A Scenic Drive...Eggs-actly!

The next morning we loaded the dogs in the car and ventured out on the 16-mile round-trip scenic drive that starts just outside the campground. There is some road construction currently in progress on the drive but the delays were very minimal. The brilliantly colored cliffs with their many layers of sedimentary rock towered around us. We drove to the end of the road where the pavement ends, and we could have continued down the unpaved Capitol Gorge spur road but decided to save that for another day. On the way back, however, we did take the Grand Wash spur road which continues about a mile. Beyond this is a foot trail, but since dogs are not allowed on the trails, we’ll save this for another day, too, and will give a more in depth report on both later.






















The day before Easter was Capitol Reef’s annual Easter Egg Hunt held in conjunction with the National History Association. The day was overcast and rather chilly but that didn’t stop the fun! Hundreds of plastic eggs had been hidden at one of the picnic areas just down the road, many in plain sight (especially for the youngest ones) but a few were tucked here and there under benches, in the trees, and everywhere. The hunt was to begin at 9am, and though we were working, I walked down to snap some photos. People brought their kids not only from the campground but from nearby towns, and the parking lot filled quickly. In fact the rangers had to divert traffic to a lot down the road. There were three age groups, and inside each egg was either candy or a slip of paper for a yummy treat from the Gifford House. I left before it was over, but everyone seemed to have a blast!

An Oasis in the Desert

[This entry covers April 7-17]
We spent the next day in orientation with our supervisor, Ranger Brenda, till about 2pm, received our uniforms, and then it was time to begin our work as campground hosts. Six days earlier we left 80 degree weather in Florida and arrived at Capitol Reef with temperatures in the 40s! However, part of our uniform is a really nice Cabela’s hooded jacket that keeps us super warm.

As you may recall, there is no cell phone service here, and we knew that any internet service would have to be dial-up through the local phone company. The park service provides a landline for local phone calls, but we got a wonderful surprise when we arrived…they had installed WiFi for the campground hosts! This is such a boon for us as all of our bill pay and banking is done online (not to mention being able to keep in better touch with everyone).

Our first couple days of work were interesting because of the possibility of the pending government shutdown. This would have closed the park including the campground, and several campers had questions wondering what would happen. We were told that they would be given 48 hours to find other accommodations, and no one else would be allowed to come in. We would, however, be able to stay at our site for the duration (unless it dragged on for months). As you know, the shutdown was averted, and all was well…at least for now.

We work 4 days on and 4 days off, and though the work days are long, we are enjoying it. We are basically on call 24 hours should any camper have an emergency in the middle of the night, but so far there have been no middle of the night knocks on the door. Of course there seems to be one camper every week that tries to be difficult and skirt the rules, but overall we’ve met some great people including a couple from our hometown of St. Louis (Carol and Hugh pictured above right) and Lorna and Les (pictured at left). We met Les one day while he was putting a solar filter on his telescope and asked if we wanted to look at the sun through it. You could actually see the solar flares…awesome!! Every night he had the telescope pointed at the moon or Saturn, and we made sure to make a stop on our rounds and even on our nights off. One day Lorna presented me with a loaf of freshly baked Amish Friendship Bread, some starter mix, and the recipe. It was so yummy, and fortunately I have nearly all the ingredients so will be able to bake my own when the 10 days are up. We hope to catch up with them again when we’re in Yellowstone in a few months.

This area is so beautiful with many of the fruit trees in the orchards in bloom. However, the blooms don’t last long so better get your pictures right away! Pictured at right are two pear trees near the Gifford House, but I missed getting pictures of the apricot and cherry trees in bloom. There are about 3,100 trees in the orchards that include cherry, apricot, peach, pear, apple, plum, mulberry, almond, and walnut. The orchards that lie within a mile or two of the visitor center date back to the original Mormon settlers who came in 1880. Once the fruit ripens, the orchards are open to the public, and you are welcome to eat as much as you want while in the orchard, but if you want to take any out, there is a fee. Self-pay stations with scales, bags, and signs listing the fruit prices are at each orchard, and we’ve heard that the cherries go for $1.00/lb.! But we’ve also heard that you better plan to pick fruit on the first day, or you might not get any…that’s how busy the orchards get. We will be here during the cherry and apricot harvest so we’re looking forward to hopefully getting our share.

The last 4 days we’ve worked the campground filled every night with a lot of families enjoying spring break. We’ve heard that the place stays fairly busy with many local families from around the state. They are generally quiet with no rowdy parties, and we will say that it has been extremely quiet in the evenings. The weather has been pretty chilly and windy since we’ve arrived, but we’ve avoided the really nasty stuff. The campground is often referred to as “an oasis in the desert”, surrounded by some high peaks that seem to protect it, keeping the snow and rain on the other side. In fact it has been snowing just 12 miles away in Torrey, but only an occasional flurry here. The Fruita Campground has 71 sites and is open year-round but only has hosts mid-March through Oct. It’s on a first-come, first-serve basis, has no hookups, and is situated along the Fremont River, which is less than 100 yards from our site. A couple dozen mule deer wander through the campground early in the morning and evening, and Mikey enjoys watching them and the horses as he lays outside all day.

