Great Salt Lake Ogden Utah

After leaving Amarillo, Texas and on our way to Colorado Springs, Colorado we stopped in New Mexico at the Capulin Volcano National Monument.  This should have been either included in our Amarillo, Texas or our Colorado Springs, Colorado blogs, but I sort of forgot about it.  So I will just stick it into our Utah blog.

The last time it erupted was over sixty thousand years ago, so we felt pretty safe that it would not blow while we were there.  The lava cone that is left jets over one thousand three hundred feet in to the air with an elevation of eight thousand one hundred and eighty two feet above sea level.

We climbed to the top and then into the bottom of the cone.  The only thing we did not do is walk the circumference of the cone, which is one mile around.

Capulin Volcano National Monument.

Chloe, Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Ian, and Tia at Capulin Volcano National Monument.

A view from the top of the cone.

Tia, Chloe, Courtney, and Misty climbing the trail to the rim.

Tia, Avery, Courtney, Chloe, Ethan, and Ian sitting on the rim of the volcano.

Looking down into the cone of the volcano.

Courtney, Ian, Avery, Ethan, Chloe, and Tia standing in the bottom of the cone.

Looking out of the cone while inside the volcano.

It only costs seven dollars to get into the park and if you have an National Parks Access Pass then it is free.  The Access Pass is eighty dollars a year, but well worth it if you plan on visiting National Parks and Monuments.

Now that we are done with New Mexico and its volcano, we can talk about Utah and one of its biggest attractions, the Great Salt Lake that is to the west of Ogden, UT. 

We actually went to Antelope Island State Park which is one out of seventeen islands in the Great Salt Lake.  If you are interested in them here is an article you can read all about the islands of Great Salt Lake.

Ethan, Ian, Avery, Tia, Brinleigh, Courtney, and Chloe at Antelope Island.

We had two local guides who were Jodi and Brinleigh Shupp which was nice since they could tell us a lot about the island or at least Jodi could.

Avery, Brinleigh, Tia, Jodi, Chloe, Courtney, Ian, and Ethan.

The Wasatch Mountains in the background.

The day we were there the No-See_ums had just hatched, so the closer you got to the water, the more they would swarm and bite you.  When I was taking the above picture, I noticed that the back of my neck and head was starting to sting.  It did not take me long to figure out that they were feasting on me.

As we drove closer to the water down near the beach, I got out to take the below pantographic shot of the lake and could hardly stand there the thirty seconds it took to scan the lake for the picture.  The longer I stood there the worse the pain got.

Needless to say, any more pictures taken close to the water were taken through the windows of the van.  It wasn't until we drove over to the Fielding Garr Ranch that they let up and we would get out of the van.

The Great Salt Lake.

Over at the Fielding Garr Ranch is where we got to tour the farm yard, see many more bison, and see how they lived on the island many years ago.

A gentleman who was there to help answer questions asked the kids if they knew what a buffalo was really called?  They knew the answer, but just to make sure they never forgot the gentleman told a joke that will help them remember their true name. 

"What did the mother buffalo say to her son while he was leaving for college?  Bye Son!"  Funny, right?!?

A bird house behind the Visitors Center.

Bison in the field at the Fielding Garr Ranch.

Tools used at the ranch.

Sheep sheering station where they sheered the sheep.

The conveyor belt used to move the wool that was sheered off the sheep.

The kids trying there hands at lassoing.

Still trying to lasso.

While driving back to the other side of the island a lone coyote was standing in the road blocking traffic.  We are not sure of what he or she was doing, but we saw a ranger coming down the road, so knew the situation would be handled soon.

Coyote in the road.

Close up of coyote in the road.

One of the main reasons we went to Utah was to visit our friends I went to high school with back in West Virginia.  It was also for me to get in a trout fishing trip with my friend John Shupp.

John Shupp, a very good friend.

A nice trout stream in the Webber Canyon in Utah.

John is one of those guys who always seems to come out on top of every situation you find yourself in with him.  As kids growing up it always seemed to be that way.

He takes me trout fishing and tells me the contests are 1. First Fish Caught, 2. Largest Fish Caught, and 3. Most Fish Caught.  Well not long after we start to fish that morning he catches a nice brown trout, so he has the first contest win in the bag.

John with a nice brown trout.

I start to catch brown trout too and around my third or forth fish I catch a nice 15 1/2 brown.  So I'm holding the titles of biggest fish and most caught so far.

My 15 1/2 inch brown trout.

So after fishing all day we come to a bridge and John casts in and catches his 11th trout, which ties us up for the number caught that day.  I cast in and catch a trout to pull a head by one.  He cast in again and catches his 12th trout to tie me again.  I cast in and catch another trout to pull a head by one again.  This keeps going on for five trout in a row until I am at 16 and John is at 15 fish for the day.

We both go down stream and split up and I catch three more brown trout to get to number 19 while John catches two more trout and is now at 17 trout for the day.

