9/29 Brief Stay at Kodachrome State Park

 This is a very pretty place, and I would have stayed longer, but it is in a basin surrounded by cliffs, so no cell service, which means no internet.  I need internet for the class I teach so I can answer questions and grade papers, so one night was my limit.  I did have a full-hookup site, which was nice because this meant I could have TV. 

Short drive today, but pretty country. 

Saw a couple of pairs of riders on electric bikes.  These are really becoming popular with older campers.  This is near the entrance to the state park, so no traffic here.

Just a few photos of the bluffs around the campground.  They change color with the time of day.

Got to look these up!  Could they be desert paintbrush? 

Rubber rabbit brush??

On to Bryce Canyon tomorrow and hopefully getting my engine tuned up.

9/27 Drive to Escalante, UT

 It is amazing how the scenery changes as you drive even a few miles.  Today was an especially scenic but challenging drive because I have had my check engine light on for about a week, but cannot get anyone to fix it. I was told by one small-town truck repair shop that three of my cylinders were missing, so I am happy to have a v-10 engine that gives me seven extra cylinders!

Luckily, the engine has been missing here and there, but mostly chugging away, hauling its over 14,500 pound weight.  

Started out this morning at about 5,000' in elevation, but slowly started climbing.  A positive is that there was not much traffic on this route.  And no big trucks, for reasons that will be obvious soon.

You can tell you are getting high when you start seeing trees.

At this point, the road was over 8,000' high and heading to a 9,600' pass.  It is so high that it really looks like fall up here.

Up, up, and more up in the distance.

Headed down now, but the road is now following a sharp ridge with little on either side other than big drop-offs. 

The sign is absolutely correct.  Note how the road ahead has no shoulder along the edge?  At several places, I was afraid to look down.

See what I mean????

Getting closer to Escalante where I was planning on spending a couple of days and doing some much-needed laundry, the rock changes from reds to sand-colored.  Note the patch of green on the left-center?

This is a closeup.  You could certainly hide from people there.  The trees means there must be water there, also.

Lots of rocks and canyons.

I took a photo of the road I had just driven on at this scenic view spot.

Nice to have good parking.

Back down to about 6,000' finally on a nice, flat road!

9/26 Drive to Capitol Reef National Park

 This was an interesting drive because of the varied colors and shapes on the way. It started out fairly flat and dull.  

Then it got more interesting! 

Whatever this rock was, it must have been very soft because it seems to be falling downhill constantly.

Nice to not have much traffic.

Actually, I had been driving through parts of Capitol Reef, but this sign was near the part where the valley had once been settled.

You can tell there are small streams in this area because of the greenery.  And note the color change from dull beige and brown to reddish.  This rock also seems a lot more stable.

This sign was at one of the older cabins.  Mostly, they farmed and had extensive orchards, as well as large families.

Do not worry.  This family moved closer to town by the time they had a lot of kids.  I am assuming they had a larger home there.

Home is still looking good, even if the taillights and running lights do not work.

Now these hills look really weird--something like a child will make with sand on the beach.  But notice the green trees that tell us there is a river here.

This is a settler home and museum where they sell cinnamon rolls in the morning, except they were sold out within 15 minutes of opening!! 

Fruita Campground in the park where I stayed one night.  No cell service and no power, which is a double whammy for me. 

A doe and two fawns just at the edge of the campground.  They must hang around here because there were warning signs about not feeding the deer.  And the orchards were all fenced in with 8' fences for obvious reasons. 

 

 

 

And dad was just down the road a bit.  Mostly, he was chewing his cud and staring at me.

 

It is hard to see, but this gnarled old tree had a lot of burls on it.  Would make a lot of nice bowls.

And an old blacksmith shop.  The door was open, but there was a closed sign, so I did not stop. 

Onward to Escalante, UT, where I have two nights reservations and can get good cell service.