Overhead personal shelf was added above each bed to hold our phones, tablets, books, glasses and other misc items at night.We thought an in-basket was about the right size and height. After much research, the Staples Black Wire Mesh Stackable Letter Tray looked durable and relatively easy to mount. To order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WKZLD7W End closest to cab was mounted with ¾” wood screws and a washer through the existing wood cabinet end brace. The speaker covers were unscrewed to make it easier to attach.End closest to bath was mounted with ½” x ½” angles. First attached angles to letter tray with ½” bolts, washer and a self-locking nut. Then attached to cabinet above with through bolts, washer, and self-locking nut. Holes were pre-drilled through wood cabinet.The front is installed a slightly higher than the back so items will be less likely to fall out if forgotten before movement. The shelf liner was added to keep from scratching our electronics.
Shoe Storage enhancement with 5 black wire mesh wall pockets to mount under long bed – we got the idea to use these file holders from walking around an office supply store.Lorell LLR84144 Mesh Wire Wall Pocket were ordered because they looked durable and the dirt could fall through the mesh. To order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B8X9WUM Horizontal 1″ x 2″ wood blocking was added in storage area and 1″ wood screws were purchased for installation.Each basket holds a pair of shoes plus depending on the shoe size.One basket added at short end of bed is used to hold small broom and small trash bag.
On the road again in the flat lands!Peace Chief Black Kettle survived Sand Creek Massacre but did not survive this massacre. We spent the night nearby in the Black Kettle Grasslands.Imagine those that escaped by hiding in these grasses. We enjoyed seeing it at sunset.Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas was our next stop – we spent our first night here as it was quite windy.This bull snake was enjoying some sunshine. We had not seen them flatten their heads like this.At the Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument, we took a guided hike up to see these ancient quarries of the beautiful stones.At the visitor center, we watched Ed Dey, flint knapper, shape one of these stones into a small masterpiece. He also regaled us with some stories.This was the beautiful arrowhead he created that we were given as a souvenir. Nice! We really appreciated it.Our second night we spent higher on the bluffs – as you can see there was no wind!And enjoyed this gorgeous sunset – they are all nice but we like the lake view as well.Heading into New Mexico with a bit more wind at our back.A night at Ute Lake State Park in New Mexico as we head towards Santa Fe for the weekend.
A National Historic Site, we had a ranger overview talk before our walk to the overlook of the massacre site.It is the last day of October – the massacre was the end of November – it surely wasn’t 87 degrees that day!We parked at Nee Noshee SWA for the late afternoon and evening, South of Eads, CO.This is the beautiful wildlife area – we saw a few ducks, raptors, and coots.Bent’s Old Fort NHS with a resident steer greeting us.Beautiful animal. I guess he gets to pull the wagon occasionally.This was a big fur trading area – mostly buffalo skins but here is a river boat made out of one as well as some beaver pelts.A nice piece of history that is recreated here on the Arkansas River.We headed South to Comanche National Grasslands for a few nightsPanoramic views to enjoy on our ‘back patio”. We are surprised at all the canyons in the grasslands.Peaceful sunset with Moon and planets. The Milky Way was awesome!Picket Wire Canyonlands hike first had this dust bowl ruin.On old chapel ruin and cemetery of another settlement.But dinosaurs are why we have chosen this trail – this is a thigh bone a tad larger than mine!And footprints a tad larger than ours!This is a panorama of Theropod dinosaur tracks. Well worth a 12 mile RT hike.Largest Tracksite in North AmericaWe stopped for lunch at Carrizo canyon.And did a short hike to these amazing petroglyphs of elk.We camped at Vogel canyon and enjoyed sunset on Balance Rock.This was the view from the Travato!We hiked to some more petroglyphs. This is a calendar that marks the solstice.And some amazing drawings. We were disturbed by recent graffiti and had many discussions of why someone would deface these treasures.We enjoyed our picnic lunch by this arch as we were in no hurry to get back to camp.
