Fall 2023

October - November 2023

This will be a relatively short but very busy trip. Nevada, Austin, Florida, back to Austin and then HOME to Seattle in under 2 months..... Read more

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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 6, 2023
- Altitude: 30 ft
- United States Washington King County Renton Renton Municipal Airport 47.484961, -122.21715947°29’6” N 122°13’2” W
Day 1
Am I Ready For This?
October 6, 2023 in the United States
I was supposed to get ready yesterday. I stead I drove an hour away to look at what I thought was going to be the perfect van. It wasn't. But I'm glad I went to see it cause now I know and will keep looking. Finding the perfect van is going to be just as hard as finding the perfect condo. I settled for an okay condo. But I don't want to settle for a van I won't be happy driving and traveling in.

So....today I am finally prepping for the trip and tomorrow I will head out.Read more
Traveler Where are you traveling to? Will we see you in Austin?
10/9/23Reply
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 7, 2023
- ☀️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 2,080 ft
- United States California Shasta County Dirigo Castle Creek 41.140537, -122.31878641°8’26” N 122°19’8” W
Day 2
Day 1 - On The Road
October 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
I created a trip itinerary in RVTrip Wizard. But it is more of a general road map. I will probably not stay.in any of the campsites I entered. It's really just so I know what roads to take and approximately how far I need to drive each day. My first solid deadline is to be in Vegas on Tuesday morning to get Bev at the airport.

I was on the road a little after 8 this morning. I did have to take a break for a mid morning snooze. Then I went on.

Stopped at a rest stop for the night when I couldn't go on anymore. Can't believe I made it so far today; Castella CA. I managed to sleep til 5 or 6 am.

It feels good to be driving, watching the scenery and listening to a good book. Why do I feel so good doing this????

A touch of guilt about leaving Heather, Odin & Artemis.Read more
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 8, 2023
- ⛅ 70 °F
- Altitude: 6,722 ft
- United States California Mono County Lee Vining Lee Vining Canyon 37.959571, -119.12143637°57’34” N 119°7’17” W
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Day 3
Day 2 - One from the bucket list
October 8, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Heading further South, I hit a major traffic jam leaving Reno. Rather than sit for an hour, I made a U-turn and went an alternate route. Sometimes it pays to just go with the flow. The views were lovely. Fall is showing its colors. I pulled off at a scenic viewpoint and it turned out I was driving by Mono Lake. It's one of the places I've been wanting to see but it's never been on my route. So guess where I camped for the night!

I was able to get to the visitor center before it closed and drive to a short hike before dark.Read more
Traveler I really like this shot!
10/10/23Reply
Traveler Cool 😎
10/10/23Reply
Traveler Really nice 👍
10/10/23Reply
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 9, 2023
- Altitude: 3,845 ft
- United States Nevada Arden Mining District 36.117561, -115.44452136°7’3” N 115°26’40” W
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Day 4
Red Rock Canyon Drive-By
October 9, 2023 in the United States
The drive from Mono Lake to Red Rock Canyon and Vegas was mostly boring, almost like West Texas but even flatter! 3 hours with Nothing! Not even a gas station. When I finally hit a little town, I stopped at a gas station/candy store: in fact; The Largest Candy Store in Nevada! They had some interesting stuff I'd never seen before and I had some awesome homemade ice cream for lunch.

Got to Red Rock Canyon State Park about 5 PM but they were still requiring timed entry tickets, which I didn't have. So I drove a little further up the road and ended up at a viewpoint as the sun was illuminating the canyon. Perfect timing. So got some nice photos. Will have to come back to go camping & hiking someday.

Spent the night in a cheap Super 8 motel in Vegas. But at least I got a shower and a good night's sleep.Read more
Traveler Nice composition
10/11/23Reply
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 10, 2023
- 🌬 91 °F
- Altitude: 1,657 ft
- United States Nevada Clark County Elephant Rock 36.435591, -114.44462536°26’8” N 114°26’41” W
Day 5
Valley of Fire - Utah
October 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 91 °F
Picked up Bev at the Airport at 11AM and headed towards St. George, Nevada. On the way we passed signs for The Valley of Fire State Park and had to make a detour. It was f-ing hot, car thermostat read 105 at one point. Bev managed a 1.5 mile hike. I didn't. But I did find a short hike in the shade with a wonderful breeze. And took lots.of photos.

We both want to do a camping trip when the weather is right and spend time in both Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon.

We finally made it to St. George and had dinner then checked into the resort. (Red Mountain Resort) We'll be here 3 nights.Read more
Traveler I’ve wanted to see Valley of Fire. Looks awesome.
10/11/23Reply
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 11, 2023
- ☀️ 79 °F
- Altitude: 3,353 ft
- United States Utah Washington County Ivins Snow Spring 37.181574, -113.63462337°10’54” N 113°38’5” W
Day 6
Red Mountain Resort
October 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Did a morning hike at Snow Canyon State Park . My legs got a little tired towards the end but overall I'm doing good. It's way more motivating to hike surrounded by unique & beautiful scenery and with a good friend.

Then we went to the Kayenta Art gallery center. The art was amazing. Photography. Painting. Ceramics. Sculptures. I loved 99% of everything! I even bought a print of a painting. I want to be able to paint like just one, anyone of the artists. This weekend they are having an art festival which starts Friday. We are planning on going before we leave town.

Then we went to the botanical garden. There was a special display for Halloween. All the local businesses had scarecrow decorations out. And we did another short hike too before dinner.Read more
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 12, 2023, 12:08pm
- ☀️ 61 °F
- Altitude: 3,832 ft
- United States Utah Washington County Big Sand 37.20624, -113.62548637°12’22” N 113°37’32” W
Day 7
Snow Canyon State Park
October 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Spent most of the day hiking in Snow Canyon State Park. This has to be most favorite state park ever! We did multiple hikes and every hike was different. The variety of landscapes/rock formations was amazing.

First hike today was Tortoise Walk. Not really a 'hike'. Just a short walk with informative signs about the dessert tortoise and a tortoise statue at the end.

Then we climbed some Petrified (Red Sand) Dunes. Although they weren't too high, the climb up was pretty steep and the views from the top were pretty nice. One could see lots of black lava rocks on the surrounding valleys and grassy hills.

The next hike was to The Whiterocks Amphitheater; which I was thinking would be an amphitheater where the rangers gave talks. But NO! It was a natural amphitheater in the middle of the whiterock hills. The wind was intense. I guess it was sort of a natural vortex and the wind and sand had carved out the amphitheater. So many different textures and patterns in the rocks! The photos do not do it justice.

Actually the first hike we did at the park was the day before when we hiked Johnson Canyon. Bev repeated that hike this morning but I slept in and relaxed.Read more
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 12, 2023
- ☀️ 86 °F
- Altitude: 3,665 ft
- United States Utah Washington County Ivins Snow Canyon 37.218693, -113.64606737°13’7” N 113°38’46” W
Day 7
Snow Canyon State Park #2 - more hikes
October 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
Later that day we finished up with a final hike on the Butterfly Trail. We didn't see any butterflies until someone pointed out the Butterfly Rock for which the trail was named. Ah!

The trailed T-boned into the Lava Rock Trail which we took far enough to see the Lava Cave but neither of us was prepared to climb down into the a cave. Maybe next time. And there will be a next time. There are still another half dozen or more trails we didn't get to! For a State Park, it is really amazing!!!! Our resort is right up the road. But next time I want to camp here.

It is only 2 hours from Zion, so a great location to start a Utah camping trip.Read more
Traveler Close to Zion explains why there are similar rock formations! Putting that State Park on my Must Visit list!
10/16/23Reply
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 14, 2023
- ⛅ 79 °F
- Altitude: 4,170 ft
- United States New Mexico Doña Ana County Fairacres 32.287319, -106.86982232°17’14” N 106°52’11” W
Day 9
Onward
October 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
Made it to Bev's late yesterday. We listened to The Rope by Nevada Barr. It was my 2nd time listening to it but I did not mind at all. Her stories are so full of twist and turns that one forgets not just the details but even much of the story.

After a good night's sleep, a lovely shower and lunch at our favorite restaurant, The White Chocolate Cafe; I drove Beverly to pick up her car at the airport. Then I headed towards Austin. Staying at a rest stop near Las Cruz, NM ton8ght. Should make it to Austin by Monday.Read more
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Traveler Fall 2023
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- Oct 16, 2023
- ☀️ 72 °F
- Altitude: 778 ft
- United States Texas Travis County Crestview 30.34882, -97.73514730°20’56” N 97°44’7” W
Day 11
Oh Texas!
October 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
I miss Texas breakfast & lunch tacos. It's hard to believe that even other south west states don't have tacos like here. And of course BBQ.
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