Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, totally worn out, shouting "Wow...What a Ride!"

Friday, July 6, 2018

UT to IA

June 18-30, 2018

Not having received any confirmations from an of our inquiries yet we decided to head towards UT. We tried to get reservations in Page AZ but Wahweep was full and boondocking was out with the high temps. So on Monday, the 18th, morning we headed to Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane UT. This was going to be a long travel day, 376 miles is way more than we usually do  but we arrived at our destination by mid afternoon. We had a nice large pull thru, FHU, with an expansive view out our door. If only it hadn't been so hot we could have enjoyed the covered patio site WS23 offered.



Hurricane UT is near Zion National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Having already been to Zion NP and not wanting to deal with large crowds we headed to Cedar Breaks NM. A beautiful ride with a 2 mile hike on the Alpine Loop Trail at 10,000' was just what we needed.










By the time we arrived home we had an email from Lake Coralville near Iowa City IA. We were offered a position and their Visitor Center, 2.5 days on and 4 days off. Not having heard anything from other inquiries we decided to take them up on their offer. We had paid thru Friday the 22nd and figured it would take a week to get there, 1500 miles to cover. The next few days were spent taking another scenic ride and then get groceries stocked for our mad dash to IA. Looking at the weather we decided to head out a day early and left on Thursday, keeping an eye to the weather we knew we might be moving along quicker than originally planned.

Our first travel day was 480 miles north thru UT to I80 and onto Rock Springs WY, a new state for us. We decided to stay at another fairgrounds, the Sweetwaters Event Complex is home to the fairgrounds and there campground. FHU's for $28/night, we decided to stay 2 nights.

After looking at what was available in the area to do and knowing we didn't want to spend the day riding in the truck we decided to take a short scenic drive. The Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour takes you on a butte above Rock Springs. The Rock Springs BLM is headquarters for the Wild Horse Program in Wyoming,  The 24 mile scenic ride on gravel roads not only offers the opportunity to view wild horses but also other wildlife and there are some expansive views to enjoy.


 

 


Did you know stallions mark there territory? 3' tall sometimes

Meanwhile while Dave was busy taking pictures I was busy grabbing some geocaches, too bad there was no one there to help me with the 50+ string of caches.
A long distance view from the scenic ride of the rv park
On Saturday, the 23rd, we continued our eastward push, 475 miles and we arrived at the Lincoln Fairgrounds in North Platte NE, $25/night for w/e. We hoped this was going to be an overnight stay, since we got in early enough we headed over to the Golden Spike Tower. Did you know it's not there, but the nations largest rail yard is. After playing the tourist we fueled up the truck and ourselves with a Chinese dinner out.




Lincoln Fairgrounds
Sunday, the 24th, when we got up we saw there was a break in the weather and if we left soon we might just miss the thunderstorms. After driving another 422 miles,we arrived at Prairie Flower Campground near Des Moines, no thunderstorms, just a few showers. After getting set up in the campground we contacted our friends Cindy and Paul who summer here. A great visit and dinner with them, plans for getting together again since we're only 120 miles away.

Monday the 25th we arrived at Lake Coralville IA, we met our contact at Linder Point campground and proceeded to get set up. Well we couldn't get Dish satellite and our Verizon signal only had 2 bars. There had been mention of another site somewhere else, after inquiring about it and checking for satellite and cell signals we moved over to Sugar Bottom Campground. The campground is about 10 miles from the VC but it's so much nicer, I'll gladly do the commute.


We've spent the last week working at the VC, getting acquainted with the area and taking care of mundane tasks (oil change/laundry ect) done. We've already found a Mediterranean buffet, a Neapolitan Pizza place, a farmers market, good grocery stores and have tips on other places to check out.

Many may wonder why we picked IA, first off they were the first to offer us a position that we'd want to take on. When we applied we looked at the location and then who was in the surrounding area. Friends Cindy & Paul are 120 miles west, meet ups already planned for somewhere in between. Our friends DuWayne & Jackie are about 125 miles north of us in WI. Friends Mark & Nancy are directly 90 miles east of us just over the IA/IL border, they already had reservations at this project and now we've got plans for later in the season with them. Since we've been here Curt and Glenda have made plans to stop in for a few days, we're hoping to hatch up a travel plan for mid September.  Last but not least is the relative closeness of my folks, they are 300 miles southeast of us. With my folks hanging up their keys for any long distance traveling we hadn't had plans to see them this summer...originally they had planned to drive to CO for my nieces wedding, which has been cancelled. We now have two reservations at the COE project we worked at last year where we were near my folks. We'll be able to celebrate their 60th anniversary with them in August. So looks like it's going to be a busy summer in Iowa.

