Dino to SLC

It’s our final day! I can’t believe I have soooo much stuff! I thought everything would fit easily into my suitcase but boy was I ever wrong! I’ve stuffed it as full as possible and will have to carry on more items than I wanted. Good thing I was able to ship purchases from our Cody shopping spree.

We left the coffee pot, coffee, mustard and LOTS of trash as we lightened our load on our home stretch. We put a sign up stating “yours to keep” so they didn’t think we left it accidentally. All we have to do today is drive and check in and finish our blogs before heading home tomorrow morning with a 7:50am flight. It will be a long day but our homes and beds will be a welcome sight.
Reached SLC (Salt Lake City) at 1:30p and decided to make a “dry run” to the airport and car rental location for distance and time since time will be short in the morning as we grab a continental breakfast and head to the car. Only 3 miles and 5 minutes so all should be well in the a.m..

Knowing that it was too early to checkin at the Baymont Inn & Suites at the airport, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at the Grill located just across the parking lot from the hotel. I had the special Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich and Melodie opted for a gyro. We checked in around 3p and requested a 4:30am wake-up call.

What a difference! This hotel was the same price as Vernal’s Rodeway Inn, $71.22, but this is luxury compared to the horrible room conditions in Vernal. We have two queen beds with satin bedspreads and thick comforters with 4 pillows for each bed. There’s a writing desk and a lounge chair next to the window. The cold AC and the warm bed welcomed me to sleep but I must stay up a while longer or I’ll be up at midnight!
An 8p snack of PB&J and graham crackers washed down with a Velvet coke, a hot shower and I’m off to dreamland. Didn’t even do anything with my photos or journal.

My Last Blog for this Trip!

Hope to see/read you all next year.

Good thing we don’t trust others to follow through. Our wake-up call never came but the clock radio and Melodie’s cell phone did the trick to get us up and moving at the crack of dawn.

We were all ready to go by 5:15am and decided not to wait for the free breakfast at 6 but get to the airport early and eat there. We gifted housekeeping with our cooler and leftovers of peanut butter, jelly, graham crackers and some provolone cheese.
We turned in the car and left my hat and our two gallon jugs of water for them to dispose of. See? We gifted many people over our last two days! ☺

Checked in at the Frontier Airlines counter and checked our bags. The woman at the counter was very accommodating and offered to change our seats to the ones at the emergency exit row since there would be more legroom. We were happy to take them. Then she had a problem with Melodie’s I.D. Well, of course she would have a problem with her I.D., she was looking at MY driver’s license! We should never have asked her about her silver ring with 3 dangling charms on it. THAT must have screwed her up.
Checked our bags and then had to haul them to a “little man” to put on a conveyor belt through the screening machine. The conveyor belt behind the counter was now a shelf for signs so they can make the customer haul their bags yet again.

The security lines were long so we chose the line marked “expert traveler” because it looked like it was moving faster. Sure ‘nuf! We were the experts without kids, without special needs and without problems. We had our I.D. and ticket out and our bags ready to go on the conveyor belt for scanning. No problems here!

We had breakfast next since there were no food establishments listed on the diagram for the airside concourses. Hot chocolate for both of us, a scone for Melodie and a banana nut muffin for me. Reached airside and sat to wait for our flight to be called.
We got onboard only to discover that those exit row seats that were so great were already OCCUPIED! In fact, as we stood in the aisle while the flight attendant sorted out our situation, we discovered there were 10 of us with the same problem.
We were later told that the girl at the counter screwed up many seats. We got our seats and there were 6 extras to spare so there wasn’t a worry that we wouldn’t make the flight and we still left SLC and arrived Denver on time!

Checked in with the counter attendant in Denver to make sure our seats weren’t double-booked and they assured us that all was well and this flight was full. But we could pay an extra $25 for 5” more legroom if we wanted those seats. We declined.
We had lunch of a chicken sandwich and a turkey chef salad. I was still trying to whittle down the debt I had built up with Melodie when I discovered we had the rental car to share and now SHE owed ME! Yippee! We really try to keep things even-Steven throughout the trip which makes coming home a little easier even though the charge card bill will tell us otherwise.

