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Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (US-12) RV Trip

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June 2022 – Traversing the state of Idaho between Montana and Washington, the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (US-12) follows fast flowing and wildly zig-zagging rivers for about 200 miles, paralleling part of the 8,000 mile route that Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery took on their famous out-and-back cross-country expedition in 1805-06.

We had eyed this route on the map several times and had heard how beautiful it is from friends, but we’d never ventured down it with our RV.

What a wonderful RV trip it turned out to be, especially the eastern portion in Montana and just over the border into Idaho!

Camas in bloom in Packer Meadow at Lolo Pass on US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway Montana

Camas flowers in bloom on the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway in Montana

Starting on US-12 in Lolo, Montana, just northwest of Missoula, the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway goes for 200 miles, branching into two forks west of Kooskia, ID, that reconnect in Spalding, ID, and ending at sister cities Lewiston, ID and Clarkston, Washington.

Mark always jokes that if there’s a big straight freeway and a little narrow squiggly road nearby, I’ll always put us on the twisty route. Well, there isn’t a freeway option with this route, and it’s about as squirrely a route as you can find on a map.

I confess, I was a little nervous when we started.

US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway in Montana and Idaho

US-12 is EXTREMELY twisty and made us a little nervous driving a big ol’ RV on it!

But it turns out that what looks like a crazy, kinky and possibly scary road with a big RV is actually a beautiful and wide highway that gently winds steadily downhill if you start at the east end of the Byway in Montana. Towing our 33’ fifth wheel toy hauler on this road was not a problem.

Northwest Passage Scenic Byway US-12 highway in Idaho and Montana

It turned out the Northwest Passage Scenic Drive on US-12 in Montana and Idaho is actually easy to drive with an RV as it’s fairly flat with gentle sweeping turns.

We stopped at Lolo Pass to learn a little about the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. We found out later that this is the only place on the road with information about what lies ahead until you get to some of the big towns near the western end of the Byway. It’s also the last spot for reliable cell phone and internet access. So, if you take this RV trip, stock up on whatever literature you’ll need at Lolo Pass and do whatever online research you need to do before you leave that visitors center!

A ranger mentioned that the Packer Meadow lies out back behind the visitors center and that the famous Camas flower was in full bloom at that moment.

We’d never heard of the Packer Meadow or its famous flower, but we discovered we’d been fortunate to arrive here when the flowers were at their peak. A big flower festival was going to take place there the next day, so right now was the best time to enjoy these flowers by ourselves without hundreds of fellow tourists.

Buddy was thrilled at this news and promptly ran into the meadow.

Sitting in the wildflowers

Buddy ran into the meadow and then stopped to smell the flowers!

The sun was getting low in the sky and we quickly made the most of this incredibly special opportunity.

Photographing Camas flowers Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

We were so fortunate to see Packer Meadow at sunset at the peak of the Camas flower bloom. We’d never heard of either the meadow or the flowers until a ranger told us to step out back and check it out!

B&W Gooseneck Ball for Ram Trucks

We later learned that Packer Meadow is a place where the Lewis & Clark expedition stopped on two occasions.

The first was on September 20, 1805, when the Corps of Discovery met members of the Nez Perce trib. They conversed a bit in sign language and then the Indians offered them some tasty buffalo meat and soup.

The second occasion was on their return trip on June 11, 1806, when the “quamash” flowers were in full bloom!

Lewis wrote a very detailed botanical description of the flower, complete with drawings and the latest in anatomical descriptions according to the botanical books they carried in their portable library. Besides his extremely precise description of this flower, he wrote eloquently:

“The quamash is now in blume and from the colour of its bloom and at a short distance it resembles lakes of fine clear water, so complete is this deseption that on first sight I could have swoarn it was water.”

And so it was during our visit 216 years later.

Blooming Camas flowers Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

“I could have swoarn it was water…”

In addition to making sure we saw these mesmerizing fields of lavender tinged blue flowers, the ranger had also mentioned that we absolutely had to stop at the Lochsa Lodge about 16 miles further down the Byway because they had the best huckleberry cobbler in the world.

With visions of huckleberry cobbler dancing in our heads, we hustled down the road and found a spot to stay next door at Powell Campground. We were up first thing the next morning to check out the cobbler at the lodge!

Lochsa Lodge is a beautiful rustic log cabin with a fabulous dining and bar area inside and a large porch overlooking the mountains out back.

Lochsa Lodge Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Lochsa Lodge is famous for its huckleberry cobbler.

And the huckleberry cobbler is truly out of this world. They served it with a big scoop of huckleberry ice cream and four big dollops of whipped cream.

Huckleberry Cobbler at Lochsa Lodge Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Nevermind breakfast — this was a feast fit for a king and queen at 7:30 in the morning!

Despite the early hour, we dug in with gusto.

Eating Huckleberry Cobbler at Lochsa Lodge Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Nope, our eyes weren’t bigger than our stomachs. This went down very easily!

Powell Campground is a very pleasant USFS campground with paved loops, reservable sites with hookups and a few first-come-first-serve dry camping sites.

We liked it so much we ended up staying for four days. And we hit the Lochsa Lodge for a piece of huckleberry cobbler every single day!

Kids had a blast riding their bikes all around the campground loops, and there were some wonderful stands of tall fuzzy white flowers in the woods.

Powell Campground Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Powell Campground was full of happy kids riding their bikes on the paved loops.

Unusual flowers Powell Campground Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

These unusual flowers filled the woods all around the campground.

While we were at the lodge one day, we started chatting with a fellow at the next table who seemed to be a regular. It turned out he was in the area getting trained to man a wildfire lookout tower, a job he did each summer.

“My wife does it too,” he said casually.

“That must be really nice to have all that quiet time together in the tower,” I said, kinda wondering to myself how all that togetherness would work out.

“Oh, no, actually, she takes a job in a different tower!”

Well, I guess having lots of quiet time apart can be beneficial too!!

He told us there was a fire lookout tower right across the street up on a mountain, so we took the RZR on the dirt road over there and went hunting for the tower.

Forest road view from a Polaris RZR

We headed out in the RZR in search of a fire lookout tower up some mountain somewhere!

The road climbed up and around and we felt out way at the various intersections, sticking to the bigger trail at each one. Eventually we spotted the tower in the distance.

We were at a pretty high elevation by now, and there was a huge patch of snow on the ground in front of it. Pretty good for mid-June!

Fire Watch Tower Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

There was still a patch of snow on the north side of the fire lookout tower.

Happy Camper Holding Tank Treatment

There didn’t appear to be anyone in the tower, and there was a sturdy metal door blocking the stairway that went up into it.

Fire lookout tower Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway-2

We couldn’t go up the stairs, but the fire lookout tower sure had a great 360 degree bird’s eye view!

The watchman keeps watch in a single room at the top that has windows on all sides. They’re in communication with the other towers in the area and with a central office too. If any of them spots smoke, word spreads quickly.

Fire lookout tower windows have panoramic views

Looking out from this tower, the watchman can let the USFS know if there’s smoke anywhere.

Years ago, I met a man who was spending a summer in a fire lookout tower in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was delighted to have a curious visitor on a mountain bike show up at the base of the tower, and he gave me a tour and told me a little about the job.

It seemed like a pretty lonely job, but he explained there was a real need to have eyes on the surrounding forest at all times. He was working on a novel, and he said that if he couldn’t get his novel written in these gorgeous and utterly isolated surroundings, then he never could!

Today there’s lots of sophisticated technology available to detect smoke and heat sources out in the forests, but in certain places a watchman is still needed.

This fire lookout tower sits at the top of a mountain with views in every direction.

View from Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

The views around the lookout tower went on forever.

Views from Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

.

The wildfire tower watchman stays at the tower for extended periods, so there’s a wood stove inside and an outhouse down the hill.

Outhouse on Montana US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

“Hmmmm…what’s in here?”

Unlike most bathrooms, this outhouse had a lock on the outside of the door instead of on the inside.

Outhouse door lock

The outhouse door locked from the outside…

Once inside, we understood why: to keep the wildlife out! The toilet had a special cap under the seat that came with instructions to keep it in place when the toilet wasn’t in use so the critters wouldn’t make a mess!!

Toilet seat instructions in an outhouse

Keep the critters out!

The Northwest Passage Scenic Byway follows the Lochsa River downstream. There had been a lot of snow that past winter, so the spring runoff made the river run fast and furious.

Lochsa Rivder Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

The Lochsa River was running very fast.

Lochsa River on Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway 2

We took little excursions from Powell Campground down US-12 in our truck to catch glimpses of the river and visit some of the pack mule bridges that cross the river. These are historic old suspension bridges that make it possible to get from the highway side of the river to the rough trails on the other side.

Suspension bridge on Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

There are several suspension bridges that cross the Lochsa River

RV Keyless entry door lock
Suspension bridge on Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway 2

The trails on the far sides of the suspension bridges were pretty rugged.

We also hiked the Warm Springs Trail. This easy out-and-back trail took us deep into the woods. Buddy was completely in his element running ahead of us on the soft dirt trail under the towering pines. He had to wait for us slow pokes a lot, but he was okay with that.

Hiking Warm Springs Trail Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Buddy waits for the two slower hikers in our group on Warm Springs Trail.

Warm Springs Trail Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Warm Springs trail was a lovely stroll on a soft pine needle bed beneath ramrod straight towering pines.

Mark was in his element too. What a beautiful place!

Hike Warm Springs Trail Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

Mark was in his element.

Sun in the trees Idaho US-12 Northwest Passage Scenic Byway

The sun peeked through the trees every now and then.

Tree tops

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes.
– e.e. cummings

Here and there we spotted tiny wildflowers blooming too.

Wildflower in Montana

Such perfection. This flower was tiny.

We finally tore ourselves away from Powell Campground and continued down the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway with our trailer in tow.

We caught a glimpse of the Selway River and then made our way through the small towns in the western portion of the Byway until we landed in Clarkston, Washington.

Selway River Idaho

The Selway River branches off near Kooskia, Idaho.

Selway River Idaho 2

The Selway River was a little calmer than the Lochsa River.

Much of the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway is simply a winding road between two walls of tall pines, and we stopped in the various small towns at the east end to check them out, but these pretty spots in Montana at the west end were our favorites.

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Christmas Traditions Past and Present – Lebkuchen!

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Christmas is such a special time. it is my favorite holiday — a time of full of wonder and love on many levels. Family traditions are the cozy essence of Christmas for many people, and activities in the kitchen are especially beloved.

Merry Christmas

We’re not thinking about Christmas too much in this photo from Crested Butte, Colorado, but what fun it has been to relive an old Christmas tradition this year.

I love Christmas cooking. However, having chosen to live unusual lifestyles most of my life — living on a sailboat in Boston Harbor in the 1990s, living in our office when my former husband I and founded and ran an IT consulting firm, and then cruising around North America via RV and sailboat for 13 years, I haven’t had the kind of kitchen that was conducive to Christmas fun.

One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories, however, is of baking and eating a special kind of German Christmas cookie called Lebkuchen from a recipe that had been in my family since my ancestors lived in Germany in the early 1800s.

It is a honey-based cookie that tastes like no other, and I remember fondly dipping the cookies in milk and later in dipping them in coffee all day long on Christmas Day and for many days afterwards.

My great-grandmother, Emily Riesenberg, learned the recipe (along with many other recipes) from her immigrant mother growing up in a log cabin in Wisconsin, and she became very skilled in the kitchen.

