On Monday, August 31, it was time to head further south. We left Winnemucca about 8 AM, taking US-95. At Battle Mountain, we hit NV-305 south, and a bit later, were stopped by a State Patrolman coming opposite direction. No, Mr. Wonderful (MW) wasn’t driving like a crazy man. He was giving us a heads-up about two super-sized loads that were coming over the rise. We pulled all the way off of the road to wait while he continued to stop more people behind us. A few minutes later the lead car stopped to let us know they were moving pretty slowly. He said they left Heber City, Utah, headed for the lithium mine north of Winnemucca, Nevada, about a 5 hour drive in a car. Their trip, however, would be EIGHT DAYS LONG!!! Man, driving that slow would wear me out!! A little later the first of two trucks hauling what looked like crazy-big tanks appeared on the horizon. When the second passed, we got back on the road with the whole delay at about 15 minutes. We continued all the way down to Austin and turned east on US-50, which is called the “Loneliest Road”. The section we drove this trip was pretty lonely until we got closer to our destination. It was also a designated scenic route and took us through the Toiyabe National Forest and over the Austin (7,484′), Bob Scotts (7,205′), and Hickison (6,591′) summits. The route passes through the southern end of the Great Basin, and the valleys are wide open and very flat. At Eureka we stopped for lunch at the Urban Cowboy, which was a total surprise. (Owned by an Indian couple, they had the typical stuff you’d expect from the name, but also had some pretty darned good Indian food. MW had Chicken Korma Curry, while I went for Chicken Tikka Masala, both of which were enough for two or three meals. Yum!!)

Back in the truck, we continued east on US-50 crossing the Little Antelope (7,438′) and Robinson (7,588′) summits, before pulling into the Ely KOA Journey just south of Ely (pronounced E-Lee), Nevada. It was another beautiful day for a drive, and the scenery was spectacular. Best of all, though, the temp was actually a little chilly…55 degrees at 2 PM!

Tuesday MW and I headed out for lunch at the Smash N Grab downtown. It was a really well-rated burger joint, and deserved the accolades. We did have to walk though a casino, but thankfully, this one wasn’t smoky. After dropping MW back off at Priscilla, I rode back up to McDonald’s to do a little writing. The place was mobbed with high schoolers when I arrived, and I parked myself in a back corner. When the crowd started to thin out, I ordered a drink and stood with some students while waiting. I asked them if school was out, and they said they were just on lunch break. Then one of them added that the bell for them to be back had already rung, but they were still waiting for their food. They get 30 minutes for lunch, and the school is 10 minutes away. “So what happens if you aren’t back?” “Well, we will all get detention.” One of the lads had already had detention 4 times since school started for the same reason! I asked if they had food options at school, and of course, they did. One of the young ladies whined that “the school should just give us more time”. Shouldn’t high-schoolers be proficient enough in basic math to know that you can’t possibly beat the clock on that trip. What do you think? Later a young man came in and parked himself at a table across from me. He appeared to be texting folks on his phone, and occasionally making small talk with passers by, including me. After about 1-1/2 hours, I noticed that he had not eaten anything. We chatted a little bit, and I found out that his name is Michael, and he just got out of the local jail. You never know if the stories people give are true, but from what he said, he seemed to have had a few bad breaks along with his bad choices. He said he had learned from his past and just wanted to get a job and get on his feet. His probation officer approved him transferring to Reno to find work and was heading there the next day on the bus. Right now he was waiting for someone to get off work and pick him up later in the evening. Before heading out, I made sure Michael had eaten, wished him well, and added him to my prayer list.

Wednesday we headed out early to take a little hike at Cave Lake State Park. It was a beautiful morning with cool temps and a breeze, which helped as the first half of the hike was uphill. I turned back after about 25 minutes and left MW to go a bit further. (When we hike together, my speed holds him back. I know he enjoys it when I turn around and tell him to keep going.) When he made it back to Big Jake, we headed out on our planned scenic drive…a LONG dirt road that runs for many miles down the mountain range where you can circle back into Ely. We only made it a little ways, though, because it was seriously washboarded and rough. Neither one of us would enjoy that for very long, and we really didn’t want to put Big Jake through it. We have to protect our only mode of transportation! Back at Priscilla I did a bit more writing, and we watched a little TV.

