Captain Jack Log Day 16

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Got a late start but we are finally on the road.  We took Route 36 out of Susanville, California heading to the Pacific.  The road is full of mountains and valleys.  Nice to look at.  The road is windy and steep and the shimmy is getting pretty bad. 

Then halfway across the state we find a sign that read, “Not recommended for RV’s or trailers.”  So we traveled north to 299 west.  This road is worse!  Twists, S-turns, C-turns, up, down…If this is the recommended road for RV’s I’d hate to see the second half of Route 36.  Thanks to the RV and its awesome driver we made it across to Eureka, California and the Pacific Ocean.  Now, let’s get out of California. 

Captain Jack Log Day 15

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Route 50 Nevada...The loneliest road in America

Got up at 7:30am and on the road at 8:15am. 

Sacramento Pass, Connor Pass...one mountain pass after another!

Drove to Susanville, California and found campground to stay at.  Hit the local Walmart for supplies and we had pizza at a local pizza shop.  Now we can get caught up on the blogs…and listen to the local dirt track.  Tomorrow the Redwood Forest and the Pacific Ocean.

There's this constant whine from the behind me...slow down...
you're going too fast...I'm gonna puke...are we there yet!

Captain Jack Log Day 14

Zion National Park, Utah

Friday, July 22, 2011

Drove to Zion National Park.  A lot of this can be seen from outside the park.  Route 9 runs through the park and continues on to Bryce Canyon.  They wanted $25 to enter the park and another $15 to drive out the other side…$40, not from me!  We drove the long way around.

Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, Utah

Bryce Canyon is even more beautiful than Zion.  This is one place that I will come back to some day. 

The light changes the colors of the hoodoos.

Got out of the park late, had dinner at Subway and drove til just after midnight.  We slept on the side of the road in Nevada at the intersection of Route 2 & 50.  I don’t think anyone drove past us until after sunrise!





Newer hoodoos being formed by erosion



Captain Jack Log Day 13

The Hoover Dam

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Got up in the morning and went swimming in the pool.  The littlest crew member loved the pool.  Showered and clean we pulled out of the campground at noon.

Intakes

Went to the Hoover Dam.  Didn’t take a tour but we did drive over it twice.  Had to be inspected before we could drive over…the inspector asked me to turn off the RV and then open all the compartments in the RV.  I said my crew would mutiny if I turned off the a/c!  Passed muster so we got to continue on…

Wires run everywhere!

We drove to Zion National Park and stayed just outside the park.  The youngest crew member got back in the pool.  The campsite was at the bottom of a big red mountain.  Time to sleep, goodnight!

Captain Jack Log Day 12

Day 12

My buddy Fred...he was here 24 years ago too!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

We got up early and it was a good thing because parking for RVs at the Grand Canyon is hard to find. 

We came here on our honeymoon 24 years ago!

Checked out the visitors center and watched a movie about the park and the canyon.  Listened to a Ranger talk about the rocks at the park. 

The Grand Canyon...you gotta see it to believe it!

Looked at the canyon until the afternoon. 

We made it to Vegas!

The kids wanted to go to Las Vegas…so I drove all night and got to the Vegas strip just before midnight. 

Definitely a different world!

It’s not easy driving a 31 foot RV down the Las Vegas Strip.  The crew loved the lights.  Found the RV park about 1:15am.  Happy Birthday to me!

Captain Jack Log Day 11

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Spent last night in Cortez, Colorado.  Everything looks better in the morning after a big storm and we had a really bad storm last night.

My co-pilots keep me going!

 Drove most of the day, we only stopped for gas and sandwiches that we made. 

Not much water here in the Southwest

Interesting rocks...somewhere in Arizona

We got a site at the KOA campground just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.  After we checked in we found the corporate store/office for Verizon so we could return the wireless 3G stick we bought that doesn't work anywhere.  Didn't get all our money back but my wife gave them hell. They tried to charge us $35 for a box and she went on the rampage.  It was fun to watch some other guy squirm under her thumb, cool!  Needless to say we didn't pay for the box.

Captain Jack Log Day 10



Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House

 Monday, July 18, 2011

Today we drove from Durango to Mesa Verde National Park. The drive into Mesa Verde from the main road (Route 160) is just beautiful…about 20 miles to get to the Spruce Tree House.  That is the one tour you can do by yourself. 

Dwelling under the cliffs

The museum is also at this location, Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, with a movie about the people that have lived at Mesa Verde.  The museum is filled with dioramas of Mesa Verde dwellers and actual artifacts from 550 to 1300 A.D., pottery, tools, spears & bows. 



Going down to the dwelling was easy...coming back up, not so much!



 From the museum it is a half mile hike to the Spruce Tree House ruins. 

A different perspective...

On the drive out we stopped at one of the free self-guided sites.  Then we found a herd of Elk.  They are much bigger than the white-tailed deer we have at home.  Lightning flashed in the distance.

Big storm tonight in Cortez, Colorado.  The lightning is a show of its own.  Tomorrow we drive!