Western Loop Adventure

Terry A. Brewer said:

>>Really thinking about renting one of those once we reach Moab. What are your thoughts? <<


I think it would be a great idea.... Wouldn't be surprised if after renting you traded your CRV for a Jeep.

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Shhhh.....MaryAnne might hear you 8)

Back on task...The following day we went to Mammoth Site first in Hot Springs, SD. If you have never been there, this needs to be on your bucket list. On our first RV trip, we saw this archelogical dig site inside of a building. I never forgot it. When MaryAnne said she wanted to go to the Black Hills, I said Mammoth Site was a necessary stop. Even if you are not into dig sites, this will blow you away. I'll refer you to their website to get the info on how this site was formed. http://mammothsite.com/ Don't miss it!

We headed north to Custer SP to travel the Iron Mtn Road to Mount Rushmore. While this road is not as spectacular as Needles Hwy, it is still a road with character. It has tunnels and these pigtail bridges that are hard to explain. You curve around and go under your previous track. It has numerous lookouts to see Mt. Rushmore from a distance.

Next stop was obviously Mount Rushmore. Last time we were there for the lighting ceremony at night. This time it was during the daytime hours. If you are looking for a Patriotic Moment, do the Lighting Ceremony

We traveled south today to Sydney, NE. We stopped at Cabela's CG and walked the dogs. It was first come first served parking at the CG. After parking it, we went into the store. I paid for the campsite while MaryAnne did some shopping. I can see why they have a CG. We easily paid for the site a couple of times over after the "Shopping Trip". It's warm in Sydney compared to the elevated Black Hills. A 50 amp site with the A/C running cures that. Life is Good in Nebraska!

Yesterday was also a travel day. We traveled south out of Sydney, NE through Limon, CO then through Colorado Springs to Canon City, CO. We have successfully avoided interstates except for the stretch from the Badlands to Rapid City, SD. I hope to avoid most interstates throughout the trip. I wanted to travel the Byways this time at our own pace.

Today, we hope to see the Royal Gorge (I'm sure it is GORGEous) and the Holy Cross Winery in an old abbey. We might also take a drive to Cripple Creek if time permits. I'll add some photos to this post once we are back.

dverstra said:

Yesterday was also a travel day. We traveled south out of Sydney, NE through Limon, CO then through Colorado Springs to Canon City, CO. We have successfully avoided interstates except for the stretch from the Badlands to Rapid City, SD. I hope to avoid most interstates throughout the trip. I wanted to travel the Byways this time at our own pace.

Today, we hope to see the Royal Gorge (I'm sure it is GORGEous) and the Holy Cross Winery in an old abbey. We might also take a drive to Cripple Creek if time permits. I'll add some photos to this post once we are back.

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The Royal Gorge may be a disappointment.  Not that it is not a spectacular site, but because of the fire they had a couple of years ago.  The fire burned much of the forest area approaching the gorge and knocked visitation down so much many tourist businesses closed their doors.  When we were there in June, even the bus tour was spotty and we could not cross the bridge.

What a shame!  Even I, who hates heights, walked across the bridge.  It really was neat.

ArdraF

I'm happy to say that the Royal Gorge Bridge and Visitor Center is OPEN for business and it is GORGEous. They say the visitor center just opened last week. I'll post pics later. Right now we are headed to take the Royal Gorge Railroad at 3:30.m We have a Dome Car seat and also an Open car that we can stand on. Pics later!!!

Oh, lucky you!  We wanted to do the train but it wasn't running at the time.  Take lots of pics for us!  We did take the ride down to the loading platform so got something of a feel for what it's like down in the canyon.

ArdraF

Here are the pics of the Royal Gorge Bridge and one from the bottom

Wow, your photos took my breath away.  I have been there before  but the mind wants to forget scary views!  Great job of sharing your adventures!

Today, we traveled to Montrose, CO on Hwy 50. What a beautiful road to take. It winds and turns through canyons. Colorful rock all around. No pics of that since the windshield was all dirty. Doh...should have thought of that. No problem, the rain as we were headed up to Monarch Pass cleared them. MaryAnne took some front window shoots as we scaled the Pass. Beautiful fall color was beginning to appear.

We went to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park the following day. We had passed by here on an earlier RV Trip with the kids in tow. Didn't have time then. Boy, did we miss something. Our Senior Pass came in handy again. No fee for entry. Not like the $11 parking fee at Mt. Rushmore.

We traveled along the South Rim Road and walked to all of the overlooks. So many great views. The pictures just can't capture the depth of it all. Surprisingly, not too many places made us fearful of the heights. Although, there are plenty of places without guardrails. The South Rim Road is not a loop so we headed back past the same breathtaking views.

We took the East Portal Road to the bottom of the canyon. There were all sorts of warnings about "little" things like the 16% GRADE ;D, Use Low Gear, etc. The CRV handled it fine. I had it in 1st gear most of the way down. I pulled off to the side when possible to let those braver (foolhardy?) souls pass me. Only drive as fast as you are comfortable with on these grades. Besides, the slower you go the more you see. 8) When we reached the bottom, we stopped at the picnic spot by the diversion dam. Great spot! Take your picnic lunch here. In 1909, a 5.8 mile diversion tunnel was completed to provide the valley with water for irrigation. The dam was used to back up the water for the tunnel.

