Monday June 10th 2019

Late last weeks cool weather continues to improve. Today was another few days warmer than yesterday. The temperature peaked in the low seventies. Tomorrow will be back at the normal temperature for this time of year in the high seventies to low eighties.

This is my last day at Willard Bay State Park. I’ve enjoyed my stay, but will probably find a different place when I pass through this area again. The down side is the continuous road noise from Interstate 15. The road has a steady stream of traffic at all hour of the day and the topology of the land seems to funnel the sound into the campground. With the windows closed and the AC on it would be fine, but in the current weather I want the windows open.

I made another grocery trip today to get provisions for the next week. I’ll be in areas that are not close to supermarkets. My original intent was to move across southern Idaho over the next week. In April, when I was looking for places to make reservations, I couldn’t find any place in the Twin Falls or Boise area. All of the viable options along Interstate 84 seemed to be booked. Instead I’m going a little further north in Idaho to Arco for three nights. I stayed at the Craters of the Moon KOA in 2017 and will spend another three nights there this week. My next stop will be just over the state line in Oregon next weekend.

After stocking the pantry and refrigerator I took another walk around the State Park. The wild flowers and bird life continue to draw my attention. Today I saw a large white bird swimming in the reservoir through the shore grass. It turned out to be a White Pelican. I had to crop and blow up my picture to be sure. This location is near one of their breading areas. I’ll miss the opportunity to see interesting wildlife in the campground. I don’t think my next stop will have that possibility, but the next two after that should.

Sunday June 9th 2019

The temperature rebounded by ten degrees today. The bright sun got the temperature up to the high sixties. It was a very comfortable day.

I didn’t let the weather alter my plans today. After breakfast this morning I set out for the Golden Spike National Historical Park. It’s about forty miles from my camp at Willard Bay State Park. The drive was through ranch and farm land to an area in the middle of nowhere on the north side of the Great Salt Lake. The two companies building the transcontinental railroad met at Promontory Summit on May 10th 1869; a few weeks over 150 years ago.

The entire site is a reconstruction of the meeting site. The route was shorted around the turn of the twentieth century with the opening of a causeway for the railroad across the northern part of the Great Salt Lake. The tracks through Promontory Summit were dormant until they were recycled as scrape to support World War II. The restoration of the area as a National resource began in the 1960s for the one hundredth anniversary in 1969. The two locomotives are reconstructions of the originals built in the 1970s.

The park, its displays and presentations are very well done. I watched the movie about the history of the railroad construction then went outside to observe the two locomotives and the location of the gold spikes. The actual spikes are currently on display in the Utah State Capital as part of the 150 anniversary.

The best part of the day was watching the engines build steam and get underway. Each of the two locomotives is moved in turn back down the track and then returned to their head to head position on either side of the Golden Spike location. A park ranger did a good job of describing the engines and what was happening as they moved, blew their whistles and rang their bells.

When I returned to my RV home in the afternoon I was all alone in my part of the campground. All of the weekend campers had departed for home. Just before dark a couple of overnight campers arrived to keep me company.

Saturday June 8th 2019

Today was a beautiful weather day … for April. It was about twenty degrees below the seasonal average. Even with full sun the temperature didn’t get out of the fifties today. Adding a little additional discomfort was a five to ten mile per hour breeze off the lake. You needed to stay out of the breeze in the sun to be comfortable.

The cold temperature caused me to change my plans for the day. When I woke up this morning it was in the low forties in my RV home. I turned on the TV and pulled the bed covers up to my chin. It was a very late start to the day. Breakfast was over about noon and all thoughts of do any touring were put off until tomorrow.

The weekend residents of the park didn’t have the same option. They need to pack all of their activities into their one full day in the park. The Willard Bay Reservoir is the main attraction for the weekenders. Many of them have kayaks, boats and other water toys. The cold weather didn’t seem to stop them from testing the water, but I don’t think they found it as refreshing as it could be.