We leave that spot and had over to one last stream to fish and I have no luck at all.  It is going to be dark here in about fifteen minutes and I'm still remembering who I am with and how he always pulls it out at the very end.  John walks under a bridge where we are fishing and I see him catch another trout.  Now he is at 18 fish.  He then steps out of sight around the bridge pillar and is fishing the other side.

I was thinking to myself that he will probably catch one or two more with one of them being over 15 1/2 inches long.  It is not more than a minute later here comes John with a grin from ear to ear holding a really nice brown trout he just caught.  As soon as I got my hands on it, I knew it was bigger than my 15 1/2 inch trout and in fact it was 17 1/4 inches long.

John with his contest winning 17 1/4 inch brown trout.

So in typical John Shupp fashion, he won First Caught and Largest Fish Caught, and tied me for Most Fish Caught, so I really did not win anything.  But I would do it again with the same results any day of the week because it was a great day of fishing spent with one of the best people in the world who I am lucky enough to have as a friend.  Oh, just so my brother Bill knows, John said that I am his best friend now, more so than Bill.  Sorry Bill!

John Shupp and me fishing in Utah.

I told John later on that we needed to add the category of the Best Quality Fish Caught, because I would have won that for sure.

One of the first nice brown trout I caught the day I was fishing in Utah.

A sink full of brown trout that we had for dinner.

Well I think this is enough for this blog of our adventures in Utah, but there will be more on Utah since we did much more.  So if you liked this one, be sure to read our next blog on Utah.

We are so blessed to be able to travel America and see all that we get to see.  God has been good to us and we can not sing His praises enough.

If you liked our blog then please follow it and like our LivelyRV Facebook page.  The links are on the upper right of this blog.

God bless and be safe!

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...


23 states visited so far.



Colorado Springs Colorado

After leaving Amarillo, Texas we drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado and stayed on the Air Force Academy in their FamCamp which is the Air Forces name for their RV parks.  The Peregrine Pines FamCamp was a nice place to stay while in Colorado Springs.

One of the reasons we decided travel to Colorado at this time was due to my oldest son attending a military course at Fort Carson and so we made sure we were there the week he was.  We only got to see each other one night, but Will came over for dinner and then we visited for a while.  All his younger brothers and sisters just love it when they get to see their big brother Will.

All the kids with their big brother Will.

It is always good when you get to visit with family especially since we are always away from West Virginia and most of our family.

Probably the best place we visit while in Colorado Springs was the Cadet Chapel on the base.  We were lucky to go to their protestant service the Sunday we were in town.

The Cadet Chapel is one of the most unique churches in the United States and is very beautiful.  We were very happy to be able to attend a service there and worship the Lord.  I know there are more extravagant churches in the world, but if you are in Colorado Springs then you need to visit the Cadet Chapel.

One thing you will notice about the stain glass and colors in the chapel is that they are darker at the rear of the sanctuary and progressively get lighter toward the front towards the altar in the sanctuary.  This it to represent getting closer to God.

The Lively Family at the Cadet Chapel on the Air Force Academy.

The front of the Cadet Chapel.

Inside looking towards the altar.  Notice the lighter colored stain glass.

The pipe organ in the back of the sanctuary.  Notice the darker colored stain glass.
 

The right side of the sanctuary.

The left side of the sanctuary.

A side shot of the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel.

Another landmark we visited while in Colorado Springs was the Garden of the Gods.  Admission is free due to the wishes of Charles Elliott Perkins who wanted it to be open and free to the public.  He bought the land back in 1879 to build a railroad, but decided that it was too grand not to share with the public.



Entering Garden of the Gods.

Tower of Babel.

Side view of some of the formations on the eastward side of the Garden of the Gods.


The next place we explored was Pikes Peak which is 14,115 feet above sea level.  There are two ways to get to the summit, ride the Cog Train or drive up the 19 mile scenic highway to the top.  We chose to drive up because that only cost us $54.00 versus $199.00 to ride the Cog Train.

 

One issue with driving is make sure you have plenty of gas since you will use a lot more driving up the mountain and then make sure you have good brakes when coming back down.  We geared down and let the engine do most of the braking so the brakes did not get too hot.

 

 Road up to Pikes Peak.

Another issue is that we only made it up to around 12,500 feet because a storm blew in and they closed the summit.  They will also stop the trains too, but I heard you have a better chance of getting to the summit on the train during bad weather than driving.

 The snow storm that kept us from going to the top of Pikes Peak.

Kids getting out at around 12,500 feet elevation to play in the snow. 

 

 

A beautiful view of the valley below from Pikes Peak. 

 

 A closer picture of the lake below from Pikes Peak.

Watch for Big Foot!

 

 



Kids playing on the rocks at around 12,500 feet elevation.

Big Foot Spotted!

We were disappointed that we did not make it to the top, especially since we wanted some of their famous donuts that are the only ones that are successfully baked at 14,000 feet elevation, but we still saw some beautiful scenery and had a good time.

We hope you liked our little tour of Colorado Springs and some of its attractions.  There is much more to see, but we only had time for the above.  Our visit with our son Will made it worth the trip and we were also able to visit our cousin Lloyd Kelley, and a good friend Ivette Orozco, so even better.

