Pages

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Bisti Badlands, New Mexico

July 2023, continuing to catch up fall 2022...

Oct. 9, 2022

Bisti badlands is a unique area south of Farmington NM with some unworldly geologic formations.



The camp site was nothing special, just a grevel lot next to the road.

Hiking at Bisti requires some navagation skills.  There's some very basic trails leaving the main visitors area but they soon disappear into the alien landscape.


Once in amongst the larger formations it's easy to get disoriented. 







The alligator jaws.





A turtle crawling out of the rocks.












Hodo garden 



The bicycle seat.



We had a great time wandering through the amazing Bisti badlands and look forward to coming back.






Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Return to Gooseneck St. Park UT and first visit to Monment Valley AZ

July 2023, continuing to catch up fall 2022...

Oct. 6, 2022

We visited Gooseneck back in Sep. 2017.



This time we took a day trip to Monument Valley.
Monument Valley is about 30 miles south on US163. Back in Jan 2018 I was watching the movie Forest Gump on TV and wondered... Where did Forest Gump stop running? The location, of course, is on the way to Monument Valley. There are road signs identifying the spot with pullouts on either side. It even shows up on Google maps.

Notice the orange "Traffic delay" warning.




People wait for the traffic to pass then jump out and have their picture take in the middle of the road.

Monument Valley

There's a 17 mile loop road through the stunning landscape with designated photo stops along the way.


View from the visitors center overlooking the start of the loop road.


The road can be rough in places so it's a slow go. We spent most of the day seeing all the sights and taking a few short hikes. It was all beautiful, but if you were limited on time or just didn't want to drive the rough road, John Ford point is the best view in the valley.

John Ford point.

Here's a few more views...















Friday, June 23, 2023

Hovenweep Natl. Monument UT

June 2023, continuing to catch up on last fall...

Oct. 4, 2022

We've past the signs for Hovenweep many times, always on the way somewhere else. This time we made it the destination.



Got lucky and snagged the best campsite in the small Campground.












Sunset eluminating clouds in the eastern sky with the rising moon looking on.

Monday, June 5, 2023

Unplanned stop in Montrose CO

June 2023
Continuing to catch-up 2022...

Sep. 19, 2022

About 10 minutes from Caddis Flats Campground, on our way toward Dinosaur National Park, we had an engine fault code "low fuel pressure" and a noticable drop in power. Luckily a gravel pullout was just ahead and there was cell service. After reading/researching the code we called the Ford dealer in Montrose to make an appointment. They said we could drive it to Montrose (about an hour) but no more. The best service appointment was almost 2 weeks away. We found a campground "IN" Montrose, so we'd have nearby access to groceries, and headed to Cedar Creek RV Park.



Curiously, the low power condition seemed to disappear after restarting the truck and continuing toward Montrose.

Taking inspiration from friends Nick & Gail who cycle every where, we drove the truck only once during the nearly 2 weeks till the service appointment.  A visit to downtown Montrose and the Visitor's Center which gave us a bike trails map showing the network bike routes (including the 24+ mi. paved City Rec. trail) and their relative safety.



Looking down on Montrose from a high point on the City Rec. trail. The uplift forming Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP is in the distance.



There's a whitewater play area in Riverbottom park on the Uncompahgre River that parallels part of the bike trail.  We had fun reminiscing about our whitewater days.

When the truck service appointment finally arrived, they couldn't find anything wrong! They had no explanation for what triggered the error.  Not very encouraging for the long trip south. 

 *** See Note at the end of this post!

With the time we had left in Montrose we took a long day trip north of Montrose to Grand Mesa. This trip was to 1) exercise the truck to see if the error returned and 2) scout Grand Mesa for a future visit.  






At 11,000 ft., the upcoming winter was already hinting at what was to come.  We encountered light snow/sleet, limiting our exploration to the major roads.

With some trepadation we started heading south.  Here's some pics as we passed through the San Juan mountains, past Telluride and through Lizard Head pass.









Lizard head rock.

Deciding to put the recent truck issue in the back of our mind and not worry about it, we headed to our next destination,  Hovenweep Natl. Monument.

Note: during a stop in Silver City NM, I described the truck error code to a Ford diesel mechanic.  He said there are two valves in the fuel delivery manifolds on either side of the V8 motor.  These valves sometimes stick causing the low fuel pressure error I received.  Once the motor is turned off then back on the valves reset, eliminating the symptoms. This fits exactly with our situation.  As of June 2023, we've had no more problems.