New views, new roads, new adventures........

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.

(CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

7:08 am - Friday - October 20th - Panguitch, UT - 44º F, humidity 54%, wind 9 mph out of the south.......feels CALM.  Forecast high for today is 65º F here in Panguitch, and 60º F in Bryce Canyon, where we are headed today.

Good morning Panguitch!

Around 7:30 am my brother, Dwyer, rang our door bell (yes we do have a door bell) to say his 'until next times'.....he was headed off to work, and we were headed south.  It never gets any easier, and this time was no different.  Soon, he was in his truck heading off to a job, and we were putting things away inside the Newell in preparation for our mid morning departure.  I was able to utilize the 'Trailer Valet' once again to move the trailer forward and drop the tongue on the hitch.....I have to say once again that the acquisition of the 'Valet' is one of the smartest purchases I have ever made.....it just simplifies the difficult!

Originally, we had planned to visit the local Smith's Fuel Station to top off our 180 gallon diesel tank at $2.78/gallon, but I really did not like their steep driveways......I have to be very careful going in and out of driveways pulling the trailer as it is very easy to ground the hitch.  So, I did some more research and found a Texaco station about 72 miles south in Nephi, UT that had diesel for $2.75/gallon, and it was a truck stop, so the driveways would be pretty flat.  That one decision saved us driving through town in rush hour traffic, and 30 minutes of our time, at least.

We were merging on to I-15 southbound around 10:50 am in mildly heavy traffic.....it took us at least 30 miles to escape the vortex of the Salt Lake City-Provo corridor traffic.  Our total driving distance for Thursday was 221 miles....a longish travel day for us.  There just weren't any places to stop with the 'IT' factor.  The place I ultimately chose to stop overnight was a relatively new RV park with a magnificent, panoramic view of the local valley and mountains, hence the long driving day.  We pulled into the Texaco truck stop after 90 minutes of travel, took on 105 gallons, and were back on the road within 25 minutes.  It was less than 20 miles later that we hit traffic.....apparently there was an accident about 4 miles ahead, and that combined with a construction zone requiring us to merge into one lane cost us about 20 minutes, but at least we never stopped....we just moved along about 10-20 mph for 4-5 miles before we got past the bottleneck. 

We exited I-15 at SR-20 at the 201 mile mark with just 20 miles to go, but what a 20 miles that was......first we had to climb an 11 mile, 8% grade which saw us grinding along at 28-30 mph in 2nd gear for that entire distance.....the engine, tranny and oil temps where the highest I have seen for a long time at 210º.  Finally we crested the summit of the climb at over 7,800' elevation and began the rapid descent on a very windy, twisty 8% grade.....again, in 2nd gear all the way down.

At last we arrived at Bear Valley RV Park right at the intersection of SR-20 and US-89 a little after 4 pm.  We quickly paid for our overnight site, moved over to Site #1 (a pull through site) where I quickly connected our electric, water and sewer.  Within minutes we were both relaxing and watching the lighting change the appearance of the land across Bear Valley......

......then came a magnificent sunset.....now do you know what I mean by the 'IT' factor?

So, we have now covered a little over 800 miles of our drive south to the Grand Canyon....we have just over 200 miles left to go, and can now slow down a little, enjoy the warmer climate, and a just a 'few' new views!

Game 5 of the Cubs/Dodgers best of 7 MLB NLCS began at 6:08 pm, Mountain Time.....I was hoping the Dodgers would get off to a quick start, and put the game away early, and that is exactly what they did......by the end of the 4th inning it was 7-0, and by the last out of the game it was 11-1.  This will be the first time since 1988 that the Dodgers have made it back to the World Series.....there have been so many disappointments over the years, but alas they have made it back to the Fall Classic!

Kike Hernandez hit three home runs including a grand slam accounting for 7 of the 11 runs....he was a one man wrecking crew, and single-handedly wrecked the Cubs' hopes to return for the second year in a row to the World Series.  If you were a Dodger fan, or a Cub hater it was a wonderful game!

We were off to dreamland by 11:30 pm thinking about the adventures awaiting at Bryce Canyon National Park.....are we ever stoked!

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.

Shop 'til ya drop!

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.

8:17 am - Thursday - October 19th - South Jordan, UT - 42º F, humidity 41%, wind 5 mph out of the south by southwest.....partly cloudy skies with a forecast high of 74º F.....today is moving day.....heading ever southward.....next stop Bryce Canyon National Park!

Wednesday was a very busy day....I was up before 7 writing my daily blog entry, and by 10 am we were in the VW embarking upon a very ambitious day of shopping......in all we visited four local thrift stores......Savers, Goodwill, Calvary and Deseret (owned by the LDS folk).....we found a number of things we were looking for.....snow boots for TLE, another pair of pants for moi, some sweaters for TLE, a black sweatshirt for moi, a long, ankle length wool coat for TLE, some gloves and thermal socks for both of us......we will be spending the winter at the Grand Canyon at just over 7,400' elevation after all and it's time to round out our winter weather wardrobe, right?