Landing in Tampa was not smooth until touchdown and we found out why shortly after. There was a lightning storm going on and we were the last flight the tower allowed to land. THEN they stopped us 50’ from our gate until the lightning cleared. I called Erik to let him know what was going on. He said he was surprised we couldn’t tell that there were 50-60 mph wind gusts. He had driven through hail on his way to the airport to get us.

Luckily though we only stayed in the plane an extra 10 minutes and we all had to turn off our cell phones, sit down and buckle up for the last 50 feet of travel to hook up with gangway.

Erik picked us up and dropped Melodie off at her home and then me. He had a meeting at 6p to make so I opted for my favorite Chinese dish at the local restaurant and will grocery shop tomorrow to refresh my fridge.

What a glorious trip! We’re already discussing next year’s adventure. I truly like having a friend that travels the way I do and we don’t hate each other at the end of three weeks of close living space in the car and in the hotel.

Hit the hay at 7:30p, woke due to the heat (78 degrees was the thermostat setting but a far cry from the 30-50 degrees we had during that past three weeks) and finally got up at 5am. Lots to do since I left my packed suitcase, backpack and day pack laying on the floor and chair right next to the front door.

So nice to be home!

Dinosaur National Monument

The beds were divine. We each had our own queen with lots of room. We set the thermostat at high-cool and 55 degrees and snuggled under the blankets for great night’s sleep. Up around 6a again. Boy! That’s 8a Tampa time! That 5a work alarm in another week is going to be tough.

We had brought in our coffeemaker even though the office has a continental breakfast. We’re just picky when it comes to our coffee and we like to have it early while we get ready. We stopped at the “breakfast” around 9a and found chocolate chip mini-muffins, bagels with butter, a toaster, coffee and juice. Guess you can’t get any more “continental” than that! We grabbed a bagel and juice, returned to our room and made the last of our instant oatmeal to go with the bread options. Took a couple apples since we plan to return to the room for our lunch around 1p.

Off to Jensen, Ut where the quarry for Dinosaur NM is located. They had built the visitor’s center on bentonite which is a swelling clay. That means, in the winter it contracts and in the summer it swells. With rain, it becomes very slippery and slick. As it dries, it gets a popcorn appearance. The center started to sink and had to be moved to another site beginning 2006. It won’t be ready to open until Fall 2011.

The temporary center offered all the amenities of a national monument visitor’s center and we availed ourselves of many and picked up a petroglyph copy to hang on our wall as a souvenir.

We hopped the 10am bus to the trail. I wasn’t too excited about this day’s adventure. Melodie, as a geologist, sees wonder in every rock. Me? I see rocks. But she wanted to reach the Morrison even if she had to crawl. What’s a Morrison? Boy did I find out! It is a rock formation where there are dinosaur bones still embedded in the rock for us to see: a collarbone, femur, and other less identifiable bone fragments. This was much more exciting than I had ever figured. The hike to the Morrison had been a sea bed. We were actually walking on the bottom of a sea thousands of years old.

A park ranger, John, manned the top of the hike to explain and show the many fossils embedded in the rock. As we arrived, he was just about to change shifts with Erica but he showed us some of the fossils and shared a story of tripping over a dinosaur bone. Just like an 8-year old kid, he bent down and carefully removed the dirt around in order to get a good look and was thrilled to see what the Universe had given him. After examination, he dutifully replaced the bone and the surrounding dirt to keep it in its original location and condition. Me? I’d have kept the darn thing! But you’re not supposed to do that.

The temperature today…99 degrees. The temps at Dinosaur? 10 degrees higher. Armed with sunscreen, a hat and lots of water, we had little problem except for the occasional breathlessness from the climb. Our 7’ below sea level bodies were working hard at 7000’+ levels. And the heat was a scorcher and very dry.

