Places Visited:
Colorado: Cortez, & Durango in SW Colorado.
Grand Junction, Rifle, Meeker & Craig in Western & NW Colorado.

Utah: Moab, Arches NP & Dead Horse Point SP all in Eastern Utah.

Friday, July 13, 2001
Sundance RV-Park, Downtown Cortez, Colorado, 970-565-0997 Elevation
6,200'

This is the day Mike and Vern, our RV-Park neighbor & friend, are
going to soar with eagles. We both have reservations for 10:30am
glider flights with the Durango Soaring Club, Inc. located 3 miles
north of Durango, Colorado elevation 6,500'. The women have been
harassing us with constant questions about whether we are going to
chicken out or not. It has been incessant. They have though of every
clever cliché. There is NO way we can chicken out. As we climb in
the cockpit taunts continue, "It is not too late to chicken out". The
gliders/sailplanes are towed aloft by a power plane to an altitude of
9,000 plus feet then released. The release comes when the glider
pilot finds a strong thermal or uplift. My glider pilot puts our
glider into a tight spin to stay in the thermal while the glider
rises. On my flight the pilot opted out of the climbing spiral at
around 11,000'. It is a really neat sensation to feel the rise on the
glider. The sensation of riding a thermal up is similar to the
experience of riding a fast elevator up 30 floors. The down side of
riding a thermal is the incessant spiral we are in. Thankfully, we
get to11, 000' before I get too dizzy. Soaring at 11,000' with NO
motor is an awesome experience. The only sound is of the wind rushing
by. It is warm in the small cramped cockpit until the pilot tells me
to stick my hand out the 4" by 6" square hole in the side of the
cockpit and make a cup to deflect the air into the cockpit. In short
order I have freezing air streaming into the cockpit. Really cool but
my hand is blue! I start switching hands. My pilot said that a
customer had broken the plastic cup the day before so the hand
deflection method would have to do until the new part arrived. Once we
pull out of the spiral we head toward a small shower of rain. He
explains that the downward fall of rain causes an intense up flow of
air right next to it. The object is to get the inside wing as close
to the rain as possible while keeping the rest of the glider in the
major uplift. How cool! We get major uplift without that insipid
spiral maneuver. It is so awesome to be gliding around with the hawks
and turkey vultures. Where are the eagles when you most want them?
These birds use the same thermals we are using. Gliding around is
super cool, but shortly the pilot advises it is time to get
adventuresome. I have opted for the pilot that likes to do "stunts"
in the glider. I am about to get all I bargained for. As we drift
away from the peaks toward the valley at 6,500'. We are still above
10,000' when the pilot dips the nose toward the ground and does a wing
over. As we pull out of that maneuver and adjust to level flight once
again he asks if I am ready for another one. I mumbled something like
"lets go for it" HOLY MACKEREL, he drops the nose strait down and dips
the wing. I have NO idea what other maneuver he did but when we
resumed level flight again the pilot inquired if I wanted to do
another of these. This time I mumbled "ENOUGH". I have no idea where
my vertigo went but it vanished. Never in my life have I lost vertigo
so rapidly. NO, I didn't loose my cookies. However, another one of
those maneuvers and I would have. No doubt! After a few minutes of
relatively level flight I am able to recognize the horizon and enjoy
the scenery again. It was time for our "high-speed" pass by the
landing field. We began this maneuver from around 9,000' as we line
up the runway then lower the nose of the glider toward it. The glider
rapidly gains speed until the pilot has to apply air breaks to keep us
within limits. We are "hauling buggy" as we buzz the field, almost
touching down before rapidly taking flight again for one last loop and
the final landing. How awesome! I got everything I bargained for.
Any more and it would have been MORE than I bargained for. What a
rush, after about 20 minutes on the ground my vertigo had returned and
we headed off for the rest of our adventure.

We are heading to Creed, Colorado through Pagosa Springs, Colorado via
Wolf Creek Pass (10,850') on Colorado 160. Pagosa Springs is a
beautiful little town with several RV-Parks and upscale resort hotels.
We stop at the Hogs Breath Saloon for lunch. The name fascinated our
friends from Oregon. Hogs Breath Saloons are a chain well regarded
for good food and ambience/décor. This one was no exception.

Colorado is widening highway 160 over Wolf Creek Pass and have the
highway closed week nights between 7:00am and 7:00pm so they can blast
away enough of the mountain to make room for another lane. All along
the way we see where the blasting is taking place. On top of Wolf
Creek Pass we stop and take pictures of each other straddling the
Continental Divide. The Continental Divide is exactly what it sounds
like, it is the point on the continent of North America where rainfall
flows either to the Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific. This
imaginary line separates the watershed of North America and comprises
the line of highest points of land separating the waters flowing west
from those flowing east. Generally following the Rockies it extends
from northwest Canada to South America.

