Category: Fun

By the time this article gets published, Helen (adorable wife) and I have been on the road for a day and a half.  We were fired up and ready by the time we pulled Gracey (trailer) out of our neighborhood around noon on Wednesday and pointed Bert (truck) east. We have been stuck at home recovering from knee and hip replacement since May and words cannot describe how grateful we are and how blessed we feel to be back on the road less traveled.

As I write this it is nearly eight in the evening.  We are in Pineola, NC, nearly 5,000 feet above sea level and sitting beside a roaring Linville River at Down By the River Campground, campsite C-1. Our site is about as relaxing and as picturesque as it could get. We’re wearing jackets in the chilly weather…so delightful.

We spent Wednesday night in Cherokee, NC at Happy Holiday Campground, not our usual spot in Cherokee, but it was very nice with clean showers and close enough to the Casino for Helen to get her shot at breaking the bank. That didn’t happen, but we had a lot of fun. By the time we returned to Gracey, the temperature was dropping into the 50’s and we slept well.

The entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway is just a few miles from our campground but a few thousand feet higher. Within a few miles of the access to the Parkway, we caught the first of a countless number of overlooks with views that I can only describe as breathtaking. I have taken a few pictures to share with Easin’ Along readers, but photos capture a small portion of the panorama.  Trust me when I tell you that the views are extraordinary and, when framed by an azure blue sky as they were on this day, the beauty was greatly enhanced.

Our drive from Cherokee covered about 150 miles. A young bear cub greeted us from the shoulder of the road, as did a wild turkey.  We made several stops along the way to take pictures and check into the Visitor Center near Asheville to pick up some maps and guidebooks. The speed limit along the curvy and somewhat hilly terrain varies between 35 and 45 mph so the trip took us nearly five hours to reach Pineola. Drained from holding Gracey on our side of the somewhat narrow Parkway, I looked forward to reaching the campground to rest my tense shoulders.

Helen and I were a bit apprehensive about our campground because there aren’t a lot of choices up here and we took what was available at the time I made reservations. Our worries turned out to be a waste of energy.  Down By the River Campground is a campers paradise.  Manicured grounds greeted us.  Pretty flowers are everywhere and the river I mentioned above is right behind our campsite.  We may not have hit the jackpot at the Casino, but Lady Luck blessed us here.

The hour is late now, and we have not had our campfire stew yet, so I am going to close.  We will be here for four days of exploring the area around Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain and will report back on what we uncover. Please come back and join us as we spend five weeks on the road…just Easin’ Along.

By now, I am three weeks into recovery from hip replacement surgery and doing rather well for someone of my advanced age. I have very few complaints and none of the hip pain I experienced before surgery.  To be sure, I have some soreness and feel a bit stiff at times so, during those periods, I take a walk through the neighborhood. I would prefer to go swimming, but my doctor said no pools, no lakes, and absolutely no hot tubs until my incision completely heals.

I did receive the ok to drive last week, and I took advantage of my freedom by paying a visit to Gracey…and to Walmart. Gracey is fine although she misses us.  Walmart managed to survive without me. On Sunday, I took my usual position in the fourth pew at church and gave thanks to the Almighty for the healing touch placed on both Helen (adorable wife) and me.

I’m hopeful that the healing continues and, for that reason, I’ve remained somewhat sedentary and a bit cautious.  A sedentary routine is not quite the same as the active retirement lifestyle I vowed to maintain once I hung up the work boots but, I want no setbacks before our children arrive in mid-August for a week of family fun and before we leave on an extended road trip the following week. Meanwhile, back in the Man Cave, activity remains low key but ongoing nonetheless.

Inactivity, however, is not at all helpful in producing material for Easin’ Along. Throughout most of this week, I found myself wishing that we were on another camping trip, sitting on a seashore somewhere, searching for shark’s teeth and snapping pictures to post for our readers. Along about Wednesday, it occurred to me that if I couldn’t go to the water, I could bring the water to me by digging through the archives to find some of the pictures we captured on previous journeys.

A few weeks ago, I posted a short video composed of a few pictures to accompany Kate Smith’s beautiful rendition of God Bless America.  The process of creating a video took me a while to learn some of the necessary steps and I never really mastered the software. Nevertheless, it was a fun exercise, and I wanted to attempt it again remembering one of my mottos that, in retirement, the learning never stops. Therefore, for this week’s post, I created another video featuring pictures taken primarily along the Eastern and California coastlines but interspersed with a few favorite pictures of lakes, ponds, and streams we encountered along the way. I added a little seashore music for your enjoyment. It plays best when viewed in full screen.

I hope you enjoy the video and I hope your week goes swimmingly while we continue to mend. We’ll return next week to continue Easin’ Along.

Note: As Easin’ Along readers know, I am in the second week of recovery from hip replacement surgery.  All is going well, and I expect to resume normal activity as early as next week. In the meantime, however, there is not much activity to share with readers unless you care to read about what life is like while sitting in a recliner with an ice bag across your lap. I firmly believe you deserve a more interesting topic than that.

In the interim, I reached out to Ingrid, creator of Live, Laugh, RV, to ask if she would share a post from her always interesting blog with you.  Ingrid and her husband Al are full-time RVrs and have spent the last five years traveling primarily through the southwest and sharing their adventures online.  In addition to her writing skills, Ingrid possesses exceptional skills with a camera.  It was her stunning pictures of waterfowl that first drew me to her blog.

