Stella moves base camp

A couple of weeks ago, we headed out on what will probably be an annual journey, moving from our "mid-continent base camp" in Santa Fe to our "west-coast base camp" in Seattle. This is our first time to make the trek with Stella, the 560, so we worked in some camping along the way. We didn't have a lot of extra time, so we took the direct route: diagonally through Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We have northern and southern routes in the plans, too.

Our first night out, near Pagosa Springs, CO, we got a clear reminder of the importance of "bear precautions". We put the Dometic away in the closed galley. In the night, Ani heard rustling behind the trailer and thought it might be a bear. In the morning, we found a distinct bear paw print on the galley hatch along with some scratches. If we had left the Dometic out on the table, it would have been opened like a can of sardines.



The next stop was Moab, UT. We needed an electric hookup for the AC due to high daytime temps, so we stayed at an RV park in town, Canyonlands RV Resort and Campground. It was very nice, with shaded sites and clean showers.

http://moabrvresorts.com/canyonlands/

We spent two days hiking in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Incredible rock formations and beautiful vistas.





We moved on to two lovely campgrounds on lakes. The first was Anderson Cove Campground (US Forest Service), in the mountains outside Ogden, UT. No hookups, but we didn't need them. The bonus here was a family of Great Horned Owls living in a tree right next to our site. This campground is well worth a stop if you are going through the Salt Lake area. We then stayed at Lake Easton State Park on the east side of the Cascades. This is a good campground, but it is right off Interstate 90. It was a little weird to sit out in a campsite overlooking a beautiful lake with highway noise in the background. That said, it was a nice stopover.






The plan is to spend the summer camping on the Olympic Peninsula and around the NW, and sailing when we can. In the fall, we'll head back to Santa Fe through OR and northern CA, then hit the major parks in southern UT. Next winter will we'll be back in FL. Ah, retirement is good!

 

Wow looks like a wonderful trip. Thanks for the great pictures.

 

Glad to hear a Canyonlands is a good stop. We will be staying there in a couple of weeks. I don't have AC so hopefully our fan will do a good enough job for us. Fingers crossed. I also asked for a spot in the shade and have 2 alcoves that I have the ability to use, so we'll see. Thanks for the write up!

 

Sarah, we had site 19, an end site in the back, next to the ball field. It is well-shaded and reasonably private. When we were there, the highs were around 90, but there was a nice breeze in the afternoon and the nights cooled off nicely. We only used the AC one night. The other two nights we were comfortable with the fan and door screens.

If you go to Canyonlands NP, have a look at the White Rim Road for future reference. This is a 100 mile back-country road that winds through the canyon, on a rim above the river, but below the canyon walls. It looks like a spectacular adventure. I'll post more about it in hopes someone will want to join us there someday.

 

Hi Jenn, Whidbey is definitely in our plans this summer. We'd love to come over and meet you!

 

I wouldn't wash off that bear paw print.
Enjoy your summer!

 

Me too! Me too! Give us a heads up when you get to the Oly peninsula, would be great to meet you. If it times out maybe we can camp together and swap TTTs. (Tall Teardropping Tales)

Michael

 

michaelo, thanks for the offer. I'm sure we'll be out to the Peninsula several times this summer. Hopefully, we can meet up and camp together.

 

Nice pics Jim Looking to have a similar set up very soon but retirement
a little bit down the road, sure looks fun.
MDP
Mike & Denita