Merry Christmas

We were able to spend time in Albuquerque with Harold's brother Arlo and his family. Harold and Arlo spent many an afternoon in the garage, including welding the towbar to better accommodate bicycle carriage between the Jeep and the bus. Then there were important projects like Legos to complete and the lighting of the luminarias on Christmas Eve.

Luminarias are an Albuquerque tradition and a beautiful one at that. If you'd like a little more information about luminarias, you can read it here. 

May the hope, joy, and peace that Christ brings, be yours. Blessings to you this Christmas season. 

Never could decide if they were working or playing

Building Legos - 123 Sesame Street for the Christmas village

Another Albuquerque tradition - with a 2020 twist

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Luminaria glow

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

With limited storage, we purged the Christmas decorations last year.  I hadn't really planned on decorating the RV, but I confess that as I browsed the seasonal decor, I was thinking about it more. I was still hesitant though. Anything we bought would be tossed after Christmas. 

My sister-in-law Linda decided that we should have a tree. They picked up a little tabletop tree and some tiny ornaments for us. So thank you Linda!  We added some tiny ribbons and Harold made a star for the top.

The Swell, The Wedge, Slots and Goblins

Our niece's husband suggested that we visit Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. We opted to stay in Green River at the Green River KOA, about an hour away. We had thought that we'd slip in a visit to the Moab area, which was about an hour away in the other direction, as well. We never made it to the Moab area. There was just too much to see.

The San Rafael Swell is just west of Green River and rises spectacularly from the ground. Locally, the area is known as The Swell and is a destination for off-roaders, hikers, and dark sky viewers.

Our first day in Green River had us taking a loop trip to backtrack to Helper, Utah, for a photo with a Big John, a Muffler Man.  We opted for the scenic drive along the Buckhorn Draw that took us to the The Wedge. The Wedge Overlook is called the Little Grand Canyon. The light snow just added to the beauty. Along the way we stopped to look at a dinosaur track, an old suspension bridge, and some petroglyphs. 

Can you spot the semitruck?

Dinosaur track

The Wedge Overlook area

Harold and Big John

The next day we headed to Little Wild Horse Canyon. The idea was to take a quick hike to see the slotted canyon and then head next door to Goblin Valley. Ha! Little Wild Horse Canyon was amazing. No wonder it's one of the most popular day hikes in the state. We lost count of how many times we said, "Wow!" The slick rocks, the serpentine path through them, were novel to us and a great introduction to canyoneering. We soon opted to take the eight mile loop trail that would circle us through Bell Canyon before returning to the trailhead. Goblin Valley would have to wait another day.

Little Wild Horse Canyon

Deep and narrow

Lots of rain paths

Finally, we made it to Goblin Valley State Park. Wow! No wonder Jerry suggested we visit. The valley was filled with reddish-orange mushroom-shaped rock formations with little vegetation. We were a bit surprised, pleasantly so, that you were allowed to walk among them, that they weren't cordoned off.

Goblin Valley from a distance

Hoodoos or goblins?

We say mushrooms!

An inkling of the size of the formations

Trivia Question: What science fiction movie starring Tim Allen featured scenes from Goblin Valley State Park?

We wished we could have explored the area more and will likely include more time when we visit family in the future. 

Love the neon

Green River is famous for melons

Heber Valley

We have spent a relaxing month at Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, Utah. We have nieces within an hour drive and wanted to spend some time with them. We had originally planned a week, but upon realizing that the resort weekly rate was half the off-season monthly rate, we decided to enjoy an entire month. We do have to pay electric though, and I'm sure that's going to be a doozie with the two cold snaps we've had.

We took a couple of scenic drives in the area. We drove the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway through the Uinta Mountains and walked around the lake. We spotted several dispersed camping areas. Hunters were claiming their spots. Later, we took the Daniels Canyon road (US Route 40) east to Strawberry Reservoir, Duchesne, and looped back on Wolf Creek Highway. Wolf Creek is beautiful - and closed in winter. 