If you like our blog please follow us so we know.  Also friend us on Facebook because the more friends you have, the better.  We have made so many friends on the road and hope to make more.

Until next time God bless and safe travels.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

Twenty one states visited so far.

 

 



Amarillo Texas

After leaving Little Rock, Arkansas we headed over to Amarillo, Texas on our way to Colorado Springs, Colorado.  We decided to stay there a week and take in whatever sights there were.

The RV park we decided to stay in was the AOK Camper Park located off of I-40 at Exit 80.  The reason I mention this is that if you are a Passport America member you can stay there for $12.50 a night.  It wasn't fancy, but well worth the price.

Sunrise at AOK Camper Park in Amarillo, Texas.

One of the first things we did was go eat at The Big Texan Steak Ranch which is more of a tourist attraction than steak house, in my humble opinion.  

The atmosphere was great with a band playing songs, everyone was dressed up like cowboys, and the kids get their kid's meals with a cowboy hat.  They will even come get you in a limo and then take you back home, if you like.

Limousines used to pick you up at The Big Texas Steak Ranch.

It is a Route 66 attraction.

If you can eat this 72oz steak, it is yours free!

A look inside the dining room at The Big Texas Steak Ranch.

The prices were a little high and the steaks were not as good as you would have thought.  Misty ordered her's medium well and it came to the table rare.  She had it sent back and it came back just as rare as it was in the beginning.  So we had it taken off the bill since she could not eat it.  I ordered a rib-eye which was OK, but for the price I would have thought it would have been better.

It is worth going there to see it in person, but we would not eat there again since in our opinion the food quality does not warrant the price.

The next thing we went to see was the Cadillac Ranch which is a local work of art or just art.  If you click on the name above, it will take you to a good news story all about the ranch.  We painted LivelyRV.com on a couple of the Cadillacs so that we would be remembered being there for about thirty or forty minutes.  You bring your own spray paint and color them up.  It does not take long for anything you paint to be covered up by other tourists doing the same thing.

The Cadillac Ranch is in view.

Chloe, Courtney, Avery, Ian, Tia, and Ethan at the Cadillac Ranch.

Putting our mark on one of the Cadillacs.

Tia and Avery climbing onto the Cadillac that we branded with LivelyRV.com.

Cadillac Ranch.

Another site we visited was Palo Duro Canyon State Park which is located in Canyon, Texas.  It is claimed to be the second largest canyon in the United States with the Grand Canyon being the only one larger.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Tia, Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Chloe, and Ian at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

A picture of the famous Lighthouse formation in the park from the visitor's center.

Another picture of the Lighthouse from the visitor center's telescope.

The kids all became Junior Rangers at the park and received their patches.  Unfortunately we did not have time to walk the trail to the Lighthouse formation, but if we ever go back, we will.

Another place we visited while in Amarillo, Texas was the Jack Sisemore RV Museum.  It is located at a RV dealership in the back so when you walk in just say you are there to see the museum.  The admission is free and it has a nice collection of motorcycles, RVs, and other items.  It is worth the trip to kill an hour or two.

You may recognize one of the RVs in the museum as the one in the movie RV with Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels.  If you have never watched it, then you should.  We actually rented it off of Amazon Prime to let the kids watch it.  It is rated PG and if I remember correctly, it was a pretty clean movie.

Ethan, Tia, Courtney, Chloe, Avery, and Ian at the Jack Sisemore RV Museum.

A Harley with a left sidecar.

Just some of the Harleys that are in his collection.

 

 

 

Does the red and white RV look familiar?

It is a 1948 Flxible bus used in the movie RV with Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels.

Some of the pictures from the movie RV.

There was also a mock service station in the museum.

Chloe touring one of the travel trailers in the collection.

Avery behind the wheel in the Flxible.

We also visited the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument located in Fritch, TX.  This is where the mammoth hunters got the best flint for their weapons over 13000 years ago.

While we were there the kids also earned their Junior Ranger badges, which is always a good way for them to learn some history about the park.

The kids taking the Junior Ranger oath after earning their badges.

I did manage to get some nice pieces of flint while at the quarries, which is not from the actual site, but from surrounding farms who gather it for souvenirs for the park.  It is illegal to pick up Alibates flint from the national park.

I will tumble them to shine them up and maybe make some jewelry out of the best pieces.  That will be another blog though, if I even do it.  So many things to do with so little time.

Alibates flint on the right with stones from Madagascar on the left that are going to get tumbled.

The quarries are located next to Lake Meredith National Recreation Area which at the time was very dry.  The lake is sixty three feet lower than its normal levels.

A picture in Lake Meredith which is located next to the Alibates Flint Quarries.

It was so low that most of the boat launches in the upper part of the lake are bone dry as you can tell from the below picture of our GPS.

Where's the water?

So that was our exploring while in Amarillo Texas, which was quite a bit.  Now we will be heading to Colorado Springs, CO to see what all we can explore there.

We are blessed to be able to travel the way we do and thank God everyday for His blessings and His son Jesus who saved us from our sins.  God bless and safe travels.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

Twenty states visited so far.