We grabbed the shuttle back to the visitor’s center at 11:40a, made a couple purchases and went off on our 13-mile auto tour. The first stop was Swelter Shelter. So named by geologists who worked out in the sweltering heat and found some shade at this spot AND petroglyphs. We continued through acres of the Chew Ranch with its “private property” signs on each dirt tracked paths off the main tour road. They raise cattle and race horses and grow corn, wheat and hay. It was the biggest cash purchase in the county in 1941 at $12,000 for 244 acres of farm land and grazing rights to another 1100 acres!

We took the campground turnoff down to the Green River and were able to feel how insignificant man truly is next to these great creations of Mother Nature. Petroglyphs were found on the gravel road. These carvings in the desert varnish on the rocks were created by the Fremont Indians. Can you find the 6 lizards on the wall?

This road ended at a pioneer cabin built by Josie Bassett Morris. She built many cabins on her land near the Green River in a large area of shade trees. She put up barbed wire fences for her cattle and used a boxed canyon as a pen. She lived in this remote area alone, except summers when her grandchildren stayed with her, until she broke her hip during an accident with her horse and later died of her injuries, at the age of 90!

Wandering her paths from her cabin, we came to wonderful pond with these birds. Don’t have an idea of what kind of bird they are but their beauty demanded a photo. And the dark ones flew straight at us after a time, as if to say, get out of here! So we did.
Back in Vernal, we had a salad bar dinner at P.J.’s. Our bodies really needed some veggies but the all-you-can salad bar had fruit and tacos too. We ordered a piece of pie to go since we were full but keep missing our desserts. We drove the town for one last photo op of the flowers and a cute corner park called Cobble Rock Park. The fountains started up and two youngsters were enjoying the cool-off time.

Built on the oil company, Vernal definitely voices its opinions about oil drilling as the man with the sign will attest. There were plenty of horns honking as they passed especially the truckers. The many pots of petunias lined the streets and graced many of the businesses including our motel.

We emptied the car of all of our stuff and brought it in to the motel room to pack one last time for our flight home. We will be checking our bags and paying the fee since they are bulging with purchases and too big and heavy to carry-on or fit into the overhead compartments. At 30 lbs going out, we hope they don’t exceed the 50 lbs. coming back.

Journaling, photo downloading, checking our email and Facebook were the agenda items for the evening along with a pie and coffee around 7:30p. The plan is to hit the hay by 10p and get up for last-minute packing and breakfast to start our final drive around 11a tomorrow to SLC (Salt Lake City).

Pinedale, WY to Vernal, UT via Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Didn’t have a good night’s sleep in a single bed where I felt like I was going to fall out every time I turned over and would hit my hand on the night stand to the right. Oh well, breakfast made up for it bigtime! But the home was beautiful and Ashli, our hostess & manager of the B&B, was a delight. She shared her husband's art work. His tile in and outside homes was gorgeous and very innovative.

8am breakfast of French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, fresh fruit, coffee and OJ. Sure beats instant oatmeal any day! We stayed to enjoy the wifi and hit the road at 10:15a for our 4 ½ hours to Vernal via Flaming Gorge.
What a find! We were driving down Hwy 191 in Wyoming when we came upon an Historic Marker for the OREGON TRAIL! We had been at the Salt River Pass – Landers Cutoff on the 9th but couldn’t SEE the trail but just read about it. The wagon tracks went as far as the eye could see. How exciting to think about the many pioneers who suffered greatly to make this trek across our country.

We traveled Wy 530 from I-80 for the more scenic route which put us closer to the Gorge when we reached it. There were pronghorn antelope everywhere on the first half of the drive. Once Melodie had her camera at-the-ready, we didn’t see another one ever again. Thousands of acres of fenced land followed us on each side of the road. What does it take to own and maintain such vast amounts of land?