We’ve stayed at Ely KOA Journey before, and you can read the full review with pics here. Our first stay was over 4th of July weekend, and it was not as noisy and full for this visit. The park is very well-kept and very convenient to sites in Ely and the surrounding area. For this visit in September 2026, we paid a bit over $104 per night for 3 nights in a full-hookup, pull-thru, premium site with a patio and privacy wall.

Thursday it was time to move on down the road. We headed out about 9 AM going south on US-93 down to Panaca. There we turned east on NV-319, which became UT-56 as we crossed the border. We passed out of the desert scrub and spent a bit of time in agricultural land near Beryl Junction, Utah, where we turned south on UT-18 down to Enterprise. There we stopped for lunch at Joe’s Main Street Grill, which was pretty good for a little, small-town joint.

After lunch we continued south on UT-18 in the Dixie National Forest (named because the Mormons called this part of Utah Dixie), then stopped a few minutes later to check out the Mountain Meadows Massacre Site. I wrote about Mountain Meadows before when we were at a monument in Arkansas. It was a bit eerie standing at the place where so many people died on September 11, 1857. This site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011 and consists of four main monuments: 1) A memorial wall that was designed in 1990 by relatives of the victims and the perpetrators. 2) A memorial created in 2011 at the site of their demise to honor the Men and Older Boys who were murdered after being separated from the women, children, and wounded. 3) A memorial built in 2014 at the site of their demise to honor the women, children and wounded who were murdered. 4) The site where soldiers in 1859 buried the bones of 34 victims and built a monument. In 1990, granite markers listing the names of known victims and surviving children were added to the site. In 1999, suffering from years of neglect, volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) built a new monument modeled after and using some of the stones from the original and added a surrounding wall. When that monument was being constructed, the bones of 29 additional persons were found. They were interred in a crypt with a granite marker. In 2017 the skull of an additional victim, which had been removed by U. S. Army personnel in 1859, was buried at the monument and has a marker. This site also has a separate memorial to honor those killed in the initial siege. Now, more than 150 years later, the Mormons are maintaining a monument to the victims of the “terrible and inexcusable” acts of long ago members and leaders of their Church. On the 150th anniversary of the massacre, Elder Henry B. Eyring said in part “We express profound regret for the massacre carried out in this valley 150 years ago today and for the undue and untold suffering experienced by the victims then and by their relatives to the present time. A separate expression of regret is owed to the Paiute people who have unjustly borne for too long the principal blame for what occurred during the massacre. Although the extent of their involvement is disputed, it is believed they would not have participated without the direction and stimulus provided by local Church leaders and members… May the God of Heaven, whose sons and daughters we all are, bless us to honor those who died here by extending to one another the pure love and spirit of forgiveness which His Only Begotten Son personified.” The valley was beautiful and smelled of juniper, and the monuments were worth the stop.

Back on the road, we continued south on UT-18, which took a left turn at Veyo and passed through the Snow Canyon area and on to Saint George. The final leg was circling south of town down near the airport, where we arrived at Desert Canyons RV Park at about 3PM. Unfortunately, the temps went from 85 to 97 as we topped the last ridge, making setup a bit warm!! After finishing up and getting cooled off, I headed over to Rosy Nails 3 to get a much-needed mani and pedi. That is always so relaxing for me!!

Friday I took care of laundry in the morning at the campground, which had an excellent laundromat. There weren’t many visitors (winter is their big season), so I was alone the entire time. After getting everything stowed back at Priscilla, we headed over to Lotus of St. George (delicious food, ridiculous prices for the amount you receive) to pick up lunch, then made our way to the home of a friend you’ve heard of before, John Hanks, and his bride, Penny. We visited for several hours and enjoyed every minute of it. I am so happy to see John smiling again after becoming a widower.

Saturday morning we were up early for another hike, this time at Snow Canyon State Park. Holy smokes! What a beautiful area. We arrived early enough to enjoy most of our walk back into the canyon alone. It was blissfully cool when we arrived, but the sun was coming up with a vengeance by the time we made it back to Big Jake. We stopped in at Beans & Brews for a little breakfast bite and coffee for MW, then relaxed for most of the afternoon.

