They were giants......

7:08 am - Sunday - May 31st - Jensen, UT - 59° F, 72% humidity, wind 6 mph out of the northwest.......high cloudiness today with a forecast high here in Jensen of 87° F, but we will not be here to experience that.....we roll our wheels in two hours northward to Rock Springs, WY.  On this day in 2014 I was riding the 'Flume Trail' with  Michelle and Mark Douglas......

View of Sand Harbor from the 'Flume Trail'

Back in September of 2012 we spent a few days camping at Flaming Gorge in Wyoming.  I saw on our map that Dinosaur National Monument was about 70 miles south of our position, and wanted to see it, but we were headed east on I-80 at the time to work at Amazon in Campbellsville, KY for the first time and a round trip drive of over 150 miles was not in the cards, so we said to ourselves 'next time' we are in the area we'll see it......next time did not come for 7.5 years.  A couple of weeks ago I saw our travel path would take us by this national monument again, so we decided to make it happen.

We are staying at Outlaw Trail RV Park, which is across the street from the road which takes you to the western entrance of this very large park.  When we go sightseeing with Glenn and Laureen we almost always ride in their Honda Element, mostly because the ingress and egress from their vehicle is easier on our aging bodies than the VW.  We left in their Element just before 10 am to enter the park......

....as is the case with all the National Parks, and Monuments we have visited thus far on our summer travels the visitor center was closed at Dinosaur National Monument, along with its main attraction, Quarry Exhibit Hall, where you are able to view many fossilized dinosaur bones still embedded in the rock quarry where they were originally found......

.....nevertheless, we decided to take the hike up to Quarry Hall to attempt to view some of the fossilized bones through the tinted windows.  Along this 1.5 mile long trail you can view some petroglyphs......

.......the temp was in the high 80's Saturday making hiking in the intense direct sunlight interesting to say the least.  After about 30 minutes we reached Quarry Hall and attempted to take some photographs through the darkly tinted windows where others have been attempting to do the same thing prior to our arrival....the windows were full of hand prints, and smudges making it difficult, but we did the best we could.....

 Quarry Exhibit Hall

.....between TLE and I we managed to get a few fuzzy pictures.  I wish we could have gone inside.....

 

 
.....the view from Quarry Hall was spectacular, and we spent about 20 minutes resting in the shade before beginning the walk back to the Honda via the paved road, which is currently gated to keep people from making the drive up the hill.....

 'Elephant Toes'

 The trail up to Quarry Hall

 TLE got this picture of a large fossilized dinosaur bone near the hiking path to Quarry Hall

.....once back at the car we continued our tour of Dinosaur National Monument finding more petroglyphs just a short walk from the road....

....about 8 miles into our drive we came to the end of the road at Miss Josie's homestead cabin.....

Miss Josie's homestead cabin

....signage told us that Miss Josie homesteaded this property in 1914 at the age of 40 and lived there 50 years.....no electricity, no plumbing, dirt floors.  A very solitary, basic existence....she must have loved it....

.....we availed ourselves of a picnic table located on Miss Josie's property to eat lunches prepared by TLE and Laureen.  About this time it began to cloud over, the air began to cool noticeably, and by the time we finished it had begun to rain.......it was time to seek the shelter of the Element once again.

We arrived home around 1:30 pm....time for a nap, right?  We had a fun time touring Dinosaur National Monument, but were disappointed in not being able to enter Quarry Exhibit Hall.....that is the main attraction at Dinosaur National Monument, so perhaps a return visit at some time in the future is warranted.  All that being said we had fun with Glenn and Laureen talking and laughing, and just hanging out together.  As the saying goes "Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time...."

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

The 'rest' of it.....

6:20 am - Saturday - May 30th - Jensen, UT - 57° F, 60% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the north......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 89° F.....the view this morning.....↴

Our Jello plan Friday was to be on the road by 10 am, and we were successful.  After composing and posting my daily missive we turned over the big Detroit Diesel 6v92, and backed up to the dump station to empty our tanks, and fill our fresh water tank.  This was accomplished in record time, and then it was just a matter of dropping the trailer on the hitch, pulling forward and inserting the VW for our 100+ mile drive to Jensen, UT.  As has become our pattern, TLE and I were the first to depart Town Park in Meeker, CO with Glenn and Laureen following within a couple of hours.

For the first time since we left Wittmann, AZ almost a month ago our compass heading was due west.  We left Colorado 13 just west of Meeker for Colorado 64, which would take us all the way to Dinosaur, CO and US-40 for the final 20 miles into Utah once again, and ultimately Jensen.  Colorado 13, and 64 are what we would call 'tertiary' roads, or third order/level highways.  Most often 'tertiary roads' have no shoulders, can be quite narrow, and often have rough patches......Colorado 13, and 64 fit this description perfectly.  US-40, on the other hand, is definitely a very good secondary road, as are most of the US highways we have traversed over the years, with wide shoulders, and smooth asphalt.