Bald Mountain Pass

Mirror Lake

We hiked in Wasatch Mountain State Park with Daryl and Patti. Daryl is a friend of Harold's from high school days. We drove past Sundance, the ski resort owned by Robert Redford, on our way to hike Stewart Falls. We saw glimpses of the Olympic ski jumps in Park City. We drove through Provo Canyon several times, stopping at Bridal Veil Falls more than once. 

Along the trail - Wasatch State Park

Bridal Veil Falls

We enjoyed Halloween with our nieces, watching their kids go on a scavenger hunt in lieu of the traditional trick or treating.  Then, while the escape room style puzzle was in its final preparation, we had some bubble fun. 

We then came back to the camp site and participated in the trick or treating at the campground. We probably had around 15 or so kids participating. It still took over a 200 pieces of candy.  I blame it on Cousin Eddie. 😜

I had to laugh!

We rented the red caboose on the Heber Creeper for an afternoon train ride along the Deer Creek Reservoir. The kids, big and little, enjoyed the benches in the cupola. I imagine the caboose is very popular for kids' birthday parties. 

Brothers, still kids at heart

Perhaps one of the more unique things we did was go for a soak in the Crater. It's a geothermal hot spring enclosed in a beehive shaped crater that opens at the top. The water is a perfect 90 - 96 degrees. It's 65 feet deep, and one of our nieces got her scuba certification there. How cool is that?

While the resort is open year round since there are plenty of ski resort employees and enthusiasts in the area, we're ready to move on. Those snow capped mountains are beautiful, but we're ready for warmer weather.

Brass Monkey

While parked at Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, Utah, in October we were treated with weather normally reserved for January - cold and snow.

October snow

When we woke up, the mercury was reading 1°F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is CCCOOOOLLLLLDDDD weather to be living in an RV and is quite out of the normal weather for October in Utah.

Fred and Ethel, the flamingos, are not happy

Our RV was equipped at the factory with three rooftop heat pumps that are rated for a total of 43,000 BTU.  They normally keep the RV quite comfortable for a low electricity consumption, but unlike a residential heat pump, they don't have auxiliary heat. So, when the outside temperature drops below 32F, they are not recommended for use. Our RV is also equipped with an Aqua-Hot brand Hydronic Heating System. It uses electricity to heat our hot water. It also burns diesel fuel to heat boiler fluid that it circulates through forced air heat exchangers located though out our coach. When on diesel, the Aqua-Hot also provides endless hot water for long showers!!!!

Aqua-Hot 450DM in our "basement"

I winterized our site's water hydrant and our potable water supply hose with a thermostatically controlled heat tape and then insulated our hose with some inexpensive foam pipe insulation. I then covered the hydrant with some Reflectix brand insulation that I taped up.

Silver bag and hoses.

We had a second batch of cold weather and snow later during our stay. The temperatures did not stay that way, and the campground snowmen did not last long.

Tackling dummy

One Cool Camper

Roadside America Part 1

I like to find the goofy things that people build along the highways and byways of America. Here are some that we have found.

Paul Bunyan and friends

In Bemidji, Minnesota we visited Paul Bunyan with Babe, the Blue Ox.  We were accompanied by Kevin and Tammy.

Stealth

According to Roadside America website, he is Nanobouzou, Bunyan's Muffler Man Foe.  A statue of the big Indian -- actually a repurposed Muffler Man -- who beat Paul Bunyan to death with a fish. At least, according to Anishinaabeg tradition. To pay for his crime, the Indian stands frozen in a perpetual salute to a Bunyan statue across the street.

Hen Pecked?

While visiting Kevin and Tammy we made a trip down to Rothsway, MN which is declared (self-proclaimed?) the “Prairie Chicken Capital of Minnesota.” Here we saw the worlds largest Prairie Chicken.  Now to find the worlds largest Chicken Hawk and Leghorn Chicken....

Pheasant on a pole (not under glass)

While driving the yet to be named bus through Redfield, South Dakota, the Pheasant Capital of the World, I had to get my photo under this beauty.