On the way down from Wolf Creek Pass we start passing RV-Parks at
about the 8,500' level. One of these parks contained over 450 spots.
That is larger than most of the towns in this area. One of these
parks had a restaurant, dance hall and a host of other amenities. I
suspect that most of the residents spent the entire summer at this
park located on the river with fly-fishing, rafting, horseback riding
and a host of other activities available in the park. In the small
town of South Fork we turn and head to Creed.

Creed is a small town right out of the 1880's. It was a silver mining
town until silver prices plummeted. Today the one paved road leads
into a narrow canyon. Creed, population 350, is located at the mouth
of a canyon. Main Street is lined for several blocks with vintage
1890's Victorian buildings. The elevation in Creed is around 8,500'
and had a huge RV-Park in the valley a few miles from town spread out
along the Rio Grande River. Yes this is near the beginning of the
mighty Rio Grande. Anyone wishing to spend the summer in a
spectacular area would have to look far and wide to find a better
setting.

We put over 400 miles on the Saturn today and were gone over 13 hours.
Tomorrow will be a day of rest.

Saturday, July 14, 2001
Sundance RV-Park, Downtown Cortez, Colorado, 970-565-0997 Elevation
6,200'

We used today to recover from yesterday.

Sunday, July 15, 2001
Sundance RV-Park, Downtown Cortez, Colorado, 970-565-0997 Elevation
6,200'

We got together with our friends to go to church this morning. Joyce
made arrangements for us to go to the morning service at Lighthouse
Baptist Church in Cortez. Joyce chose this church because she thought
it was in Delores and she planned for us to eat out at the Naked Moose
Café in Delores. Ever since Joyce spotted the Naked Moose nearly two
weeks ago she has been plotting ways to get back there for eats. As
it turns out the Lighthouse Baptist Church was in Cortez located on
the "Delores" highway, close but no cigar. The worship service was
wonderful and they had a potluck supper after the service. Once we
were invited to the potluck supper the Naked Moose was forgotten.
Those Baptist fixed a spread fit for a king, and we lapped it up like
royalty.

After Church Vern and I went to a rock and gem show. When Jeff and
Kathryn were with us they showed interest in petrified wood and
fossils. I got a few pieces of both for them.

From 5:00pm to 7:00pm every Sunday night Cortez sponsors several
hours
of music in the City Park across the street from our RV-Park. We
enjoyed another night of good FREE entertainment.

Monday, July 16, 2001
Spanish Trail RV-Park Moab, Utah. Elevation 4,000'

We have been at Sundance RV-Park in Cortez for over two weeks. We
have made friends. It is hard to leave. I have avoided saying
anything about Sundance RV-Park during our stay because you never know
what is going to happen. Now that we are gone I can say this is one
of the BEST RV-Parks we have stayed in. They have full-hook-ups;
50amps, modem access and the nicest owners & operators all located
inside the city limits across from a huge city park. It is also only
4 blocks from an RV'ers best buddy (a Super Wal-Mart). Spotlessly
clean facilities are an asset but nothing compares to friendly people.
The staff reminded us of Cheers. If you were looking for a place to
spend the summer, away from stifling heat, it would be hard to find a
better place. While I am on a roll the city of Cortez needs to be
given a pat on the back. They have an absolutely awesome city park
complete with swimming pool, duck pond, ball diamonds and walking
paths. For a city the size of Cortez they have "world class"
facilities, complete with weekly music in the park programs. And
don't forget the free RV-dump located on the west side of City Park.
That is about as good as it gets.

We pulled out around 11:00 and headed toward Moab, Utah about
115-miles to the northwest. We pass through undulating hills with
irrigated hay fields on both sides of the highway. The farther we go
pinto beans began to replace the hay fields. Somewhere along the way
we must have transversed the pinto bean capital because huge silos
sprouted along the road with signs proclaiming each to be a different
brand of pinto bean.

A cold front has moved in and the temperature feels good. We were
traveling without the air conditioner today and the air coming in my
open window was actually chilly. We have chosen to stay at Spanish
Trails RV-Park in Moab because of recommendations from other RV'ers
and assurances that they have modem access.