Emily Riesenberg

My great-grandmother and her son Sidney Riesenberg (my great-uncle) in New York’s Yonkers Statesman, June 1, 1928

Although I was blessed with her name, her outstanding culinary skills didn’t make it across the generation gap to me!

She raised four children, one of whom was my great-uncle, Sidney Riesenberg, that I wrote about when we saw the mules at the Grand Canyon last June. He became a well known illustrator in New York. His older brother, Felix Riesenberg, became a well known explorer, tall ship captain and bestselling author.

When Emily had finished raising her family around the turn of the last century, she began submitting her recipes to newspapers and magazines. She was 50 at the time — in 1906 — and as she later told an interviewer with a New York newspaper, “Now it was time for my career!”

Her recipes were published in many publications, including Ladies Home Journal, and she had a weekly column in a Chicago newspaper. Her column, recipes and tips were very popular, and in 1931, at age 76, she published a cookbook called “Easy Baking” that included all her favorite baking recipes.

Renogy 200 watt solar panel

When I was a child, my mother had a cherished copy of this cookbook. It was well worn and stained from being used every year for Christmas baking. My mother would carefully open the book to the Lebkuchen recipe some time in early December and cover the open book with Saran Wrap to prevent us from making any new stains on those precious pages!

A few years ago, my sister found some copies of the cookbook and gave one to me. It had a treasured home in our RV and then in our house. However, each Christmas came and went without me trying my hand at making Lebkuchen.

Easy Baking cookbook by Emily Riesenberg

“Easy Baking” by my namesake!

This year, however, I dove in with gusto. It is an interesting recipe that calls for boiling honey and butter for 5 minutes over a “low fire.” This becomes a very frothy thing! “Soda” is added to water in another step and then the whole thing becomes an extremely sticky batter that has to remain in a covered bowl for 4 days as it “ripens”

Lebkuchen dough ripening for 4 days

The dough has to “ripen” for 4 days. It’s impossible not to peek!

I loved the mystery of all these steps as a child. As I made my way through the recipe this year, I wondered what my great-grandmother would think if she saw me in my kitchen today. It was over 50 years ago that I made these cookies with my mother. 100 years before that, my great-grandmother made these cookies with her mother in a log cabin!

The recipe calls for “citron” or candied citrus fruit peels, and I remember being fascinated by this odd, sticky food that had to be diced very finely. It is a key ingredient in these cookies. Unfortunately, there was none to be found in any of the stores within a half hour drive of our house and none at a reasonable price online either. I imagine that all the true Christmas bakers out there who plan ahead bought it all up before I even got the idea to make these cookies!

I’m sure my great-grandmother would have been quite distressed that I wouldn’t be including any citron in these cookies, but I learned my lesson to start thinking and planning ahead at Thanksgiving. Next time!

After four days of ripening, the dough is extremely dense and requires a huge amount of manipulation to get it to a point where you can roll it out. This was a job my mother always did, and as I wrestled with the dough this afternoon, I remembered watching her putting her whole body weight into getting that dough to comply. I had to do that too!

I didn’t have a rolling pin, but I was able to order one with my Instacart grocery order a few days ago. What would my great-grandmother have thought about my fast flying fingers typing on a keypad so a week’s worth of groceries plus a rolling pin would be delivered at my house the next day?!

Lebkuchen dough ready to be rolled out

The dough is a beast to deal with at first – dense and totally unpliable!

When I was little, we had a huge paper bag full of cookie cutters in all kinds of shapes. There were santas, stars, snowmen and other things. My great-uncle’s favorite cookie cutter was the pig, so we always used that one a lot so there would be plenty of cookies for him.

I don’t have any cookie cutters in my very simple kitchen, but I found that the rim of a mason jar top worked just fine. I could feel my great-grandmother shaking her head at my unpreparedness, but I knew she was smiling too because I was trying, and I had her book open with plastic wrap protecting the pages from flying flour.

Using a mason jar cap to cut Lebkuchen cookies

No cookie cutters? A Mason Jar cap rim did the job very well! I’ll get the ones below next year!

Christmas Cookie Cutters

Back in the early 1900s, ovens didn’t have thermometers, so the Lebkuchen baking instructions were to use a “very moderate” oven (as opposed to a “fast oven” or “slow oven” that were required for her other recipes). No time was given for when they’d be done either — just test them with a toothpick!

I remember my mother being perplexed about what temperature “very moderate” might be and how long to leave the cookies in the oven. And so it was for me today. Would that be 325 degrees or perhaps 350? And for how long? 10 minutes? 20 minutes? 30??

I found other Lebkuchen recipes online (what would my great-grandmother have thought of that?), and the recipes were totally different than this one. None of them let the dough ripen for 4 magical days (and oh yes, we kids often snuck lumps of uncooked dough to snack on secretly when no one was looking — and then we’d be reprimanded when the dough had shrunk by the time baking day rolled around!). The other Lebkuchen recipes online used temperatures anywhere from 300 to 400 degrees, so that didn’t help much!

When I was a little girl, the cookies always got baked somehow. I remember fondly, however, that we always had a batch or two that was quite dark or even burnt on the bottom and a few batches that were too light. Eventually, we’d get our rhythm and they’d all turn out perfectly.

Baking Lebkuchen Christmas cookies

Oh, for my great-grandmother’s skill in the kitchen!

We always made a double batch so we’d have plenty to give away. This involved sifting over 14 cups of flour! On baking day, the cookie sheets went in and out of the oven in a magical, sweet smelling dance all afternoon.

I got a soul enriching whiff of all those memories this afternoon as I listened to Christmas carols and cut little mason jar cap circles out of the dough. I’d made just a half batch of dough, and the smell and taste were right on. They turned out a little hard, however. In fact, they are very very hard! We’ll have to dip them in milk or coffee and tea for a long time!

But that’s part of the fun, and it is exactly how we always dealt with the dark and burnt ones way back when.

German Christmas Lebkuchen cookies

My humble first try. Now I have lots of notes for next year!

My great-grandmother’s recipe (and all the online Lebkuchen recipes) call for icing the cookies, but in our house they never made it that far…eager hands pulled them out of the cookie jar too fast and they disappeared into happy bellies! And so it is at our house this year.

Reese Goosebox

Here is the recipe:

Lebkuchen Recipe by Emily Riesenberg in her cookbook Easy Baking

The ingredient list for making Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen recipe by Emily Risenberg in her cookbook Easy Baking-2

Instructions. Quite different than modern recipe instructions!

For comparison, here is the recipe given by King Arthur Flour. They recommend refrigerating the dough for a day and baking at 350 for 20 to 22 minutes. A commenter suggested wrapping the dough in plastic wrap before refrigerating to keep it moist.

Also, here is the introduction to Emily Riesenberg’s cookbook — an essay by her son, Felix Riesenberg, about the importance of baking homemade bread for the health and happiness of your children!

The importance of baking bread for your children from the cookbook Easy Baking by Emily Riesenberg_

Written by her son, Felix, this little intro speaks volumes about a world of simpler and more wholesome times in America in the 1800s.

Here’s a little about my great-grandmother from the front of the cookbook:

About the author of Easy Baking Emily Riesenberg

About my great-grandmother, Emily Riesenberg

Also, here are the opening paragraphs of the first chapter: key tips every “up to date cook” needs to know about flour!

What Every Cook Should Know introduction to Easy Baking cookbook by Emily Riesenberg

What a different and special world my great-grandmother lived in!

Note added Christmas morning:

Mark and I surprised each other when we opened our gifts and saw we’d gotten each other the same thing! A neighbor who has an artisan woodworking shop invited all the neighbors to come check out his work and buy gifts, and we both snuck out with a gift for the other of a boy (or girl) with a dog. What a sweet coincidence!

Boy and girl with dog made by Rust Art

Mark and I gave each other almost identical gifts this year…with Buddy close to our hearts!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that you take a moment to reminisce about your fondest traditions, even if they aren’t a part of your festivities now. We’d love to hear your stories too!

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Sego Canyon, Utah – Hidden Histories of Vanished People!

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September 2023 – We were chatting with friends the other day about travel research and travel prep, and we agreed that the most exciting travel experiences usually show up unexpectedly, without any advance planning!

And so it was in for us in Utah as we were flying down I-70 with our RV in tow at the end of our summer travels in Colorado. Little did we know that we were about to embark on a thrilling adventure of discovery about remote Sego Canyon, Utah, a place whose history dates as far back as several millennia and as recently as just a few decades ago.

Sego Canyon Rock Art and Mining Camp History 3

As we cruised out of Colorado and into Utah, some beautiful cliffs on the north side of the freeway caught our attention.

Cliffs seen from I-70 near Thompson Springs Utah

These cliffs lured us off the highway!

Peering at them intently (at highway speed), we saw there was a freeway exit and a dirt road leading into their midst, so we decided to stop and look around. This turned out to be the exit for the town of Thompson Springs and the start of a wonderful adventure on our Polaris RZR side-by-side.

Polaris RZR 900 side-by-side ready for a ride

Our magic carpet ride to adventure.

It was a beautiful morning, and we zipped through the dilapidated town of Thompson Springs fairly quickly. There were a few homes and many abandoned buildings. What on earth happened here that made everyone leave? It was like a modern day ghost town.

We continued on towards the cliffs and got onto a dirt road. It weaved right and left between rolling scrub covered hills.

A dirt road in the countryside in Utah

The road into the canyon twisted and turned between scrub-covered hillsides.

Suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded by fantastic rock formations. Huge overhanging cliffs were covered with desert varnish. It looked as though black paint was dripping down the beige cliff walls.

Desert varnish on the cliffs at Sego Canyon Utah

One of Mother Nature’s modern art drip paintings.

“This looks like a place that might have petroglyphs!” Mark said eagerly.

We scoured the walls, and then he spotted a rock art panel. Bingo! Such eagle eyes he has!

The images were the familiar trapezoidal people typical of southwestern rock art plus some bison and horses, all overlaid with more modern graffiti.

Ute Rock art in Sego Canyon Utah

Mark’s sharp eyes spotted this very cool rock art panel on the cliff wall.

We were so thrilled to have made this “discovery” simply by heading down an inviting dirt road. A Jeep pulled up, and a woman got out and began telling us how excited she was to visit this spot and see the petroglyphs.

We realized that this is actually a known destination, remote as it is! We learned later that this spot, the Sego Canyon Rock Art area, is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). It turned out that this particular rock art panel was etched by the Ute people, probably between 1500 and 1880 AD.

The logic for archaeologists giving the etchings those dates is that there appear to be horses in this rock art panel yet horses didn’t arrive in North America until Christoper Columbus brought them here on his second voyage in 1493. At the other end of the date range, the Utes were moved onto reservations in the 1880s so they wouldn’t have been in this location after that.

We kept studying the cliff walls to see if there were more petroglyphs, and around the corner, we found another rock art panel. These petroglyphs were quite different than the others, much more clearly defined and more deeply etched into the rock face.

Fremont Rock Art Sego Canyon Utah

We found another rock art panel of petroglyphs nearby!

Again, the people were trapezoidal, but the etching was far more distinct and the people were wearing elaborate headdresses and jewelry and were depicted without arms or legs. It has been suggested that these figures resemble mummies.