Just outside of Rangely, CO about 60 miles into our drive we found serendipity in the form of Kenney Reservoir.......as we came around a corner on Colorado 64 I spied a large parking lot near a boat ramp that appeared quite negotiable for our 62' length, so I pulled in on the spur of the moment to take a break.  I took time to check our 10 tires with our infrared temp gun and found all tires to be in their proper temperature range, drained a quart of Delo 100 40 weight oil from our 2.5 gallon oil reservoir into the 6v92, and then checked the straps which secure the VW in place while we are underway......

.....I then took a few pix to memorialize this great rest stop.....one of our best in a long, long time.....I could have spent the rest of the day there enjoying the balmy zephyrs gently wafting off the lake.....

......we spent about 40 minutes relaxing there, but eventually the call of the road urged us back onto Colorado 62 for the final 40+ miles into Jensen, UT.  We arrived at Outlaw Trail R Park just after 12:30 pm, and were in site #30 within minutes plugging in our electrical, and turning on our A/C......it was hot!

Within 90 minutes Glenna and Laureen arrived in site #31, right next to us.  They drove into Vernal to visit the local Walmart Supercenter, and a couple of RV places.  TLE prepared some Chicken soup for dinner, which we shared with Glenn and Laureen before bidding adieu to each other for the night.....

......on Saturday we will explore Dinosaur National Monument to our heart's content.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

Last day.......

7:35 am - Friday - May 29th - Meeker, CO - 52° F, 59% humidity, wind - CALM!  Clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.....gettin' warmer....we have somewhat of a warming trend over the next week.

Thursday was a rare day in which I took no pictures, so this post will depend entirely upon myself to be as descriptive as possible.  It's funny, because usually I am thinking about taking pictures all the time in anticipation of putting them in the blog the next day.  I guess I was so involved with Glenn and Laureen, and our town hosts, John and Lisa that I got completely sidetracked throughout the very warm day.  I know, I know....it was only 80° F, but we've been blessed with so many days in the 70's lately that 80° F feels much warmer, and the sun here is so, so intense.  If you have been standing in the sun for 10-15 minutes and then move suddenly to the shade it feels like the temp has dropped 15°!

Around 8:30 am we walked over to White River Bakery for breakfast (indoors!).....John and Lisa had recommended them very highly.  TripAdvisor gives them 4.5 stars on 10 reviews, and we would have to agree....what a great breakfast!

TripAdvisor picture

Later in the morning I helped Glenn and Laureen install their 3 new tail lights.....you will remember we replaced the first three in Wittmann (one from their personal inventory, and 2 we bought at a local truck supply place) as we never received the ones we ordered from Amazon.  While we were on the road Glenn ordered some more from another source, and they finally arrived here in Meeker a couple of days ago.  Now all six tail lights are in working order.

Additionally, Glenn pulled off the front bumper to check on why the generator had overheated when they were dry camping in Colorado Springs last week.  It turned out that the generator carburetor is adjusted for about 500-700' elevation, we we have been over 5,000' elevation for several weeks now which is causing (we believe) the generator to run much leaner, which will increase the operating temperature.  Glenn will read up on adjusting the carburetor to work at higher elevation, and make the necessary adjustments.

By the time we finished that it was getting too warm to be working in direct sunlight so we retired to our individual homes on wheels to take naps.  After cooling down I spent some more time in the trailer organizing things in the trailer for VW insertion Friday morning....yup, it's time to roll our wheels once again.  We'll be heading west from Meeker toward Dinosaur National Monument, a place we have not yet visited, and from there we are not totally sure as things are still in the beginning stages of opening in this part of the country.  We do know that Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons National Parks are open with some restrictions.

We invited John and Lisa over for dinner at 6 pm.  TLE and I had to set up our Ozark Trails popup shade as the early evening sun was quite intense at the picnic tables right next to our site.  For our dinner fare TLE and Laureen made up a batch of TLE's amazing Lasagna, as well as her avocado/corn salad.  We sat eating, drinking and talking until almost 9 pm before the evening chill, and a few random mosquitoes chased us indoors.  Our 4 day interlude here in Meeker has been amazing, and on some level I am reluctant to leave, but the Summer of 2020 tour must continue, right?  We can always return, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

The tuneup.......

7:28 am - Thursday - May 28th - Meeker, CO - 48° F, 73% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the southeast......crystal, clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 80° F....the view this morning......↴

I spent the better part of Wednesday tuning up John and Lisa's mountain bikes.  John has a very nice Marin 29er, and Lisa a Scott 26".  They haven't been ridden in quite a long time, so they needed some TLC to get them operational once again.....

 John's tuned up Marin 29er

......I brought out my Part bike stand and set it up under our patio awning around mid morning, and finished with both bikes around 2 mp.  John's bike has tubeless tires, and they needed to have new tubeless solution put inside the tires.  This solution prevents flat tires, and helps keep the bead sealed against the rim.  On each bike I cleaned the rear cassette, the chain, hubs, rims, and wiped the frames down with WD40 to make the paint pop again.