SIDE NOTE: We ran by Walgreens for a few things, and I noticed the products below. What in the heck is Neon Deion thinking? Has he blown through all his dough? Curious!

Later we headed out to celebrate our anniversary (which was on the 3rd, our travel day) with dinner at Cliffside Restaurant. (MW and I have been best friends for 47 years and married for 33. It’s hard to remember a time when he wasn’t a part of my life.) The restaurant sits on top of a mountain overlooking St. George and the red cliffs all around it. The food was good, although MW’s steak was a little too done. For dessert we shared a cinnamon roll bread pudding. (Who wouldn’t think that’s a delicious idea?!) We were both stuffed when we headed back to the campground.

Sunday we attended services at Zion Bible Church in St. George, where Pastor Sam Martin had a good message about growing in our Christianity and the features of a mature Christian. I don’t normally do any work on Sunday, but John and Penny were popping by later, so I took care of a bit of much-needed dusting and such when we got back to Priscilla. They visited for a while in the evening before we said our final goodbyes. They are talking about trying out a little RVing, so who knows, maybe we will meet somewhere down the road!!

Since it was a holiday weekend, we did not hit the road on Monday, September 7. Instead, I needed to do a little shopping. MW declined to tag along, so I started with a little writing at Culver’s, and then FINALLY found a dress for my nephew’s upcoming wedding! (Thank you Dillards!!) Later I ran a few more errands, picked up some groceries, and stopped in at J. Dawgs, which we noticed when we stopped in for coffee next door the other day. They serve either beef or polish, and both are HUGE and delicious, but I couldn’t finish one. At the end of the day, there was an amazing sunset, too.

Desert Canyons RV Park was very nice. Just off of UT-7 south of the airport in St. George, it offers easy access to everything in St. George, Washington, and Hurricane, Utah. Within a few miles is a dinosaur discovery site, a petroglyph park, Sand Hollow and Snow Canyon state parks, and Pioneer Park. Zion National Park is also just 47 miles away. Amenities include an office/clubhouse, swimming pool, hot tub, laundry, grilling patio, playground, pickle ball courts, horseshoe pits, a dog walk area, fire pit, and access to an ATV trail and the bike route that runs for miles. The campground is well-landscaped and the bathhouse was immaculate with separate rooms with showers, toilets, and sinks. All sites are paved, full-hookup, and 50-amp with picnic tables. The down side is that our site was off-level enough side-to-side to use our extra board to level and there was a significant amount of noise from the 4-lane right next door. We’d definitely stay again, though, if in St. George. For this visit in September, 2026, we paid just under $69 per day for 5 days.

On Tuesday it was finally time to ease on down the road. Although our general direction was south, we were turning back north for a bit to check off another national park. We headed west on UT-7 to I-15 north. In Cedar City, which looked like a nice place to explore on a future trip, we stopped in at Firehouse Subs for lunch. That took a little maneuvering to find parking, but it turned out fine. (Sometimes what you see on the overhead doesn’t look the same when you get there.) Back on the road, we continued north on I-15 to UT-20 east. That took us to US-89 north to Kingston, where we side-stepped east over to UT-62, and turned north, passing Otter Creek Reservoir. After passing through Koosharem up to Burrville, we hit the final leg, UT-24 over to Torrey, Utah, and finally arrived at Sand Creek RV Resort at around 3:30 PM. This was a spectacular drive with amazing scenery.

After getting settled, I walked over to talk to a couple with an off-road travel trailer that looked pretty cool. Turned out that Jeff and V were pretty nice and just starting their RV journey after his recent retirement. We answered questions and gave them pointers on road life, and they showed us their setup and explained how boon-docking has worked for them on this maiden, 6-weekish voyage. Their rig, which was built by Australian Off Road, was small, but very nice, and built to go just about anywhere. (I wouldn’t mind switching to something like that after we build the house and are taking 2-3 month trips instead of 6-9 month ones. It would be cool to boondock in the middle of nowhere on BLM land, and that rig would be perfect to go back to Alaska, too!) We really enjoyed the visit and feel certain we will meet again.