Interestingly, to the right of the right-hand figure is another ghostly image with a similar shape but it isn’t outlined. Whether that was original or added later is hard to tell.

Fremont Rock Art Sego Canyon Thompson Springs Utah

We learned later that this is presumed to have been created during the Fremont period.

Fremont rock art is considered to date from the first century through the 1300s.

There were some cloven hoofed bovines with long curved antlers near the people. Although these types of animal images are often labeled “big horn sheep,” to me they don’t look much like big horn sheep. Big horn sheep have shorter and very sharply curved horns and no tails per se. These animals (which are very common in Fremont rock art) seem more like ibexes to me — but ibexes aren’t native to this continent!

There are other critters in this panel that could be a beaver and a grouse.

Fremont Rock Art Sego Canyon Utah

.

Utah Delorme Atlas

We prowled around some more and came across a THIRD rock art panel that, again, was completely different than the other two!

We later learned that this third panel is from the Archaic Period which is estimated to be between 8000 BC and 1000 AD.

These are pictographs which are images rendered onto the rock with paint or dye. They are different than petroglyphs (the technique used to create the other two rock art panels) which were pecked out of the rock with a tool.

Considering how difficult it is for us in our current era to get house paint to last for twenty years, it is incredible that this dye has endured out in the elements and unprotected for thousands of years.

Archaic rock art panel Sego Canyon Utah

Ghostly figures of the Archaic Period (8000 BC to 1000 AD).

If the Ute and Fremont images with their odd looking humanoid shapes had been a little bizarre, this Archaic Period rock art panel was way out there! Also, for its age, it was the best preserved of the three. In fact, it seemed that the least durable rock art was the most recent work created by the Ute people just a few hundred years ago.

The Archaic Period images are more rounded and less angular, and the people have a very ghostly appearance with huge hollow eyes.

Archaic Rock Art Sego Canyon Utah

Otherworldly.

Archaic Rock Art Sego Canyon Utah

It turns out this particular rock art panel was etched by the Ute people, probably between 1500 and 1880 AD.

Archaic Rock Art Sego Canyon Utah

Odd things on its head.

It is intriguing that this one area inspired ancient peoples to make their mark on it across several millennia in very different styles. It’s impossible to know why they put their mark in this spot or what it depicted — especially the very odd humanoid figures — but it is fascinating to ponder.

The BLM is the most secretive of the government’s land management agencies. There are no big signs announcing the location of this special place, and it gets just a brief mention on their website. Like most of their incredible treasures, this spot remains as it always has been, totally unprotected.

Vandalism is a serious problem with every ancient site, however, and all the land management agencies have to deal with the trash that visitors leave behind as well as clean out the vault toilets and move that waste from those toilets to sewer treatment plants periodically.

The BLM often approaches all this with a sense of whimsy, and sometimes they post amusing signs reminding people to be considerate. In the vault toilet at this site we found a metal sign hanging on the wall above the toilet. It was complete with a pictograph person waving to grab our attention:

BLM vault toilet warning sign

This sign was hanging on the wall inside the vault toilet.

Several dirt roads criss-cross this whole area and go in different directions. A few other people were out enjoying the beautiful day on their side-by-sides too.

Side by side on the BLM roads in Utah

The rugged dirt roads in this area are popular with ATVs and UTVs.

Our little trail scout, Buddy, wanted to show us the way to our next discovery.

Trotting down the road in Sego Canyon Utah

Buddy leads the way.

Before long, we noticed a structure off the side of the road. It was built very low and somewhat into a hillside. Perhaps it was an old root cellar. But who lived here — and when?

Ruins of a root cellar in Sego Canyon Utah

What is this??!!

1000 Places to See Before You Die

We turned around and spotted a large and very well constructed building in the distance. What the heck?!

Remains of a building in the Sego Canyon coal mining camp

Oh my! Gotta check that out!

When we got closer we were impressed by the size of this structure. It had three large openings in the front that must have been windows. But what was it doing in the middle of nowhere down a rarely used dirt road?

Remains of a building in the Sego Canyon coal mining camp

This is a big, important and awfully well built building for such a remote place!

We later learned that there had been a coal mine back in here and a mining camp with homes and commercial buildings! Coal was first discovered in the area by rancher Harry Ballard, and it was very high grade. A hardware store owner named C.F. Bauer bought the property and formed the American Fuel Company and began developing the area in 1911.

In its heyday, there was not only the American Fuel Company Store (the building we saw), but a boarding house, some mining buildings and settlement homes all around.

American Fuel Company Store in Sego Canyon coal mining camp

The old American Fuel Company Store.

Inside the American Fuel Company Store in Sego Canyon coal mining camp

There had been a basement level and a main floor with high windows near the ceiling.

Inside the big building, plaster was peeling off the walls revealing the masonry work beneath. We’ve seen plenty of imitations of this effect in modern replicas of old buildings. How very cool to see the real thing!

Peeling plaster on a wall of the American Fuel Company Store in Sego Canyon coal mining camp

There was classic peeling plaster on the interior walls.

A short ways away there was another building in ruins. Behind it were the remains of a car. It looked to be a 1940s vintage car but we couldn’t determine anything about it, not even the make.

Building ruins in Sego Canyon coal mining camp

This ruin was nearby.

Old car in Sego Canyon coal mining camp

At one time, someone was thrilled to drive this home from the dealership.

Nearby we found a massive pile of wood. We later discovered that this was the old boarding house. It was still standing in 2011.

Fallen down boarding house in Sego Canyon Utah

The boarding house was still standing in 2011 but is now just rubble on the ground.

We drove further on the dirt road and found another building. All these buildings were about a century old, but the masonry work was holding up pretty well.

Ruins of a building in Sego Canyon Utah

Another solid building.

Ryobi drill set
Well crafted bricks and lintel in a ruined building in Sego Canyon Utah

We could see the saw marks on the stones.

We came back to the trailer marveling at what we’d seen. At that point we had no idea what any of it was — it took some digging on the internet later to figure it all out.

But what a cool layering of history we found, all within a few miles. From far ancient times, possibly thousands of years BC, up to half a century ago, people lived and worked in this canyon.

Beautiful Utah skies

The extraordinary breadth and depth of human history can be found even in a remote Utah canyon.

Who Were the Most Recent Inhabitants of Sego Canyon?

In 1914, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad built a 5 mile long spur line from nearby Thomson to the mining camp, but the mine was never as profitable as hoped. The low water table made the mine inoperable at times, the trains had problems on the tracks, and a big investment in 1927 to obtain electricity from Columbia, Utah, 100 miles away all contributed to meager profits.

At its peak, the mine employed about 125 miners and there were 500 people living in the community around the general store building we’d seen. However, the mining company missed their payroll a bunch of times, paying the miners in scrip to use at the company store instead. Disgruntled, the miners joined the United Mine Workers Union in 1933 and they began being paid regularly.

It didn’t last, however. Employment dwindled to 27 miners by 1947. They pooled their money to buy the mine and had high hopes. Unfortunately, two years later, a fire destroyed the huge structure they used to load the coal into the rail cars, and then the train ceased operations.

When I-70 was built and came through about six miles south of the canyon in the 1970s, the mines closed and everyone left. A bitter blow came in 1973 when two carloads of treasure hunters showed up with metal detectors. They burned all the buildings and took whatever they could find in the smoldering ashes.

In 1994, Amtrak moved their passenger rail stop from Thompson Springs to Green River in 1994, and the town of Thompson Springs that had once connected Sego Canyon to the outside world withered away to just a handful of residents.

What a dizzying story this was to uncover. When we’d pulled off of I-70, we’d just hoped to see some cool cliffs up close!

But for us, that is the sheer joy of travel — accidentally bumping into unexpected gems!

Brooding sky and camper in Utah

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Ken Burns National Parks DVD Set

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More info about Thompson Springs and Sego Canyon:

Petroglyph and rock art sites we’ve found in our travels:

Corps of Engineers Campgrounds

Other blog posts from Utah:

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50 RV Gift Ideas for Your Beloved RVer (or RV!)

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Is there a special RVer in your life who’d appreciate a tool or an appliance or other RV gift for your life on the road — perhaps a memento of your RVing adventures together? Or do you have an RV you love that deserves a little holiday gift wrapped with a bow?

We have our own list of “must have” RV goodies, and we’ve seen some super cute RV related gifts in our travels, and this inspired me to do a little digging online to see if there might be more. Oh my, if you look hard enough there’s a treasure trove out there!

I had a blast “window shopping” — here’s a list of a few things I found.

If something appeals to you, click on the image or the link in the text above it to find out all the details.

For starters, does your beloved RV welcome you home with a cute little mat by the door? Here’s a wonderful RV welcome mat:

Home is where the RV welcome mat is-min

Yes, indeed!

And another fun one:

Just Another Day in Paradise RV Welcome Mat

Welcome home!!

If you’d rather wipe your feet on a super absorbent doormat instead of a decorative welcome mat (we have one), then maybe a little welcome sign would be a gracious way to invite your friends in:

RV Welcome Sign

A warm welcome for your RV guests.

Ya gotta hang your keys up somewhere, and what better place for the RV and car keys than on a fun set of keyhooks?

RV key hooks - The adventure begins

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And now that you’ve got a great place to hang your keys, how about putting your most important keys on a special keyring?!

RV keyring

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If you want to introduce yourself to your neighbors and give your RV patio a little flair, how about a personalized sign for your campsite?

Personalized RV campsite sign

A personalized sign makes introductions easy.

If you’re a bit shy about putting your name out in front of your rig, maybe just let the neighbors know where the party is with a flag that says “It’s 5:00 Somewhere”!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere garden flag-min

Let the neighbors know where the party is!

Speaking of parties, if yours tend to involve a little wine, then you might find a set of picnic wine glass and bottle holders to be just the thing. Simply shove them in the ground near your camp chairs and your wine will be safe from tipping over.

picnic stix wine glass and bottle holders-min

No spills by the campfire!

For some folks, the stems on wine glasses are a little cumbersome in the RVing life. If you want to go stemless, there are some very cute etched wine glasses made especially for those RVers who are wine drinkers with a camping problem or who are just happy campers:

stemless camping wine glass-min

Is this you — or someone you know??

Happy Camper stemless wine glass-min

Describes every RVer, for sure!

If you’re serving munchies too, then you’ll definitely want to bring out some RV cocktail napkins!

RV cocktail napkins

These will make your guests smile!

There’s nothing like waking up to the perfect cup of coffee, especially after an evening partying with friends, and IMHO the BEST way to make it is pour-over style. This is especially true if you like to boondock. It doesn’t require any electricity and delivers a delicious cup in no time.

Simply place the filter holder on the top of your coffee mug, put a paper filter inside, dump in a scoop of finely ground coffee beans and pour boiling water over the grounds. In a minute or two you have the perfect cup.

Pour over coffee filter holder

The EASIEST way to make coffee in an RV!
Especially for boondockers. No electricity needed!.

If you want to make more than one cuppa joe at a time, get a pour-over coffee carafe. They come in smaller and larger sizes. My family made coffee this way from the time I was 12, and the care we took in making, sharing and drinking it is one of my fondest childhood memories.

The pour-over carafes we suggest come in 36 ounce and 52 ounce sizes.

Pour over coffee carafe

The pour over coffee carafes made by Melitta
come in 36 ounce and 52 ounce sizes.

