Thursday Friday and Saturday

Thursday the motor home got fixed.  We had to wait in the lounge while they fixed it.  It took about half a day for them to get it working again.  Once it was all fixed we re hooked up to electricity.  We then headed out to Wal Mart to get some supplies and a prescription for me.  We got the supplies but they did not have enough pills to fill my prescription.  They said they would have them the next day.  We decided to stay till the next day and get my prescription.

Since we were going to stay another day we decided it would be a good idea to do our laundry.  So we got everything together - the sheets, towels and all our dirty clothes.  What fun.  We had the hamper full plus a kitchen size plastic bag filled.  It took us about half a day just to do the wash.  Lots of fun. We got it all washed, dried and folded and then we headed back to Camping World and our motor home to put it all away.

We then got a call  from Troy and we met halfway between Park City and Kaysville at a place called Taggert Grill.  It was a very nice out-of-the-way restaurant with outside seating and there were peacocks wandering around the grounds.  We sat outside and had our dinner.  It was really nice to be able to spend one more evening with Troy and Jessica.  We had a great time. 

Then Saturday we headed out to Cedar City for the rest of our journey.

Tuesday and Wednesday Hang-out

Tuesday we decided to get the hydro-hot fixed on the motor home.  We called Camping World in Draper UT to see if we could get an appointment to get it fixed.  Unfortunately they are not authorized to work on hydro-hots but suggested we call Camping World in Kaysville.  They gave us an appointment for Thursday.  So we hung out in the motor home.

Monday night we had dinner at Jessica's and Troy's and had a great time.  We had steak that Troy grilled and a great salad with roasted pecans, goat cheese and figs - great!

I found out there is some factory outlet stores near where we were - oh what fun!!  So Jessica came on Tuesday to pick me up and we went shopping.  Troy and Joe went to feed Jessica's parents dogs and we made plans to meet later to have dinner. 

The shopping was great fun.  There just was not enough time.  No shoe shopping - so sad (but Joe is so happy - no new shoes).  There was Cold Water Creek, Ann Taylor, Nike, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer and much more.  It was sad we didn't have enough time to go to all the stores.  I got some neat stuff though.

We then went to a Whole Foods store to find supplements that I was out of.  Then met Joe and Troy at this neat restaurant that I cannot remember the name of.  It was really nice and we had a great time. 

Then Jessica drove Joe and me back to the motor home while Troy took their dog and went home.  I had such a great time shopping with Jessica. 

Wednesday we decided since we had to be in Kaysville first thing in the morning that maybe we needed to leave and be there since we were going to be first in line for service.  So we went on line and got directions and made our way here.  We are able to stay at Camping World while we are going to be serviced. 

We are parked,  we have electricity but that is all.  All the spots for full hook-ups are taken.  We have to be up early and ready to get in line for service. 

GPS' are supposed to be wonderful things.  They get you from place to place pretty much without a hitch.  Well here in Kaysville the GPS is dumb, dumb. All we wanted to do was go to a restaurant and have supper.  So we looked up restaurants on the GPS and picked a restaurant and said GO.  It told us to turn here, turn there and guess where we end up.  In a cul-de-sac.  We try to go a different way and it keeps telling us to turn around to go back the way we came.  We finally get to a street that the GPS recognizes and it tells us where to go - but there is no restaurant where it told us to go.  So we go around again with another restaurant and it pretty much tells us to go to the same place but still no restaurant.  We just decided to find one on our own and found a great one called Cantina Southwestern Grill.  It was great southwestern good with a salsa bar with different salsas.  There were really hot ones to extremely mild ones. It was very good.

We are back at the motor home and in for the night.

Salt Lake City/Park City UT

 

We got started out of Wal Mart ok.  That was where the easy part ended.  We figured we had to backtrack to Rt. 191 to head for Park City.   We were wrong.  We just plain got lost.  But Joe found his way.  He just seems to understand direction and can find his way.  We figured it out and got on the right track and made our way to Salt Lake City/Park City UT.

The drive wasn't too bad.  There were a lot of steep hills and some U curves but we fared very well. 

 

 

 

We stopped at Flaming Gorge Dam and took some pictures.  The rocks were red which gave it its name.

We stopped along the way and took pictures plus I took pictures through the windshield. 

We were looking for a place to eat when we found a place called Silver Summit restaurant.  We followed the signs and went the right direction but came to a dead end.  We did not find the restaurant.  There was a business at the end of the road so I went in to ask about the restaurant.  It was located at the 7 Eleven that we passed. 

We unhooked the jeep and turned the motor home around and parked it at the end of the road and took the jeep back to the restaurant.  Had a great meal and then the manager said we could park our motor home right there at the 7 Eleven.  We are in a dirt area away from regular parking.  They said we could stay for a couple of days.  they were very nice.

Troy found us and visited us for a while.  We waited until Jessica got out of work and we started to their home.  The house is situated on a hill so you walk in on the ground level to the kitchen and a den.  It had an open look and you can see down to the next level into the living/great room.  It has a great fireplace.  There are big windows looking out to the back yard.  There is also a deck that you can access from the kitchen or the next level down or even the next level down.  The third level to the bottom is where the bedroom is situated.  From there you can also walk out to a deck.  They even have a hot tub.  I really like the house.

We had dinner with them and then miraculously found our way back to the motor home without a hitch.  I tell you, Joe is good at finding his way even in the dark.

