It's Utah! 25/6/07

I left the natural bridge park and headed for a town called Blanding. Here there was an amazing visitors centre and pioneer museum it was really good, the best part was the lady who was running the place, she told another RV couple and myself some wonderful places to go, back to Natural Bridge park and continue along the road past the park then turn onto “Hole in the Rock Road” this is the very road that the Mormon Pioneers came along, cannot think what the problem was - it is a lovely tarmac road!! Oh! I guess 150 years ago it was not!! This desert/prairie is the same wonderful colours red and even green. At the pass there is a commendation plaque to the group of Men, women and children who camped at the pass for 8 days while they built a 3 mile road so that they could safely get their wagons down a 1000 feet drop!!! (I’d have gone home) a few days later I go through the village of Bluff where these people built their homes and Temple, one of the original homes is still there, part of it has been renovated. The temple has been rebuilt in the exact place as the original, the whole area is being renovated. I continued on over the pass until I came to Lake Powell the truck and I went on a ferry to Bulldog crossing, (they have some wonderful names here, I stayed at Horse Thief campsite the other night). The next morning I continued along the road back to Blanding, it was truly magnificent well worth the 100mile round trip to get back to where I started.! This road is part of Glen Canyon and follows the Colorado River, this valley/canyon is where Butch Cassidy ran the cattle he and his gang had rustled. Back in Blanding I visited the Edge of Cedars Pueblo Indian village/museum, and then onto Mant-le-Sal National Forest, a very beautiful change from the desert/prairie I have been traveling through, tonight I sleep at Buckboard Campsite.

Continuing through this amazing, beautiful country I am now heading for Salt Lake City; On the way visiting “Arches National Park” this has the most concentration of sandstone Arches in the world, it was a very hot day 100+ which was not so bad as I was driving with the sun behind so the cab and me were in the shade, I used the A/C. I only did one of the walks to get closer and to see more of the Arches because of the heat, however Les and Margaret will want to visit. It is hard to find information before you visit these places, the information I was given on entering the park tells you to visit first thing in the morning or late at night (it is also much cooler) I went at 2pm the hottest!! So I will do better next time. I am also still doing the roads that the lady in the visitors center told me about - one didn’t go anywhere just there and back but it was amazingly beautiful, superb. I kept away from the Interstate Highway and drove through the mountains, I had found a campsite just outside SLC which had internet and Laundry - I plan to stay there for the weekend, I feel the need to just hangout! The journey was scenic and cool I enjoyed it stopping for lunch with an amazing view over the valley with the red rock behind the green of the forest - awesome! I decided to give the campsite a ring on my new American phone to ask if they had any vacancies, they could not understand me! But I understood they had. The site was ok, not really my cup of tea, its like a coach park, no one sits out, but when they do walk around everyone comes over to chat. I got my laundry done, filled up with water etc. The next day an English couple arrived in a hired RV on the back of a tow truck, (we know what that’s like don’t we girls!) Any way they were stuck there until at least Monday, so we sat out and chatted. I went in around 11pm just got inside and heard a very loud 'sh sh sh'.

I froze.

Air coming out of the tyre was my first thought, on looking out of the door I saw a huge water spray, my fresh water tank was my second thought, this holds 400ltrs I jumped out as fast as I could get out, onto the grass at the side of the truck, thinking what the H*** am I going to do AND its dark………..This is America! ….six sprinklers had risen out of the grass and turned on, to keep the grass green! I was soaked as I stood in the middle of a strip of grass not much bigger then my deck chair and table with six sprinklers playing on it!!! My friends had gone in but I had a very good laugh in fact Meric would say I had a 'purple moment'! In the morning my friends said “have you seen all this water” yep I had. There is a fuel station and hotel/restaurant near the campsite about a 10/15 min walk, the Brits walked the Americans drove their vehicles!

When I left the I had been shown a road over the mountains that picked the Interstate up further along, the mountain road was stunning and goes past Robert Redford’s pad which is called Sundance which is a mountain resort doing all year round stuff as this is a very big ski centre.

I came to SLC to go to the camping world shop for some blinds but they needed 3or4 weeks so that was a no no, then I went to Ikea and had meatballs for lunch!!!

Now I am kind of on my way back to Prescott and home.

Finding things to see is not easy I was given a booklet at the campsite with some very interesting looking places to visit before I head for home, two of which I could not find. So I parked for the night in Wal-Mart car park and had a haircut in Wal-Mart !! (its not a bad haircut) it was a quiet stopover.

However in the morning I did find a couple of places to visit one the town of Lehi the museum was closed and the bus ride I had hoped to take was only for groups but I did find the mill which is unchanged, from the outside at least since 1906 when it started making flour this was an interesting find. I then drove some 20 miles out of town to “Camp Floyd-Stage coach Inn Sate Park” The road traveled through the farming of this area some of the houses and yards were very old, most were very large, it was very different to anything so far, a lot of the land had been sold and very large housing estates are being built.

Camp Floyd was SHUT! I was not happy. BUT after going to the toilet they were OPEN I was just too early

There is a very interesting museum which is in the original army stores building with lots of information, the fort was built in 1858 the government sent 3,500 soldiers to stop a Mormon rebellion that never took place. 200000US$ were pumped into the region to build the fort and care for the soldiers, then in 1861 they all left for the civil war. A John Carson built a stagecoach Inn to serve the army big wigs, this Inn became a very important stop over for stage coach travelers. It also became a very important stop over for the pony express. The Inn has been totally renovated with original furniture and quilts!

A very good morning, had my lunch and then set off for the mountains for a very cool sleep in fact I was cold. Which is the up side of this climate, the days are very hot but the night are cool so sleep is easy.

My journey took me through the forest (after I had got very lost) over the mountains I slept at 9275feet then onto Inter State which was very scenic with lots of stopping places for a beautiful view, this road has been built through what was once a solid wall of rock which had a canyon through that was so narrow a man could touch each side at once.

I am heading back to Blanding and a QUILT show. I bet my girls wish they were here!!