I took a walk from the campground to the beach. There were a few families having picnics and playing on the beach, but I didn’t see anyone in the water. A few people were paddling kayaks near the beach. There were also more than the usual handful of people fishing. Today was free fishing day in Utah and I suspect many people were taking advantage of the opportunity. From the beach I continued walking south in the park through the boat launching area with many empty trailers in the parking lot to the boat piers on the opposite side of the marina area. There were more people fishing in that area. Overall I walked about two miles.

Friday June 7th 2019

It rained during the first half of the night. By morning the clouds had cleared and a bright sunny sky was overhead. Unfortunately it didn’t last. A cold front approaching from the west brought clouds and cooler temperatures to the area in the afternoon.

Today’s destination was the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden UT. I’ve wanted to visit the museum for some time. I didn’t get an opportunity when I was in the area in 2017, but when I plotted a route through Utah for this year, I had to stop. It is not uncommon for large military bases to have museums. I’ve stopped at several on my travels. They all have similar elements along with a unique character. One common element seems to be the use of the museum for some of the bases ceremonies. Today at the Hill Aerospace Museum they were having a retirement ceremony. It made the parking lot and parts of the museum very crowded.

I don’t think I saw anything significantly different from other aerospace museums. There were probably unique plane variants used to tell a specific story. The two hangers were setup in a chronological order. A variant of the Wright flyer greets you at the entry. It is closely followed by World War I aircraft and memorabilia. World War II gets in share of attention with B-17, B-24 and B-25 bombers. Most of the fighters of the era were also present. A section of the first hanger is also dedicated to the Korean conflict and the transition to jet aircraft.

The second hanger has aircraft from the Vietnam era and a few from the generation that followed it. The F-15, F-16s and A-10 were all near the area being used for the retirement ceremony so I didn’t get a close up view. I moved on from that hanger to the outside display area before the actual retirement ceremony started. A steady line of guests, most in uniform, were coming into the hanger as I was leaving.

The outside display area has aircraft that would take up to much space inside. I saw a C-124 transport, a B-1 bomber, a B-52 bomber, a B-47 bomber, a B-28 bomber as well as a C-130 transport and a KC-135 tanker. Other aircraft were also scattered around the outside display area. While most of the aircraft are buttoned up tight, the C-130 was open for a walk through tour. You could enter via the lowered back gate and exit out the side door in the front.

I enjoyed my trip to the Hill Aerospace Museum. The thing that makes this museum unique is the relationship to Hill Air Force Base. For every aircraft on display the placards describe Hill Air Force Base’s roll in the deployment, maintenance or support of the aircraft. Very few of the older planes were actual operational aircraft. Most of them were resorted from parts of other aircraft, but they’ve managed to make a very complete display.

When I got back to the campground it was almost 3PM. The empty peace and quiet of the week day campground was about to end. Shortly after the official 3PM check in time a steady stream of weekend RVers arrived. The park will be full this weekend.

Thursday June 6th 2019

When I woke up this morning there was a lot of discussion on the TV about thunderstorms. The Salt Lake City area was getting hit by a series of storms, but in my area north of the city it was just cloudy. Later in the morning there was the sound of thunder to the west in my area. A quick check of the weather radar on my phone showed a big storm coming across the Great Salt Lake right for my location. It continued to get darker and louder for a half an hour or so before it got brighter again. The storm seemed to divide and pass to the north and south of my location.

Once the sunny and warm part of the day arrived I got my day started. My first order of business was to take the bicycle off the car. I need to remove it along with its rack to access the rear lift gate. On my agenda for the day was a grocery run which is a whole lot easier when I can just load up the back. The grocery run was to the Walmart in Perry UT about seven miles north. There were a couple of indicators that I’m in a new area. On the bread aisle most of the brands I’m familiar with from the east coast and across the south are missing. Of course there are equivalent alternatives. On the positive side, prices on many items also seemed to be a few cents lower.

