Off on another great adventure. We left Prescott Valley the middle of May headed for South Dakota. We need to take care of some business there, at home, before heading further west.

Our route first took us through Homalovi SP at Windslow AZ. We didn't have time to go stand on the corner, but it was a nice overnight stop. Second night at Red Rock park in Gallup NM. Red Rock used to be a state park but has been transferred to the city of Gallup. Not the most up to date campground but fine for one night. The scenery is nice as below. It looks like some hiking trails start here but we've not attempted them.

From Gallup we turned north for a trip across Colorado. First stop was McPhee CG very near Cortez CO. A nice Forest Service CG that was just opening for the season. From here we got our first glimpse of snow.

After Cortez we really went up into the mountains. The route took us past Telluride and over to Ridgeway CO. Ridgeway is a nice mountain town surrounded by mountains. There was quite a bit of snow remaining on them also.

We spent a night at Ridgeway State Park. This is on a sizable reservoir which appeared to be very low. This surprised us as all the rivers up to then had been at flood stage. The winter snow pack was exceptional last winter and is now melting. We did learn that they had lowered the reservoir in anticipation of pending snow melt.

The next day a very short leg to Riverbend RV Park in Montrose for groceries and to wash clothes. We learned that our planned route over US 50 was under construction due to wash outs with delays in the hour time frame. That would be OK, but we also learned that our next highway, 133, was closed due to a sink hole. That's more of a problem because we could not wait weeks or months. SO, we re-routed around the disaster looping up US 50 to I70 and back down Hwy 133. We tried to take Hwy 65, a scenic route from Delta up to I70. It stared out very scenic until it started to hail/snow, a serious storm putting maybe an inch on the road before we got anywhere near the summit. Since we were towing the trailer we became paranoid and turned around, back to Delta and US 50 to I70. Would be a very scenic drive though, in nice weather.

Around on I70 there were still mountains with a lot of snow on them.

From I70 we turned south on Hwy 62 and then took Hwy 133 south to Redstone Forest Service CG. Spend three nights here just to break up the trip, and to sit through the weekend.

Redstone CO is an interesting tourist oriented town. It was founded because of the coal mining. There were 30 or 40, now abandoned, coke ovens for processing coal. The magnate who ran the mine build a "castle" that still stands. We didn't pay for a castle tour which could be interesting. Without a tour we couldn't even see the castle for pictures. All the rivers are still at flood stage as they were south of here. Makes for nice waterfalls.

The marble table and sculpture below are in Redstone. However, the quary is up the road in Marble CO. We took a day trip there and Denise bought a $1 chunk of marble for jewelry making. It is strikingly white stone.

On another day we drove over McClure Pass and on down Hwy 133 sight seeing and to look at the sink hole. Well, the scenery was very nice but the flagger wouldn't let us get close enough to see the sink hole. The outlet from Paonia reservoir was impressive, high water everywhere.

Back on track we traveled north to Glenwood Springs, east on I70, then north on Hwy 131 staying one night at Stagecoach SP. From there north on Hwy 14 over Rabbit Ears Pass. From the road it looks like less snow pack there.

We hit the corner of Wyoming passing through Laramie and off to the north-east. One night at Sandy Beach, Guernsey SP and on into South Dakota. It didn't seem familiar in Hugh's research but we had stayed at this park before. Several stops along this route we recognized from past trips. A final night at Cottonwoods NF CG then on to Box Elder (Rapid City).

We'll be at our home at Americas Mailbox CG in Box Elder through June. Some of that time we plan to escape into the Black Hills though. But, I'll stop there to avoid any spoilers.

Safe Travels

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