May 15, 2015. More snow!

CAMPGROUND: Lower Lehman Campground inside Great Basin National Park. As with most national park campgrounds, it is primitive.  Pit toilets.  Nice private sites. Picnic table and campfire ring.  Since it is still winter, they haven't turned on the water yet.  Good news...that means $3.00/night winter rates!  3 stars.

LOCATION:  In far eastern Nevada

WEATHER:  Cold!  Rain/snow. Highs around 50

We drove all day, about 380 miles, towards our destination in Northern California.  We left western Colorado and drove all across Utah, then into Nevada. It is very desolate.  We saw lots of signs warning of "No Services" for 100 miles.  My ears popped all day as we went up and down.  The scenery was like inside one of the Utah National Parks.  In the lower elevations, we drove through rain, in higher elevations it turned to snow.

We stopped at the Great Basin National Park.  One more park to check off the list!  

The Great Bain itself covers much of Nevada, and parts of Utah and California.  The park is just a small part.  We watched the educational movie at the Visitors' Center, then found our campsite.  It was the last one, and a tight squeeze to get in.  George is great at backing it in.  

This area is very natural.  We saw wild turkeys and deer in the campground.  These deer, still with their winter coats, were well-camouflaged.  

George made a small campfire with the unusual pine cones here on the ground.  We stood around it, in the blowing snow, sipping Irish whiskey to get warm.

Our neighbors, from San Francisco, came over for a visit.  

DINNER:  Another recipe from my brother.  Mexican tostados.  His recipe calls for ground turkey.  I substituted  frozen grill hamburger meat, as I need to use it up.  To the meat, I added onions, black beans, salsa and cilantro.  I warmed the tortillas with some cheddar cheese and added the meat mixture.  I served them with avocado slices and more cilantro.  Muy bueno! 

May 14, 2015. Wine-tasting in the rain

CAMPGRPUND: Second night at James Robb State Park

LOCATION:  Near Grand Junction in western Colorado

WEATHER:  Cool and rainy. High around 50

The weather forecast was originally for a sunny, warm day, but it changed to cool and rainy.  So, we took a hike in the AM before the predicted PM rain.  We walked around the campground lake and along the rushing Colorado River.  There were several Canada geese with their goslings, so cute.  We can really notice a difference in the elevation, especially when we hike.  Here it is only about 4500 feet.

We took a drive to Palisades, about 10 miles away. It is a darling town in a rich valley full of peach trees and vineyards.  Almost every yard is full of blooming roses.  

 We tasted wines in a couple of wineries.  This one was in an old house.

Then, we stopped at 2 microbreweries.  We skipped the distillery.  :-). Great way to spend a rainy day.  We really like this town.  We have to leave tomorrow, thereby missing their Headless Chicken Festival!  

DINNER:  I made a recipe that my brother gave me.  It is sautéed flattened chicken breast meat with olives and artichokes.  Really good!  

 

May 13, 2015. California, here we come!

CAMPGROUND: James Robb State Park. One of the best state parks we have ever camped in. Paved sites, electricity, and water.  Nearby toilet and bigger shower room farther away. Really nice ramadas over picnic tables. Grill. 4 stars.  Great TV and cellular reception. Would have rated it 5 stars, but a bit spendy at $34/night

LOCATION:  Fruita, a suburb of Grand Junction in far western Colorado.

WEATHER:  Perfect!  High about 70.  Sunny

We rarely eat breakfast in a restaurant but we wanted to try a place in Ouray that had sponsored Ouray's Fork Fest before we left town.  (Plus we had a coupon!). The chef trained in New Orleans, so the menu was New Orleans-style.  I had a decadent omelette with crawfish, shrimp and andouille sausage.

We are starting some new adventures.  We are hoping to house-sit/pet-sit in locations around the country where we would like to spend some extended time.  We especially want to do this in the summer when campgrounds tend to fill up.  So, we have been applying for assignments in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest for the next few months.   We are using TrustedHousesitters.com which connects homeowners and house-sitters.  It seems very good.  It is a British company, so there are a lot of European assignments listed, too.  We hope to do it internationally next year.  We have been selected for an assignment in Northern California later in May, and are on a short-list for one in Portland.

So, we are heading about 1000 miles to California.  We drove about 100 miles northwest today to the Grand Junction area.  We plan to stay here 2 nights, enjoying the area and shopping, etc for the trip.

We got settled in the campground, snagging the next-to-the-last site. We are in a valley that looks up to the Colorado National Monument.  It is part of the geological Colorado Plateau, along with Arches National Park, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef.  

We took a 23-mile drive through the park.  I shut my eyes during portions of scary turns and drop-offs.

The highway was built over this Serpent Trail, aptly named.

We stopped at Rockslide Brew Pub in downtown Grand Junction, then headed back to the campground.

It was a perfect day for camping.  It is nice that the days are getting longer.  George made a campfire and I used it to cook dinner...

DINNER:  Chili.  I spiced it up with a hatch pepper and a can of peppers in chipotle sauce.  I used some leftover grilled hamburger and Anasazi beans, too.  Great!

May 12, 2015. North a Rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

CAMPGROUND:  Last night at 4J.  Has been a great base for touring this area

LOCATION:  Ouray, Colorado in southern CO, in the San Juan Mountains

WEATHER: Sunny and warm. Highs about 70

We took another long scenic drive.  This one was a big loop around the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  The views were amazing.

