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Tag Archives: fall colors

Fall Camping

The girls and I set out on a road trip the end of last month. It was supposed to be nearly three weeks long but instead it was five nights. Luna has an inflamed achilles tendon and is unable to walk much at all so we mainly stayed near our campsite or went for drives. She was ok with that and Sky was happy since we camped next to two different lakes and we got to visit some friends too. I was the unhappy one. I need to be able to get out and move. I tried leaving Luna in the camper but then she barked. She really, really wanted to go and explore but it was impossible. Ken was working from home the next week so we returned to the Methow (not a bad place to be) so Sky and I could go hiking.

We did stay in two new (to us) campgrounds and that was fun. The autumn light was marvelous! Wonderful sunsets and sunrises and one rainy afternoon. One campground is definitely a place to return to. The other one is surrounded by the effects of the summer’s wildfires. I should be used to burned trees by now, right? Here are a few images from the first campground.

And Now It’s Fall

Sky and I enjoyed a short hike yesterday with friends. Luna had to stay home. She has an inflamed Achilles tendon and we hope that with rest and ice, it will improve so she can join us on the trails again.

The aspens were stunning and views of the area burned in the recent Cedar Creek fire were pretty unsettling. It was easy to see how that fire could have gotten into the valley and been far more destructive. The firefighters did good work.

Something New

Recently I made a short trip, without the girls, to Portland, 400 miles away. I left one day and returned the next. Why would I do that? Well, I have been on the search for a new camper trailer since last January. It turns out that 2020 was not the year to shop for an rv, or for that matter a puppy, a bicycle or a kayak. All are in big demand in the year of the covid. Our little tent trailer has served us well for ten years but since I like to travel on my own from time to time, I just wanted something newer that might be more reliable in the long run.

I found a more stout version of a tent trailer with nice size tires and clearance that will handle rough roads. It also has a furnace! Remember those times in Utah and New Mexico when the temperature hovered in the teens? Maybe now I can weather those long nights in comfort. It is only a year old and the previous owners said they used it just six times. They never did take it off paved roads.

My friend in Portland met me at a state park in the Columbia Gorge and pitched her tent on a rocky outcropping overlooking the big river. We enjoyed a nice walk in the morning before heading off in opposite directions.

I left early and caught the morning light creeping down the rocky hillsides
Across the Columbia at Wells Dam. This is part of the Pearl Hill fire that began on Labor Day.
Rabbitbrush in full bloom.
The Yakima Canyon at Umptanum Creek. Most of that side of the canyon burned a week or so before I was there.

One Last Hike

It was our final day in Utah and I started with breakfast at the Eklectica Cafe and then the girls and I went to the Moab Barkery and I went to the Back of the Beyond Bookstore. No doubt there are many other highlights in Moab but we really needed to get out and walk again. At an outdoor store, Grandstaff Canyon was recommended. It was a short distance from town so there were a few cars in the parking lot but not too many. A sign at the trailhead warned of poison ivy and said the dogs might brush up against it and not be affected, however a person could get it from her dogs. Great. Well, I already knew that but hadn’t considered I’d be running into poison ivy on trails in Utah.

We went anyway and were rewarded with a delightful canyon with a clear creek running through it. Also lots of fall colors. And at the end of the canyon was Morning Glory Bridge. It was another good hike.

First we had a walk around the campground
Dying pinyon pine
Oak
poison ivy
The shady spots never thawed out
Red dirt dogs
This is a vertical wall under the arch and water was pouring out of it.
The bridge has a span of 243 feet, making it the sixth longest natural rock span in the United States.
Morning Glory Bridge

Hiking in SE Utah

I can’t say enough about the wonderful desert hiking we did while we were in the Bear’s Ears region of SE Utah. And we just began to explore the area.

ponderosa pine
oak leaves
Douglas fir cone
Douglas fir tree – three feet in diameter!
My favorite rock art

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