The article below details some of her hikes through the canyons around Page, Arizona near the Utah border, accompanied by some outstanding photographs of those hikes. The article is an edited version of an earlier post, and I encourage you to visit Live, Laugh, RV for more on this trip as well as some excellent information regarding hiking and camping in the southwest.  While there, please take the time to look through some of her amazing photographs in posts throughout her blog.

What can I say about the hiking possibilities around northern Arizona and southern Utah? …. Toadstools, slot canyons, mini waves, a rim trail, a hanging garden, and Horseshoe Bend …. and those are just a few of trails we hiked. There’s many more.

When it comes to hiking, the slot canyons around here are the crème de la crème and a photographers delight. Folks from around the world travel here to experience one of these slots – Antelope Canyon is the most popular. Since the majority of these slot canyons are on Navajo Indian land, permits or guides (or both) are required.

We hiked two slot canyons during our stay in Page, Arizona. First was the Waterholes Canyon and second was Wire Pass Canyon. Both canyons had obstacles to negotiate, and this is when teamwork came in handy for me. I could not have hiked either canyon by myself, but I did discover several non–slot canyon hikes that are easily doable solo.

New Wave Trail – The newest trail around Page, Arizona, is what’s called the New Wave and although it doesn’t come close to the real Wave, these mini waves are made up of the same Navajo sandstone with extensive fine detailing and cross-bedding.

 

 

Rimview Trail – This 10-mile scenic Rim Trail loops around the town of Page. Hikers and bikers can access the trail at any number of locations.  I hiked this trail several times during my visit, BUT fear not, I never completed that ten-mile loop. Nope, not me! Instead, I made my own much shorter hike. I parked at a small parking area near the Lake View Primary School, and by hiking this northern section of the trail, I was able to take in the sparkling blue waters of Lake Powell below me.

Horseshoe Bend Overlook – No trip to northern Arizona would be complete without a visit to the Horseshoe Bend overlook. Although this is a crowded tourist attraction that brings in busloads of people from around the world….literally, tour buses filled with tourists.

I was lucky to visit during a lull in tourism. Spring break was over and ‘the season’ hadn’t yet begun. During spring break, I saw the line of traffic stretch dangerously down Highway 89, and there was no way I was going to join those masses. Currently, construction is underway to improve access and parking. The hike to the overlook is about 3/4 of a mile one way in a sometimes sandy trail and is uphill on the return to the parking lot.

Hanging Garden Trail – This is another short and easy hike not far from the Carl Hayden visitor center (Dam). The trail leads to an interesting rock overhang where vegetation grows out of the rock, but the real fun here begins with a little off-trail exploring. Fascinating, perplexing and colorful rock abound with more wave-like action.

Scenic Drives

If hiking isn’t your thing, how about a scenic drive? We enjoyed two back-country 4×4 excursions. Our first outing was to the most amazing scenic overlook known as Alstrom Point, and the second was a drive via Cottonwood Road through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

We didn’t need four-wheel drive on either excursion but found the high clearance on the Toyota Tacoma was helpful, even though not necessary. Also, the weather was very agreeable for both excursions; meaning it hadn’t rained in quite some time and the ground was extremely dry.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Without the Glen Canyon Dam, there would be no Lake Powell, and Lake Powell is the star of northern Arizona, and the Grand Canyon, of course. The Carl Hayden Visit Center sits on a ledge overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam and the waters of Lake Powell and the Colorado River.

The visitor center is a great place to stop and gather local information, pick up a trail map, take a tour of the dam, or walk the Glen Canyon bridge. Walking across the bridge to take in the view is a must do, but I’ll admit, I wasn’t a fan of the bridge vibrating when semi-trucks crossed The bridge and the dam are an engineering marvel, especially amongst such challenging terrain.

I took the above photograph from a scenic overlook located on Scenic View Road near the Wingate, Baymont Inn and Sleep Inn. The overlook requires a short downhill stroll over sandy and slick rock. For the more adventurous, hike around the ledges and bluffs for impressive views in all directions.

Lodging in Page

There’s no shortage of hotels around Page with more being built to accommodate the influx of tourism. However, there is a shortage of available RV parking (in my opinion) especially on weekends which is why many go boondocking at Lone Rock Beach (top photo) or Wallie-docking at the local Walmart.

If money is no object, consider staying at the exclusive Amangiri Resort. No lookie-loos allowed beyond the gate (sorry, I tried). Perhaps, it’s understandable that if guests are paying upwards of $3,000 a night, that they’d like their privacy. Can’t imagine why they wouldn’t allow this hiking clad RVer into their luxury abode for photo-ops  I don’t think they believed me when I told them my Louboutin’s were back at the RV

Time to move on…

After having more fun in Page – northern Arizona, than we ever imagined, the time has come for us to lift the jacks and move on. It’s what RVers do  It was a memorable visit …. one we hope to repeat!

Bio –  On a whim, this husband and wife duo decided to sell their house and move into an RV full-time and travel the country for a year or two before deciding on a new location to settle down. Five years later, Ingrid and Al are still in their RV full-time meandering around America’s west with no plans to put down roots anytime soon. The travel bug seems to have bitten them pretty hard. Ingrid shares her love of travel via her blog and photographs.

 

Thanks ever so much, Ingrid. Your writing and photographs have inspired Helen and me to plan a trip for early spring in that part of the country.  Thanks for sharing and best wishes to you and Al as you continue Easin’ Along on your adventure together.