GENERATIONS

The great joy of visiting Colorado is spending time with my family. From left to right: Grandson Justin, Me, Grandson Nehemiah, Son Scott.

Fall Migration - The Land of Enchantment

We left Colorado's Front Range last week, traveling south & east into New Mexico. This state has beautiful state parks with great rv campgrounds that are amazingly cheap. Many are on lakes, as is the case with Conchas Lake SP where we stayed a few days. The weather was conducive to kayaking, so we explored several miles up-lake from where we parked (pretty much overdid it).

We were the only rig in the campground close to the lake - very nice after the hustle and bustle of CO. No light, noise, nor air pollution 😊.

Thanks to dust there are great sunsets over the lake and sunrises over the dam.

Fall Migration- Colorado

We've been at Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland CO for the past 10 days, taking care of routine medical stuff and taking advantage of this major center of commerce, and most importantly visiting son & grandsons.

This area has some of the worst air quality in the country, 40% of which is directly caused by oil & gas fracking and much of the rest by vehicle emissions. Luckily, breezes have kept the worst of it away from us.

Bad air pollution does create spectacular sunrises & sunsets. This is our typical morning view over the lake.

Fall Migration - day 12

After a good night at the Soaring Eagle ranch rv park just west of Steamboat Springs, we checked updated weather forecasts and decided today was the least chance of snowy / icy roads across the Colorado Rockies to Loveland, and highway 14 over Cameron Pass and down the Poudre River canyon the best route. We were right. Basically dry roads, mostly sunny, very little traffic. So now we can take care of doctor appointments and then get the heck out of here.

The vista of the back side of Rocky Mountain National Park is always sensational, but with the blue skies today WOW! Too bad oil & gas extraction has discovered this 35 mile valley; the once pristine environment is now dotted with drilling rigs and well, and the air is fouled. Sad. 😞

Fall Migration - Day 11

Things change & ya just gotta be flexible. Weather forecast for between Huntington Utah and Loveland Colorado indicates the major winter storm will arrive much soon than predicted for next Monday. No way to get from one place to the next without crossing the Rockies, and every route expects snow. So we decided to do a long day & got to Steamboat Springs; discovered a lovely small rv park a few miles west of town. From here we have some time & route flexibility, might head on tomorrow but more likely Saturday.

Today took us over Duchesne pass, 9411 ft. elevation. And yep. Snow. But minor, and it was beautiful.

Fall Migration - Day 10

Lots of history in the area, not the least of which is that it was favorite hangout canyons for Butch Cassidy  & his gang. Also lots of coal mining history & ghost towns.

Fall Migration - Day 10

We discovered a nice small state park in about the middle of Utah, staying 3 nights (2 days). The vistas are sweet, the lake is low, the cottonwoods are just turning gold the rv spots are paved & real big with grass all around.

Fall Migration - Evening 8

WOW! We were just treated at a spectacular sunset in Nephi Utah. This is the setting sun shining on the snowcapped mountain very near the RV park. Nope. I did no enhancement.

Fall Migration - Day 8

Due to rain, wind, and rather chilly temperatures, we stayed two nights in Ely NV when we were only planning one night there. We had anticipated spending a few days in the San Rafael Swell (adjacent to I-70 in central Utah), but there has been a lot of rain & you really can't venture off the highways . . . so we changed the plan. We will head on to NoCo via roads less traveled and stay at some lightly used Utah state parks.

Our drive from Ely to Nephi Utah today was easy & uneventful, and fairly scenic. There was snow on the mountains at Ely as well as high peaks along the way. I love the juxtaposition of this large wind farm against the snowcapped mountains. Shots from the moving truck, through the windows.

 It is warmer & we have sunshine now 😎.

Fall Migration - Day 5

Today we took the 'road less traveled' from west of Lakeview OR, through the northeast corner of CA, and down hwy 447 in NV to Fernley, east of Reno. We passed through Black Rock Desert and Smoke Creek Desert, and skirted Pyramid Lake. It was quite a drive - amazingly scenic  vistas interspersed with really boring desert and tiny remote settlements literally in the middle of nowhere. One stretch had these wild clouds in the canyons. Yes, that's snow on the peaks.

Fall Migration Day 3

We spent 2 nights at a nice RV park south of LaPine OR, where we had a wonderful day & evening with our old friends the McCues. So good to see them, and to see the great new 'cabin' they built in the woods.

Today we traveled on to another great RV park on a working ranch in the hills west of Lakeview OR, where we'll spend 2 nights. We discovered this place last spring, and it is a new favorite. The trees are just beginning to turn here - this cluster is vibrant already.

Fall Migration

We sadly left the Oregon coast today, always hate to go but it is really is time to begin the fall migration.  We hope to be treated to glowing autumnal colors for the next couple months.