Willard, UT, to Bruneau Dunes State Park, ID

The trip to Bruneau is being posted today (a day late) because Bruneau Dunes State Park is in a wireless dead zone. My internet capability depends on a cellular “air card” that is plugged into my laptop. The internet service at this park is non-existent.

But everything else I could want was right there. The setting was beautiful; there was no freeway noise; wildlife was abundant; security was excellent; and the RV sites had electricity and water! (For RVer’s out there…..there was also an excellent dump station.)

For some reason, I was really tired, and I really enjoyed being at this park. After settling in at my site, I brought out my chair, my binoculars, my bird book, and my glass of wine. My first sighting of wildlife was off in the distance. I saw three antelope! Naturally, I began humming….“where the deer and the antelope play.” My next sighting of wildlife was the little cottontail rabbit hiding in the bushes over there by the road leading to my site.

Then I saw some quail starting to emerge and look for food. And then, I looked up into the tree next to my site and saw the bird’s nest. The mother had just landed and was feeding the chicks. I noticed because the chicks were so noisy! After watching awhile, I just happened to glance at the branch below the nest. There was a large bird sitting on the branch taking a nap! Its head was tucked back in the sleeping position, and its feathers were all fluffy…..looked like naptime to me!

I did take a picture of that bird, but I can’t show you the picture. My camera just cannot handle that kind of shot. If I posted it here, you wouldn’t be able to see how really neat this bird was. So, I am showing you, instead, what my view of the park was. And then you’ll understand why I enjoyed this park so much.

Ya’ll take care.

Suzanne

Rawlins, WY, to Willard, UT

Today was another travel day, and I must admit that I am very glad that I am writing each night…..the days are starting to run together. I am starting to lose track of what day it is. Today is Tuesday, right?

I saw some beautiful and interesting things today. I actually saw a cowboy. He was just off of I-80…..he was riding a horse....he was on a steep cliff….and he was herding one calf back to its herd. Pretty neat to see. And then, just as I pulled into this state park in Utah, a pheasant flew up in front of me. And just as in Day Two of this trip, this pheasant was spectular.

Traveling today with the trailer was uneventful, but I did have a problem before I left. This morning, I needed to air up my tires. So, I go to get my air compressor which is located in the bed of my pick-up. I unlock my sliding cover and turn the latch, but the latch does NOT disengage. I tug, I re-try the latch. I push, I re-try the latch. I pull. I pull harder. No luck. The sliding cover remains firmly closed. So, I step back, try to relax, and think about what I can do. After a few minutes, I realize that the manufacturers of my sliding cover are in Pompano Beach, FL, and their time is 8:00 AM. They are most likely open!

I give them a call, and they answer! I explain the problem, and they connect me to the technical expert Mark. He suggests a few solutions, and I give them a try. No luck. Then, he suggests getting pliers and a cloth and giving the latch a stronger turn. Now, I am certainly reluctant to try this. I can envision the worst immediately. I can see that latch coming off into my hand…..or shattering onto the sliding cover. Mark points out that everything is fully guaranteed. I think…..yeah, but I’m in Rawlins, WY, and how is a guarantee going to get me on the road? But, I couldn’t think of a better solution so I decided to give it a try. I ask Mark to stay on the line, and I go get my good pliers and a cloth. I gingerly put those pliers on the latch and turn. I hear this wonderful sound…..the latch has released the cover! Joy of joys! I can see that I will indeed get on the road today. I get back on the phone with Mark and thank him profusely. He has gotten me on the road again!

Now, I am camped here on the Great Salt Lake in a grove of cottonwoods. I have just checked my itinerary, and I will be in Idaho tomorrow at another state park. Its major feature is a sand dune! It has the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America (470 feet high). Sounds like fun.

Ya’ll take care.

Suzanne

Brush, CO, to Rawlins, WY

Today, I saw the Rocky Mountains. I came around a bend in the road, and they were staring straight at me. They were snow-capped, and they stretched as far north and south as I could see. So impressive. And right now, I am camped in them. This is a thrill to me. I am traveling on Interstate 80, and tomorrow I will cross the Continental Divide.

