2015 Road Trip West
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Road Trip Log
Day 1: Palmer Lake to Arches National Park, UT
With an early start, I easily reached Arches National Park by midday, hoping to find a camping spot in the park. It was an amazing drive through the park up to the campground, where I found the last camping spot available. The geological formations and structures were massive, amazing and ‘other-world-like’. I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with my camera and the rocks.
Day 2: Arches National Park, UT to Somewhere, Central Nevada
I continued with my camera in the morning as I worked my way out of the Park. An amazing place.
Moab is just down the road, where I found some good coffee and food, then headed south on 191 to Blanding. Moab was very crowded and I was quickly ready to move on. I quickly realized all I could do with all this incredible landscape was a survey of the area, and make plans to return just to one of these grand places in southern Utah. Hite, UT was next on my route. Here I would cross the Colorado River as it rushes towards Lake Powell. On to Hanksville on 95; Hwy 24 over to Torrey; and Hwy 12 south to Escalante National Monument, another fantasticly, unique place.
What a survey of geography.
I was hoping to catch Bryce Canyon National Park, just ahead, in the late afternoon sun with my camera. Coming to Bryce from the east, I began to have glimpses of the colors, formations and hoodoos of lower Bryce. As I approached the park entrance, the density of cars, buses and people became almost shocking–I had a nice days’ drive with low traffic until Bryce. Areas were closed off because there were so many people. I found out later it was FREE day at national parks. I checked out the place and moved west towards Portland!
I headed northwest into Nevada towards Ely which is on the “Loneliest Road in the US,” Hwy 50. From there I headed west at dusk, looking for a great place to wake up in the morning–which I did.
Day 3: Somewhere, Central Nevada to Roseburg, OR
The next morning I drove west to Eureka, NV where I found coffee and gas…and an interesting little town in the middle of Nevada.
I headed to northwest Nevada. I was hoping to wake up the next morning within a short day’s drive to the SE Belmont/Hawthorne District in Portland. In northwest Nevada is Black Rock Desert and a very other-world-like landscapes. As I drive through nearby Cedarville, CA, I realized I was in the Burning Man Festival country which was swarming with people less than a month before my late September roadtrip. I worked my way west/northwest towards southwestern Oregon where I wanted to wake up the next morning.
Mt. Shasta was on the north side of my route, occasionally coming in to view at the end of a tunnel of massive northwestern trees. I drove to Roseburg, Oregon and found a motel, where I could have a nice bed and a good, hot shower ready to be social upon arrival in Portland.
Day 4: Roseburg to Portland
Awake in Roseburg, I checked out, ate breakfast and headed north to Portland, refreshed and ready to see Meryl, Alex and Ben and their lives! Heading up I-5 just didn’t seem to be the best way to travel north, since I did have plenty of time to get to Portland for the supper hour. I discovered old highway 99 north, which parallels I-5, for the most part. It was a slower, very pleasant drive through small towns and farmlands of western Oregon.
I arrived in SE Portland with a room and bed waiting for me. In a church parsonage–Portland Mennonite to be specific–and 2 cats. I was ready for Portland, family, friends, food and beer. The kids came home from class and work, and the fun stepped up!
I was ready for 2 more days in the Portland Parsonage, which actually is a very nice old craftsman style house. Outside my bedroom window was a large stained glass window on the church next door, that I could almost reach out and touch!
Days 5, 6, 7: Portland Days
Meryl, Alex and Ben were busy with work, classes or study. After all, it was mid week and real life continued. I walked and drove around the area with my camera to Mt. Tabor City Park, and other such places.
When the kids were around, we ate, drank beer, met a few friends and planned for the weekend.
Days 8, 9, 10: Portland to Charleston, OR
Meryl, Alex and I headed south to Coos Bay, then out to Charleston for the Father/Daughters annual get-a-way. Meryl and I talked our way down in one car while Alex had alone time as she followed. We were off to our next annual adventure, this time at Sunset Beach, south of Charleston, OR.
We stopped in Coos Bay, then in Charleston for groceries and crab cakes before we headed to our rented dwellings. By mid afternoon we were settling in, looking out over the beach, Chief’s Island, Cape Argo, and the Pacific Ocean. We sat on top of a massive rock cliff, 100 + feet directly above the beach, with a maintained picket fence around the perimeter of the yard & cliff’s edge. Low shrubs of orange nasturtiums grew around the fence in places. Beach access was flights of stairs that went directly down the side of the cliff. The beach was very quiet and one could walk close to Chief’s Island, with the Cape Argo Lighthouse.
We explored the forest and beaches of nearby Shore Acres State Park; explored and checked out some eats in Coos Bay; hung out, cooked food, did laundry, watched the sun go down over the Pacific, and consumed more food and beer.
Day 10: Charleston, OR to Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, NV
Our last morning came quickly, but we had ample time for breakfast, last laundry, and cleanup before the girls left for Portland; and I began to focus on where I was going to sleep that night. My planning was trying to incorporate a lunar eclipse into my plans. Due to the terrain, I missed most of the eclipse, and soon focused on getting as close to Bryce Canyon as possible before I was ready to sleep.
Day 11: Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, NV to Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
I woke up in the national forest, just off the ‘Loneliest Highway in the US’, Hwy 50. I headed southeast to Bryce Canyon, where I planned to spend midday to night time taking photos of the incredible landscape. And so I did.
The colors, shapes and moods changed minute by minute as the sun moved across the fall sky. I was busy moving up and down the rim. As the last light faded away, someone reminded me that the full moon was about to rise in the east. So I kept shooting until the moon was well on its way. Then I packed up and was on my way.
I was out to find another place to wake up in the national forest. I drove for a few hours generally to the northeast of Bryce. I wanted to wake up near I-70 which I would take to Denver, then home. The drive was in black and white as the full moon lit much of my way. Near the end of my night’s drive, came up over a hill, in the forest somewhere, and my headlights lit up a big, black object in the road. I thought it was the biggest bear I’d ever seen. Then I saw more black animals. “Wow, a lot of bears!” I thought, thankful I waHs driving slow. THEN, I realized they were black angus cows and I was in open range. Of course they were looking at me as if I didn’t belong in their herd!
I moved on and soon found a side road into national forest, where I woke up the next morning.
Day 12: Somewhere in the UT national forest to Palmer Lake
Just before the morning daybreak, I awoke. The full moon was hanging in the sky over the ridge to the west. Daybreak was just giving some color to the golden aspen groves on the ridge just below the moon. I took a photo; then went back to sleep for a while.
Later I woke up, and headed out to the highway to Green River, UT where I’d get some coffee and breakfast. It was a beautiful day to drive thru Glenwood Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, and home to Palmer Lake, where I’d sleep in my own bed. 🙂
Epilogue:
It was great trip. I was armed with my National Parks Senior Pass, I entered the lands of Southern Utah with an abundance of national parks and monuments in close proximity. I travel with the ability to sleep in the back on a foam pad. I tend to travel until I’m tired then I want to sleep, and not do anything else. When I wake up, I’m usually ready to go because the light is good for pictures and I want some coffee! I find national forest roads a good place to start. Sometimes I get a low budget motel. I’ve found that its not always a good sign that one motel has vacancies and the other motels in the area are sold out! Handicapped access rooms are also often available last minute as they can rent them to anyone after a certain time of the night.
I was not prepared for all I found in southern Utah. I quickly realized I’d only be able to survey the area and must plan to return. It really is not that far from home. I had the good fortune to return by the same general route. After the survey on the way out West, I decided to focus on Bryce on my return trip, which worked out well. However, I could just go to Bryce and spend several days, and hope to do just that someday soon.