INCREDIBLE SUNSET

We were having a glass of wine before dinner last night and noticed the start of what would become an awesome sunset.  The pollution from the power plant at Page AZ has been bad in the low-lands the past few days and combined with clouds makes for 'fire in the sky'.  These shots were taken right outside our trailer, which is currently hanging out at the Blue Mountain RV park in Blanding Utah.

REUNION

Saturday October 5th we took a long drive from Blanding Utah to the southern rim of Grand Gulch, on Cedar Mesa.  The sand road from the blacktop was in rough shape after the recent rains so we took it slow & easy -- happy to report the F250 pickup did just fine.  Total drive time from the RV park to our old favorite camp site on the canyon rim was just over 2 hours!  You won't get the true sense of the place from these photos, but imagine slickrock walls and fascinating rock formations as far as you can see, interrupted by canyons hundreds [thousands?] of feet deep.  We've tent camped here several times and have hiked miles & miles & miles along the rims, into side canyons, and up & down & across.  It's one of those places that takes my breath away and never grows old.  Enjoy!

ANASAZI RUINS HIKES

Wonderful weekend: perfect weather and great hiking.  Late Friday we hiked to the Five Kiva Pueblo just outside Blanding, a fairly well-preserved cliff dwelling that you can actually go into.  This whole side canyon has remnants of the Ancient Puebloan culture.  Apparently someone has a restoration project, as evidenced by the recent artifacts.

Sunday we hiked Upper Butler Wash, where there a number of very well-preserved cliff dwellings.  The wash/canyon itself is narrow and lovely with cliffs on either side and cottonwood trees and other vegetation in the canyon floor.  This wash must flash-flood dramatically with the September rains.

A PAINTING DAY :-)

A storm front is moving through southeast Utah and we have high winds, but otherwise sunny & warm.  Good day to get back to the painting I started last week.  This is my progress on the cliffs in Capitol Reef National Park.

Tomorrow is supposed to be quite chilly (high of 48), but no precipitation here.  Laundry and grocery shopping are done, business things taken care of, and plenty of time to paint.  I'll post my progress again tomorrow afternoon or evening. 

Obama Care or the Affordable Care Act?????

Apparently many people think these are two different health care acts; apparently most people (70-80%) think the ACA (affordable care act) is and will be good for them, but many others (46% according to latest polls -- not the 58% Republicans claim) are opposed to Obama Care.  HUH?

If you want to check how the ACA, or 'ObamaCare' as it is commonly called, will affect you and your family, go to HealthLawAnswers.org  What we found on this site was nothing but positive for us.

Shut Down and Shut Out

Thanks to the inept folks in congress, we and many others are not able to visit the wonderful national parks here in Utah. It's a huge impact on tourism income, as well as personal income, in this state.

We feel real lucky we hadn't driven over 2 hours on gravel roads and settled in the campground at Canyonlands National Park (as planned), only to get turned back or kicked out -- that happened all over the place! We have a spot at a nice RV park in Blanding and are staying until Sunday, when we move down the road a bit farther.

While the parks' closing is a negative impact to so many, it's certainly a 'nonessential' government service, albeit a very nice amenity that we've come to take for granted.  Too bad we can't say the same about affordable, quality healthcare!

Now in SE Utah Canyonlands area

Wes settled into Blue Mountain RV in Blanding Utah, after an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous drive over from Capitol Reef National Park. We crossed Lake Powell at Hite, which is now simply the Colorado River -- we've never seen such low water here, the marina is no longer usable & boaters have to go on down to Bullfrog. We're staying here a couple nights to let our mail catch up with us and explore Canyonlands National Park & ferret out a place to park the trailer within the park so we're close to great scenery, hiking, and exploring. Then we'll come back here a couple days and use it as a base for exploring other areas to 'boondock'. The owner here knows all the great canyons and Anasazi ruins & is willing to give us insights for our journeys.

We have great sunrises & sunsets here at the RV park, and it's WARM and NOT windy -- a pleasant change after several weeks of unsettled weather!

I'll post some photos tonight or tomorrow.