Cars from the 50s and 60s

We were moving the bus Rapid City, SD to North Sterling Sate Park in CO. We took a few miles out of our way to visit Carhenge in Alliance, NE. It was built in a farm field north of Alliance, Nebraska, under the supervision of farmer (and engineer) Jim Reinders, who meant it as a memorial to his dad.

I hope you look forward to a future post of more Roadside America attractions that we visit.

Caramelized Onions

I wanted to try making caramelized onions, so I had Elizabeth buy a 3lb bag of yellow onions on her last trip to the Commissary.  Here they are, all cut up and in the pan on the induction burner at our campsite just waiting to be turned into something wonderful.

My goal was to make up some caramelized onions and store them in the refrigerator for future use.  Maybe to spread them on some hamburgers or in a sandwich.  After about 40 minutes of cooking they looked real good.

 I cooked them for about an other 20 minutes and they were a nice even brown and tasted GREAT. Sorry I did not get a photo of them at that stage...  I remembered I had about two cups of drippings from when I smoked five pounds of beef cheeks.  I would have to call it smoked beef consommé as it was the consistency of gelatin.  I pulled it out of the refrigerator and dumped it with about two cups of water, about two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce (all we had) and about the same amount of apple cider vinegar in the pan and let it all heat up and get all friendly.

Elizabeth toasted up some day old hamburger buns and in the bowl it all went.  

We didn't have any cheese to put on top but it was outstanding anyway.  I had two bowls and cant wait to make it again...

Elizabeth did not like the beef cheeks as they were very fatty but the drippings made what I would call smoked french onion soup.  I do wish we had some cheese to top it off with.

North Salt Lake City Utah

We departed Idaho and drove the yet to be named rock star bus to Pony Express RV Resort in North Salt Lake City, Utah.

I spent my high school years in Sandy, Utah, and decided to drive down to visit Alta High to see how it has changed.  We visited on a Saturday and did not enter the grounds due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Well, the school is currently undergoing a $54-million expansion and renovation as it is now 42 years old!!!! Am I really that old?  My freshman year was the first year it opened!

From the outside, the major change was the creation of a freestanding performing arts building.

Panorama of Alta High School

The freestanding performing arts building

We also drove the short distance to the house my parents purchased in 1978.  I spent four years in this house.  When I graduated High School, I joined the US Navy in October of 1981.  IIRC my parents sold this home in July of 1997 to move to Aurora, Colorado, to be closer to my sister, Annette, and her family.

They changed the color of the siding.

 

Also, while in North Salt Lake City I was able to meet up with one of my high school friends, Darryl, and his wife Patti. Darryl and I became friends while working at Ream's Grocery Store in Sandy, Utah.  The store we worked in is gone, but the chain is still in business in Utah. This was my first paying job, where I bagged groceries and later became a cashier.  This was before bar codes were required on products. Darryl and I spent a lot of time together at work and after work. We met up for lunch at a quaint place he recommended.

Harold and Darryl at the Red Iguana

The Red Iguana was featured on the TV show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (DDD).  I do enjoy going to DDDs for a meal, and I do recommend the Red Iguana.

MMMM great food

Patti commented that it is great to see old friends meet up and connect like they haven't aged a day. However, it had been about 35 years since I saw Darryl last.

We took a day trip up to Golden Spike National Historical Park.  Here they have a replica of the Jupiter (CP# 60) and a replica of UP# 119, which were the two locomotives to meet up where the golden spike was driven that joined up the nation's first transcontinental railroad.  If you look in your pocket and find a Utah State Quarter Dollar, you can see the event immortalized in coin form.

Hanging out in the engine house with the replica locomotives

The original "golden spike" is on display at the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University.  It is on my list of places to visit.

A special tie of polished California laurel was chosen to complete the line where the spike would be driven.  Here is the replica tie as the original was lost in the fires caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

We had a GREAT time with an old friend and seeing the area.  Next it is off to Heber City, Utah for an entire month to see two of my nieces and their families!