Week ending Apr 11, 2019 - return to Vulcan, Alberta - last blog until late October

Friday, we walked Hawk's Ridge Trail.  We started by walking 1.25 mi south along the road toward the visitor center.  The trail heads across to the gorge walls, but in an area where there isn't the steep edges that line most of the park.  The trail climbs slowly up to the ridge above the west side of the park, then follows the ridge back north.  From there you get views south along the valley where the highway runs, west toward the range of mountains between the two highways going north through this area, and down into the park.  There are a couple of benches along the ridge, where we stopped for a few minutes each to enjoy the views.  Back about parallel to the campground, the trail does a couple of switchbacks before descending gradually back into the gorge.

Irrigate valley below Cathedral Gorge

Snow on peaks west of Cathedral Gorge

Saturday we headed north.  Along the way we go along the valley west of Great Basin National Park.  We'd love to do some hiking there, but it is a summer destination.  Wheeler Peak, at 13,000 ft, is the tallest of several peaks over 10,000 feet.

Wheeler Peak

We decided to stop in Wells on I-80, north of Ely, since we weren't too impressed with the campground where we stayed in Jackpot, about an hour further north, last year.  It is no better, but adequate for a one night stay.

Sunday we drove to Fort Hall Casino then watched the last half of the Nascar Race and the World Men's Curling final.

Monday, we drove to Helena, via the route along the Jefferson River past Lewis and Clark Caverns SP, 31 miles instead of 18 on I-15 from Cardwell to Three Forks.  This route avoids the steep climb over a hill, and is much more scenic, so well worth the extra distance.   Unfortunately, it was raining at the time, so couldn't get a decent picture.  We checked at the feasibility of touring the caverns again (we camped there many years ago).  However, the tours only run from May to September, and our schedule doesn't allow us to come back to Canada that late, or leave that early.
We stopped at Wheat Bakery again to pick up some pancake mix, and enjoy a salad and sandwich for lunch.  We don't usually do a 350 mile drive, so it was a nice break about 3/4 of the way.

Tuesday, in Helena, we stocked up on some items that are a lot cheaper here than in Alberta.

Wednesday morning we headed for the border.  There was a winter advisory in effect, but it was for elevations over 5000 feet, so wasn't an issue, even though there was a little snow in the rain.   At the border, we were concerned that we might have to pay GST on some of our repairs.  The agent at the booth indicated we might, and sent us inside to pay for the duty on our wine in excess of the allowance and GST on any maintenance they might deem taxable.  We were pleased to find that we only had to pay for the wine, even though we had a lot of maintenance done this winter.   They decided it was all necessary work, not repairs delayed until we could them done cheaper in the US. From the border, we drove to Vulcan, and paid for 3 weeks, until May 1, when we will move to Virginia Mitchell.

Thursday we went into Okotoks to pick up 6 months of mail.  One of the things  we got, which we were expecting, was an $80 rebate MC from our Goodyear tire purchase last fall.  Fortunately it had an Apr 30 expiry date so we were able to use it.  Another critical thing was our pink insurance cards for the truck.  We were only 3 days late picking it up this year, but had arranged with our broker to get a copy e-mailed to us just in case we needed it.

When we got back to Vulcan, we went over to the Vulcan Golf and Country Club to buy the last of their 2 StaynPlay packages, which gives us a site in the Virginia Mitchell Campground and unlimited golfing for the two of us from May 1 until Sep 30 this year.   Interestingly, there was a levy on our golfing from the Oldman Water District because of the amount of water used for the golf course.   However, it is still much cheaper than paying for the campground and 5 months of golfing separately.   In previous years we drove at least 60 km to Stavely, Claresholm, or Kehoe Lake to cheaper golf, so the truck will get a rest as well, and we will get more exercise. 

Look for our blog again in late October.

Week ending Apr 4, 2019 Laughlin to Cathedral Gorge

Friday we walked along the river, and then up the road to the top of the dam, just over 6 miles return.

bunnies along the river

view from top of dam

Saturday morning, we got an oil change and some groceries before watching the beginning of the World Men's Curling.

Sunday we went for a walk looking for an restaurant ad for gumbo we had seen on the riverwalk, without any luck, despite checking for it going out, and coming back.   After curling and nascar, we walked to Bubba Gump, on the riverwalk.  After waiting for about 10 minutes, we asked one of the servers if anyone was responsible for our table.  She took our order.  Joan ordered the coconut shrimp.  John asked if there was any fish in the jambalaya, and was informed there was, so he ordered fried chicken.  The coconut shrimp was good, but the fried chicken was a bit dry, not surprising since shrimp is specialty of this chain.  When another server cleared our dishes when we were done, we asked for our bill, which she brought, and said she would let our original server that we had our bill.   A while later she checked to see if the other server had handled the bill, and took care of it herself when we said 'no'. 

Monday, we packed up and headed north. We stopped in Searchlight for breakfast at McDs.  Lots of Canadians heading north. When we were walking in, one fellow asked where we were headed, then we figured out he saw our plates and was a fellow Albertan.  Then sitting in McDs eating, another couple came over to the table next to us.  They were from Edmonton area, and we chatted for quite a while about our experiences this winter.  One of their most exciting was being in a car crash in Mexico.  It was an older vehicle, and damage was enough that they just sold it for $500.   After getting through Vegas, we setup in a boondocking area just off the Valley of Fire Road north of the state park, where we stayed last spring.   We parked in the closest spot to the road, or at least we thought it was until after dark a little class C rental parked beside us.  We were concerned enough about what they were doing going back and forward near our truck, that John went out to see if they needed help.  They said 'no, we are just trying to get it as level as possible'.

Tuesday morning we drove over to the Bitter Springs Trail, which goes from the interstate into Buffington Pockets.  We drove a lot closer to the Pockets than we did last year, so were able to hike all the way through to the south end of the pockets, a total of just 4 miles return. 

Wednesday, we drove north.  We stopped at the Sinclair's in Alamo for coffee and cinnamon buns.  Then we continued to Caliente to another Sinclair's in Caliente for diesel and John picked up two hot dogs for $1. Finally we arrived at Cathedral Gorge State Park for a three night stay.  We had called earlier, and they recommended that we arrive before 2:00 PM to get a site, since they get a lot of RVs at this time of year.  We arrived about 11:00 AM, so didn't have problems getting a site.  We were glad we arrived, as we figure all of the power sites were gone by noon, and there was a steady stream of units all afternoon.

Thursday morning, the temperature was 37F, a combination of moving north and higher elevation.  After watching the morning World Men's Curling, we went for a hike through the gorge on the 3 mile Juniper Draw Loop.  The formations created by erosion on both sides of the gorge are quite scenic.
 

Utah Juniper