The reason we recommend disposable paper filters is because you don’t have to deal with the mess of wet coffee grounds. The permanent filters are great in a house where you have endless dishwashing water and no concerns about what goes down the drain. But in an RV, especially when boondocking, cleaning a permanent coffee filter is difficult. That’s also why we don’t use a French Press!

If you want to get really fancy, buy whole beans and grind them yourself so they’re as fresh as can be. We like this coffee grinder:

Coffee grinder

Mark always jokes that morning coffee in our RV is a science project!

You can’t travel in an RV without camping chairs, and of course they come in all shapes, colors and sizes. But how about a camp chair with your RV’s name printed on the back rest or with your name there?! This isn’t a bad idea if you’re headed to a big gathering of RVers in the desert in Quartzsite where lots of folks have nearly identical chairs and the chairs often stay in a ring around the campfire for days on end!

personalized camping chair-min

Personalized camping chair — Will you put your name or the rig’s name on it??

This past summer we swapped out the recliners that came with our Genesis Supreme Toy Hauler with these zero gravity chairs from Best Choice. It was a great upgrade!

Zero Gravity Chairs for an RV

We like these better than the chairs that came with our toy hauler.
We use them inside and outside!

We topped them with these cushions which are very comfortable.

Zero Gravity Chair Cushions

Soft and comfy.

RVers frequently camp in places where you can’t have a campfire. So what could be better than bringing a portable campfire with you? This little guy runs on propane and has a nice flame.

Portable RV campfire

Now you can have a campfire anywhere you take your RV!

50 States 5,000 Ideas Travel Book

No shortage of possibilities!

So far, we’ve been coming up with all kinds of great ideas for making that beloved RV a cozy home for living in and sharing with friends. But how about some travel ideas?

If your loved one needs some travel inspiration, here’s a book that offers 5,000 ideas for where to go with your RV and what to see and do once you get there!

For nature lovers, hikers, photographers and anyone dreaming of seeing America’s stunning National Parks, check out this top rated Guide to the National Parks.

Your Guide to the National Parks

Dreaming of a big RV adventure? Here’s a Guide to the National Parks!

Rand McNally Road Atlas

“Let’s hit the road!”

Are you in the special category of “Wanting to Be an RVer?” and, perhaps, the Love of Your Life is a little hesitant about this crazy new dream of yours?

One way to win him/her over might be the trick that pioneering RVer Kay Peterson used on her husband to inspire him to go RVing full-time.

One day, when she put the sandwich she made him in his lunch box, she wrapped it in a US road map!

The gift of a good quality road atlas can drop a broad hint and comes in very handy for planning your itinerary.

Once you’ve been out having fun in your RV for a while, whether you’ve been traveling for a week, a year, or more, you’ll want to keep a record of all your adventures.

I still cherish the journal I hand wrote (and hand decorated with glued-in photos) of our travels in our popup tent trailer.

Here’s a specially made camping journal with categories and prompts to remind you of all the things you’ll want to remember later:

Camping and RV journal-min

A Camping and RV Travel Journal.

Lots of people wear their hearts on their sleeve, and some go so far as to wear their passions on the fronts of their shirts! Here are a few fun t-shirts (available in men’s and women’s sizes and a rainbow of colors).

If telling the world you love the RVing lifestyle on the front of your shirt isn’t really your style, maybe curling up with some lounge pants decorated with vintage trailers would be more like it!!

Happy camper lounge pants-min

Happy camper vintage trailer lounge pants.

Although it’s nice to lounge around in t-shirts and PJ’s, it’s nice to dress up too. An adorable pair of earrings might be just the thing for your sweetie.

RV earrings

She’ll love them!
Check out these many other styles too!

Guys always love flashlights, and Mark owns quite a few. At least four of his are the Lumintop brand (they make many different types), and he says they’re better quality than his others. One of his favorites is the Lumintop SD26 pocket flashlight. It isn’t made any more, but it’s very similar to the newer Lumintop D2 pocket flashlight which is very bright, rechargeable and has four modes.

Lumintop D2 Flashlight

He’ll be all smiles when he sees this super bright Lumintop D2!

Mark was a Boy Scout, so he likes to be prepared, and his pockets are always full of survival goodies. He actually carries TWO pocket knives, if you can imagine, and he uses them both all the time! One is the tiny Gerber 2 inch folding pocket knife. It has a locking blade and he loves it because the blade is always super sharp. The other is a Victorinox Swiss Army pocket knife. He loves it because of all the tools: scissors, tweezers, toothpick and a file!

Both are tiny — about 2 inches long when folded up!

Gerber LST Pocket Knife

The locking blade on this Gerber LST pocket knife is really sharp and holds its edge.

Victorinox Pocket Swiss Army Knife

Just over 2 inches long, this tiny Swiss Army Knife is full of useful tools!

One more goodie that Mark discovered in the last two years that he asbolutely loves is the Ryobi electric screwdriver. Talk about saving your wrists when you have a lot of screws to deal with!!! I love it to and used it all the time when I was mounting shelves and various things in our new rig. The man in your life — that guy who has everything and is so hard to shop for — will totally love this!

Ryobi electric screwdriver

This little electric screwdriver is the bomb!

Getting back to those special memories that we all create on the road, one fun way to memorialize a particularly special travel moment is to frame a photo of it in a picture frame shaped like an RV. Whether your rolling home requires a motorhome picture frame or a trailer picture frame, there’s a cool one for you:

RV picture frame class C Motorhome-min

A picture frame for that memorable moment from your RV adventures.

RV travel trailer picture frame-min

The trailer version.

Okay, okay, enough of the cutesy RV decorated stuff. How about some practical things that will give your life on the road a little zing and isn’t something you’re likely to find at the local camping store?

First on our list of “must haves” in our RV lifestyle is a set of two-way radios. We use these radios to help us back up and park the trailer, to communicate when hiking in glorious remote locations, and when we get separated in Walmart too. No cell phone reception needed!

Midland 36-mile 50-channel two-way radios-min

We have had Midland 36-mile radios since we started in 2007 and wouldn’t RV without them.

For anyone with a small RV, a top quality set of nesting pots and pans is a joy. We bought a set of Magma nesting pots and pans when we moved onto our sailboat in 2010, and we still use them now in our trailer.

magma nesting cookware for RV travel-min

We bought these pots and pans for our boat and still use them every day.

magma nesting cookware for RV camping-min

The whole set fits into one pot!

Another kitchen item I really loved having with us in our toy hauler’s dollhouse sized kitchen this past summer is my tiny Cuisinart food processor. If you like chopped salads, salsa and guacamole, and your storage space is minimal, this little gadget is a must have.

Cuisinart Elemental 4-Cup Food Processor

Makes guac & salsa in a minute flat and takes up very little space.

There are so many cute things out there to dress up the RV galley. One fun way to give it some color is to hang up pretty hand towels. We saw these hand towels when we visited the La Posada Hotel gift shop in Winslow Arizona and just loved them.

RV and retro travel trailer hand towels-min

Decorative hand towels.

How about a set of RV decorated dishes, each with a unique (and inviting) camping scene?!

Camping dishes with travel trailer RV designs-min

What a great dishware set for your travels!

There’s also a very cool serving bowl (with serving spoons)!

RV bowl and serving set with travel trailer design-min

A serving bowl (and serving spoons) to go with the dishes

Okay, let’s get back to the practical stuff that isn’t decorated with adorable vintage RVs.

Nothing says “love” like power tools, and the two we use most are our cordless drill and cordless impact driver. We use the drill to raise and lower the stabilizer jacks on the back of our trailer (explained in this article), and Mark uses the impact drill every time he changes a tire on either the trailer or the truck (check out how he changes that inner rear wheel on the dually!). I’d like to say that doesn’t happen too often…but unfortunately he’s changed a lot of tires since we started RVing full-time!!

Ryobi Cordless Drill Combo Set

Cordless drill and impact driver set. Mark loves these!

Of course, the way to measure the difficulty of any RV repair job is by how many beers it takes to complete. Whether it’s a one beer job or a two beer job, it goes much better if the beer is cold right to the last drop. Mark LOVES his Yeti koozie.

Yeti beer koozie-min

For the beer drinker with a camping problem!
Cold to the last drop…

If you don’t need your stainless steel beer koozie to say “Yeti” on it, there are other brands that are much cheaper.

Yeti is known for its coolers, but we found that the much cheaper Lifetime coolers are excellent too. We keep one in the back of our Polaris RZR. Lifetime is the right name for that company too. One of the latches on our original Lifetime cooler failed after a few years, and when we contacted the company about it, they swapped out our cooler for a brand new one!

Lifetime Cooler

We love our Lifetime cooler!

One of my favorite parts of the RV lifestyle is kicking back with a leisurely morning cup of tea. My mug (a birthday gift from Mark) says “I love you,” but a pair of “Life is better in a camper” mugs would be pretty cool too!

RV coffee mugs with travel trailer-min

“Life is Better in a Camper” coffee mugs!

Retro trailers are all the rage, but there’s a coffee mug for motorhome lovers too.

RV coffee mug motorhome at night in woods-min

Motorhome camping scene on a coffee mug.

If you’ve got kids or friends over at your campsite, and you’re looking for fun things to do, a party game might fill the bill. Corn Hole and Ring Toss are portable and easy to set up.

Corn Hole Game for RV camping-min

Something fun to do at the campsite besides sit around the campfire!

Ring Toss Camping Game-min

Ring toss game.

For families that get stuck indoors on a rainy day, a fun way for the kids to get some laughs and learn a little at the same time is to play the game Mad Libs. I saw this in a gift shop and remembered loving it as a kid, and I couldn’t resist buying it for my grandkids.

If the kids haven’t learned the difference between a noun and a verb at school yet (and lord knows if the schools are even teaching that these days), this game makes it fun and easy to learn!

RV gift Mad Libs game-min

This is a fun (and funny) indoor rainy day word game.

For RVers who love birds (like me), we’ve seen some beautiful little wooden bird houses shaped like trailers.

We love to hang a hummingbird feeder from our RV, and we have a special one that mounts on our window with a suction cup mount. It’s a blast to sit inside and watch the crazy antics of these tiny birds as they duke it out with each other at the feeder. For anyone who enjoys photography, this kind of feeder is a hoot (blog posts about our humming bird experiences here and here).

Hummingbird Feeder window suction cup mount-min

We hang a hummingbird feeder on our RV window with a suction cup mount.

Window hummingbird feeder

We’ve enjoyed this feeder on our trailer so much we got one for our house too!

Speaking of photography, November and December are the best time of the year to buy a camera. The deals get sweeter and sweeter! If a fancy new camera is on your wish list, now is the time to get one. For us (and many others), Nikon is the brand to buy.

The photography world is a bit split right now between folks on the cutting edge who have new technology mirrorless cameras and those who have a big investment in older technology DSLR lenses that are sticking with DSLR cameras. The mirrorless cameras cost a premium because they are the new technology while the DSLR cameras are a true bargain right now.

At the high end, the camera that has taken the photography world by storm is the mirrorless Nikon Z8 camera. Nikon’s entry level mirrorless camera is the Nikon Z30. Their mid-range full-frame mirrorless camera is the Nikon Z5. If you have an unlimited budget, get the Nikon Z9!