We share hosting duties with John and Nancy along with their dogs, Oogie and Lacy. They are from Mississippi and have been campground hosting for 13 years but still have a home back there. They are lots of fun, and we’ve had a great time getting to know each other. Abby and Oogie have become best buds, matching energy levels (though not size), and managing to find a way to play with each other even while on their leashes. (I'll have to try to get a picture of them when they're playing.)

Over the next few months (and once it warms up) we plan to take some of the fabulous hikes that are available in the park, and tomorrow we plan to take the scenic drive so stay tuned.

Interesting Road Trip

[This entry covers April 2-7]

We left Valdosta bright and early the next morning, traveling nearly 600 miles to spend the night at the Sam’s Club parking lot in Paducah, KY, that night (after about an hour construction delay in Atlanta). Our goal the next morning was another 200 miles to Earth City, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. We were planning to spend the night in the Harrah’s Casino parking lot and had invited a couple of friends to stop by for a visit (plus Steve and Patty were loaning us a landline phone to use while we’re in Utah.)

The trip so far had been going smoothly, but I guess all good things must come to an end. We were traveling along I-64 in IL, and the winds were awful with occasional high gusts. About 45 miles from the MO state line a huge gust caught the topper that goes over the full wall slide causing it to billow out as we’re driving 55 mph down the highway! (For those who don’t know, this topper is about 30 ft. long, and when the slide is brought in, the topper rolls up along an aluminum rod and is pretty well anchored by a center bracket and stabilizers on the ends.) It rolled back in but then rolled out again, almost acting like a sail, and the center bracket evidently broke. Russ had managed to pull over but we ended up in a ditch leaning precariously to the passenger’s side. He went outside to check on things while I stayed inside, kneeling on the floor, and hanging on with all my might to a terrified Abby who wanted nothing more than to get outside! That aluminum rod with the topper still attached was banging repeatedly on the top of the roof with every wind gust, and with every gust I was feeling as though the entire RV would tip over any minute! We contacted a tow truck driver who arrived fairly quickly and was able to get us out of that ditch (by this time we had tied the dogs up to a fence outside). Gary’s shop (Gary’s Tire Center) was at the next exit, but we knew there was no way we could continue driving down the road with the topper sailing out. So Russ went up on the roof to cut it off, and bless his heart, Gary followed him up. The wind was blowing so hard they couldn’t even stand up, and when they let go of the rod after cutting it off, the whole thing flew about 30 – 40 ft. landing near the fence. The state trooper, who was keeping the traffic from the lane next to us, said to just leave it there. That’s good because I don’t know where we would have put it! Gary has 3 shops so if you ever find yourself near Okawville, Nashville, or New Baden in Illinois and are need of service, give Gary a call.

We made it the rest of the way to St. Louis with no more problems, arriving about 1pm, and our friends showed up about 1:30. We got to relax a little with a couple of drinks, some Imo’s pizza, Cardinals baseball on TV, and good friends. We presented Steve and Patty with a little gift…a framed poster of Busch Stadium II that has been in our storage unit and used to hang in our home. The guys helped Russ remove the remaining 12" of the topper, and we simply enjoyed a nice ending to a very long and miserable day.

The winds were still whipping the next day, and we only made it as far as Hays, KS, where we stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We went in to finish our stock up shopping (mainly cold stuff), but when checking out, our credit card was declined. We swiped it again...declined. Say what?! There is no way that should have happened! Turns out the credit card company was simply doing a security check to make sure the charge wasn't fraudulent since the card had been used in several different states over the previous couple of days. It took about half an hour to get this resolved, and the people at Wal-Mart were very nice, but it was now 8pm, our cold food was getting warm, the warm food we bought for dinner was cold, and we were tired and hungry.

Tues. shortly after leaving Hays, we spotted a sign saying that part of I-70 in CO (a 28 mile section) was closed from 9-5 that day for emergency rock blasting and removal of some boulders that were perched above the highway (didn't find this article at right till later that night). As we got closer we kept calling 511 for updates, and the suggested detours were each 100 miles. (Good grief…what next?!!) We reached the start of the closure about 3pm and decided to pull off at the next exit and wait for the 5pm re-opening instead going so far out of the way. Then while "going around the block" in this little town we had to unhook the car so Russ wouldn't scrape the side of the car on the telephone pole at the corner! The highway actually re-opened at 4:30 and we were finally on our way…again. Russ wanted to get up over the pass before nightfall as the temperatures were dropping, and we were afraid of more snow up there.

