June 11 – 18, 2020. I’m not sure exactly how the idea to visit Idaho popped into my head. It must have been some #vanlife Instagram image or perhaps a photograph of some picturesque Idaho campsite from the Campendium newsletter. Whatever it was, up until that point I had never thought of Idaho as a …read more
We did a bit more traveling in the month of June, leaving Utah, heading north through Nevada and on into Idaho – our first new state in the 3 1/2 years we have been roaming around in Ballena Blanca. Since the pandemic is still not under control and we change locations so often we continue …read more
June 3 – June 7, 2020. I may have found my favorite flower. The columbine. When we were in Bryce Canyon we saw the Blue Columbine, which I thought was very pretty and definitely unique. But while we at Great Basin I spotted a red one, and became intrigued. Probably the first time I ever …read more
June 7 – June 9, 2020. “Oops”, thought Craig Breedlove. “The braking chutes won’t deploy. ‘Spirit’ and I are in for a rough stop.” It was October 15, 1964, at Bonneville Salt Flats. Craig, driving the ‘Spirit of America’, had just iced the world land speed record on his second pass at 526 MPH. ‘Spirit of …read more
June 2 – June 5, 2020. John C. Fremont called it the “Great Basin” in 1844. His father-in-law, Missouri Senator Thomas Benton, had gotten him the job. In May 1843 Fremont led a party of 39 men west on the Oregon Trail. Reaching what is now Nevada, they turned south to explore and map. They …read more
May 28 – June 2, 2020. I’m pretty sure most people go to Bryce Canyon specifically to see the rocks. And really, they should, the rocks are stunning. But we had lots of wonderful surprises at Bryce that weren’t rocks. The abundance of wildflowers was one of them. At first, I thought all wildflowers at …read more
May 27 – June 2, 2020. Bryce Canyon National Park is full of interesting birds, beautiful flowers, adorable critters, and oh yeah – lotsa amazing rocks! Although we have been to Utah many times we had never visited Bryce since the park is at such a high elevation it has alway been cold in the …read more
May 13 – May 24, 2020. Wildflowers are becoming the bane of my existence. Perhaps you think this is a surprising thing for me to say. But there are new ones everywhere we go. Some days I spot most of the flowers but on other days, Greg has the eagle eye. And I feel compelled …read more
May 13 – May 24, 2020. I got lost in the woods alone. This was annoying. Not just because I was lost but because by becoming lost I ended up not avoiding the very thing I was trying to avoid when I became lost. No worries, obviously I found my way in the end. We …read more
We are National Park Citizens again! OK, really we just got a new $80 park pass but in getting it I felt somehow relieved and whole once more. We had been without a pass for nearly 4 weeks. And I know you must be thinking, “But weren’t all the National Parks closed down due to …read more