In the older technology DSLR world, at the high end the Nikon D850 rivals the new mirrorless Nikon Z8 in many respects (it has the same sensor) yet it can be purchased for two-thirds or half the price. In the mid-range, the Nikon D780 is an excellent full-frame choice. The entry level Nikon D5600 is a fine camera. We use ours when we’re out on the RZR or driving the truck!

Nikon Z8 camera

November / December is the best time to buy a new camera.

And last of all, whether you’re going to celebrate Christmas in your RV living room or in the living room of a stickbuilt home, why not decorate your Christmas tree with a little RV love?! There are lots of RV Christmas ornaments available including these two:

Airstream RV Christmas ornament

Why not hang a little Airstream on your Christmas tree?!

RV Christmas tree ornament

There are lots of RV Christmas ornaments out there!

On a totally different topic, Mark just came in and suggested I add a note to remind you that now is a great time to exercise your onboard generator, if you have one, and if your rig is not going to be used for a while. He’s got ours going with two electric heaters running full blast so it’s got a good load on it…!

Also, if you are in a warmer climate, like we are, where you can avoid fully winterizing your rig but still experience temps below freezing for a few hours every night, make sure the holding tanks are empty and the fresh water tank is either empty or has lots of water in it, and open all the faucets.

For MORE RV gift ideas, see our post: 101 Great RV Gift Ideas for RVers, Campers and Outdoor Lovers!

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Shelter Island – The Heart of San Diego…on the Waterfront!

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October 2023 – We recently made a quick weeklong RV trip to San Diego and had an absolute ball. As soon as we got there and set up camp at Sweetwater Summit Regional Park Campground, we made a beeline for Shelter Island, our all-time favorite place in this beautiful city.

It was a foggy morning, but seeing the sailboats bobbing at anchor and hearing the seagulls mournful cries warmed our hearts!

We had been fortunate to live on Shelter Island in our sailboat, Groovy, for two weeks before our sailing cruise of Mexico and for six months afterwards. For us, it is the heart of San Diego, offering truly elegant waterfront living right on the banks of San Diego Harbor.

Flagship passes by Shelter Island San Diego California

A tour boat makes its way through the fog past Shelter Island in San Diego Harbor.

Shelter Island is a manmade barrier island that was created by dredging some marshy flats and piling up the mud to make a long skinny “island” that parallels the shoreline of San Diego Harbor. It isn’t a true island, however, as a road lined with businesses attaches it to the mainland.

Behind the island — in the dredged area on either side of this access road — there are rows upon rows of boats moored at a series of lovely marinas.

Sea of boats on Shelter Island San Diego California

There are more boats in San Diego’s many marinas than we’ve ever seen anywhere else!

So, being on Shelter Island puts you right in the middle of all the waterfront action of a big city harbor. The “front” side of the island faces San Diego Harbor, with the city skyline in the distance, while the sheltered “back” side of the island is filled with marinas and resorts and is very peaceful and tranquil.

Ryobi drill set

As we drove down Shelter Island Drive onto the island, we had to stop at Marvelous Muffins. When we lived on Shelter Island in our sailboat, Groovy, for 6 months at the end of our Mexico cruise, Marvelous Muffins was a frequent morning stop for us, no matter what we had planned for our day!

Marvelous Muffins Shelter Island San Diego California

Marvelous Muffins was a favorite morning haunt for us!

Nothing about it had changed. Sophie, the charming muffin maker and shopkeeper, was still there to greet us, and her muffins were as delicious as we remembered them being. Naturally, we bought a few extras to take back to our trailer!

Marvelous Muffins owner Sophie Shelter Island San Diego California

Sophie has been making muffins here for over 20 years!

The air was still heavy with fog when we got to the waterfront. San Diego Harbor is a very busy harbor with boats heading to and fro all the time, no matter what the weather! As we watched the goings-on, the Flagship tour boat headed past us on an excursion, the deck filled with eager tourists.

Overhead, Navy helicopters buzzed around constantly. Across the harbor, the Navy runway was very busy with jets that were so loud we couldn’t head each other talk when they took off!

Navy Helicopter Shelter Island San Diego California

The whir of Navy helicopter blades fills the air all the time!

Far out at sea, a really unique looking tri-hulled Navy ship approached. What an unusual beast!

Tri-hull Navy Ship Shelter Island San Diego California

A unique Navy ship approaches through the fog.

Gradually, the fog lifted and streaks of blue filled the sky. We could see the San Diego skyline in the distance beyond a string of sailboats that were anchored along the edge of the harbor.

San Diego Skyline from Shelter Island

Ahhh…San Diego!

The side of Shelter Island that faces the harbor is a wonderful long grassy park. A walking path runs between the grass and the shore. It ducks under flower covered trellises and passes by children’s play areas, picnic tables and statuary along the way.

Bougainvillea Trellis Shelter Island San Diego California

Shelter Island has several trellises along the walking path that are covered with vibrant bougainvillea flowers.

Bougainvillia at Shelter Island San Diego CA

We love it here!

Down at our feet, we noticed that when the sidewalk pavement was poured, someone drew a stick figure of a sailboat. How fun!

Stick drawing of sailboat in the sidewalk Shelter Island San Diego California

Someone captured the spirit of this special place before the pavement dried.

Fabulous enormous trees provide shade throughout this grassy park, inviting all visitors to sit for a spell and enjoy the view.

Sitting in the grass on Shelter Island San Diego Harbor

The vast grassy lawns on Shelter Island are very inviting.

Happy dog in the grass Shelter Island San Diego California

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Buddy thought this place was heavenly and promptly took a snooze!

Dog in the grass

“This is my kind of place!”

There are park benches along this walking path too. It is a very romantic waterfront!

Magma Stackable RV Cookware
Sailboats and park bench on Shelter Island in San Diego CA

If you don’t want to sit in the grass, try a park bench!

The romantic air isn’t just for people either. A pair of seagulls was enjoying a quiet moment of togetherness too.

Twin seagulls Shelter Island San Diego California

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One of the more famous statues on Shelter Island is the tuna fishermen. These three guys are straining for all they’re worth, pulling up an enormous tuna together. Their fishing rods are anchored in belts around their waists, and the fish is fighting mightily.

Tuna fishermen Shelter Island San Diego California

Tuna fishermen strain to land their catch.

A few steps away we saw several fishermen casting their lines. They were after smaller prey and they said they were having pretty good luck!

Fishermen Shelter Island San Diego California

Waiting for the big one!

A seagull kept a close eye on them to see if they might start cleaning their catch and throwing out scraps!

Seagull at San Diego Harbor on Shelter Island

“You got anything for me?”

There’s a small beach on the harbor side of Shelter Island, and now that the sun was out, a few sun bathers settled into the sand to catch some rays.

Beach at Shelter Island San Diego California

“Lazing on a sunny afternoon!”

A man came running past with his dog bounding ahead. Leashes are required, of course, but this lucky pooch was given a few minutes of freedom on the beach. He took full advantage, and plunged into the water for a swim. He emerged looking a little bedraggled but very happy!

Happy dog after a swim

“Come on in, the water’s fine!”

RV Log Book Journal

Shelter Island is home to some truly exquisite resorts that are lined up along the back side of the island. Their fronts faced the grassy lawn park and the harbor. One of these resorts is Island Palms. It looked truly regal under the towering palm trees.

Island Palms Hotel Shelter Island San Diego California

Elegant Island Palms Resort.

With fancy resorts comes stunning landscaping, and there were glorious exotic flowers of all kinds in bloom everywhere.

The climate in San Diego is very temperate, never exceedingly hot or cold. While we were there in late October the daily highs were 75 degrees F and the nightly lows were 65 degrees.

Unlike the vast southwestern desert that stretches for hundreds of miles right up to the coastal mountains that separate San Diego from its arid inland neighbors, this city sees very minimal temperature swings from day to night.

Bird of Paradise flower Shelter Island San Diego California

A tropical Bird of Paradise flower.

Morning glories

Flowers were in bloom everywhere.

Unusual flower

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On the backside of the island there are several marinas, and this is the area we called home for six months. It is incredible that you can live in the heart of San Diego, right on the water, wedged between top flight resort hotels, for the price of a boat and a slip.

When we were there, the country was in the throes of the financial crisis that began in 2008, and although it took several years to make its way into the boating community, when it did, it hit hard.

Before the crisis there was a waiting list for boat slips in the marinas, and the price per month was sky high. However, by the time we lived there, open slips were in abundance and the price was very reasonable. We were blessed with really fortunate timing!

Gate to Kona Kai Marina docks Shelter Island San Diego California

Behind this gate to the boat docks lies a vast field of dreams.

Lots of sailboats at Shelter Island San Diego California

Boats, boats and more boats.

Taking a walk down memory lane, we strolled along the shore and admired the hundreds of boats. We didn’t see any Hunter 44DS sailboats (Groovy’s model), but we did see a Hunter 41DS, the same layout but a little shorter. Then we strolled along the small beach that is opposite the boats. What a place to live!

Resort hotel Shelter Island San Diego California

The back side of the resorts have a view of the boats in the marinas,
and there’s a thin strip of very calm beach too.

Kona Kai Resort & Spa is a gorgeous property, and the fire pits just begged for groups of friends to gather around. Meanwhile, the swimming pool looked sooooo inviting!

Kona Kai Resort Hotel Shelter Island San Diego California

Grab some friends and enjoy a sundowner and a campfire on the beach!

Fire pits on the beach Shelter Island San Diego California

The Mega Yacht Dock is opposite the Kona Kai beach — Nice!

Resort swimming pool Shelter Island San Diego California

Where day-to-day stress melts away.

Down on the beach there were some shade ramadas with cushy seating for intimate gatherings. There was no shortage of places to relax around here!

Picnic ramada Kona Kai Resort Shelter Island San Diego

Buddy got a great taste of tropical resort life.

What a place to call home for a while. While we lived at Kona Kai Marina, we were allowed to use the gym facilities at the resort. Needless to say, the minutes passed a lot faster on the elliptical machine when you were staring out the enormous plate glass windows at all the activity in and around the marina and resort!

Beach chairs at the Mega Yacht Dock Shelter Island San Diego California

Shelter Island, San Diego.

RV vent insulator

If your RV travels take you to San Diego, be sure to swing by Shelter Island. There isn’t an RV park there, but even if you visit for just a few hours, you’ll find that it is a wonderful community unto itself. And for us, it is the true heart of San Diego!

Where to Stay in an RV in San Diego?

On this trip, we stayed at Sweetwater Summit Regional Park, a pleasant park on the southeastern side of the city. The advantage is that it is fairly reasonably priced for San Diego. The disadvantage is that downtown San Diego is a 30 minute drive away via several freeways.

Some of the campground loops were under construction during our stay (October 2023), making it quite noisy during the day. The construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.

Also, they have a very serious problem with minuscule sugar ants. The ants have been there for years, and they know all the tricks for how to get into your rig. Diatomaceous Earth and Amdro ant granules help, but when you shut down one spot they’ve been getting in, they promptly find another! We had the exact same issue with sugar ants at the KOA in Chula Vista in 2009, so it may be a common problem with many RV parks on the south side of San Diego.

There are lots of other RV park options in San Diego. We enjoyed staying at Campland on the Bay in our popup tent trailer in 2005. It’s family oriented and full of lively activity and kids. Next door, Mission Bay RV Resort is popular with full-timers and snowbirds.

