Salt Lake City

This is certainly not a town that either of us had ever thought about traveling to deliberately, but we are glad we made it.  The FamCamp on Hill AFB is very nice with a great view of the surrounding Wasatch Mountain range (complete with snow still at the summits).

View from the FamCamp

First impressions were favorable, Salt Lake City is smaller than expected, only 187,000 or so people, but CLEAN!  While it has the requisite commercial and industrial areas, there just doesn't seem to be much in the way of truly derelict districts.  They may be there, but we haven't run across them.  There are tons of parks, lots of things to do (most family oriented) and the people are friendly.  The city architecture is a wonderful mix of old and new.

County Municipal Building, downtown SLC

Downtown Library, across the square from the Municipal Building.

This has been a pretty low-key stop on our journey.  We got here on Saturday and spent Sunday (Father's Day) lounging around the trailer, watching a gentle, but persistent rain, and generally relaxing. Monday saw us out and about checking out the area.  Over the week we have visited the Tracy Aviary, Park City, home of the Sundance Film Festival and a venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics, 

Aspens in Iron Canyon, Park City, UT

hit the local farmer's market (got some wonderful fresh English peas), wandered the Utah Arts Festival,

Every mom's friend at a festival...PB & J sandwiches and milk...all proceeds go to a local children's art program.

ate at Ruth's Diner (been around since 1930), drove around Antelope Island checking out the Great Salt Lake and the resident buffalo, 

Great Salt Lake & Wasatch Mountains from Antelope Island

and sat around enjoying our new patio chairs.  In addition, Heinz has been busy doing some routine maintenance on the truck and tweaking odd jobs on the Airstream (that, my friends, is a never ending task).  He started polishing one of the exterior aluminum panels to see how that will work out.  Though a lot of work, the results will be terrific!

First of MANY panels to polish.

Here's our friends of the day, courtesy of Antelope Island and Tracy Aviary.

Kansas City to Moab and beyond

We’re back on the road.  We left Kansas City a week ago and headed west again.  Before leaving we managed to get the dining table and large awning installed.  Still have a few tweaks to complete on the armrest/liquor cabinet.

Trying out the new dining table - Heinz lost!

 Boy, is that shade going to feel good!

We drove from Kansas City to Longmont, CO on Saturday and spent a couple of nights with Heinz’s uncle.  Sunday we drove up to Estes Park to visit another aunt and uncle.  We had a couple of nice, relaxing, low-key days with lots of laughs and reminiscing with Heinz’s side of the family.

Monday found us packed up and heading out early for Utah.  We stayed at a small RV park in Moab called Ron's Pack Creek RV Camp.  It sure didn’t look like much when we pulled in.  It is not in the most attractive part of town and there was a small mobile home park in front.  However, the owners were extremely friendly, the park was exceptionally quiet, there was a tree of some sort (mostly cottonwoods) by every RV and tent pad, and the bathrooms, showers, and laundry room, while not fancy, were spotless.  The price was very good for a private camp, only $25.00 a night for full hook-up.  We had a choice of around 15 RV parks in Moab, but the thing that cinched this one for us was the deal the owner is running.  If you check the website he is offering free stays (with full hookups) for any active duty military member and/or their family - the only thing he would like in return is a unit patch.  You hear so much about people “supporting the troops” with nothing to show for it, and this couple is actually doing something tangible.  We felt the least we could do was to support them.  Please pass on the word of this great deal to anyone you know who can benefit from the offer, or anyone wanting to support them. 

On Tuesday we took off to scope out the area.  Neither of us had any idea just how big Moab, UT actually is, and were expecting a wide spot in the middle of the road.  Instead we found a thriving community of 5,000+ with a couple of car dealerships, 30+ restaurants, 15 hotels, etc.  It’s definitely an economy driven by the tourist industry, but a pleasant place to visit.  Along with checking out the town, we drove up to Arches National Park to determine our strategy for photographic opportunities - we timed this visit to coincide with the full moon and the chance to do some moonlight hiking.

