HOT Lava !!!

No, we weren't in Hawaii (although then we could have added the 48th state to our RVing of America).  We were at Craters of the Moon.  Lava fields, lava tunnels, cinder cones, and a landscape that was filled with volcanic boulders and ash.....Even our campsite in this National Monument was in a cleared area between lava fields.

The good news is that the lava wasn't actually hot.  It has had time to cool after the last eruption only 2,000 years ago.  Good thing!

We drove the loop road and did some of  the hikes including one that went to some of the cinder cones where you could look into the center of the once live volcano.  In places, walking was treacherous, so we needed to be
 very careful.  Eerie landscape.

And in case you were wondering, Yes some of the astronauts that went to the moon, including Alan Shepard, trained here at Craters of the Moon.  but, NO....this is not the place where the moon landing was filmed.

Flaming Gorge.......

This was a pretty wild place, until in 1964, the dam was completed, blocking the Green river and filling almost 200 feet of a once beautiful canyon.  The same one that our hero, John Wesley Powell, explored one hundred years earlier.  Now there is a lake and lots of recreational boating in this extensive waterway.  Not the same, but still pretty beautiful.

The first night we camped at Canyon Rim campground.  Walked over to the edge of canyon and experienced why this is called Flaming Gorge.  Coming back to our campsite, we had a difficult time getting into our RV as a herd of big horn sheep were grazing right in front!  They obviously didn't hear about the New Years coming.

The following day we hiked Little Hole National Scenic Trail which starts at the base of the dam and follows the Green River.  We walked two miles down stream before heading back.  Enjoyed watching the trout fisherman on the rafts and boats practicing their fishing.

Our second night of camping was at Fire Hole campground.  We figured we would see more  pine trees and have cool air; but were we wrong.  This was a totally different part of this park.  Camped down by the man made lake, but very arid.  No pine trees, only scrub, but  the night skies with the Milky Way was brilliant.

Following in the wake of John Wesley Powell

Back in 1869, John Wesley Powell, paddled down the Green River in what is now Utah.  He named the entrance between the split mountains, Gates of  Lodore, and continued through the rapids on a wild trip.

Only a few years later, we followed in his wake............well, I guess more than a few years later.  With the help from Don Hatch Expeditions (OARS), we took a one day trip down the same canyon.  Class II and III rapids got us wet; but we never dumped....thanks to Morey & Ruthie in the front of the raft,  to steer us thru the water's tongue.  Our experience from the Colorado River raft trip in 2001 through the Grand Canyon gave us the added skills required.

Great weather, incredible scenery, and even a big horn sheep up close and personal.

Only 150 million years ago...........

Who needs Jurassic Park, when you can visit Dinosaur National Monument and see and touch dinosaur fossils?! 

After checking out the Visitor Center and the many displays...............and of course gifts, we boarded the tram up the hill to the excavation area where Andrew Carnegie had sent his team of paleontologists to excavate the many fossils rumored to be in the Morrison Formation.  And excavate they did!  Complete dinosaur fossils were shipped to many museums including to
Pittsburgh, Denver, and many university museums.  Included were Stegoaurus, Camarasaurus, and Allosaurus.

Following our walk through the excavation building, we met up with a park Ranger and walked down the trail back to the Visitor Center.  The Ranger was a wealth of information about the world, millions of years ago, and the changes through time.

Tonight if we here thunder from the recent storm clouds, hope we don't think its actually the dinosaurs coming back.

Driving the Trail Ridge

Following our six days of fabulous camping and hiking at Glacier Basin, it was time to hit the road.  Our trusty BIW climbed up to almost 12,500 feet without a whimper.  










We stopped to walk a mile on the old Ute native American trail at 11,000 ft.  And on our walk, saw a mom bear and two cubs........What are they doing up here?  We kept our watch and made lots of noise, and we both went our own ways.

Then stopped at the Alpine Center where the Old Fall River Road meets the Trail Ridge Road.  At 12,000 ft, the alpine meadow and the views were just incredible.

We are now back at only 8500 ft for the night, camped on Lake Granby.  We even splurged the extra $6 so we could have electricity; have to be prepared for University of Michigans first game with coach Harbaugh............GO BLUE!



No wolverine, but did see this elk!

Morey loves his Retirement/Birthday gift

Morey never had a chance to have a retirement party when he turned 65...get that gold watch and get all of those well wishing handshakes.  Although, what could be better than having been retired already for over five years; traveling and loving life. 



The watch..........No GOLD watch..............but for his 65th birthday, he got a really cool Casio Protrek.  It has a timer, alarm, compass, measures barometric pressure, temperature, calculates altitude.....gives day and date (day is sure important when you're retired)...and even has the time!

Check out the altitude.  Yep, that's 11,160 feet.

Rocky Mountain High

For six days we have camped at Glacier Basin campground, site 18 (nice!), in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We've been hiking everyday with the exception of our one day in Estes Park to walk shops, taste the beer, the food, and even a specially dipped apple.  It is almost Fall, afterall!!

With daily hikes of 6 to 10 miles, we experienced the excellent trails leading to water falls, glacier fed lakes, open meadows, and lot of rocks.  For anyone who wants to follow in our footsteps, visit Alberta Falls, The Loch, Mill and Jewel Lakes...and then visit Cub Lake, the Pool...and much more.  All trails in the Bear Lake Corridor offer incredible views.

A special thank you to the Park Service for the excellent bus shuttle system.  No need to drive to the different trail heads.  Also thanks to Ranger Cullen who lead our 4 hour hike today.





We have taken tons of pictures; only posting a few.  OH, and almost forgot, in two days, September 4, 2015 is the 100 year anniversary of this parks creation.  ALL OF THIS PARK IS A WOW !!