A new RV park that is closer to downtown was very tempting for this trip — Sun Outdoors RV Park. If you look at the rates now, in November 2023, your eyes will pop out of your head. But last summer they were running a special for wintertime advance booking that was right in line with the other RV parks in the area, about 35% more than Sweetwater County Park. Many people seem to have been very happy staying there and we might try it next time if we can snag a good advance booking deal.

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Hartman Rocks – A Different View of Colorado near Gunnison

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July 2023 – During our stay in Gunnison, Colorado (our jumping off point to see the incredible wildflowers in nearby Crested Butte!) we visited Hartman Rocks Recreation Area just south of town. Hartman Rocks is a 22 square mile recreation area managed by the Bureau of Land management. It is filled with 4×4 roads, hiking and biking trails, camping areas and exotic outcroppings of rocks. And it’s a very different kind of landscape than the soaring mountain peaks of the Rockies.

Hartman Rocks Colorado RV trip

Hartman Rocks shows off a different side of Colorado — no towering snowcapped peaks here!

We drove our RZR side-by-side on some of the many 4×4 roads and stopped frequently to crawl around on the various rock formations.

Side-by-side at Hartman Rocks Colorado

Hartman Rocks Recreation Area is filled with 4×4 trails and roads.

View at Hartman Rocks Colorado

Huge boulders poke up out of the earth here and there.

There are some golf course communities just beyond the edge of Hartman Rocks Recreation Area that made a wonderful lush green contrast to the arid desert rocks.

Hartman Rocks Colorado

From our arid vantage point at Hartman Rocks, the lush golf course communities looked very inviting!

Golf course view from Hartman Rocks Colorado

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There are 50 dry campsites scattered throughout Hartman Rocks. The most picturesque spots are tucked between the rock formations and are a good size for tent camping.

Tent camping at Hartman Rocks Colorado

Some of the most scenic campsites at Hartman Rocks are set between the boulders, ideal for tent camping.

We did find two or three campsites that would have been big enough for our trailer, but it was way too hot for boondocking in the dusty high desert in July!!

Even though Gunnison, Colorado, is at 7,700’ elevation, we were surprised by just how HOT it was in the summertime. After all, Gunnison’s record high for the month of July is 95 degrees Fahrenheit! For August it’s 105!! Temps hovered in the low 90s during our stay.

But of course, every summer is different. The record lows in this area are the mid-30s…brrr! So, be prepared for any kind of weather!

The bottom line for us, though, is that Hartman Rocks would be better for boondocking in the spring and fall, especially since there’s no shade in the bigger campsites we saw.

Hartman Rocks Colorado

We had fun climbing around on the boulders.

View between the trees at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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Regardless of the heat, mountain bikers were having fun out on the trails…

Mountain biking at Hartman Rocks Colorado

There are 45 miles of single track mountain biking trails at Hartman Rocks!

And Buddy found a shady spot by a rock to take in the view.

Happy puppy at Hartman Rocks Colorado

Buddy found a bit of shade that was just his size.

Happy Camper Holding Tank Treatment

We returned at the end of the day as the sun was beginning to set and the rocks were beginning to glow. Buddy still kept to the shady spots.

Puppy explores Hartman Rocks Colorado

The rock formations took on a beautiful golden hue at the end of the day.

We loved seeing the rocks light up in the late afternoon sun.

Golden hour at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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There were rolling hills in the distance and mountains further on. The main 4×4 road through the recreation area squiggled off into the distance while flowers poked their heads out from between the cracks.

Rolling hills at Hartman Rocks Colorado

The views from within Hartman Rocks range from lush green grass to rolling hills to neighborhoods in the distance.

View from Hartman Rocks Colorado

Good evening, Gunnison!

Flowers at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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This whole area is definitely a dog paradise. Buddy was happy to meet several new furry friends. In between tail wags and sniffs with these new companions, he kept a close eye out for mice and chipmunks in the rocks!

Puppy sees the view at Hartman Rocks Colorado

“I know there’s a mouse out there!”

Suddenly, the sun sank behind the horizon.

Sunset glow at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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The colors and patterns of the sunset were a little different in each direction.

Sunset at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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Views at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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Hking Trail at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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Sunset at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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We headed back to the trailer for dinner. We were staying at Palisade Senior RV Park (55+). It is a very quiet park in a quiet corner of town, and most of the guests were staying for at least a month. Many were there for the whole season. We even met groups of friends who had been spending summers together at the park for the last 10 or 15 years!

Moon RV USA Routes

We appreciated the lush grassy lawn and big shade trees at this RV park as well as the proximity to downtown Gunnison.

We were fortunate to be visiting the area during the new moon, so after dinner, we headed back to Hartman Rocks to see the Milky Way. We stumbled around a little on the uneven terrain, but the night was clear and the Milky Way was easy to see.

Millky Way at Hartman Rocks Colorado

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On our way home, Mark noticed a very cool old motel sign, a throwback to another era.

Cool hotel sign at night Gunnison Colorado

They just don’t put signs like this on motels any more. We have expected the lower electric sign to say, “Color TV!”

While we were in this area, we spent as much time a possible among the wildflowers up in Crested Butte where the temps are cooler (Crested Butte is at 8.900’ elevation).

On our way, we often stopped at Mochas Coffeehouse & Bakery to get a muffin to go. They make absolutely scrumptious muffins!

Gunnison Sign in the IOOF Park in Gunnison Colorado

We really liked this small park in the middle of Gunnison.

There is a lot to see at Hartman Rocks Recreation Area (in addition to the 45 miles of single track trails, there’s 45 miles of 4×4 roads too!). We hope to get back there when it’s not so hot to explore it a bit more in depth!

RV hose Water Bandit

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Lost & Found – An Unexpected Guest Visits Us in our RV!

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Spring 2020 – We were walking across a huge, empty gravel parking lot in Camp Verde, Arizona, one day when we noticed something white fluttering around on the ground. It was midday and incredibly hot out, probably 95 degrees or more.

At first we thought it was a piece of tissue paper and paid little attention. As we got closer, though, we saw it was some kind of animal. When we were a few steps away, we realized it was a white parakeet!

What the heck?!

Lost & Found Parakeet - An unexpected guest in our RV

An unexpected guest came to visit!

The bird was struggling to stand and trying desperately to fly. It kept flopping away from us as best it could. But it could barely hold itself up and kept falling over.

In a different life, long ago, I used to raise budgies and I had several breeding pairs. So, I instinctively scooped up this poor bedraggled little thing in my hands to comfort it and have a better look.

It had a brown “cere” — the little nose area with nostrils that’s just above the beak, so it was a female (males have a blue cere). I looked at Mark as I held this dear but pathetic little creature to my cheek and shrugged — what do we do now??!!

A lost budgie is found and we entertain her in our RV

Our new little friend was a female.

The whole area around us was industrial, dusty, dry, and baking in the sun. There was one house a ways off. We knocked on the door but they said they weren’t missing a parakeet.

We noticed a Veterinary Supply store down the street and poked our heads in the door. They shook their heads and said there were no escaped parakeets that they knew of.

We realized we could walk all the streets of town for days and still not find the owner. People were at work, and even though our little friend was exhausted right now, she could have flown a long distance before she got here.

We decided to take her back to our trailer where it was cool and we could give her some much needed food and water. We put her in a bucket (with a top!) in the back seat of the truck. On our way home, we passed a veterinarian’s office and asked if they’d heard any reports of a missing white budgie. No, but they suggested we call Bill Harvey of Wild Birds.

We left a message with Bill and then made a stop at the Feed Store to get some bird seed. Even better, they had millet spray! This is a “finger” of dried millet seeds that are still clustered on the stalk. Budgies love it!

Once home, we put her on the table. She promptly flew up to a shelf high up on the wall. Mark found a nice twig and secured it on the edge of the shelf. She liked the looks of this new perch, so she slowly sidled out onto it, contentedly fluffed up her feathers and closed her eyes.

Ahh…rest at last!

Lost parakeet is found and cared for in an RV

She was so exhausted she started dozing as soon as she was comfortable on her new perch.

After a few minutes she put her head under her wing for a good long snooze. She was down for the count for the next 12 hours!

Tired lost & found parakeet

Goodnight!

We were pleased that although Buddy was curious about her, he was very polite. He seemed to know not to frighten her. So, he left her alone and took a nap too.

Napping puppy in an RV

Buddy likes naps too!

Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

The next morning we were thrilled to find that she was still alive. She hadn’t moved from her perch, but her eyes were open.

Lost parakeet still alive in the morning

She was still alive the next morning!

Mark tied the millet spray onto her perch, and boy, did her face light up! She dove right in and had a feast.

Happy parakeet with millet spray

Yum…

Parakeet eats millet spray after being lost & found

Don’t mind if I do!

Then she went over to the corner and took another nap. Her little “crop” was bulging. The “crop” is a small pouch below a bird’s neck and above their breast bone where the food they swallow is stored for later digestion. That way they can quickly bolt their food while they’re on the ground and then fly up to the safety of a tree.

Lost & found parakeet in an RV

Crop full and perched high up out of harms way — this was a very happy little bird.

A little while later she began grooming herself. She was coming around quickly!

Lost & found parakeet in an RV grooming

She began getting her feathers back in place.

Over the next two days she got stronger and stronger. She loved her little perch and the shelf Mark had attached it to. That was now her corner of the trailer.

Lost & found parakeet in an RV

Peek-a-boo!

We were all getting used to being together. But then we got a call back from Bill at Wild Bird. He hadn’t heard about an escaped budgie, but he suggested we call Roxanne at the pet store “Feathers and Friends” in the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona.

So, we called, and Roxanne said she’d be more than happy to take care of our little friend until she could find a good home for her.

The timing was perfect. Our sweet guest had gotten all her energy back and she was starting to go exploring around our trailer!

A lost & found parakeet was an unexpected guest in our RV

“Hmmmm…I wonder what’s over here?!”

When we arrived at the pet shop, Roxanne had already set up a cage for her, complete with food, water, some natural branch perches, a swing, a bell and a mirror! We put the little bird in her new cage and she settled right in.

We were sad to leave her behind, but we’ll remember our few days with our little house guest forever. As I turned to say goodbye, she didn’t even notice. She was busy playing with her bell, and she was surrounded by happy birds of all different kinds in nearby cages.

A few days later, we called to see how our feathered friend was doing. She’d already been adopted and taken to her new home!

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Winged Migration

Info about the pet store that found our friend a new home:

For bird and animal lovers

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News & Tidbits from the Roads Less Traveled

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Even when we’re not out traveling, our photos and memories swirl around us all the time. We have 100 framed 8×10 glossy photos from our travels hanging on our walls at home.

Travel photos from a life of RVing and Sailing

Our memories come alive for us in our photos.
A friend once joked that a walk down our hallway is like a walk down Memory Lane!

Even better, every so often we’re able to share our experiences and the beauty of what we’ve seen with the rest of the world in formats beyond this blog! Happily, that has happened a few times in recent weeks.

Wholesale Warranties Interviews RLT!

This past week we were interviewed by Jim Hoffman, VP of Wholesale Warranties. Not far into the interview, we learned that the owner of the company, Jeff Shelton, founded Wholesale Warranties after he was unhappily stranded in broken down RV, dealing with the stress of a huge and unexpected repair bill! Oh my, that sounds familiar!

