It would be almost 2 months before we could leave again, but we managed to take our second and third trips in November. Indian summer was holding on so for our second trip we chose to make a quick run to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, our first trip to the area.
We left for the Black Canyon on October 31, Halloween, and made it to Brown's Park National Wildlife Refuge in time for a nice sunset on Day 1.
This was meant to be a one night stay on the way to Black Canyon. On Day 2 we took a short walk up the hill before hitting the road. That's our truck all alone at the campground.
Once again, we are avoiding the most direct route and checking out some scenic drives on our way to the Black Canyon. So after our walk, we set out towards Steamboat Springs via highway 318 to US 40, past Steamboat on 131 to Yampa, then across the Flat Tops Trail National Scenic Byway to Meeker. We really enjoyed the scenery along the Flat Tops Trail and plan to return in time to catch the changing color next fall. We camped at East Marvine Campground just before Meeker. It was a slightly higher elevation campground that we had all to ourselves, likely because there was a little snow on the ground. We took a walk up the road and found a lot more snow.
On Day 3 we continued on through Meeker and stopped at Rifle Falls State Park to stretch our legs and go for a short hike.
After Rifle Falls, we continued on I-70 towards Grand Junction, turned south across Grand Mesa on 65, then took 92 to Crawford. We drove to the North Rim Campground to get a campsite before things got too crowded. After choosing a site, we took a hike to Exclamation Point followed by a drive along the North Rim Road. It was an unseasonal 61 degrees and sunny, perfect compared to the snow we left at home.
On Day 4, we drove to the South Rim and down to East Portal to check out the campsites. Found out there is a wicked 16% grade getting there. We didn't care for the campsites and decided to camp for the night at South Rim Campground, getting there in time to hike part of the Rim Rock trail before dark.
On Day 5 we hiked the rest of the Rim Rock Trail and all of the Oak Flat Trail before driving the South Rim Road. We had stopped at all of the scenic pullouts and walked the short trails to the viewpoints by lunchtime and were ready to head elsewhere. Our window of good weather was closing, below freezing temperatures and snow were in the forecast for the next morning into the foreseeable future. We checked the forecast for several locations and decided to go to Death Valley next, we still had a week to travel and felt there was enough time to get there and take a good look around before heading back to Idaho to take our next shift with the mother-in-law. We hightailed it west and spent the night just outside Valley of Fire State Park near Overton. Holy cow, RVs and campers everywhere! We found a quiet spot away from everyone near some sort of mine, not ideal but good enough for the night.
We arrived at Furnace Creek around noon on Day 6, it was a perfect 71 degrees. We drove on towards Stovepipe Wells to find a primitive site for the night, both of us were beat after the 700 mile drive from Colorado.
On Day 7 we hit the touristy highlights along 190 and camped bear Stovepipe Wells again so we could hike Mosaic Canyon in the morning.
On Day 8 we hiked Mosaic Canyon then drove to Badwater and back hitting all the attractions in between. We drove on to spend the night at Panamint Springs campground to catch a shower.
We took a hike to Darwin Falls before leaving Panamint on Day 9. After the hike to Darwin Falls, we drove to the Charcoal Kilns, then over to the Keene Wonder Mine for a walk about. We found a primitive site nearby for the night.
On Day 10 we went up towards Grapevine and spent the night in the backcountry on the road to the Racetrack. There was something loose and banging around on the truck that seemed to be getting worse, so we were reluctant to go any farther into the backcountry on this trip.
On Day 11 we started towards home, stopping for a visit at Rhyolite ghost town. We camped nearby and drove to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho on Day 12. We got a room with a private tub and enjoyed a couple of soaks before heading on home to start our next caregiving shift.
Edited by Sleddog, 03 January 2021 - 02:32 AM.