Immediately upon arrival we make arrangements to take the "Canyonlands
by Night" cruise and dinner. Our friends Jim and Patricia Patrick
have recommended this as a "must do". Canyonlands by Night is picking
us up at the RV-Park at 6:30. There is nothing like taking your
sweetheart out for dinner and sunset cruise. I am writing this before
we depart, I will let you know how it was in the next paragraph. J

Ok, we have done the "Canyonlands by Night" cruise and dinner. The
door-to-door delivery picked us up and took us to the loading station
on the north side of the Colorado River Bridge in Moab. We are fed in
a nice pavilion adjacent to the dock. Humming birds were swarming
around feeders stationed near the pavilion. They were the pre dinner
entertainment. This is the largest concentration of hummingbirds we
have seen since the hill country of Texas. The heavily advertised
buffet dinner was a tightly controlled exercise in herding humans. I
felt they were practicing for the fall roundup. The food was
acceptable but nothing approaching the hype. Anyone planning to do
this activity would be well advised to dine elsewhere and just do the
boat ride. After dinner we boarded the boat for our ride upstream.
There are around 100 of us shoe horned into bench seats. Each row is
packed until it has 8 bodies. Our row is stuffed in like a church pew
on Easter Sunday.

Towering sandstone cliffs rise from both banks as we head upriver in
the fading light. As twilight envelops us we experience a special
treat. A group of raucous adults (10 or more) form a line on the bank
and moon us as we pass. Each member of the impromptu entertainment
has a flashlight strategically beamed so that all we see is a
beautiful row of "moons". I request that the boat shine its high
powerful spotlight on the revelers but the stogy employees do not
comply.

As darkness finally envelops us it is time for the heralded show to
begin. A carefully choreographed recording of dramatic music,
inspirational readings, covering creation, regional geographic makeup
and Utah history is played on our boat as we drift downstream while
40,000 watt lights are beamed on the canyon walls from a generator and
spotlight driving along a road following the river. An hour later
and we are back at the landing.

Tuesday, July 17, 2001
Spanish Trail RV-Park Moab, Utah. Elevation 4,000'

We slept late then took the Saturn for a scenic drive up Utah highway
128 east. From Moab we head along this scenic canyon drive. Sheer
sandstone cliff walls follow the Colorado River. About 15 miles out
we turn around and return to Moab before heading a few miles north to
Arches National Park. The next few hours were spent gawking at the
huge variety of structures that erosion has created. This would be a
good place to take a hike but it is way too hot. Joyce thinks Arches
is one of the prettiest National Parks that we have visited.

We only planned to be here two days. That plan is slipping. There
are still several other places we need to see including Canyon Lands
National Park and Dead Horse State Park.

Wednesday, July 18, 2001
Spanish Trail RV-Park Moab, Utah, Elevation 4,000'

We have a full day planned. Dead Horse Point State Park and
Canyonlands National Park are next-door neighbors. We are going to do
both. Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone
cliffs. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of
land called the neck. There are many stories about how this high
promontory of land received its name.

According to one legend, around the turn of the century the point was
used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys
rounded up these houses. Herded them across the narrow neck of land
and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then
fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral
surrounded by precipitous cliffs, affording no escape. Cowboys then
chose the houses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free.
One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the
waterless point where they died of thirst within the view of the
Colorado River, 2,000 feet below. The view from Dead Horse Point
State Park is much like the Grand Canyon with one exception. It ain't
as GRAND.

From one viewpoint in Dead Horse we are able to see aqua blue
evaporation ponds. These ponds belong to a potash mining company that
is mining in a unique manner. The mining operation pumps water from
the Colorado River 1,200 feet deep into a layer of potash. This water
seeps through the potash and becomes saturated before wells pump this
"potash" water to the surface. The water is then placed in 400 acres
of vinyl lined evaporation ponds. The blue color is dye used to help
the water hold heat rather than reflect it. This potash mine is
operating just like salt evaporation ponds found in arid areas around
the world.

Heading farther into Dead Horse State Park we spot a military looking
helicopter. We stopped at a viewpoint to see what it was doing. The
helicopter was hovering below the canyon. It had several hundred feet
of cable dangling beneath it. Shortly the helicopter rose and hovered
above a nearby point where a group of individuals with TV cameras were
gathered. One of the ground crew attached a bungee cord to the cable
dangling beneath the helicopter. Then the helicopter began to rise as
around 800 feet of bungee cord was played out. The bungee cord was
attached to an ejection seat bolted to the rock surface on the edge of
the canyon with the Colorado River 2,000 feet directly below. The
helicopter tugged, the bungee cord stretched, then "BINGO" someone
released the pin holding the ejection seat. As you can imagine, the
ejection seat was launched. Everyone where we were though someone was
in the ejection seat. However, we were later told that a British Crew
was filming for an upcoming feature about "Extreme something or other"
they also mentioned something about overcoming fear, or something like
that, and that the shot we witnessed was a dummy load. Individuals
will be launched later today and tomorrow. Watch for this on TV.

From Dead Horse we toured Canyonlands National Park just 4 miles down
the road. This park was a disappointment. It may have been better if
the temperature would have been conducive to hiking. We only took
some short walks to close viewpoints. Otherwise the views are much
like the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale.