Canyonlands NP Needles district house in the cliff was a 10-mile round trip hike.This was a short hike near Combs Ridge south of Blanding, UT.A nice little tower on the ridge from our hike to Jail House Runis and Perfect Kiva.This is the Perfect Kiva which we hiked up to see closer.View from the Perfect Kiva looking back across the valley.It is a BLM site and had a nice booklet describing so many of the features and artifacts found there. Fascinating!Natural Bridges National Monument was the first National Park in Utah. It is quite spectacular.We took the trail to the Horsecollar ruins.It had a one log ladder to climb up – not so bad but going down I was glad to have a good companion.This is a gorgeous bridge on a gorgeous day.This is our “Million Dollar View” campsite that we had stayed at before. We were here five nights this time. The dark skies and stars were spectacular.House on Fire ruins – if visited when the sun is just right it appears to be in flames. who came up with that?Before Hovenweep NM we hiked around this canyon to see other cliff dwellings.Beautiful craftsmanship.Sunrise over Sleeping Giant from our campsite at Hoovenweep National Monument.Morning loop hike at the monument to see these treasures.The spirit raven was watching.The wood supports in these buildings are original.The sites on the rock ledges are such interesting selections of places to build.There is a house tucked under that large boulder.The cliff partially collapsed but the dwelling stayed attached to its foundation.We wore ourselves out with a bunch of shorter hikes and the day kept getting hotter and hotter.We sat and enjoyed this for a while – really detailed and intricate brick laying.Early morning at Lowry Pueblo in Canyon of the Ancients.It felt really special to be able to experience this lighting.Mr Fox even had to check out the photographer. That is Sleeping Ute Mountain in the background.
Heading towards Moab, we stopped at Fisher Towers for a lunch break hike.We stitched this panorama together to try to show the beauty of the amphitheater.Further on, we stopped along the Colorado River to enjoy the perspective of being on the water.We found this amazing campsite on BLM land between Arches NP and Canyonlands – Isle.There were others camping in the same valley but we felt like we had a great site with excellent views. We were here three nights.Candlestick rock from a hike to an overlook point with our lunch.Enjoying the Colorado River and all the canyons that were carved in the past.This is the Schaeffer Trail panorama. We did not take the Travato down!An early hike to Morning Glory natural bridge down Negro Bill Canyon.An afternoon drive along Potash Road on the west side of Moab to enjoy the scenery.And to discover the petroglyphs.We drove as far as Jug Arch.A final sunset before heading to the southern part of Canyonlands.Newspaper rock never fails to fascinate! It has been fun to experience this area in the fall colors.There was a full moon rise from our next campsite of three nights on in the Manitou National Forest.A hike in Canyonlands Needles district.Very fun slick rock shapes.A slight breeze to cool us but unseasonably warm this year.We feel so privileged to be able to spend a day doing this hike.A bit of aspens or cottonwoods in the canyon bottom.We would have loved to park over night here but it was private land – but nice we were able to spend a few minutes here.Another hike to Paul Bunyan’s Potty. Do you remember our picture with Paul in Minnesota?
A great month at the Residence Inn Marriott in Grand Junction. Leaving our new friends, spoiled with all the comforts of good breakfasts, social hours, pool/hot tub and convenient location.Thank you to Dean Moore’s crew and the crew at Transwest for getting our van in tip top shape. And thank to Marriott for the Plum Creek Palisade wine to celebrate!Enjoying the sunset at Rabbitt Valley after a long day of getting the Travato reloaded and ready for the road.We were able to do some hikes right from the camp site so had two great no drive days.This was the view we enjoyed from the camp site.This herd of pronghorns were shy of us but not the ATVers.Both hikes took us to the Colorado River to enjoy this type of view.It is a rough life to hang out here!
On the trail again – it was 48 degrees when we started and 64 when we finished. Perfect!Is that the trail down there? We were not expecting all the elevation gain – we ascended and descended three mesas – both ways!We are over half way to the arches – it is 7-miles in and 7-miles out! Most of this trail is in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness section of McInnis Canyon.There are 7 arches – a very high concentration for one hike. They were breathtaking and not just because we had hiked 7-miles!Very fun to appreciate on such a gorgeous day.This got our vote as the most beautiful arch we have seen. Sorry Utah…We took too many photos but this upward looking panorama seems to capture the awe of being there.Walking past it gave a different viewpoint that was also interesting.This is the last arch we hiked to – there might have been one more but we stopped here to eat and enjoy before heading back.Fun to climb up for a closer view. Really amazing what nature can do, given enough time.