Saw the Flaming Gorge Reservoir long before reaching any visitor’s center. First we stopped at Red Canyon Visitor’s Center and got an over-the-edge view of the gorge with boaters enjoying the water. Upon leaving, we came across a herd of Bighorn sheep, probably 35 ewes and lambs. The big Daddies were up in the mountains waiting until the right “season” to make their return. They looked like a group of lawnmowers as they ate their way along the roadside eating as much lush, green grass as possible. Bighorns were on our trip list of wildlife to see and it took until today to see them. But this was an up-close-and-personal way of getting to see them. Some had ear tags and transistor tracking devices as collars. Guess they try to keep track of the herd, its movements and their numbers.

Decided to press on to the Flaming Gorge Dam even though it was out of our way and added a few more miles to trip. There were “special” parking places so my “senior” friend, Melodie, did the honors of presenting the sign for each of you. We visited the center, took the drive over the dam and reached an overlook to see the back side of the dam. Photos taken, we were awed by the high-flying osprey, so we stood and took a dozen MORE photos. I guess the Daggett County sheriff parked there must have had a good laugh at our expense. When we dumped them on our computer and saw them larger, they were all BUZZARDS! BIG RED-HEADED BUZZARDS!

Leaving Flaming Gorge, we saw a Firefighters Memorial in a campground and wanted to get a photo for my Tech Specialist, Tom. After driving throughout the campground, we found a TRAIL to the memorial. Wait a minute! We still had another hour’s drive after a long day of driving and it was 5:00 so Tom had to settle just for the sign pointing the way. We were too tired!

But our bonus for putting out good karma for Tom gave us a campside mule deer up close. Cute doe. And these porta potty visits have come to an end. Ever use the restroom and feel a breeze FROM the toilet? Can be a bit unnerving. They do a good job of keeping it clean and the smell down. The parks also provide Purell for hand "washing" as we leave.

Reached Vernal, Ut at 6:10p and checked in to our Roadway Inn motel. From the looks of the motel office, we should have known what to expect in the room. We can cope with the sink not draining, the soap dish broken off the wall in the shower, patches of tile and big white caulk filling cracks throughout the tub area as long as the beds
give us a good night’s sleep.

Let’s see.

Lake Lodge to Pinedale via Jackson, Wy

Got a 4 ½ hour drive today with a stopover at Chambers House B&B in Pinedale and another 4 hour drive tomorrow. Had to break up the drive and Pinedale turned out to be a perfect place to eliminate an 8 ½ total drive to Vernal, Utah. Left Lake Lodge at 9a after getting some compensation for not having hot water in our cabin. The girl at the bell hop station demonstrated the call “board” to us. It’s magnetic and with a push of a button from any room in the hotel would call for a bell hop to come to their room. There are no bells or lights or whistles so they had to be attentive to the board to know when someone was calling for them.

We spent a couple hours at West Thumb on the southern end of the park before driving through Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, Wy. West Thumb has more pools and mud pots. Some have been dormant for years and some are just now starting to come back to life. West Thumb used to be a stagecoach stop for the rich and famous as they made their 5-day trip through Yellowstone at a cost of $50 which included their food, transportation and lodging. They would take a boat across Yellowstone Lake instead of continuing on in the dusty stagecoach to the Lake Hotel.

As we made our way through the parks to Jackson, we stopped at Moose Falls which we had missed on our journey north three weeks ago. Some beautiful pictures of these falls were taken and we discovered that the young people working the parks take advantage of these falls for sunbathing and swimming.


After miles of beauty in our American West, we reached Pinedale, Wy at 3:45p and checked in to our room for the night. We grabbed dinner of Philly Steak and Cheese made from prime rib slices with a side of potato salad. The view was beautiful at the Fremont Lodge overlooking a lake with boaters, sailors and waterskiers. We were told that the ranchers enjoy their boats during the summer months on this lake.