 

Goodbye Grand Tetons

 

Today is Sunday and Colter bay campground closed at 11:00 am.  We left at about 10:00 to head for Salt Lake City.  We are taking the scenic route 191 south to Rock Springs WY.  The smoke was so bad we could not see the mountains at all.  You could smell the smoke. 

The rout was hard because of construction and missing turns.  We had to back track twice.  I did not take any pictures. 

You know those truck stops/restaurants that is just one building in the middle of nowhere?  Well we found one.  It was a new one and it was the first thing you came to before you got to town which was still a couple of miles away.  It had a big parking area which is a plus and it was just one building beside a house. It had 5 tables in it and we were the only ones there till we finished then just before we left 3 other people came in. Joe had a hamburger and I had a turkey sandwich with Lays potato chips - yum!

We are in Rock Springs now and are staying the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

End of our stay at YNP

Last night we went to Gardiner for supper and on the way we saw elk and big horned sheep. I did not have my camera. So now it will be "Have Camera Will Travel." I will not leave home without it! It was a lesson learned.

Today was the last day for Yellowstone.  We are getting ready to head out for the Grand Tetons.  We went to town to do laundry.  We cannot do it in the motor home because we are not hooked up to water.  Our stay here was strictly a dry-dock.  No water, no electricity and no sewage.  But it was cheap and right in the park.  It worked out well.  New experiences.

I did a little house cleaning and Joe checked the oil in the engine.  He also made soup for the trip.  We will hook up the jeep and batten down inside so things don't go flying as we are driving down the road.

Closet doors locked - check
All drawers closed - Check
Both sliding doors locked - check
and so on and so on.

We usually forget something and I am up while the motor home is moving to take care of it.  I am getting good at balancing while we are moving.

We will close the slides and lift the levelers in the morning.  We don't have to be out of here until noon time.

Exploring Grand Tetons

Friday we took different roads and explored the country side.  There were a lot of fall and it was yellow.  There were evergreens and yellow - birch trees.  that is the only tree I see here. 

We did that in the morning then we had lunch at Colter Bay Restaurant.  That was pretty much our day.

Saturday we went to see if we could get some pictures of the mountain range.  Everything was so smoky from the forest fires that it was hard to see far distances.  We got good pictures and drove and took side roads - one up signal mountain.  It was very high.  I did get some pictures of the mountain range

We had lunch at Jackson Lake Lodge (my treat). Joe had the Bivouac Turkey Croissant and I had a Chef's Salad. they were both very good. 

We came back to the motor home and Joe took a nap and I read my Kindle.  Then about supper time we went exploring Colter Bay.  We drive around the campgrounds  Then we drove down to the bay.  there were mountain across the  water.  The sun was just setting behind the mountains so we waited and I took more pictures.

We were just  getting ready to close up for the night when we saw deer right outside the motor home. It was so exciting.  I could stand in the doorway and take their pictures. 

Sunday is our last day.  We need to be gone by 11:00.  So now we tear down and dump.  The campground has free dumping and water so we are good.  The campground is closing for the season. 

Goodbye Yellowstone - Hello Grand Tetons

 

We left YNP in the morning and had to go through Mammoth Hot Springs village to head for the Grand Tetons.  We got just as far as the village and were stopped because the elk were on both sides of the road and in the road.  The bull elk made his sound and all the females turned to look at him (picture on FB). They eventually crossed the road so that the females were on one side of the road and the bull was on the other side of the road.  The rangers had traffic stopped so that no one would hit them or they would run over a car.  They are big and in Yellowstone they are not afraid of people or vehicles. 

The first part of the ride was a little hairy because of the narrow roads and of course the up and down and all around  the roads go.  We also got to see some of the sights we saw the first time around like Norris Geysers and the road that leads to Old Faithful.  You could see steam going up along the side of the road.    It is quite  a sight.  It makes one think of volcanoes and earth's crust and all the other stuff that shakes up the world.

Once we got to the lower half of Yellowstone the roads were a little wider and I felt more comfortable riding in the motor home.  When you leave YNP, it is only 8 miles to Grand Teton National Park.   So we drove about 100 mi.    We are at Colter Village where we are staying for free thanks to our Golden Age Pass.  We are dry docked again, but that is ok. We could have full hookups for $50.00 a night.  No thanks.  We will stay here till Sunday because that is the last day they are open.

We got setup with no hitches.  We (Joe) are getting real good at tearing down and setting up.  I do help with the slides.  I yell vanity out when he says he is putting it out.  Then the bed goes out and I confirm that it is out and so on.  I also get in the Jeep while he unhooks it and then I move it to a better place - out of the way.  We unhook the jeep first then set the levelers so the RV doesn't rock while someone is walking or sitting down.  Then the 4 slides come out.  Then we take the locks of the cabinet doors and take the bungee cord off the fridge so we can open the doors.  For a while it looks neat because we had to make sure everything was put away before we move.

We went to Jackson Lake Lodge for supper.  We both had a Bivouac Turkey Croissant.  It was very good. 

 We then decided to drive a dirt road (4 wheel drive required) along the Snake River.  It was about 17 mi. long.  We thought since it was later in the afternoon that we might see some animals.  No such luck but there was a lot of beautiful scenery (I got pics).  It took us to about 9:00 to get back home.  It was scary with lots of deep ruts and rocky road and cliffs and a lot of flat area where you could see for miles.  We did a lot of bouncing around - the jeep took it all.  We forgot to take the spare tire for the motor home off the back of the jeep so we did some bottoming out.  Steph,  it held nicely.  You and Grampy do good work.