About 60 miles west of Denver, we passed through the Eisenhower Tunnel section of the Eisenhower-Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel that takes I-70 under the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. Completed in 1973, it is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point on the highway system, that took us to a new elevation of 11,158 ft. We passed lots of snow, drove past the town of Vail (wasn’t as impressive as I had imagined), and saw waterfalls that seemed to have frozen in mid-stream.

We stayed the night in a really nice little rest area in Eagle, CO, and finally made it to Capitol Reef NP Wed. afternoon about 2pm (a little later than we had planned but the ranger was ok with it). We settled into our site, met our neighbors and co-hosts, and were ready to begin training the next day.

Florida Friends

[This entry covers March 27-April 1]

We arrived at Cummins Power South (powersouth.cummins.com) in Ocala on Sun. afternoon and got ourselves situated in one of the 10 sites they have on property specifically designed for overnight stays. All sites have 50 amp electric and water hookups with 4 of the spots located on the asphalt parking lot while the other 6 were located on the other side of the fence in a beautiful park-like setting measuring about 3 acres. Of course we chose a site on the grass at the far end and were even able to let the dogs off leash to explore during their walks. We had an 8am appointment for Mon. so this was the ideal location to spend the night.

Our friends, Dick and Beth, have a home near Ocala so while the generator was being repaired we loaded the dogs in the car and spent the next few hours at their house. Initially we had been under the impression that the generator would be finished by end of day and planned to move the RV to their house the next morning to spend a few days visiting since they have ½ an acre. But you know what they say about the best laid plans….

As it turned out the bolts that had sheared off in the fan were not easily retrievable from the rotor, and new parts had to be ordered which meant another night in the Cummins lot and a bigger expense. The next day while they completed the work, we once again spent the day with Beth and Dick leaving the doggies at their place while Beth and I did some shopping and ate lunch at Panera Bread. In the meantime Russ and Dick met up with some of Dick’s friends at the nearby airfield (where Dick loves to go and help out nearly everyday) and lunched at a place called Cal’s. That evening Dick roasted a chicken, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal with our friends before heading back to the RV.

The work was finally complete the next morning, and the manager informed us that our extended warranty would actually cover all the expenses minus our deductible. However, we needed to pay the full amount up front and then be reimbursed by our warranty provider. Oh, well, it could have been worse. With everything now working properly, we moved the RV to Dick and Beth’s house, and set up camp. They offered that we could plug into an outlet in their garage which was a huge help giving us at least a minimal amount of electricity to run a couple necessary items. We teased that they need to have 50 amp service installed before we return at the end of the year.

That evening we joined them for the weekly all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner held at the local VFW Hall complete with salad bar, garlic bread, and lemonade or ice tea all for only $5.75! They go every week and since the place generally gets packed, a table is reserved for them and 3 other couples. One of the couples, Sandy and Diana, live nearby at The Villages (http://www.thevillages.com/) and invited us all back to their place. You may have seen commercials for The Villages (“Florida’s Friendliest Hometown”), a master-planned active adult retirement community offering a ton of classes, clubs, and amenities. To give you an idea as to its size, there are 38 golf courses at The Villages! At the heart of the community are two town squares, each with their own themed architecture (with a third one under construction), and each featuring a huge assortment of shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and free nightly entertainment in the town square. This is where we headed after dinner, and even with the overcast skies and sprinkling of rain, the crowd was ready to dance! Afterwards we returned to Sandy and Diana’s and enjoyed getting better acquainted.

Our friends, Alex and Susie, have a place about an hour north of Dick and Beth’s, and since we had all initially met in the Florida Keys a couple years ago, plans had been made for Alex and Susie to drive down for a visit on Thurs. After the initial greetings and chit-chat, we headed to 110th Street Grille (110thStreetGrille) for a yummy late lunch. From there we returned to the house to visit awhile longer, and the subject of came up that the surround sound speakers weren’t working. Alex, being an electronic technician, offered to have a look at it, and after several hours (and some humorous moments), he got them working again. So fun to see them and spend some time together.

The next morning I drove back down to the Orlando area for a scheduled doctor appointment, and the plan was for us to hit the road as soon as I returned, but that plan got delayed by about an hour. On my way home there was a huge accident not far in front of me just about 4 miles from their house, and I was stuck on the road. As I stood outside watching and waiting, I sent up prayers for the injured and was thankful I had not been a few minutes earlier. A medevac helicopter arrived, and when we finally were able to move after it took off (they required us to make a u-turn and go back the other way), I saw a stretcher on the side of the road with a white sheet covering a body. Not sure how many people were injured but there were several ambulances, fire trucks, and police for the three cars involved. After finding my way back to Beth’s house by a different route, we hooked up the car and prepared to hit the road. The delay meant we wouldn’t get as far as we had hoped that night, but we at least made it to the Wal-Mart in Valdosta, GA. We're extremely grateful to Beth and Dick for opening up their home (and yard) and being such wonderfully gracious hosts.