The awning mat is out with the recliners & Malibu lights

Around 3 (Arizona time) I turned on the first of two Final Four 'March Madness' games....the first pitted Michigan State against Duke.......after the first 5 minutes is was 'no contest' and Duke ended up winning by 20 points....a little disappointing.  The second game had Wisconsin vs. Kentucky.  Kentucky came in 38-0 this season.  It was a great game with each team making small runs, but in the end Wisconsin made Kentucky make mistakes and they won by 7 ending Kentucky's undefeated season.  So, now the final will be Monday night between Wisconsin and Duke.....should be a 'barn burner'.  I have to say that the officiating in these two games was terrible.....I'll leave it at that.

We went outside in between games to watch the sun set while sitting by the fire, and it was a good one......

Prior to our arrival here I had done some checking on how good, or bad the Verizon signal is here, and heard from several it was marginal, so I was prepared to drive down the road a couple of miles each day to do the blog, but upon arrival we found we had a very strong 3G signal.....better than we had at Monument Valley!

Thanks for stopping by!