Of course, there was a required stop at the local In 'N Out Burgers for lunch (#2 combo for me), then stops at Trader Joe's, COSTCO, the Utah State Liquor store, and finally a stop at a local fuel station to top off the VW tank......we paid the cheapest per gallon cost for premium unleaded ever.....$2.29/gallon!

We arrived back at the Newell with our plunder about 4 pm after 6 straight hours of shopping.....after putting things away I took a much needed nap.  I think 6 hours of shopping is a new world record for me.....and I got to spend all that time with The Lovely Elaine!

Around 6 pm we went inside Dwyer and Lori's home for our second dinner in as many nights.  I think I mentioned in a prior post that it had been maybe two years since we had visited them here in Utah, but it has actually been 4 years!  It doesn't seem that long ago.  We had another lovely evening of good food and conversation (my sister-in-law, Lori, is a wonderful cook!).  Since Dwyer is still in the 'workaday' world he needed to get to bed, so we bid our good evenings around 9:30 pm and headed back to our home parked at their curb.

It has been a quick two days here in South Jordan, UT, and I wish we had more time with Dwyer and Lori, as I always do.  There will be a next time, and this time we won't wait four more years!

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.

SLC.......

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.

(CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

6:46 am - Wednesday - October 18th - South Jordan, UT - 37º F, humidity 60%, wind 3 mph out of the south by southeast......forecast high for South Jordan, UT today is 71º F with clear blue skies.....suweet!

Our Jello goal for departing Downata Hot Springs was 10 am.....we rolled out the gate about 10:15 am.....not bad!  We were on I-15 southbound within 10 minutes, then it was just a matter of setting the cruise control, then hang on to the steering wheel and enjoy the view........and what a nice view it was.

Our total driving distance at the beginning of our day was around 144 miles which would take us into the urban bowels of Salt Lake City traffic.  To be fair, traffic in downtown SLC does not even come close to the quagmire of traffic congestion that SoCal is, but when you spend 95% of your life living in rural America where there is often not even a traffic signal, and perhaps maybe only 1, or 2 stop signs, venturing into any area with any kind of traffic is disconcerting at best.

As we drifted ever southward at 60 mph the amount of traffic slowly increased, and as we entered the Ogden, UT corridor on I-15 additional new southbound lanes began to appear until we hit 6 lanes in downtown SLC.  Suddenly you go from seeing one vehicle in your side view mirrors a mile, or so back to being surrounded by dozens of vehicles all changing lanes back and forth in front of you.  The collar on your shirt seems to be shrinking, your left foot begins to tap out a nervous staccato rhythm, and you feel your right eye beginning to twitch.....yup...welcome back to urban life Clarke!  As we continue to ooze into the ever increasing congestion I begin looking for every opportunity to keep moving my 38,000 pounds and 62 feet of metal to each new lane which keeps appearing to my right.....every time I think I'm as far right as I can be another new lane is added.  I know from past experience that at the point where we exit the Interstate for my brother's home it is 7, or 8 lanes wide, which includes the two 'EXIT ONLY' lanes.  My right blinker is on, but the vehicles to my right are not yielding.....I've got less than 1/2 mile before I pass the exit.....I finally slow down to let traffic pass me, and squeeze in front of an oncoming semi just in time to make the exit....whew!

I breath a brief sigh of relief....the palms of my hands are sweaty, and that deodorant I applied just a couple of hours before has given up the ghost.  Within a mile we have pulled to the side of the road to unload the VW before we enter the very narrow streets of my brother's neighborhood.  He lives on a culdesac and it is impossible for me to make the u-turn in the culdesac required to park in front of his home, so I must turn right away from his home and then back up about 100 yards into his culdesac, and then position the coach and trailer in front of his home in such as a way as not to block local neighborhood traffic.  We've done this maneuver about 7, or 8 times over the years, but it never gets easier.  Sometimes we get it first try, and sometimes it takes several tries before we are positioned correctly.

Of course, this time we have a tool we didn't have the other half dozen+ times we have come here.....we have the 'Trailer Valet'.  The hardest part about parking in front of my brother's home is getting the trailer bent around the corner and out of the middle of the street.  This time, once we got the trailer close to where we wanted it, we dropped the trailer, pulled the Newell forward a little, then maneuvered the trailer into its parking spot.....so much easier!  Then we adjusted the position of the Newell, and we were done.....by this time it was closing in on 3 pm.  I got busy running about 70' of 50 amp extension cords into my brother's garage where we plug into a 20 amp receptacle....this means we won't be rocking 4 electric heaters for a couple of days.....maybe one at a time.  Fortunately the overnight lows will be in the 40's the next two days so our water bay is safe from freezing.  Once that was done I was ready for a nap, and that is exactly what I did.

My brother, Dwyer, was home from work around 5 pm, at which time we went inside to spend the evening with he and his wife, Lori. It happened to be 'Taco Tuesday', replete with Margaritas.  We had a wonderful evening laughing, and talking......hard to believe it has been four years since we were last here!

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. - It has been a while since I asked those of my readers who are not yet 'FOLLOWERS' of my blog to take the time to do just that.  Just to the right of today's missive you will see the word 'FOLLOWERS'.....just below the pictures of my followers is the BLUE  'FOLLOW' button.  Just click that button and become a follower.  Let's see if we can get to 160 today!

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.