In some ways, this is even more dramatic than the Grand Canyon.  We are at about 10,000 feet in this photo.

Back down from the mountain, we stopped in Peonia, a cute farming town nestled in a fertile valley.  There were lots of vegetable farms and fruit orchards.  We stopped at their little brewpub which used to be a church.

Near Ouray, we passed this yak farm.  They look like they are wearing heavy coats

DINNER:  Stuffed baked potatoes.  I made the filling with leftover steak, cheddar cheese, Swiss chard and onions.  Side dish was mixed greens salad.  We have finally eaten our way through all the wonderful veg from the CSA gift.  

May 11, 2015. Scenic byway drive

CAMPGROUND: Another night at 4J RV Park

LOCATION: Ouray, Colorado in south central CO

WEATHER: Warmer. Sunny and highs in 60s

It snowed all night.  I guess we won't be grilling tonight...

We took a 6-hour drive on one of Colorado's scenic byways.  It is a loop that winds through mountains, canyons, cattle ranches, and high plateaus (mesas).  Beautiful.  One stop along the way was this Hanging Flume that the gold miners built in the 1800s.  It was a 10-mile "trough" used to provide water pressure to hose down the gold in placer mining.  They say it is an engineering marvel.  Not much is left...

Another stop was Gateway.  A billionaire, the owner of the Discovery Channel and other networks, built a fabulous resort here, not caring if it made money.  It is out in the middle of nowhere.  It is adobe style and has magnificent landscaping.  The owner has also collected the world's largest collection of antique cars.   We had planned to have lunch there and visit the car museum, but a private group from Hollywood  was renting the entire resort and closed it to everyone else. So, we had a sandwich at this Airstream diner...

As we were driving along, a cowboy was herding his cattle on the highway.

 

It felt like the real West!

Back in Ouray, we dropped by the town's second brewery.  It really warmed up so we could sit outside.

DINNER:  Bean soup.  We had bought some Anasazi beans in a town that proclaims to be  "the pinto bean capital of the world".  I soaked and cooked them with a hatch pepper.  Then, using part of the beans., I made a soup with onions, garlic, a bit of leftover hamburger, and the beans.  I cheated and used a can of bean soup, too.  Really tasty. We also had a salad of mixed greens, still using up the CSA gift.  

May 10, 2015. Hot springs in the snow

CAMPGROUND: Another night at 4J RV Park

LOCATION: Ouray, Colorado in south central part of state

WEATHER:  More snow.  Cold. Highs around 40

It snowed all day again.  It is really pretty. This was a freshly-mown piece of grass in front of our camper on Friday, now white with snow. 

The mountains are getting more snow than our valley. Our RV park is nestled against the mountain.

This is why Ouray is called Switzerland of America...

We drove 10 miles to Ridgway to dip in their hot springs.  First, we used a private indoor tub, then to an indoor pool.  Then, we went outside to a hotter pool.  We soaked in it in 35 degree air temps with snow/rain falling on us.  It was "clothing optional", but everyone had swimsuits on. (No photos allowed). Our last stop was the hottest pool called "The Lobster Pot".  It really warmed us up.

We then had a really tasty pizza at the town's tiny brewpub.

Back at the trailer, we met a neighbor camper.  He is a young man in a VW camper that broke down.  We invited him in for a chat.  He was glad to get in from the cold.

More snow, that was really sticking....

DINNER:  I used a lot of the vegetables that we got yesterday from the CSA lady.  I made salads with various greens, and a soup with puréed greens, onions, turnips, broccolini, and a potato.  It was really good.  I made some croutons with bread going a bit stale.  I used my new emulsifier for the soup.  Fun!

May 9, 2015. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

CAMPGROUND: Another night at 4J

LOCATION: Ouray, Colorado in south central CO

WEATHER:  Cold and SNOW. Highs about 40; lows in 20s

We are happy that we signed up for Ouray's Fork Fest as it is a good day to stay indoors.  We walked to the community center in the light snow.  We started the day with a champagne brunch.  There were omelette and crepe stations, homemade pastries and breads, homemade granola and mimosas.  Yum!  Then, we attended chef cooking demonstrations all day.

After each presentation, we tasted what the chef had prepared. We started with pork cutlets with arugula salad.  Then, learned how to make hollandaise sauce and tasted versions of it.  Then, coffee-encrusted beef medallions, smoked salmon, followed by tips on using different greens.  Along with the cooking, we tasted some local whiskey and gin.  

Meanwhile, it kept snowing outside...

In the afternoon, it started sticking to the trees and bushes 

One of the presenters was from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  She gave away a CSA share at the end of the event, so we grabbed a lot of veg.   Can't wait to cook and make salads!

After the cooking demonstrations, there was a wine and cheese pairing event.  The theme of the day was local foods.  The wines and cheese were from nearby.

DINNER:  Since we grazed all day, we weren't hungry. George had a can of soup.  We watched the old movie "Victor/Victoria" in the RV park's TV lounge.  I am a real Julie Andrews fan. :-)  We walked back to the Airstream at about 10:00 PM through about 4 inches of snow that had accumulated.  Amazing!