We decided to hike up to Delicate Arch in time for sunset (along with 200 or so of our newest friends).  The hike is 1.5 miles (one way) across brushy terrain, open slickrock (got its name from the lack of traction when the rock is wet.) with no shade, around outcroppings, through washes, and all uphill.  It takes about an hour to complete.  The trip up is pretty spectacular and you cannot see the arch at all until you complete the last 100 yards of the trail that runs along a rock ledge with a 200 ft drop-off (no rails).  Then, as you turn the corner…there it is, a free-standing sandstone arch that is 52 feet tall.  

Slickrock section of the trail

Delicate Arch at sunset

Waiting for the moon to rise

Moon rising over the La Sal Mountains

Moon, La Sal Mountains and Delicate Arch...what a sight!

Of course, having climbed up in time for sunset and the moon’s rising we still had to get back down.  So off we went, hiking back down the ledge, across the washes, the slickrock and the brushy terrain…by moonlight.  It was pretty amazing just how much light the moon can provide when there are no city lights to compete.

Trail by moonlight

Slickrock by moonlight

After we made it back down to the truck, we took off to experiment with the camera and night photography.  The park allows hiking by moonlight, but we were just too tired to do any more, so we stayed close to the road for these shots.  We stayed at the park until about midnight seeing what I could do with night photography.  Bless Heinz, he drove me wherever I wanted to go and never complained once.

The Devil's Playground by moonlight

I love this photograph - that is strictly moonlight reflecting off the fence.  It reminds me of a movie poster for an old western.  I keep waiting for John Wayne to wander into the frame any moment.  The effect was enhanced by the fact that we could hear the coyotes howling as I was taking it.

We slept in on Wednesday and didn’t head out until mid-afternoon.  First stop was Canyonlands National Park, around 30 miles from Moab.  We went to the Islands in the Sky district; a broad mesa wedged between the Green and Colorado rivers.  There are mountain views in three directions, the La Sals to the east, the Abajos to the south, and the Henrys to the southwest.  The area gets less than 10 inches of precipitation a year, so is truly high desert.  This park was much less crowded than Arches, but just as spectacular.

Canyonlands mesas 

La Sal Mountains seen through Mesa Arch

Later we headed over to Dead Horse Point in Dead Horse Point State Park.  The area got its name from a legend that back in the 1800’s a group of cowboys rounded up a herd of wild horses and corralled them on a point on top of a mesa that had a narrow neck of land only 30 yards wide.  The neck was then fenced off with branches and brush.  The cowboys chose the horses they wanted and for reasons unknown, left the remaining horses corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below.

Colorado River from Dead Horse Point

On Thursday Heinz was tolerant yet again and climbed out of bed with me at 4:00am to go back to Arches National Park for more hiking.  This time we headed to Landscape Arch for some sunrise photography.  But at least this one was an easy hike of only about a mile along a well-marked, mostly flat trail.  But man, was it worth the trip!

Early morning moon setting over the Devil's Playground.  

The spot to the right is a window in the rock.

Landscape Arch just before sunrise

Landscape Arch at sunrise.  The impact of the sun on the rock was SO dramatic and is truly this orange!

After finishing up here, we headed over to Double Arch for some more early morning photography.  It was great being out in the park so early.  There were almost no other people around, the wildlife was venturing out for the day, and there was no sound but the wind.  Very peaceful!

Double Arch as you approach it.

Standing under the arches looking straight up...very disconcerting!

While this is early summer in most of the country, it’s late spring in the high desert.  With all the snow melt and spring run-off the desert is in glorious bloom.

We have lots more great photos, but simply can’t load them all on the blog.  If you’d like to see more from this leg of our journey, this is the link to Photobucket and our collection of photos for Kansas City to Moab.

As of yesterday we left Moab and have now landed at Hill AFB in Salt Lake City, so stay tuned for more adventures.

And as usual, here’s our friend of the day.

Abert's Squirrel

Seen from Pete and Maureen's porch in Estes Park, CO

Moab, Utah

June already??

It's almost a week into June and we are still in Kansas, but it's been a busy few weeks.