We were expecting Glenn and Laureen to arrive from Denver late afternoon, and they finally arrived around 6:30 pm after a 250 mile drive through one construction zone after another.....

.....once we got them situated we drove over to John and Lisa's home for dinner once again.  As is always the case, we had a wonderful dinner filled with good conversation.  I finally remembered to take an 'usie'......

.....after dessert.  We have had such a great time visiting with them the past few days, and it is going to be hard to haul anchor on Friday.

Glenn and Laureen stayed home to set up their coach for two days, and take naps.  We returned a little after 8:30 pm to find the remnants of what was reported to be a beautiful sunset.......

.....and with that another lovely Meeker day came to an end.....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

A new favorite.......

7:28 am - Wednesday - May 27th - Meeker, CO - 48° F, 74% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the east.......cloudy today with a forecast high of 76° F.....on this day in 2012 we were exploring Lake Couer d'Alene with our good friends George and Brenda Cheney.......↴

Well, we now have a new favorite place in the world......Meeker, CO.....what an idyllic setting for a rural Colorado town!  More pictorially about that later.

We've been without our wonderful Norcold pullout fridge since Page, AZ.  Within a day, or two I had ordered the new, improved Norcold off Amazon and had it shipped to our friend's home in Meeker.  It arrived there within 4, or 5 days of our order so it has been sitting in their garage awaiting our arrival since then.  As is often my habit (not as much anymore) I imagined the removal of the old Norcold and the installation of the new Norcold would be an all day affair as the 'Hockwald Way' (with a little Murphy's Law thrown in for good measure) often dictates.  The real life experience was quite different....in fact it was so easy I kept rechecking everything I had done convinced I had forgotten something, or made a mistake....in fact it only took 90 minutes beginning to end......

 The new HDMI cable position....right next to the cigarette lighter plug where I plugged in the new Norcold

......I first had to relocate the HDMI plug and cable from its location below the rest of the electrical outlets to a position to the left of them as the new Norcold is several inches taller than the old one......I imagined all kinds of issues doing this, but I had it done within 20 minutes......

.....below you can see the old hole where the box was located......I used this hole to run the 12 volt cable through to the cigarette lighter plug, which is now right next to the new HDMI cable position....

......once the HDMI cable was re-positioned I removed the old Norcold fridge.......

 Out with the 'old'

.......and quickly set the new Norcold in place.  Instead of drilling holes in the bottom of the new Norcold I used leftover aluminum angle strips on each side and in back to secure it in position.....

 In with the 'new'

 You can see how much shorter the new Norcold is than the old one.  It is still the same size as the old one as it is much deeper inside than the old one

 ......once that was done I was done.  The owner's manual recommends setting the fridge at 40° F.....and that is precisely where the temp sits this morning......

.....once the new Norcold project was 'put to bed' I turned my attention to replacing the broken, plastic door latch which holds our entry door in the open position when we have our screen door deployed.  The 12 year old white plastic one broke while we were at Goosenecks State Park when a sudden gust of wind hit the door when it was latched.  The new one I ordered is metal, and it will not break.....ever......

.....fortunately for me the holes I drilled for the prior latch were exact matches to the new latch, and I did not have to drill, or re-drill and holes.  I plan to paint the latch at a later date the same copper color as the background.  When we bought our coach in 2008 I inherited a pint of the original DuPont Imron paint, which I will use to match the color.

When I was exploring Circle Park on the other side of the White River from our location Monday afternoon I noticed there was a trail going up to the top of the bluff, so TLE and I decided to take a hike to the top to see the view around 3:30 pm..........

 These cut sandstone benches adorn the trail at 

regular intervals all the way to the top

.....the trail climbs pretty quickly from river level and within 7 minutes we had this view of our Newell in Town Park......

.....the view from near the top is breathtaking

 Each of the military branches were represented with plaques, including the Coast Guard

 If you ever wondered what a 105 mm Howitzer looks like, here you go

.....what we did not know before we made the hike is that there is a military memorial honoring all of the local citizens who have served over the generations since Meeker was founded back in the late 1800's, and there is also a beautifully maintained town cemetery.......

.......TLE and I love walking through local cemeteries to get a feel for the history of the area.  We did not look at every single grave marker, but the oldest birth year we found was 1824......196 years ago......

.....it's been a couple of weeks since we took a hike, and this hike was made even more enjoyable by the delightful weather (low 70's Tuesday) we are now enjoying.......

.......we concluded our productive day with dinner at John and Lisa's home.  We provided a bottle of Pinot Noit, and Lisa grilled some steaks/chicken and provided sides of grilled asparagus, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and onions, capped off with an amazing strawberry shortcake dessert topped with whipped cream.  As always the conversation continued unabated for almost 3 hours......life is good!  Glenn and Laureen will be rejoining our 'Summer of 2020' tour on Wednesday, and we will continue our Jello journey northwest.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!