What a delightful time we are having.
Seeing wonderful sites on the earth that you must see.
Just keeps getting better and better.
Sept 20–After staying with Cindy for a week in Boulder, Colorado–we had to get back on the road again–back to the wilderness. As we left we had to drive through Denver–yes, another city like all the others–the same businesses, the same traffic, and the same rude people.
THE TREES ARE CALLING, WE MUST GO
As we are going toward the west on I-70 out of Denver, the forests started appearing on both sides of the freeway, the temperature dropped and we saw different foliage. Then we got up over 10,000 feet, we understood why the changes.
Driving on I-70 through the Vail, Colorado area and seeing golf courses and many houses that look to be over a million each—this is a rich area. This is a winter time ski area, a summer time luxury area—your choice.
Sep-21—So good to be away from cities, back to where we belong, in the wilderness. Through freecampsites.org we found one, although it was pretty much already filled up with people. Someone there told us of another campsite about five miles away with a small stream. We took the drive there, and I am so glad we did.
Today, as we were driving on a small road, Tina looked up and saw two bald eagles (they did have feathers on their head, so they really weren’t bald.) What a great site to see.
Tina’s eyes are so much better than mine, even with glasses on. I feel that I am missing so much out of life by not seeing well. I recently wrote about how my sniffer does not work well either. But, if you don’t have it, you don’t know what you are missing, so I am alright.
Then, at the campsite, she looked across the stream and up on the hill, there she saw two big horned sheep grazing. What a find, it was phenomenal to see these wild animals. We have binoculars, so we could see them pretty good. These sheep were very muscular, powerful animals. It was a joy to see them.
Sep 22—As I am typing this right now I am at a picnic table and can look out across a stream to a mountain that is very steep as it goes up. To awaken here and hear the water flowing down the stream is a great way to arise.
As usual, I made a big fire to warm me through the morning. Always up before the sun, it can be cold at this time.
On our way out of the campground, we saw a dirt road heading off into and up into the mountains. Because we have no time constraints, we decided to see where the road leads.
We went up, higher and higher on this dirt road to see where it might go. We finally decided to turn around (after we found a place on this narrow path.) We saw some eye-opening sites in on this steep mountain, well worth the time for this drive.
Currently, we are driving through a canyon with a river flowing through, very pleasant. I am seeing sheer rock faces with trees all around; quite a happiness to see. I’ve driven through here in the past, a few times, and am impressed each time through the pass.
After exiting that glorious canyon, we got out to open land once again. I love Colorado and hard to leave the area. But, into Utah, we are finding even more sites with even nicer and more breathtaking views of this world we inhabit.
Today is cloudy; hoping tomorrow will provide more sun for better photos. I want to show you some of what we are experiencing, but, of course, seeing it first-hand is the best.
Our plan is to go to National Parks and areas toward the north while it is still warm here. As cold comes, to the south quickly for the warm weather; neither of us likes the cold–at all.
And, the views keep getting better and better.
As we are nearing Arches National Park and the sites are becoming amazing. After the beautiful natural settings we witnessed in Colorado, I did not see how it could get much better—it has! I was at Arches back in the 80’s, so I know how nice it is, but I am still overwhelmed.
Getting later in the day, we usually like to find somewhere to bed down around 5pm, so a searching we will go. We, just being curious, stopped by a KOA campground—they wanted $41 just to park for the night, we said no. Found a campsite, which was quite crowded, at a national park campground, not for us, with a cost of $15, and money being tight right now, we moved on.
We found another free campsite, Needles Overlook, and decided to see what it offered—the place offered much. Not many people, on a large beautiful canyon which is part of Canyonland National Park, this place is magnificent! Very quiet and a slight breeze blowing, the campsite we chose overlooks a canyon; with side walls that are very high (watch your step.)
Sep 23—Into Arches National Park, spectacular views await, I am sure. And, we weren’t disappointed, this park is superb. We did some long hikes there, including one up to the main arch there, one and a half miles each way. There are over 200 arches in this park, so many to see.
Saturday, Sep 24—Right now, as I am typing, I am sitting before a fire in the early morn. The view beyond the fire is the tremendous canyon, with side walls that must be ½ mile down and the canyon being, perhaps, a mile across. All around is prairie/desert like. There is plenty of dry wood for a fire, so I did last night this morning. This is the life I choose and it is working out exceptionally well.
An overcast start to the day, but the clouds are already clearing, looking to be a fabulous day. I have the container for water, to go toward a shower later, in the sun heating up. If you have never taken a shower in the out-of-doors while naked you are missing much (I’d do a photo, but it I not the same as being there, and, you might not like what you see, but then again . . . )
As we were exiting the area, an antelope crossed the road in front of us.
We decided to go into the upper entrance to Canyonlands National Park this afternoon. But, there is much to see, may return tomorrow. What we did see was extraordinary; I was just expecting some canyons to look into.
What we did see at one point was Upheaval Dome. This is where a possible meteorite landed on earth. Or, they say it might be from an ancient sea that was in the area. The funny thing is, they do not know.
We are returning to where we stayed last night to spend the night again, the parking lot of a McDonalds. As we are coming back, we are seeing much different views on this same road we took in. You see, we did not see from this direction, so everything looks unique and special. You might look behind you and in different views to see your own life in different ways.
What we are finding are many people from other countries visiting: Japanese, Italian, Norwegian, Netherlands, Belgium, Korean, Switzerland, and more. These are people visiting the US to see these amazing sites, but where are the Americans? These places are once in a lifetime viewing, you must find a way to see.
As I wrote in a past blog, I want to get this out to you every Sunday, so here you go. I would love to hear from you, yes you, reading this.