So, he started a company to broker RV warranties to help other RVers minimize the stress that comes with a disaster like that. They helped us immensely with a series of calamitous breakdowns on our fifth wheel trailer a few years back.

Jim wanted to hear what we thought of both the truck camper and the toy hauler we’ve purchased since we moved out of our full-timing fifth wheel. And he was eager to hear about our latest adventures in Colorado.

Wholesale Warranties interviews Mark & Emily of Roads Less Traveled

We had a lot of fun with this interview! Watch it here on Facebook or here on YouTube

We also described some of the mishaps and breakdowns we had this year. (It was ugly out there for a while!)

When we faced our massive truck repair bill, we sure wished we had an extended warranty for it. One of the things that was most reassuring with the trailer warranty we’d had was that we could call Wholesale Warranties and talk to a friendly person that was on our side and wanted to help us get the repair done under warranty. However, we’d assumed that a new diesel truck would make it to at least 100,000 miles before having a major malfunction, so we never considered an extended warranty for it… Sigh.

You can watch the interview here on Facebook (higher res) or here on YouTube (lower res).

Turbo Diesel Register Calendar

During our intensive research into our diesel truck problems, Mark spent a lot of time perusing the Turbo Diesel Register Forum.

While he was hanging there, he noticed they were having a photo contest, so he entered it. Lo and behold, his photo is going to appear in the 2024 Turbo Diesel Register wall calendar! It will be the month of October.

Dodge Ram diesel pickup with a fifth wheel trailer

Turbo Diesel Register Wall Calendar – Month of October – Mark Fagan

Reese Goosebox

Souvenir Wall Calendars

Quite a few of our photos have appeared on souvenir wall calendars over the years. Last year, four of our photos were selected for 2024. Then, a few weeks ago, we learned that six more of our photos will appear on decorative wall calendars in 2025!

These calendars can be found for sale at gift shops, boutique stores and even supermarkets in tourist towns. When I know more about how to obtain them online, I’ll let you know!

In the meantime, here are the pics that were chosen. We’re thrilled!

2024 Wall Calendar Photos

EmilyFagan15 Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon National Park in the snow
2024 Utah Mighty 5 National Parks Calendar – Month of February – Emily Fagan

MarkFagan30 for 2024 Northern Arizona

Spider Rock at Canyon de Chelly National Park Arizona
2024 Arizona Calendar Cover and Month of July – Mark Fagan

EmilyFagan10 Sedona

West Fork Trail, Sedona Arizona
2024 Sedona Calendar – Month of August – Emily Fagan

MarkFagan10 for 2024 Sedona

Bell Rock Pathway in Sedona Arizona in the snow
2024 Sedona Arizona Calendar – Month of December – Mark Fagan

2025 Wall Calendar Photos

The specific months have not been assigned to our photos yet, but they will be!

Sedona Arizona Winter Scene

Sedona Arizona Winter Scene – 2025 Sedona Arizona Calendar – Emily Fagan

Petrified Forest National Park – Arizona Calendar – Mark Fagan

Idaho Bow Bridge at Draper Wood Preserve

Bow Bridge – 2025 Idaho Calendar – Emily Fagan

Granite Dells Prescott Arizona

Granite Dells – 2025 Northern Arizona Calendar – Mark Fagan

Selway River Idaho at sunset

Selway River – 2025 Idaho Calendar – Emily Fagan

Mormon Temple in Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls Mormon Temple – 2025 Idaho Calendar – Mark Fagan

RV hose Water Bandit

Escapees Magazine Covers

We’ve been members of Escapees RV Club almost as long as we’ve been RVing. In our first winter of full-time RVing, new friends we met in the desert around Quartzsite Arizona recommended the club highly. We were skeptical at first — why join a club when you’ve just left the conventional world to go live an exotic life? But we have really enjoyed our membership over the years and highly recommend it to you too if you’re an RVer.

It is an unusual club founded by full-time RVers Kay and Joe Peterson back in 1978. It has a top notch bi-monthly magazine, an excellent online forum, a variety of RV parks with reasonable rates (and cheaper rates for dry camping…a rarity in any RV park), a mail forwarding facility that is so big it has its own Zip code, and an incredible headquarters campus in Livingston, Texas, that even includes an assisted living home base for RVers. Plus webinars, rallies, bootcamps and more.

A few months ago, and then again a month from now, our photos were featured on the cover of Escapees Magazine. These are our 43rd and 44th magazine covers (see more here). It is always a magical feeling when we see one of our photos on a cover!

Escapees Magazine Cover

A cover with Buddy in it! – March/April 2023 – Mark Fagan

RV in the Canadian Rockies

Canadian Rockies – Upcoming issue – Emily Fagan

That’s it for our extra-curricular news for now. Thanks for reading and happy trails!

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  • Our photography gear – This page needs to be updated, but if you want to get into photography, you can buy any of the cameras/lenses described there used for pennies on the dollar via Craigslist or MPB.

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Creede, CO – Mining History & Championships + 4th of July!

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July 2023 – Creede, Colorado, is a very small town that is tucked into a canyon at the end of the road in a remote part of Colorado. With just 257 residents (2020 census), it is the most populated place in Mineral County. What’s more, it’s the only incorporated municipality in all of Mineral County to boot!

Despite its small size and remote location, Creede hosted the Colorado State Mining Championships for three days and was our choice this year to celebrate the 4th of July.

Creede Colorado RV Trip

Looking up Main Street.
Creede, Colorado, backs right into a canyon.


Like many Colorado towns, Creede has its roots in mining. Silver was discovered in the area around Willow Creek in 1869.

20 years after that initial silver discovery, Nicolas Creede yelled “Holy Moses” when he hit the “Holy Moses” silver vein on East Willow Creek. The town’s name was soon changed from “Willow” (for the creek) to “Creede” (for Mr. Creede)!

The town quickly became a silver boom town. Within three years it grew from 600 residents to 15,000, and its name was changed to Creede!

Colorado Ghost Towns

Nicolas Creede wasn’t done with his discoveries yet, though. He also found an amethyst vein along West Willow Creek which turned out to be the richest in US history.

In no time, not only were there silver mines, but there were amethyst mines with names like “Happy Thought Mine” and “Last Chance Mine.”

A plaque out along Willow Creek shows a photo of Creede in 1892 when the town was booming. There were buildings under construction, piles of lumber, people milling around, and a horse drawn buggy all filling the dirt street and wooden sidewalk.

Main Street Creede Colorado 1892

Creede as it looked in the midst of the silver boom in 1892.

At the peak of the boom, Creede was growing by 300 people a day. Every inch of flat ground in the area was built upon.

A photo of a line of mules loaded down with lumber shows just how challenging it was to build the mines, the homes and all the commercial establishments at such a fast rate back in those days. The mountains were steep and the trails were narrow!

Mules carry building supplies in Creede Colorado late 1800s

It wasn’t so easy to haul building materials back in 1892!

Unfortunately, silver prices plummeted with the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893. Amethyst mining alone wasn’t enough to sustain the crowds, and Creede’s population quickly plummeted to just 1,000 people!

Today, Creede’s Main Street is once again a lively and colorful place. It’s full of tourist boutique stores and eateries, and in the summertime the tourists outnumber the locals by many to one. Most of the roads in town are paved these days, and the sidewalk on Main Street is concrete!

Love Rings in Creede Colorado

Creede is a colorful town.

Holy Moses...Spare a Keg in Creede Colorado

Holy Moses, it’s a spare keg!

Reese Goosebox

The miner’s pick-axe and shovel are icons for this area, and we spotted them on signs and in artwork around town.

Moose and miners in Creede Colorado

We saw the miner’s pick-axe and shovel in a lot of unusual places!

As we had found in most of Colorado, except for Rocky Mountain National Park, dogs are welcome in Creede! Their owners, however…well, they can come too, I guess…

Dogs welcome (people tolerated) in Creede Colorado

Four legged visitors are fine…but the folks at the other end of the leash? Not so much!

Being snow and ski country, it was only fitting that a row of chairs outside a store were made of old skis. Even better, the cup holders were ski bindings!

Chairs made with skis in Creede Colorado

Reminders of what Colorado is like in the OTHER season!

Ski chair cupholder is a ski binding

What a perfect cup holder!

We visited Creede in early July, and flowers were blooming everywhere.

Flower baskets in Creede Colorado

A beautiful hanging basket of flowers.

Columbine - Colorado state flower

The delicate columbine is Colorado’s state flower.

Bleeding hearts in Creede Colorado

Dainty bleeding hearts.

Evening primrose Creede Colorado

An evening primrose.

After window shopping for a while, we wandered to the far north end of town where the pavement ends and Main Street becomes Forest Road 503, a gravel road.

This was a really scenic spot and we returned several times during our stay.

Beautiful Willow Creek in Creede Colorado

Just steps north of the last buildings in town, we found a lovely oasis.

Dawn at Willow Creek Creede Colorado

Willow Creek.

Willow Creek Creede Colorado

Reflections.

If you continue beyond this pretty spot, you are on the Bachelor Loop, a dirt road loop that goes past several old mines. It is an interesting drive that can be done in a passenger car or a Jeep or side-by-side, and that’s where we saw the plaque with old photos of Creede and the mules.

Renogy 200 watt solar panel

As we travel around with our RZR, we’re finding that the issue of side-by-sides and ATVs being allowed to drive around on the streets is handled differently in every town and state.

Creede has a very good system. The town is long and narrow (it fits into the mouth of a canyon) and the streets form a grid pattern. So, there’s a long Main Street down the middle and a few other long streets that run parallel to it on either side. Then there are a bunch of short cross streets that connect these roads.

Side-by-sides are not allowed on Main Street, but they’re allowed on two outer dirt roads that run parallel to it. They’re also allowed on a few of the cross streets.

So, if you’re driving a side-by-side, you can get close to where you want to go, park, and walk the remaining little bit.

Creede Colorado Main Street

Side-by-sides and ATVs can’t drive on Main Street, but they are allowed on two parallel streets on either side of it. “OHV” signs made it clear where we could take our RZR.

We found Creede’s Main Street was really crowded with cars all day long, largely because the southern portion of it is also the major “highway” in the area. Keeping the side-by-sides to the smaller outer streets works out really well for everyone.

We visited Creede during the 4th of July week, and when we came into town on the big day, we found a fantastic chalk drawing of the Statue of Liberty on the sidewalk.

Statue of Liberty sidewalk chalk drawing in Creede Colorado

Happy 4th of July!

Buddy was dressed in his Independence Day finest, ready to watch the parade.

Handsome pup on 4th of July in Creede Colorado

Dapper Dog.

There was a lot of excitement as the town geared up for the parade. Buddy wasn’t the only one who dressed for the occasion. We saw lots of wild and creative outfits!

Dressed up dog 4th of July parade Creede, Colorado

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Costume for 4th of July in Creede Colorado

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Dressed for 4th of July Creede Colorado

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Little kids decorated the pavement with chalk while some very buff looking bigger kids posed for us as they waited on their float for the parade to begin.

Decorating the street with chalk before the 4th of July parade in Creede Colorado

Kids had fun drawing in the middle of Main Street.

Buff people on a float in the 4th of July parade in Creede, Colorado

Lookin’ good!