With all of the necessary tasks for the day accomplished, I set out to explore the Willard Bay State Park this afternoon. The park is on a narrow strip of land between the Willard Bay Reservoir an Interstate 15. The reservoir was created in the early 1960s by damming off a section of the Great Salt Lake, pumping out the salt water and allowing the reservoir to fill with fresh water run off from the mountains. The state park includes three campgrounds, two marinas and a beach. I walked from my campsite in the Cottonwood campground to the beach and boat launch area. The north marina was visible across a cove. The south marina and the third campground are located seven miles to the south.

There was a lot of chop from the wind on the reservoir, but people were still taking advantage of the warm weather. Several people were swimming and enjoying a picnic at the beach. Other people were speeding across the water on personal water craft close to the shore. Out in the lake bigger boats looked like they wanted to pull skiers, boarders or tubers, but I think the chop from the wind was working against them. This seems like a nice park with lots of recreation opportunities. The down side for campers is the noise. Busy interstate 15 and a well used rail line on the other side of the interstate are a constant source of noise. You get used to it, but have noticed that the volume on my TV is cranked a bit higher than usual.

This evening the thunderstorms returned. Severe thunderstorm warnings were out for the whole region. The National Weather Service advisory warned of hail and seventy mile an hour wind. The weather radar showed the storms coming across the Great Salt Lake. Unlike this morning they made it all the way to my location. There wasn’t a lot of heavy wind at ground level, but the tops of the cottonwood trees were swaying hard. Hard rain with some very close lightening lasted for about an hour with a few let ups in the middle. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as the warning.

Wednesday June 5th 2019

Today was a travel day filled with annoyances. Nothing happened of consequence just things that could of gone better.

I pulled out of Utah Lake State Park at quarter to twelve. It was earlier than I’d intended, but I wasn’t about to sit around watching the clock once I was ready to travel. The early departure would have an impact later.

My route north was through the entire Salt Lake City metro area. Only the last ten miles or so were out of the heavy city traffic. I needed to buy gas along the way. The place I scoped out ahead of time was a lot closer to the center of Salt Lake City than I realized. Getting off and on the Interstate was a challenge. There was a great deal of lunch hour traffic on the road, but I really needed gas. I put two whole credit card authorizations worth of gas into the tank. I didn’t attempt a third pass of the credit card. The second pass is often refused, so my odds of getting the third pass approved were slim. The credit card company’s anti-fraud software isn’t the most predictable thing in the world. The two authorizations bought a little over fifty gallons of gas which brought the gauge into the full area. With the higher price of gas in this area I should buy gas shortly after the needle passes half a tank.

I arrived at the Willard Bay State Park just before two. This is when my earlier than planned departure bit me. The rules for this park are no check-ins before 3PM. The gate attendant wouldn’t check me in. I had to make a u-turn with the motorhome and towed car and wait off property until check in time. A rest area on the highway just north of the state park provided a refuge while I watched the hour click away. I returned shortly after 3PM and checked in with no problem. I have a full hookup site for the next six nights.

Tuesday June 4th 2019

The day began with temperatures in the high fifties. It was a bright sunny day that raised the temperature to around 80 by late afternoon. There were scattered big fluffy clouds in the area most of which hugged the mountains.

I spent the day enjoying the Utah Lake State Park. I took a couple of walks around the marina and along the Provo River that empties into the lake beside the park. The marina was dredged in the first few months of 2018 which is probably the source of all the dirt where the ‘A’ camping loop used to be located. The marina was getting pretty good use for a weekday in early June. There were a number of groups enjoying water sports on the lake. The Provo River is running fast and the lake level seems to be fairly high.

It was a good relaxing day to prepare to move on tomorrow. I’m moving about one hundred miles to another Utah State Park north of Ogden. Checkout here is not until 2PM, so I plan to stay until around noon before getting on the road north.

