Author: Wanda and John

We left Vegas on Thursday after a little delay with the truck which was in the shop for an unplanned repair.  After straightening that out, we hit the road and have been staying only one night in the last 3 stops – once in AZ, then NM then TX and now OK.  We should be getting back to FL within the next week or so.  Not much to report from the road but here’s a few sights along our way.

 

We’ve spent the last week in fabulous Las Vegas and we’ve been having a blast!  We celebrated with Ang and Bob as they exchanged vows at Viva Las Vegas on the strip. It was an awesome Vegas wedding for two very special people. Congratulations to the happy couple 😁❤️

Two of our good friends Karen and Clara, flew out to surprise Ang and Bob the night before their wedding and they were so surprised and happy to see them! On Friday the ladies hung out at the spa at the Venetian followed by a delicious lunch and then a fun gondola ride.

While we ate, shopped, laughed and relaxed, the boys took off for a day of riding in the Mojave desert.

We all came together for the ceremony on Friday night at the Viva Las Vegas Chapel on the strip.  And yes Elvis did make an appearance. 😁

It was a beautiful ceremony and we were also joined by Bob’s daughter Katelyn and her fiancé Mike. It was lovely to meet them and so nice that they could be there.

Thanks again to John for stepping in as the wedding photographer one more time. The pictures are awesome as always.  I didn’t hit big on the slot machines this time but not for lack of trying 😆

Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and hit the road east for home. It’s been a long and wonderful trip so far this year but we’re looking forward to getting back to beautiful Florida so it’s time to start making our way back.

 

We’ve spent the last few days exploring Bryce Canyon and the surrounding area.  We’re staying in a campsite in the small town of Panguitch and we drove about 30 miles north of here to see the childhood home Butch Cassidy.

We also spent a day hiking in Bryce Canyon.  The video below shows some of the amazing views we had.

And here are John’s incredible photos.

We hiked ALL THE WAY AROUND this canyon on the rim trail to a really far view point in the distance.  We also hiked all the way back, although we did consider taking the shuttle for a few minutes before heading back on the trail :-).  Around every corner of the trail was a completely different view of the canyon below.

The rock formations in the canyon are called hoodoos.  There’re also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid.  A legend of the Paiute Indians, who lived here hundreds of years ago, says that the hoodoos are ancient “Legend People” who were turned to stone as punishment for bad deeds.  I think the pictures below show why they might have thought so!

We’ve really enjoyed our time in Utah but tomorrow we’re heading out to Vegas!!! We have a big event to celebrate on Friday – our very good friends Ang and Bob will be tying the knot Vegas style! Stay tuned for pictures and wish me luck on the slot machines 😉

 

 

 

We made it to southern Utah and we’re camping at one of our favorite sites from last year, Singletree Campground.  Just like last year, there are very few people in this campsite and it’s nice and cool up on this mountain.  We’re also close to Capitol Reef National Park and today we went in and found a nice hike along a river and up a cliff.  The climb was so worth the view.

Southern Utah has the most interesting landscape. Even though it’s mostly rocks it’s still somehow beautiful.  It definitely feels like you’re on another planet entirely.  Here are some of John’s drone video of the area.

We are leaving the mountain in a couple of days and heading down towards Bryce Canyon Utah. Will spend some time there and then head over to Las Vegas.  After Vegas we are heading east back toward home with a stop in New Mexico to check out Chaco Canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

We left the Woodruff Narrows Reservoir on Friday and headed down to Fort Bridger for the Mountain Man Rendezvous which is a celebration of the Fur Trade Rendezvous Era that occurred in the Rocky Mountains between 1825-1840.  It is one of the largest mountain man gatherings in the nation and there was so much to see and do.  There were competitive events in everything from pistol shoots to Dutch Oven cooking contests to knife and tomahawk competitions.  There was also entertainment like the amazing Native American Dancers and people playing music everywhere.

I made friends with these two little cuties!

 

They also had a skillet tossing contest where women got to throw a skillet at their husbands!  Closest to the guy without hitting him wins.  How many of you ladies would like to join me in this competition?  hee hee.

 

We enjoyed the entire weekend camping onsite with our friends Dale and Karen who have been going to the Rendezvous for many years and were able to show us around.  All of the vendors and participants in the event are required to wear period correct clothing and Karen kindly lent me her Native America dress (that she and Dale made!) so that I could join in the fun…and boy did we have fun!

My new friend Cheryl also lent me a skirt and blouse that she made so that I could play along again on the next day.

It was just like stepping back into time.  All of the tepees and tents and items within are so authentic. And all of the items for sale by the vendors are handmade and beautiful works of art.  I did my share of trading (my money for their cool stuff) and John took so many great photos.