Wednesday was our day to explore Capitol Reef National Park, and despite neither of us sleeping too well, we headed out a little after 6 AM. The morning started with a drive through the Fruita historic district and the scenic loop. When the first explorers came through the area, the only possible route was following the Fremont River, which winds through the massive cliffs. Where the river meets Sulpher Springs, the tiny community of Junction was settled. Although its origins are hazy, what is known is that those who came were Mormons, and they planted orchards that were so successful in the river bottom soil that the area became known as “the Eden of Wayne County”. In 1902, the settlement name was changed to Fruita, and at most, there were only 10 families ever living there. Today the apple trees are still producing, and you can pick your own when they are in season. On our drive through we saw lots of mule deer, including some in a campground within a few feet of campers sitting at a picnic table. On our way back out of the loop we passed a mama with twins and one little fellow a bit later who seemed to have lost his mama. (MW would not let me take him home. Party pooper!!)

After finishing the drive, we headed over to the Hickman Bridge Trailhead. The hike out to the bridge was 1.8 miles round trip, and the first half mile or so was up. Thankfully, my hip is doing awesome, and the increase in hiking is helping my legs get caught back up, too. By the time we made it back to Big Jake, though, my butt muscles had reached their limit. After stopping in at the Visitor Center, we headed back to Torrey and had breakfast at the Rock Reef Cafe. Then it was back to Priscilla for a nap and relaxation. MW picked up pizza at Curry Pizza (a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives spot) for supper later. I was still wiped out in the evening, so I went to bed a little early.

Saw this when we stopped for lunch:

Sand Creek RV Park is a small campground located in Torrey, Utah, which is a dark sky community just a few miles from Capitol Reef National Park. Amenities include a pavilion, wifi, and shower/bathrooms, and lodging options included cabins and a campground with both RV and tent sites. There were 15 RV sites that were pull-thru, gravel with full-hookups, 50-/30-amp, fire pits, and picnic tables. This campground was pretty expensive, and taking into account the size of most rigs, the sites are relatively short and not terribly wide. Although the view is lovely, the minimal amenities and condition in general do not warrant the price. For this visit in September 2026, we paid just under $73 per night for 2 nights.

Thursday we retraced our drive back through Capitol Reef National Park on UT-24 and followed the Fremont River all the way over to Hanksville. There we stopped in at a unique convenience store, the Hollow Mountain Sinclair, which was actually built into the mountain. Too cool. We turned south on UT-95 and passed through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. There are just no words to describe how spectacular that drive is so I’ve include lots of pics. We continued on UT-95, skirting the edge of Natural Bridges National Monument and passing through Bears Ears National Monument, then turned north on US-191. At Blanding, Utah, we stopped for lunch at Homestead Steakhouse (nice salad bar and sandwiches), then continued north to Monticello. There an east turn on US-491 took us across the border into Colorado, and we continued down to Lewis and turned east on the final leg, CO-184, which put us at The Views RV Park and Campground near Dolores at about 3 PM. We had another gorgeous driving day with crazy-amazing scenery, especially in Glen Canyon.

Friday I headed to Cortez, Colorado, to take care of laundry at Speedy Wash and run a few errands. I knew we had passed through this area before, and when I saw a mural in town, realized that we stopped to shop at the hardware store and had lunch at Beny’s Diner across the street a few years ago. Then I drove back down to Dolores and parked in the back corner at The Depot for a bit of lunch and some catch up writing.

Saturday the morning started before sunrise as we headed over to Mesa Verde National Park to hike the 2.2 mile Point Lookout Trail. The trail zig-zagged up the mesa for the first 400′ or so, which was a bit of a challenge, especially at over 8k’! Once at the top, there was an easy path out to the end of the mesa. We saw a couple of birds, but no other animals. A woodpecker wasn’t too happy with our intrusion, though, and let us know loudly. It was a nice, cool, gorgeous morning, and the views were incredible. As we were exiting the trail back at the parking lot, another hiker pulled in. Up until then, we had the place to ourselves. Too cool!

