May 31, 2010

I apologize that some of my posts are out of order.  I have limited time to upload and I get them out of order.

Today we were up real early and on the road without even a cup of coffee.  We wanted to beat the weekend exodus out of Moab.  The camp host had told us traffic would be lined up for miles if we didn’t leave early.   We beat the rush.  We were about the only ones on the road.

We were finally able to make a couple of phone calls to see how things are at home.  We rarely have cell service out here in the wilds of Utah.  We managed a couple of short calls before we lost the signal again.

We decided to drive to Capitol Reef NP.  The landscape in Utah changes around each bend in the road.  One minute it is red rock that seems to go on for a million miles.  Then it changes to bland, barren and boring and back again.  It is hard to explain.

Today as we traveled down  Rt 24 from I - 70,  it seemed you could see for infinity.  A rock formation in the distance was impossible to guess how far away it was.  We started making a game of it.  When a prominent formation came into view, I would check the mileage and we would guess the distance.  In many cases you could see the road ahead all the way to the feature.  It is deceiving.  I can only imagine the frustration of the pioneers who first traveled this land.  They probably looked at one of these features for days before they reached it.  They look so close but they are so far.  Mountains on each side of the road looked as though they were only a short hike away.  After measuring distances for awhile I know that is not the case.  Those mountains that look so close are more like 20 or 25 miles off.

Capitol Reef had many of the same features the other parks have with some exceptions.  Along the highway there were places where you could stop and view petroglyphs.  Petroglyphs are those ancient writings on rocks by someone years ago just wanting to let the future know he was here.  I smile at all the spiritual and mystical meaning people try to put on these things.  Today man tries to leave his mark in different ways but it is all the same motivation.

Also at the park, they have preserved an old Mormon  homestead.  It is nestled in a green valley between the red rocks.  A cold clear stream flows right past the house.  Fruit trees planted by the homesteaders still produce fruit.  I could see myself just moving in and enjoying the quiet life this scene offers.

The old farm house is set up with all the furnishings that fit the period.  The old wood fired range and oven, the kitchen table set with what would have been their finest table service, a bed that looked like a back ache and a crib in another room for a little one.  One section of the house was set up like a pantry where they sold locally made jams, salsas, breads and pies.  We bought a homemade apple pie for just 5 bucks.

The cabin in the photo to the left is that of an early pioneer to these parts.  The Behunin family settled here in 1882.  They raised crops next to the stream that runs nearby.  They had 10 children.  The cabin was too small for all of them so the older ones slept in the cleft of a rock high above the cabin.  They abandoned the cabin after several years when a flood washed out all of their crops.

The cabin is in original condition except for a glass window with bars and a lock on the door.   They have to keep the pesky tourist from vandalizing it.

We decided to make our camp tonight at a commercial campground in Torrey, UT.

Our MH is filled with dust and we feel grubby ourselves.  It was decided we needed all the modern conveniences such as water and electric in unlimited quantities.  The place also advertised wifi at the site.  But as it is the case with most of these places, it doesn’t work at the site.  I did manage to go over to the office, where it does work and balance the checkbook and post some blogs I had written over the past few days.  I did not have time to post photos with them, however.   Maybe when  I have a real wifi connection I can update them with some photos that relate to each day.

Meanwhile back at the MH and my reason for such haste at the wifi station, Darlie was busy gathering up all the laundry.  My job was to clean the inside of the MH from top to bottom.  I plugged in my little vacuum cleaner and went to town.  I had to dump the bag twice as it was so filled with dirt and dust it overheated the vacuum.  We must have carried a pound of Horse Thief campground dust along with us.   I also wiped every surface down including walls, doors and cupboards.  The rag was filthy.   I took all the rugs and bedding out side and gave them a good shaking, each one letting a large billow of dust fly into the air.  

Darlie was at the laundry for a long time so I went to check on her.  There were several other ladies there doing their laundry too.  As I walked up to the laundry door it sounded like a gaggle of geese all honking at once.  How could anyone make sense of that?  They were having a good time gabbing.  Darlie reported the dryers were very slow and she was going to be awhile.  

Later we both took long showers, cause we didn’t have to worry about filling up the holding tank.  What a luxury it is to just let your poop go down a pipe like other people instead of wondering how much more you can hold in the tank.  It is a bigger joy than you know.

We finished off the day with a couple of rib steaks, corn on the cob and baked potato.  Then Darlie brought out the apple pie just when I thought I couldn’t eat another bite.  It is amazing how you seem to find room where seconds before there was none.  The pie was very good.