"Our Senior Pass came in handy again. No fee for entry.  Not like the $11 parking fee at Mt. Rushmore."


Thanks for little bits of information like this. I absolutely hate driving into a place and getting the $10 to park and $25 to see the sight surprise. I'm still a year and a half away from the benefits of the Golden Age pass (actually the DW will get it several years before I do) but I can't wait for that benefit too.

Ken

Yesterday, we traveled to Moab, UT from Montrose, CO via Hwy 128 (Scenic Byway). Awesome route to take into Moab for our first ever visit. After looking at the map again, I should have taken the second available exit from I70. It would have been a better road. Hwy 128 was a little twisty and narrow in spots but I like it that way sometimes. I took it real slow and let cars past me as soon as I was able. I road the center line through the narrow spots for MaryAnne's sake. She was on the "cliff side" as Ardra puts it. ;D Other times, she had to look the other way. After reaching Moab, we checked into Portal RV Resort. Nice Spot! Since the RV is more than 10 years old, we are in the campground side of the park. We walked the dogs and then took off for a quick trip alongside the Colorado River toward Potash. We saw Indian writings on the sides of the cliffs and some Great views of the Canyons. I keep wanting to say "Awesome" because that is what it is. Forgive me but the views are not just Great they are AWESOME.

It is easy to see why this forum meets in Moab every year. Awesome views with plenty of things to do. We are having to plan our time here because there is so much to be seen . We'll never see it all. Today, we head out for Arches Park. More Awesomeness, I am sure.

Yesterday we did go to Arches National Park. Hooray for the Senior (Geezer) Pass. I'm Dutch and I love a good (FREE/ Previously paid for) time. I think that the first part of the park is the best IMHO. Just after you scale the first hill, I mean. Yes, the arches are cool too. It's all in what you enjoy, I guess. We mostly toured in the car. We did a little walking. It is hot here in Moab. 90 degrees hot. I know that it is hotter in summer but I came in the fall expecting cooler conditions. Whaaaa! Enough whining or I'll add a little cheese and have a party.

Today we toured through Dead Horse Point State Park and then through Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Beautiful, AWESOME vistas. There's that word again. How else do you describe it? Pics to follow, although most of you have been here!

It's been a couple of days since my last post. During that period we traveled to the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park. A smaller area that takes more walking to see the sights. Smaller campgrounds too. Not many spots for a larger RV not that I needed one. The campgrounds were all full though. Yesterday was rainy and we decided to sit back with a good book and watch the drops fall.

Today we drove the LaSal Mountain Loop. I wasn't expecting what we found. AWESOME vistas. You can see that from my photos. Almost a perfect picture taking day. A Great day in Moab. Sitting with a Leinie and forumming! 8)

Beautiful photos, but you did not rent a 4wd?  Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

SeilerBird said:

Beautiful photos, but you did not rent a 4wd?  Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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After looking over the edge at Shafer Trail, I realized that I wasn't ready for that. I guess that makes me a wimp ;D

Today we are in Santa Fe, NM. We decided to travel here since we had a couple of extra days before going to Taos for the Wool Festival. Last night was in a KOA on the north side of Albuquerque. That is a nice KOA by the way. It didn't look like much from the road but it was well maintained and Clean. A side benefit was that it was walking distance to a MicroBrewery (Kaktus Brewing Company). BEER mmmmm. A small out of the way little place with good beer and a cool patio to relax on after a hard day of drivin'. On the patio there were stools with the backs painted for different characters. One table had the Dollys.  Dalai Lama, Salvadore Dali, and Dolly Parton. Another table had the Breaking Bad Characters. Excuse me but I don't know their names. Pure eclectic!

We toured the Georgia O Keefe museum. Mary Anne and I were disappointed. It was small and without a lot of her paintings. $10 each to enter and half of the gallery was other artists. Most of the people were in the gift shop wondering where the other wing with more paintings might be. If you are going to downtown Santa Fe, make sure that you know where to find parking. Most streets are narrow without parking. When you do find a street to park on, a sign will say "Residential Parking by permit only". Not very tourist friendly IMO. Eventually we happened upon a public parking garage. More signs for Public Parking would have been appreciated.

We walked around the Plaza with the rest of the tourists wondering "What Next?". We sat for a while in the Plaza with the sun and a cool breeze. Best part of downtown Santa Fe, in my opinion.

We proceeded to Museum Hill area. What a find! It had a Free parking area! With empty spots! We climbed the stairs (an outside elevator is available) from the parking area to the outdoor plaza which had Native sculptures arranged around it. We first visited the Museum of Native Arts and Culture ($9 per person). Make sure that you visit this one. It has some great exhibits about local cultures and history of the area. A tour is available for more info.

After touring the Museum of Native Arts and Culture, we enjoyed a lunch at the cafe on the outdoor plaza. It is more than a cafe, it is truly a quality restaurant. If I lived here, this is where I would come for lunch.

We then toured the Folk Art Museum. Not my or Mary Anne's "Cup of Tea" but it had a large collection of Folk Art. This museum was another $9 per person. If your thing is Folk Art, it would be worth it.