Monday June 3rd 2019

Today was a travel day to Utah Lake State Park in Provo Utah. I left Red Canyon Village Campground just before 9:30 this morning. I only had about a four hour drive, so I had intended to depart a little later. Everybody around me was packing up and departing this morning. It caused me to get started with the finished packing a little earlier than I’d planned. Getting started was complicated by the after effect of yesterday’s hikes. My calves (spelled correctly in this blog entry) really complained when I first got moving. As long as I kept moving the pain went away.

Traffic was light until I reached Utah’s major population center in the Wasatch Front. I found time to enjoy the drive and take a few pictures out the bug covered front window of my motorhome. The most complicated part of the drive was crossing the mountain range at the end of Interstate 70. It was a long haul up the slope complicated by the parts of the road under construction. In the one lane areas I had a few cars backed up behind my slow pace.

I arrived at Utah Lake State Park around 1:30. There wasn’t anyone staffing the park entry station, but I had a prepaid reservation and knew what site I was assigned. Finding my site and getting set up was not difficult. Later in the day I went back and formally checked in. I spent a week or so at this park in 2017, but the area I parked is now covered with ten feet or more of gravel. Finding out why is now on my curiosity list. This is just a two night stop on my way north.

Sunday June 2nd 2019

Today was cloudier and cooler than yesterday. The temperature peaked in the high sixties and a few of the clouds dropped some rain on the area. None of the showers lasted more than a couple of minutes and the sun was still shinning during some of them.

I got an early start for my last day of touring in Bryce Canyon National Park. My goal to get ahead of the crowds was partially successful. I managed to get a parking space at each of the viewing areas I stopped at, but I still was stuck in line for more than few minutes at the fee collection booths. By mid afternoon I had checked out all of the viewing areas in the park that I hadn’t visited in the past. I skipped the very busy Sunrise and Sunset viewing areas that I have visited on previous trips. The other thing I didn’t get to do was hike the trails below the canyon rim. I made another short test walk below the rim, but I’m clearly not conditioned for an extended hike. My calfs are complaining and I was puffing heavily on the climb back to the top of the canyon wall.

Back at camp this afternoon I started to prepare for travel tomorrow. The bicycle is loaded on the car and the gas grill has been stowed in the basement storage. I moving a little over two hundred miles to the Provo Utah area in the morning.

Bryce Point

Paria View

Inspiration Point

Fairyland Point

Saturday June 1st 2019

After several cloudy and rainy days, the sun finally became the dominant component to the day. The day began with a clear blue sky. A few puffy white clouds moved through the area during the day, but the sun won the battle for the sky. The temperature peaked around seventy.

I started the day with a hike on the Mossy Cave trail. It is located on Utah Rt 12 in the northeast part of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is not in the main plateau area of the park so it gets fewer visitors. It was an enjoyable hike along a flowing river. The Mossy Cave is supposed to be spectacular at colder times of the year. All of the accumulated ice had melted by June 1st. The best part of the hike was the towering canyon walls, spires, hoodoos, and windows along the river leading to the waterfall. There is still a high volume of water in the river.

After hiking the Mossy Cave trail I drove into the main part of Bryce Canyon NP. I was rapidly reminded that today was Saturday. Traffic was very heavy with a long backup at the fee station. The first parking lot I tried to park in was overflowing. The only way I was going to see the things I wanted was to park in the large lot outside the park and ride the shuttle bus into and around the park. That wasn’t a very appealing choice, so I’ll plan on getting into the park early tomorrow.

On the way back to my RV home I stopped at the Red Canyon Visitors Center again. I managed to take the hike along the canyon walls that I started in the rain on Thursday. The trail climbs through the trees and rock formations along the rock walls. It gains a few hundred feet in altitude and provides a good view of the area.

I took a lot of pictures on both hikes. A few of the better pictures that represent the terain are included below.

Mossy Cave Trail

Red Canyon Pink Ledges Trail