We've been working steadily on the trailer.  The closet is now completed, with fancy doors and wire drawers.  Along with the closet, Heinz re-designed the sofa and installed 5 wonderful deep drawers for storage.

Closet before the doors went on.  Drawers and hanging section for clothes; above is storage, below is for shoes and dirty laundry.

Closet with doors on, and pantry looking from the bedroom toward the front.

Sectional sofa with new drawers underneath

A dining table and end cabinet for the sofa that will be a liquor cabinet/storage unit for small items are almost complete, but not installed, so pictures later of those.

Over Memorial Day weekend we headed south to Wright Patman Lake in Texas for the annual Littlejohn family reunion (Teresa's family).  Heinz was jonesing for a long motorcycle ride after having been without his baby (BMW R1150 GSA) for 6 months, so off we went with a tent and sleeping bags packed on the bike along with clothes for a quick "little" ride of about 1,500 miles. 

We left Kansas City on Thursday and made it to Fayetteville, Arkansas on a cold, overcast day.  Along the way we had to stop at a WalMart for sweatshirts as we were dressed/packed for the 90 degrees we were expecting in Texas.  Friday was bright and sunny and as we got further south, the temperatures got warmer and warmer.  The campground at the lake was beautiful, with a nice breeze blowing all day and all night which kept the temperatures of 90+ bearable.

Home Sweet Home away from Home

Wright Patman Lake from our campsite

There were around 70 family members drifting in and out through the weekend from as far away as Colorado, and ranging in age from my dad at 3 months shy of 90, to babies of a few months.  It was great fun catching up with everyone and passing out hugs between eating great homemade southern cooking again.  Aunt Alice's blackberry cobbler cannot be beat, not to mention cousin Brenda's sausage gravy!  

Now, that's Breakfast!

Daddy enjoying sausage and eggs

Like at any good reunion, besides the food, there was lots of talking, laughing, reminiscing, playing of games, etc. and we indulged in it all. 

Horseshoes, volleyball, bingo, swimming, fishing...name your pleasure!

Cousin Brenda and sister Kathy catching up

Passing on the family history

After leaving the reunion we headed northwest to Norman, OK and hooked up with some old Air Force buddies for a night of laughs and conversation over a great meal at a place called Blu, a nice wine and food bar in Norman.  Tuesday found us back on the bike and headed back to Kansas City.  Made it with no problems except for aching backs and REAL aching behinds.  

Now we're back in Kansas for a week completing the installation of our new awnings and helping Carl and Suzi install a concrete pad in the backyard.

Front and side awnings...looking good!  The main one is yet to go on.

Boys and their toys prepping the ground for the concrete pad.

Framing in the pad

Sunday afternoon we cleaned up and headed out to Kansas City's 20th annual Vintage Motorcycle Show.  Wow, some really cool bikes were on display and we had a blast looking around while trying to keep our drool off the chrome.  The show was held at the old downtown airport's Air Museum, so we got a chance to sneak a peek at some vintage airplanes along with the bikes.

Sunday dinner was simple and cool, the main criteria for a day that made it to 93 degrees with 53% humidity...Spicy Cold Noodles.  The recipe is at the end of today's post if you need a simple, quick, hot weather meal.

Our friends of the day...

Come on guys, I can help dig, I know how...

Hey, am I tamping it down right?

Cold Spicy Noodles

Makes 4-6 servings

½ Lb. Angel hair pasta, or thin spaghetti (cooled under cold running water)

12 oz  Fresh bean sprouts, blanched, drained and cooled to room temperature

3 each Scallions, cut into ¼ inch sections (including green parts)

3 tbsp Smooth peanut butter

5 tbsp Soy sauce

2 ½ tbsp Red wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp Sesame oil

1 ½ tsp Sugar

1-3 tsp Chili oil (or to taste)

1 tsp Red pepper (or to taste)

2 tsp Ginger, grated (or to taste)

1.    Mix all sauce ingredients together and blend smooth with a whisk.

2.    Toss cooked noodles and blanched bean sprouts together to mix well.

3.    Put on serving platter; pour sauce mixture evenly over noodles.  Toss well.

4. Top with scallions and serve at room temperature.