Despite miles and miles of spectacular scenery, Mesa Verde National Park isn’t about that. What it is about is cliff dwellings. For approximately 700 years beginning in the first millennium, the Mesa Verde region was home to 27 Pueblos and Tribes that grew to around 40,000 people. That is more than live in the area today! They lived in a number of shelter types, including cliff dwellings, near where they farmed, raised animals, harvested wild plants, hunted, and made pottery. In the late 1200s, a terrible drought gripped the area for many years. The Pueblos and Tribes moved south in search of water and spread through many areas down to the Rio Grande. Today you can see what’s left of Hopi cliff dwellings, many from roadside overlooks. You can also take a Ranger-led tour that climbs down into one of the areas and hike to see petroglyphs. It really is pretty cool to look at buildings built 1,000+ years ago that are still discernible. We took a ride through the park down to Sun Point View stopping to look at various dwellings. Then we made our way back to the Visitor Center, passing a few more mule deer along the way. Unfortunately there was a power outage, so I couldn’t get a magnet/patch to add to our collection.

When we finally finished up, we headed into Cortez to the Wigglin’ Pig for lunch, but the power glitch had messed up their credit card system. Thankfully, there was an ATM next door, so problem solved, and the brisket sandwich and pulled pork grilled cheese (MW) were excellent. On the way back to the campground we checked out McPhee Reservoir. There we found a display showing the mountain ranges all around the area. The weather was beautiful, so later in the afternoon I sat outside to do a little writing and watch a hummingbird that kept buzzing around.

Sunday morning we went to church…twice. LOL. MW checked the website for Dolores Southern Baptist right down the road, which advertised Sunday School at 9:30 AM and services an hour later. When we arrived about 9:25 AM, we noticed that there was a lot of expansion construction going on. We found an entrance and what we thought was the Sunday School class already in progress. We snuck into the back and soon felt like we were listening to a sermon. Afterwards we spoke to Pastor Andy who said the website was wrong. The construction project severely restricted their space, so they had to do two services and weren’t currently having Sunday School. So, everyone who looked at us funny as we snuck in really thought we were THAT late! The sermon, about choosing carefully what we give our attention to, would be repeated at 10:30 AM. We toyed with staying, but since we had already heard the message, decided against it. Feeling a little short-changed, we headed back to the campground. Before we disembarked, MW pointed out that it was just 10:15 AM, so we could still make an 11 AM service. There were two churches on the way to Cortez that would work, so we headed over to the Baptist Chapel. Coincidentally, the pastor there, Dan Kelso, had been the fill-in pastor at the first church before he recruited the current pastor. The praise music was very good, and the message from Exodus on being patient when God seems to delay in answering our prayers was very good. (My Mom used to say that I missed the line for patience when God was putting me together. LOL) Afterwards we stopped in at J. Fargos Family Dining & Microbrewing for lunch, then headed back to Big Jake.

The Views RV Park & Campground in Dolores, Colorado, is about 40 miles northeast of Four Corners where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona come together. There are lots of nearby opportunities for exploration including Mesa Verde, Canyon of the Ancients, local wineries, and the towns of Dolores and Cortez, or a little further away, Durango. For water recreation McPhee Reservoir and the Dolores River are just across the road. The family-owned park has been in the same hands for 10 years, and the owners are constantly out straightening up, raking gravel, wiping down picnic tables, and cleaning the bathhouses. Honestly, they drove through several times a day just looking for stuff that needed doing. Amenities included pavilion with grill, paddle board rental, free wifi, mountain biking/hiking trail, laundry, fire pit, plus amazing views. Lodging options include glamping tents, vintage trailers, and the campground with first come, first served tent and reservable RV sites. The latter includes 49 pull-thru or back-in sites, that are either full-hookup or water and electric. Several have enough room for a huge RV, truck, plus other toys. All have picnic tables and there are plenty of trees for shade. There are two back-in sites on the south side of the park that have spectacular views of Mesa Verde and Sleeping Ute.

Well that is more than enough for now. Next up…Navajo Nation, Monuments, and..I’m not really sure yet, but I’ll be sure to share. See you on the path!

Talisa

Sources: Attraction signage, brochures, and websites, Wikipedia, and Interesting Folks.

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