I arrived at this campground early…around 2:30. And now, I am watching other tired campers pull in for the night. When I arrived, there were five RV’s here. Now there are thirty-five…..and it’s only 6:00. No telling how many more will arrive before the sun sets.

And now I need to make a confession. I knew that one day I would have to tell, and today seems to be the day. I’m confessing because this event happened on Day One of this trip, and it really should be included in this travelogue.

My confession…..I broke one of my cardinal rules. Thankfully, the price I had to pay was only the embarrassment of having a fairly large number of witnesses.

The cardinal rule I broke is “Always see a way out before entering any facility.”

I can see that you are already smiling and shaking your head. You instantly know the wisdom of this rule, and you’re thinking how could she possibly enter any place towing that 32 foot trailer and not know for darn sure that she could get out?!? I know, I know. I have no defense. But there I was….stuck at this gas pump. The only way out was the way I came in. And that meant backing up. And just how was I going to back up onto a city street?

I could only see one solution, and that solution was walking toward me. I braved up, confessed my situation, and asked the Fed Ex guy if he could please go out in the street and stop traffic. He sweetly smiled and said “Sure thing, no problem.” And a beautiful job he did. I backed up slowly and got the job done. I waved a thank-you to the Fed Ex guy and then slowly pulled away. As I was leaving, I could see that there were about ten cars parked dead in the street. I know that I gave them a good show and a good story to tell, but I really do thank them for their patience while I corrected my error.

So, that’s my confession. I have resolved to never again break that rule. Hopefully, I will keep this resolution. After all, there may not be a very kind Fed Ex guy the next time.

Goodnight everyone. Time for me to rest.

Suzanne

Lamar, CO to Brush, CO

I won’t keep you in suspense. The big news of the day is the FLAT TIRE. And that is the bad news. All the rest is good news. Here’s how it happened.

The flat tire detector started alarming around noon. At first I thought that it was the GPS signaling that there was a turn coming up. After 30 seconds of continuous, obnoxious noise, I had had enough. So, I turned off the GPS. Boy….was I surprised when the noise kept going! Then I realized that it was the “Detector.” There it was…..blaring away and showing a readout of 52, 52, 52, 52, 51, 51, 51, 50, 50, 50…..reading out the tire pressure as the tire slowly went down.

I have seen what damage a flat tire that shreds can do so I immediately pulled over. And good fortune…..there was a shopping center….lots of parking room. I stopped and took a good look at the Detector”. I had just bought it, and it was supposed to show which tire was bad. It did. It was saying that it was the right front tire of the trailer. I went to look at it. It looked fine. I knelt down to inspect, and I heard hissing. Air escaping from my tire!

I took a moment to think….actually several minutes. I went and got some water and then looked around. I had ended up in a good location. Not only was I in a shopping center, I was also looking straight at a tire dealership not 50 yards from me. I know you’re thinking this is too good to be true. You’re right. The dealership was closed….after all, it is Sunday. So, I decided to call my roadside assistance company. But first, I verified with my tire gauge that the tire was going flat. Yep. It was. The tire was now down to 40 psi. (It had started out with 65 psi this morning.)

I called. They came. They put on the spare.

I decided to stay the night. So, here I am in Brush, CO. I am enjoying a beautiful city park where there is a swimming pool with 50 people splashing around, a picnic area with too many families to count, a fishing pond for children with 50 more people, and 20 other RV’s. What a nice place to spend the night.

Good night ya’ll. Pleasant dreams.

Suzanne

Leg From Caprock Canyons State Park, TX, to Lamar, CO

I left early this morning and saw for myself why avid wildlife observers say that the best sightings are usually at dawn or dusk. At 6:30 this morning, I saw…..
• Two deer calmly eating and not running away as I slowed to watch.
• A flock of about twenty turkeys (can you believe that the town of Turkey is only 10 miles away?)
• A group of 10 or so jackrabbits. Huge ears and fast. Forget the hopping….these guys were running.
• A pheasant. Absolutely gorgeous. Looked him up in the Bird Book. It is called a Ring-necked Pheasant, and the book calls him a “spectacular” bird. Indeed he is.
• Road-Runners. They just stare at you and then start running…..like a dare!

Tomorrow, I will also leave early. I’m traveling into Wyoming. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the early hours.

Getting sleepy now. So long for now.

Suzanne