It was such an interesting and exciting weekend. Thanks again to Dale and Karen, Cheryl and Jared and everyone else that made this an amazing experience.

It was a huge event and was spread out over many acres. Here is a drone video that John did on the very last day when almost everyone was gone. But imagine that this area is filled to capacity with RVs, tents, teepees and buildings everywhere.

Oh yeah and then this spectacle happened on our way out of Fort Bridger 😁

On Sunday we drove north out of the Uinta Mountains a short distance into Wyoming.  We stayed a few nights in the small town of Evanston and then moved to the Woodruff Narrows Reservoir about a half hour north.  This spot is another free, dry camping area.  So we don’t have any access to water or electric, but John has this RV so hooked up that we have everything we need to hang out here for a few days very comfortably.  The best thing about getting ‘off the grid’ is that we have the whole place to ourselves.  This was at dusk last night.

And these are John’s night shots from up in the Unitas.  That’s our campsite lit up in the distance.

The sky was so clear we were able to see the Milky Way.

I think this quote sums it up perfectly:

”It’s a tranquility born of sheer immensity; it calms with it’s very magnitude, which renders the merely human of no consequence.” – Tara Westover

That quote is from the book Educated: A Memoir By Tara Westover.  If you haven’t read it I would recommend it.  Thanks Corinne for passing it on to me 😁

On Friday we are headed to Fort Bridger Wyoming for the annual Mountain Man Rendezvous.  We’re joining our friends Dale and Karen there and are looking forward to having a blast! Stay tuned for pictures of the activities.

 

 

 

 

We finally left Montana and drove into Idaho.  We stayed a few days there and then drove south into Utah.  We planned on staying on Antelope Island which is on the Great Salt Lake in Northern Utah.  It’s a cool island with lots of wild life including bison everywhere, but it was SO HOT that we could only stay one night.  The air conditioning was on in the RV but it was no match for the heat and no shade at all in the campsite.  We did get a few pictures and video though.

So to get out of the heat we traveled east up into the Uinta Mountains and we’re so glad we did!  It’s perfectly mild up here, so beautiful and filled with lakes everywhere.  We’re staying on Washington Lake which is where we camped last year.   John has gotten really good with the grill and this is our camping breakfast.

Today we hiked up a nearby mountain and got a few pictures and video.

 

We also saw this guy fly by.

We will be here until Sunday and then we are headed up into Wyoming.

 

We left Glacier National Park on Thursday and headed south about 4 hours.  We’re camped by a small lake up in the hills of Bitterroot National Forest.  We had such a great time at glacier enjoying the scenery and our friends. It was sad to leave such a wonderful place. Here are more pictures and video that we took before we left.

In the photo below you can see that we actually drove up through the clouds and then above them. It was spectacular.

Here’s John in action.

I’d like to say a special hello to Paula in Honeoye New York.  My mom tells me that Montana is on your bucket list! I have to agree that it is definitely a bucket list item. It is the most beautiful state, in my opinion, that we have visited.  At least you can enjoy the pictures and videos from our experience even if you don’t make it here Paula 😁

And here is the view from our current campsite from my favorites spot, my hammock!

We also had this visitor decide to walk right past our site as we were hanging out.

Tomorrow we leave Montana and head into Idaho. We will camp there for a few days and then head down into Utah.  We are looking forward to more adventures and great photos.

On Saturday we left McGregor Lake and traveled a short distance east to Kalispell MT which is a little town just to the west of Glacier National Park. We met our friends Dale and Karen (from Utah) here and they are camping next to us and have been sharing the experience of this amazing park.  It’s called the ‘Crown of the Continent’ and that’s the perfect name for the majestic mountains that ring the land at the top of this great nation.

Yesterday we drove through the park on the main road called ‘Going to the Sun Highway’. We stopped at many spots to hike or take photos or simply to take in the magnificent scenery.

In addition to the mountains, glaciers, lakes, streams, and waterfalls we also had a Big Horn Sheep walk within a few yards of us and then later we spotted our first bear sighting.  Thankfully he was up on a hill side and a very safe distance away.

It’s so difficult to put into words the beauty of the land here.  John took some great photos but it doesn’t even come close to the intensity of standing on top of the mountains and looking over the deep valleys and streams and water falling everywhere.  We have two more days to take this all in and more photos to post as we go.

Our campsite is located right between Big McGregor Lake and Little McGregor Lake.  We are absolutely loving Montana!  It could be edging out Utah as our #1 favorite state to explore.  Check out John’s drone video and photos below.

We hung out one night until it was very late and completely dark and John got a cool night shot of the stars in the big Montana sky.