We returned to Chambers House B&B to catch up on our journals and download our photos.

July 23 Lake Lodge in Yellowstone

Up like a shot, make some coffee, out the door to Hayden Valley. Today is our last shot for Yellowstone wildlife and we’re determined to find some…the 4-legged kind, that is! No make-up but I’m sure the animals won’t mind.

Traveled Hayden for one last morning at 7am and stayed out there until 9a. We were greeted by deer before we even left the Lake Lodge parking lot! And boy were the bison coming into rut. They were grunting loudly and some ladies had her “man” following her wherever she decided to go. And we caught a couple territory fights between bulls who thought they owned the same “lady”. Witnessed some action on the part of the adults while the bison calves mimicked the act. We were in awe of all the activity and lots of noise from our bison herds.

There were many car backups as the bison “owned” the center of the road. One SUV got a little impatient and wiggled his way through three bison making them scurry. A park ranger in an SUV turned on his light and went after him. I hope the guy gets a hefty fine! And we were fortunate to catch a wolf on the far hillside traveling away from the herd since he was all alone.

Hungry. It’s time to call it quits and get some more coffee and breakfast.
After breakfast, we returned to the Mud Volcano Area and walked the 2/3 mile loop to see all the churning, bubbling and spewing pools. As we parked a little girl was passing by and I just had to get her picture. Hope you enjoy it as she is fighting the sulphur smell. BTW, I’ve never seen soooo many redheads as we have on this trip. I’ll bet we’ve seen over 30! And cuties too!

In 1978, Cooking Hillside got its name when a series of earthquakes shook the dense forest but left the trees standing. Soon afterwards, “the ground temps reached 200 degrees Fahrenheit and the roots sizzled in the super-heated soil and trees toppled over one by one as steam rose eerily between the branches.” The hillside resembles the Mt. St. Helens volcano disaster.

Black Dragon’s Cauldron had these swarming bees that never left the ground as they buzzed around in circles. They have black-and-blue striped bottoms and were attracted only to the dirt around this mud pot. And finally Dragon’s Mouth Spring looked and sounded like a dragon in his cave. It’s almost 1:30p and time for lunch. Returning to the cabin to download, eat and rejuvenate our camera batteries.

After lunch was our final run to find a bear. Not a 1 or 2-year old but a full grown bear up close and personal. We headed out to Fishing Bridge and took Bill Hood’s advice to travel along the shores of Yellowstone Lake for bears.

We traveled about 8-10 miles until the shoreline disappeared and the road rose into s-curves as it gained altitude. We turned around. No bear no matter how many turnouts we took and searched through the meadows and the tree line up above. What a bummer. We decided to return to the cabin but continue our search as we drove the same distance back.


SUCCESS! A large black bear was walking parallel to the road about 30 yards off. He wasn’t on the lake side of the road but the mountainous, treed side. He walked for about 20 minutes staying near the road and then veered towards the mountain where more lush flowers and streams were available. We watched him until he planted himself in a food-rich spot and remained for almost 10 minutes which caused us to quit photographing him. Melodie had over 50 shots and decided she had enough. I was able to pare mine down to 5 when I dumped them into my computer. We’re so thrilled that we have to celebrate. We went to the visitor’s center to report the sighting and then to the general store so Melodie could purchase a bear charm for her necklace. Filled with glee we returned to our cabin to work on our photos and then go to dinner at the cafeteria at 7p.

Getting ready for dinner, I couldn’t understand why my face was so sunburned. I had forgotten to put makeup on all day and the time spent photographing wildlife on the side of the road was the only time I didn’t wear my large-brimmed hat. Silly me! Makeup it is tomorrow. Shrimp scampi over white rice was the fare tonight and delicious. It wasn’t a ton of food and we left satisfied and not stuffed. It is time for journaling and a beverage before hitting the hay.

For the 2nd night, Melodie had no hot water for her shower. Let’s see if I can get a discount out of them for the inconvenience.