Creede’s 4th of July parade was unique, probably due to the commmunity’s small size. There was no American flag carried by proud military veterans. There were no high school bands to play the Star Spangled Banner. And there weren’t any dance teams or rodeo queens.

However, there was still a lot of spirit. After the Grand Marshal drove by sitting on the trunk of a convertible Austin Healey, a solo bagpipe player appeared.

Bagpipe player 4th of July parade Creede Colorado

The parade begins.

Lots of vehicles were decorated to the hilt, and there were literally dozens of side-by-sides too!

4th of July parade in Creede Colorado

Going all out!

Side-by-sides in 4th of July parade Creede Colorado

The side-by-sides kept coming and coming, and they were all decked out for the parade too!

Every single vehicle that went by threw out candy (or bead necklaces) for the kids. Many would stop for a minute to pass the candy directly into the kids’ outstretched hands.

Candy handouts in the 4th of July parade in Creede Colorado

A little girl gets some goodies while a camera in the truck captures the moment.

Most kids came well prepared for collecting candy and brought large bags for their loot. A few adults also handed out bags to ensure no child went without!

It was like Halloween. But the candy came to the kids rather than the kids going door to door to ask for it. Afterwards, the street was littered with candy that hadn’t been snatched up!

Kids get candy in the Creede Colorado 4th of July parade

“I’ll trade ya!”

A beautiful display of handmade quilts went by, and then a toddler wobbled down the street driving her own wee side-by-side. It turned out that her mother was at the controls behind her. So cute!

Quilt display 4th of July parade Creede Colorado

Beautiful quilt — and a cool truck too!

Remote controlled side-by-side 4th of July parade Creede, Colorado

Before we realized Mom was at the controls, we wondered how and when this toddler got her driver’s license!

Buddy loved it all, and at the end he suddenly threw his head back and let out a howl!

Howling dog

“Ow-oooooooh! That was great!”

RV hose Water Bandit

Throughout the 4th of July festivities, the three day long Colorado State Mining Championships were going on in town too!

Miners showed off all kinds of unusual skills as they tried to best each other. One competition was a race to see who could drill into a huge boulder to a certain depth fastest. It was incredible to watch these men handle that drill. It takes a huge amount of strength and coordination to keep it under control!

Mining Competition Creede Colorado

Miners competed with each other in all kinds of mining skills at the Colorado State Mining Championships.

On the evening of the 4th of July, there was a fireworks display right over the big new RV park just south of town. (The park is Mountain Views at River’s Edge RV Resort — excellent and popular, book early!).

We decided to head up onto a hillside to watch the show from a distance. It was a cool vantage point that was slightly higher than the fireworks.

Lights in the neighboring homes were lit up, which added a special intimacy to the show.

Creede Colorado fireworks

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Creede Colorado 4th of July Fireworks

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Creede is a little bit out of the way. However, if you find yourself on the Silver Byway Scenic Drive, it’s a natural place to stop and a great place to hang around in an RV for a while!

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Buena Vista Colorado – What a Place for an RV Breakdown!

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August 2023 – Buena Vista, Colorado, is a wonderful destination for an RV trip and a great place to spend a few weeks in the summertime. When our truck was suddenly unable to tow our trailer over Colorado’s mountain passes, we were stranded near Buena Vista for several weeks as we waited for parts to arrive. As it turned out, Buena Vista was a great place to be “stuck!”

Buena Vista Colorado - Great RV trip destination

Choo choo!

Buena Vista, affectionately known as “BV,” is a small town of less than 3,000 people that sits in a mountain valley at an elevation of 8,000′.

Back in the 1880s, it was the hub for three major railroads, as commemorated in a mural on a building in town. Settlers had been drawn to the area because its plentiful water was good for farming, and agriculture has been an important part of the community ever since.

Buena Vista means “Good View” in Spanish, and good views are in abundance! The Collegiate Mountain Range stands to the west of town and several peaks are named for the most prestigious colleges in England and America, including Mt. Oxford, Mt. Harvard, Mt. Yale and Mt. Princeton. Many of the mountains in the range are fourteeners, that is, their summits are over 14,000’ in height!

Collegiate Mountains Buena Vista Colorado_

An Airstream and two Ferraris pass each other in front of the Collegiate Mountain Range.

Colorado Scenic Drives

The downtown area in Buena Vista is a pleasant place for a stroll, and there are quite a few eateries and coffee bistros that were always very busy when we went by.

Downtown Buena Vista Colorado

Historic downtown Buena Vista.

Buena Vista has a sense of whimsy, and there’s a mastodon statue outside of the courthouse!

Buena Vista Colorado courthouse and mastadon statue

A mastodon in front of the courhouse ?!

On the east side of town there’s a new neighborhood called South Main Street that we found absolutely delightful. The architecture is very pretty and the area is quiet.

South Main Street Buena Vista Colorado

Quaint buildings along South Main Street.

The homes resemble houses you might find in a city in the eastern states with covered porches right on the sidewalk. We saw families gathering on these porches in the late afternoons. I’m not sure if these were residents of Buena Vista or if they had rented these lovely homes for a vacation. Either way, the whole neighborhood was very inviting.

Houses on South Main Street Buena Vista Colorado

The tree lined streets and covered porches are reminiscent of homes back east.

Tree lined South Main Street Buena Vista Colorado

We loved walking along these sidewalks.

There’s a small grassy park at the end of the street that hosts outdoor summer concerts. The stately and rather grand Surf Hotel overlooks the park.

South Main Street Buena Vista Colorado

The Surf Hotel is next to a park that hosts outdoor concerts.

Surf Hotel? Where would you ever find surf around here? This hotel belonged on a beach somewhere!

Well, it didn’t take us long to discover that Buena Vista has both SURF and BEACHES!

The Arkansas River runs through the eastern edge of the town, and there are many access points to the river. One river access is a boat ramp, and at the end of the ramp we saw people enjoying the water

Swimming in the Arkansas River at Buena Vista Colorado

The Arkansas River is a great place to play in the water.

The whole area around the Arkansas River is called River Park, and there is a fun hiking trail that goes along both sides of the river. It crosses two bridges that take you from one side of the river to the other and back.

Bridge at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

The Town Bridge (pictured here) and the Beaver Falls Bridge make the two riverbank hiking trails into a loop.

Buddy noticed a very inviting sign posted at the trailhead, and he promptly gave the whole trail system a huge Two Paws Up.

Trail sign at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

Dogs are not just welcome on the River Park trail, they’re recommended!

Needless to say, during our stay in the area, we hiked this trail loop many times!

Trail at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

The River Trail’s rugged side.

The trail that runs between the bridges on the town side of the river is wide and easy to walk. The trail on the opposite side of the river is more challenging, and in some places there are scrambles up and down rock outcroppings. We loved it all!

River Park at Buena Vista Colorado

Buena Vista’s River Park was the highlight of our stay!

Best Colorado Wildflower Hikes

The town of Buena Vista has done a great job creating their beautiful River Park. Not only are there trails on both sides of the river, but there are several human-enhanced rock formations in the river itself that make cool standing waves!

Relaxing at the Wave at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

Here’s a nice spot to catch up on some summer reading while lounging in front of a standing wave!

The biggest wave is in the middle and it’s called the Pocket Wave. People were playing in the Pocket Wave all day long. They used boogie boards and tested their skills standing in place on the wave or lying on their stomachs. They were having a total blast!

The Wave at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

This kid rode the Pocket Wave in place like that for at least 5 minutes!

No wonder the hotel next to the river is called the Surf Hotel!

Other folks love to tackle the whitewater sections of the river with short inflatable kayaks. These fantastic little boats are light enough to carry around and easy to pack in the back of a car and inflate by the water’s edge.

Happy rafter at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

Out for a joy ride.

Whitewater rafting at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

What a blast!

The two bridges at either end of the park were favorite spots for people to stop and grab a photo of the river. We did too!

Arkansas River Buena Vista Colorado

Arkansas River seen from the Beaver Falls Bridge.

There are also lots of mini beaches and rocky spots on both sides the river that are just big enough for a couple of people and a happy dog to enjoy the water. We’d always pause to enjoy the view, and we often met other people doing the same.

Rocks in the Arkansas River in Buena Vista Colorado

We loved the big rocks in the middle of the river.

Rocks in the Arkansas River in Buena Vista Colorado

Silky smooth!

Happy camper at Buena Vista River Park Colorado

Taking a breather under the bridge.

US-24 runs right through the town of Buena Vista. On the west side of the highway there’s a big city park with a pond called McPhelmy Park. McPhelmy Park holds free outdoor concerts at their Legacy Stage. There are also outdoor music concerts in the South Main Street neighborhood in front of the Surf Hotel. So, if you like outdoor music, Buena Vista is a good place to visit!

Concert at Legacy Stage Buena Vista Colorado

There were free concerts at the Legacy Stage every week.

Buena Vista had a train depot in the late 1800s, and although it wasn’t open during our visit, an old train was parked outside for kids to climb on. It is remarkable to imagine a rickety wooden box like this rolling across the rough American countryside nearly 150 years ago!

Train at Buena Vista Train Depot Colorado

Long ago, passengers were excited to see this train arrive at the depot.

We peeked inside the train, and the accommodations were quite simple. I’m not sure exactly how this particular train was used, but traveling any kind of distance in it would have been very uncomfortable. Yet, it was probably much better than a stagecoach and a whole lot faster too!

Inside the Train at Buena Vista Train Depot Colorado

Spacious bench seats with space for luggage underneath, opening double-hung windows, and a woodstove in the back. At one time these were hailed as modern comforts!

B&W Gooseneck Ball for Ram Trucks

There’s a pretty manmade waterfall just beyond the train depot, and upstream in the center of the park the pond was loaded with kids.

Waterfall at the City Park in Buena Vista Colorado

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We discovered that while half the town was on the banks of the Arkansas River at the River Park on the other side of town, the rest of them were here at this pond! The small beach is ideal for toddlers, and the placid water is perfect for paddling.

Pond in Buena Vista Colorado city park

Kids were enjoying a summer afternoon at the beach.

Paddleboarding in the city park pond in Buena Vista Colorado

A woman took her dog out for a spin on a paddleboard.

Kids kayaking in the pond at Buena Vista Colorado

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Buena Vista was originally called Mahonville after its founders, James and Martha Mahon. However, in 1879, the citizens changed it to Buena Vista.

Interestingly, the woman who recommended the new name wanted the pronunciation to be an Americanized form: “Byoona Vista” (“byoo” as in “beautiful”) rather than the proper Spanish pronunciation, “Bwayna Vista.” Everyone else agreed!

Most of the locals, especially longtime locals, still pronounce the town’s name in its Americanized form. So, when you’re there, if you want to sound like a local, say “Byoona Vista” rather than “Bwayna Vista!”

Happy dog at the Arkansas River in Buena Vista Colorado

“Never mind how you pronounce it. Buena Vista’s River Park trail gets Two Paws Up!”

Sometimes traveling in an RV brings unexpected surprises. We’d been through Buena Vista in our travels twice before, but we’d given the town just a brief glance. If it hadn’t been for the truck engine failures on this trip, we probably would have passed it by yet again.

However, our truck mishap forced us to stay in the area for nearly three weeks. This gave us a chance to see Burro Days in FairPlay and visit Antero Reservoir and Frisco. In between, we got to know Buena Vista pretty well, and we found the town truly delightful!

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Reese Goosebox

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