Thursday, July 19, 2001
KOA in Craig, Colorado. Elevation 6.300'

Today was a day of driving. We are headed in the direction of
Yellowstone. The drive out of Moab on Scenic Byway 128 along the
Colorado River was as scenic as we could ask for. The Colorado River
has cut steep canyon walls in the sandstone and the road is following
the River. Vertical cliffs rise from the river for about 30 miles.
Then we break away from the river and head across a desert area until
just west of Grand Junction, Colorado. We stopped at the Visitors
Center in Fruita, Colorado just west of Grand Junction. This Visitors
center has a good dump station complete with fresh water. Many people
in this area must know about it because it was very busy the entire
time we were at the Visitors Center. We had planned to spend tonight
in the area and take advantage of what the area had to offer. However,
the only thing that interested us was a museum in Grand Junction.
With the museum as the only thing to keep us in the area we decided to
forego it and push on to Rifle, Meeker or Craig.

Aren't you wondering how Grand Junction got its name? Grand Junction
is part of the Grand Valley just west of Grand Mesa. Grand Junction
lies at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers thus the
name. Water from the river supports a host of wineries and fruit
orchards. Just east of town is a coal mine operation feeding a power
plant located across the street.

As we passed through Rifle we could not help but speculate on which
Trailer Park was the one that was in the news two weeks ago with the
random shooting of several innocent bystanders. Nothing appealed to
us until we reached Craig. As we transversed the broad valley around
Meeker we began seeing a great number of magpies along the road.
Instead of Meeker it could well have been named magpie valley. Just
south of Craig we start seeing coal mines then a new power generating
station that is utilizing the local coal.

The ride from Rifle to Craig through Meeker was through a wide well
watered valley. Hay fields and cattle ranches are prevalent
throughout the area. We have climbed 2,000' in elevation since leaving
Moab so the temperature should be more agreeable.

Friday, July 20, 2001
KOA in Craig, Colorado. Elevation 6.300'

We are "out west". The local paper has an article on predator
control. The coyote population is a problem that they are struggling
to find ways to deal with. A large part of this areas economy has to
do with hunting and the mule deer population is below carrying
capacity. Many believe that a CPRP Coyote Population Reduction
Program is warranted. One proposal being advocated is to have
sportsman bring coyote ears into a Department of Wildlife office. For
each five pairs of coyote ears the hunter will be rewarded with one
preference point for deer or antelope. For 10 pairs of coyote ears
the sportsman may also obtain a cow elk license.

We are going to a rodeo tonight that is DIFFERENT than most standard
rodeos. There is going to be a PROFESSIONAL rodeo. Then there will
be "side shows". The side events are for locals. Mutton busting,
junior steer riding, mother's greased-pig wrestling and a kids
greased-pig wrestling. I have no idea what "mutton busting" is. We
hear that "mother's greased-pig wrestling" is THE EVENT! This event
pits four women; all have to be mothers, against a 125-pound greased
pig. The women have to wrestle the pig down, and then place it in a
trough. The team with the fastest time wins. We will have fun at the
rodeo but it is the "side shows" that I look forward to. Tomorrow I
will let you know if it was as big a kick as I think it will be.

For my boondocking friends Craig has a free RV-dump and free potable
water located at the fairgrounds 1 mile east of town on Colorado 40.
Signs at the fairground lead you to the RV-dump station.

Craig has a super museum in downtown. They have an entire room
dedicated to gunslinger/cowboy memorabilia. Plan on spending several
hours in it.

We are back from the rodeo and now know what "mutton busting" is.
Mutton busting was where small children were placed on grown sheep in
a small muddy arena. The children would ride the sheep until they
fell off or the sheep fell down in the mud. It was a hoot. There
were numerous greased pig events that paired like age groups of
children with appropriately sized greased pigs. The children were
getting SO MUDDY that it reminded us of the old Jerry Clower story
about the child that got so messy the mother exclaimed "it would be
easier to have another than to clean you up". The "mothers pig
wrestling" was a little different than advertised. What actually
occurred was three teams of three mothers each were placed in the
arena with one good size greased-pig. The women were just like the
children chasing that pig. They got every bit as muddy as the
youngsters. The sideshow provided muddy entertainment for three solid
hours. I do not know that I have ever laughed so hard. Another homey
event was 10 to 12 year olds riding steers in an attempt to mimic
adult bull riding. Only one boy stayed on for the full 8-seconds.
Just like the bull riders on TV this youngster jumped up and flung his
hat in the air. The crowded roared. One girl tried her hand at the
steer riding but like 10 of the boys she did not make the 8-second
whistle. Small town rodeos continue to be fun.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix