Author: Wanda and John

We visited Dinasour National Monument yesterday and started at the preserved quarry where many of the dinosaur bones were first discovered in Utah.  They built a structure around the quarry and visitors are able to see and touch the bones as they were originally found in the cliff rock.  Very cool!

After touching something that’s 149 million years old, it really humbles you and makes you realize that, in the big picture, our lives are a dust speck in time.

After that, we continued to drive around though the rest of the park and stopped at several beautiful and interesting spots along the way.

My favorite was the old homestead of Josie Bassett Morris.  She was a local legend that lived in a remote area near the canyon most of her life.  From 1914 until her death in 1964 (she was 89!!) she built several cabins and raised her own cattle, pigs and chickens with no electricity or phone or any modern convenience.  A true strong woman pioneer!

We also took a drive up to the Flaming George Dam.  It was beautiful!  Our friend Dale’s father actually worked on this dam when it was being built in the late 1950’s to 1964.  His father was one of the first to walk over the bridge when it was being opened in 1964.

Yesterday we did a white water rafting trip down the Green River in the Flaming Gorge area of Utah.  It was so much fun! This time we had a guide on board so we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful canyon most of the time and our guide made sure we were safe on the trip down.  We stopped halfway and had lunch on the banks of the river and then finished the trip in the afternoon.  I loved it and can’t wait until we have the opportunity to do it again :-). John and I both had Go Pro cameras on our helmets and were able to record some great video of the trip.

Here are a few shots of our drive down to Fantasy Canyon last night.  The canyon is filled with unusual eroded rock formations and we saw a lot of wild life along the road on the way out to the canyon.

We saw a lot of wild horses.

WOW Just WOW!  Today John and I drove to Dry Fork Canyon and climbed the cliff rocks to view the petroglyphs.  IT WAS AMAZING!

“The rock art located up Dry Fork Canyon is world renowned and located along a 200-foot-high “Navajo Formation” sandstone cliff. These petroglyphs are located on the Sadie McConkie Ranch, a private property, but have remained accessible to the public, all they ask is that visitors do not damage the sites, and obey all signs. Nowhere else can you see more petroglyphs in one area that are so easily accessible.

There are trails that take you up close and personal were you can view figures up to 9 feet tall. These figures represent the Fremont culture, which flourished in this area from about 1-1200 A.D. You may spend any were from 1 to 8 hours exploring this area, depending on how far you want to hike and how much you want to see.”
From the ‘Utah Outdoor Activities’ web page.

We had fun hiking up the cliffs and John took some video of the trip.

And here are some photos from the adventure.  We HIKED UP HERE people!

On Monday we left Washington Lake in the Unitas and drove a few hours south east to the small city of Vernal Utah.

Washington Lake was a lot of fun and we were lucky enough to meet our new friends Dale and Karen who gave us some great travel tips as we head into Colorado next week.  We’re thankful for the guidance since we’re just kinda winging it 🙂

Today we rode about an hour north of Vernal to Sheep Creek Geological Loop which was a fabulous road though the Ashley National Forest.  This area is fossil and dinosaur land and it looks very much like it.

Here are some of Johns shots from the drive today.   We also broke out the drone for a little flight so check out the video.  This was one of those days that made me say B.L.E. – BEST LIFE EVER!!!!!

I’m loving my new Utah hat!  I’ll be getting my boots as soon as we hit Colorado 🙂

Last night we built a campfire, made a few drinks and sat under this sky (another one of John’s amazing night shots.)

We’re at 10,000 feet elevation here and it was so clear it was almost like you could reach up and touch the stars.  That’s the Milky Way!

Here’s a video of the trail behind our RV to the lake.  The only wildlife we’ve seen is the open range cattle and they don’t mind coming right up to the campsite.

We said goodbye to Idaho yesterday and drove south into Utah and then up into the Uinta mountains in north east Utah. It’s really beautiful here and it’s nice and cool up in the mountains. We have a perfect site not far from a lake and plenty of places to discover nearby. We plan on staying here until Sunday and then heading into Colorado. Can’t wait!

Also, a special happy birthday to my darling daughter Leah. 31 years ago today she entered this world with a storm of chaos and it’s never stopped since. But I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it for anything. Not one single moment. OK…. except for maybe that one time when she was 13…jk 😁 I love you my angel. More than you will ever know.

Still in Idaho – and yesterday we went up to a town called Lava Hot Springs.  Many people believe that there are curative properties associated with the hot mineral water and refer to the Springs as “the healing waters” and it was HOT! but it felt really good.  After spending some time there we went just across the street where we rented a big inner tube and floated down the river rapids.  They said it was a 2 or 3 (out of 5) rating for rapids and it was COLD but so much fun.  We were exhausted after all that activity and were in our bathing suits all day which is why there are no pictures to accompany this blog post 🙂  We are leaving Idaho tomorrow and heading into a corner of Utah then into Colorado for a few weeks.  We’ll be back in Utah in Sept when I fly from Salt Lake city airport back to Newark for a visit.  When I get back to Utah we’ll be exploring the southern part of the state and then probably heading back through New Mexico towards home.

Last night John and I rode up to a little local country fair in Southeast Idaho.  The rodeo was so much fun!  It’s so much different in real life than on TV.   The horses were so big and fast and the riders so skilled (and crazy if you ask me).   We were on the edge of our seat watching every minute of it.   It was also very refreshing to see the patriotism of the people here.  I’m loving the heart of America 🙂

John took these amazing shots of the action.

I took this one 🙂  This little cowboy was hanging over the bleachers watching the horses in the pen below as they warmed up for the show.

We said goodbye to the Teton Mountains on Sunday and to our little spot on the lake then we drove south along the Snake River and over into Idaho along the Palisades Reservoir.  We saw a lot of people out in boats floating down the river or racing across the reservoir and it looked like so much fun.  If you ever have the chance to be in Wyoming make sure you drive down the Snake River.  You won’t want to miss it.

But why did we decide to stop in Pocatello Idaho?  That’s a very good question and only about 4 people at the Brandon Elks Lodge in Florida know the real reason.  We’re looking at you Frank and Linda :-).

We’re only here until tomorrow and then we’re going to a nice RV park about 2 hours away to just relax for the next week.  I think Utah is next and then Colorado but that can change as always.

In the meantime I’d like to say congratulations to my beautiful daughter Leah and her husband Justin on the purchase of their first house!  So proud of you 🙂 Here they are in front of their new home-sweet-home in Aberdeen NJ.  So excited for you both!