After a little over a year hiding from the Pandemic we're back on the road. We started traveling again May 13, 2021. So far so good.

Our last report was July 2020. We stayed in Prescott Valley during the summer. Hugh made some cabinets for the shop and got it in reasonable shape. He also decided to obtain a small lathe and mill for the shed in Brenda. He spent some time working to convert both to CNC. Denise spent time getting the house in better shape. We spent last winter in Brenda, but kept well isolated from all activities. In fact the activities at Desert Gold were canceled due to the Pandemic, except church of course. In March we decided to get vaccinated and just go traveling. We were both down with the Moderna Sickness about a week with the first shot, then about a month with the second. By the time we got away, about a month later than planned, we were starting to feel better. Still some long term effects though.

From Prescott Valley we made the long trek to just north of Flagstaff. There's a nice campground there called Bonita Flats. Great place to decompress and get used to the trailer again. However, the Bigfoot feels more like home than our house. Just sat around for a couple of days waiting out the weekend. The area is in a lava flow.

Then on north with an overnight at Gouldings CG (Monument Valley). We stopped with enough time to do a drive through Monument Valley but, after registering for camping, found the Monument closed. Did a short hike above the CG so not a total loss. It turned out to be the most expensive CG in this report.

From Monument Valley it was off to Valley of the Gods. We drove through here a number of years ago and thought it would be a great place to boondock so came back for a few days. It is north of Monument Valley and has similar formations. Probably not as grand but open.

From our site at Valley of the Gods we drove a loop just north for a hike to "House on Fire". This is an Anasazi ruin a mile or two up a small canyon. When the sun is right the overhanging rock looks to be on fire. You've probably seen pictures of this. The ground was too hot for the dogs so Hugh hiked in while Denise stayed with them. The sun wasn't right for the full effect but here are a few pictures.

From Valley of the Gods we moved north for a couple of days at Flaming Gorge. There a a number of CG and we've stayed here before. It was early in the season and none of the CGs seemed right. So we drove on through the Gorge ending up at a state park in Manila, UT where we spent the weekend. You might get the idea that we're avoiding finding a CG on the weekend, and you'd be right. There were a group (herd?) of antelope in the CG.

Pretty good storm went though while we were in Manila. The snowy hills are where we originally planned to camp. Luck is still traveling with us.

Overnight at Bear Lake, UT. It looks like there are a few CG along the east side of the lake but we finally decided on the State Park at the south end. No dogs on the beach so not ideal for us. It was cool so we didn't even go to the beach other than for a picture. The water is a turquoise color as from glaciers, but no glaciers around. We understand it's from microscopic critters in the water, but still pretty.

One stop along the way before ending up a Craters of the Moon National Monument. Nice CG without hookups. We stayed here through Memorial Day (really avoiding finding CGs during holidays). The area is a lava flow with a loop drive and a couple of hikes in the Park but dogs not welcome. We did one double hike where Hugh started at the top and Denise left the truck and started hiking from the bottom. Hugh recovered the truck at the end of his hike and picked up Denise. When you do this don't forget your keys! Denise found a number of interesting rocks along the way, but it being a National Monument she wouldn't think of picking up any to carry away.

While at Craters of the Moon we took a few day trips west and into the mountains north of the Park. Nice country with a lot of people boondocking for Memorial Day. We've heard there were a lot of RVs sold during the Pandemic and expect it to be crowded out here. We haven't seen it yet but it's still early and schools aren't all out yet. We're debating laying up July/August if it's too crazy. Time will tell.

For now Ruby is ready for the next adventure but Denise isn't real sure.

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