Until next time....


26 comments:

  1. We stayed at Sugar Bottom and yes it is a nice CG... who know we might be there again this summer as we head east...

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    1. If you get through here by mid Sept, think we're leaving about 9/14, let us know.

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  2. Your Cedar Breaks photos are beautiful! Enjoy your new position at the VC.

    We'll be going on a six-month journey in our 5th wheel in 2019. Our destination is Albany, NY, for a Volksmarch Convention. Then our travels will take us all over the Northeast to see waterfalls, canals, lots of history, Cooperstown, museums, gardens, amusement parks, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

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    1. We'll be in VT late May to late June then heading to ME and the Maritime Provinces, maybe our paths will cross.

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  3. Do you get paid at the V.C. or are you volunteers?

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    1. Volunteer, don't want to be tied down to a contract for multiple years.

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  4. Sounds like the perfect centrally located job for visiting friends and family. Have fun!

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    1. Thanks, by the time we get all the socializing in the summer will be over.

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  5. Seems like things are working out after all and you'll have plenty to keep you busy this summer. I'd love to get back to Cedar Breaks NM. We tried a couple of years ago when we visited Bryce Canyon but there was still too much snow at Cedar Breaks. We camped there when the kids were little thus I have special memories of the place.

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    1. Loved Cedar Breaks and would happily go there again, more trails to tackle. While it won't be a CO summer we're making the best of it. Next time we plan to have a "fun" vehicle to do some of the backcountry roads.

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  6. What a great change of plans! We’d have geocached with you! Glad to have so many friends and your parents to visit close by!

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    1. All I kept thinking while grabbing the few caches I did get, "where are my geocaching friends?". One of the reasons we considered this area was because of the proximity to friends and family.

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  7. Wow you guys are animals with your travel miles. Got to do what you gotta do. Glad you got the job in IA since, like you said, we'll be coming through that area and we will hatch a plan for the fall. See you soon.

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    1. Didn't want to get caught in some of the severe weather that was following us. See you soon.

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  8. Boy, do we know what that long trek to IA feels like. Glad that you guys are settled in. We're currently on our way back west, in Montana at this time.

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    1. I know you guys do, you did yours a little faster than ours. Hope the rest of your summer is worry free...safe travels.

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  9. We really loved Cedar Breaks. So calm after the National Parks in the area and beautiful as well. Those travel days are longer than any I've ever done. But you do what you gotta do. So glad you found a volunteer spot that you like. Great that you'll be able to be with your folks. Sounds like you are all set. Hope the job is fun and interesting.

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    1. We too loved the calmness of Cedar Breaks and hope to return one day. Hate traveling like that but with severe weather following us we wanted to stay ahead of it. My folks were very pleased to hear we would be able to celebrate their 60th anniversary with them. Small VC, most people in a day so far is 54, Tues-Thurs are slow days.

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  10. Sounds like you found a great place for the rest of your summer...enjoy!

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    1. Thanks, so far so good. Seeing friends and family make it all worthwhile.

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  11. We love Sand Hollow. A great campground. Glad you got away from Django and the smoke from the 416 fire. Colorado is terrible this summer. Enjoy Iowa.

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    1. Thanks, hopefully next time we go to Sand Hollow it's not so full of garbage. Enjoying the non smoke filled air.

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  12. That was a mad dash indeed but it seems all is well that ends well. You are such a planner! Ihave to look at the map to see where you are when we heard about the tornado in Iowa and glad that you are far from it.
    We have never been to Cedar Breaks, maybe that would be stop for us next year.
    You were so lucky you saw all those wild horses, we drove there too but did not see a single one!

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    1. You should spend at least a day at Cedar Breaks, you'll enjoy it. Tornados were about 60 miles from us. I guess we got lucky on our drive in seeing horses.

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  13. Now you can sit back and breath.

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