Las Vegas Road Trip East Bound

Quick link to video montage.

Finally, the last edition of the Las Vegas Road Trip.

Left Vegas on Tuesday, September 26. My first stop was planned in advance. I wanted to the see the Great Salt Lake. I had heard that it was fuller now than it has been for years due to huge snows in the surrounding areas over the winter.

On the way to Antelope Island, I stopped in Cedar City, Utah, to check out the Utah Shakespeare Festival site. I worked there in the mid 1980's. Yikes! The little outdoor theater is still there but now there is an enormous complex of buildings and grounds that are just for the Shakespeare Festival. What a difference.

Antelope Island is a Utah State Park that is IN in the Great Salt Lake and there is camping! I had reserved a cabin for two nights so that I could explore the area.

It turned out I needed to get home a bit earlier than initially planned so I modified my reservation to stay just one night. I only got to explore Antelope Island and not any of the other Great Salt Lake area.

The Lake was not full, but it was definitely spectacular and being on an island meant I could see the Lake from nearly everywhere.

There are lots of bison on Antelope Island and some mule deer but no antelope. There are also some waterfowl especially near the causeway that you take to get onto the island. The other thing that makes so much sense but that I hadn't considered was there are billions of mosquitoes...nothing like briny water to attract the state bird of Minnesota!

The cabin was more like a tiny house. It had a bedroom and a bunk room along with a kitchen including a full-size refrigerator.

I took what was supposed to be a short hike along the lake but turned into a long hike up and over a small mountain. I ended up doing a bit of rock climbing which I'm pretty sure I was not supposed to do. The views of the Lake were fantastic, but I was nowhere near the water. Nearly hiked right into a bison lying near the path which scared the you-know-what out of me.

I headed east from the Great Salt Lake and unfortunately was not able to visit the Utah capitol as there just wasn't enough time.

I wanted to avoid the interstates even though I was trying to cut an entire day out of the return, so I made my way up to US-30 to drive through southern Wyoming. My tourist destination was Fossil Butte National Monument. Didn't know anything about it other than it sounded interesting and would take me through the mountains off the interstate.

It was a beautiful drive as Fall was in full color in the higher elevations. I ran into (literally) some cowboys moving cattle from the higher elevations to lower. The geology of Fossil Butte is very interesting. You can read about it here. The visitors' center at Fossil Butte is really well done and informative. The trails near the visitors' center don't get near the actual fossils and there are still archeological sites within the park and regular visitors aren't allowed near them anyway.

I did take a really pretty hike that has good views and descriptions along the way.

I was hoping to make it to Cheyenne for the overnight, but I did have to end up on I-80 which was down to one lane of traffic, and I was running out of steam. I spent the night in Rawlins, Wyoming and was hoping to see some of the cowboys I had encountered on US-30...alas...no cowboys for me.

The goal of day #3 was to get to Grand Island, Nebraska. The only planned stop was Cheyenne to see the Wyoming capitol. Sorry Nebraskans but there just isn't much to see and I really wanted to get home.

The capitol is quite handsome. It was a beautiful day and I ate lunch in Cheyenne at a local café.

Back on the Interstate I realized I wasn't going to make it Grand Island. It was just that much too far for my tired eyes. I had gained two companions from Wyoming - a pair of flies - that kept me company but even they were getting bored.

I made it to Kearney. If you recall, this was the first stop on the west bound journey.

Stayed in a different hotel this time. I love those Belgian waffle makers that a lot of hotels have. Well, this one didn't have that but that had an automatic pancake maker! You know I had to try it. The pancakes were okay...the process was hilarious.

My last day was going to be a long one and I really didn't want to go back the same ole' Interstate way so I zigzag-ed my way across Nebraska to South Dakota.

I heard the falls at Sioux Falls, South Dakota were worth seeing so that's where I was headed.

There was one hiccup along the way. After driving over some railroad tracks, my tire pressure alarm went off. I was kind of in the middle of nowhere except the railroad tracks were in a small town. I turned right and wouldn't you know it, there was a tire repair garage right there in this small town! I pulled in, explained my situation, they had me pull around to the garage doors, two young people fixed my tire in 15-20 minutes, charged me $20, and I was on my way! To say I was lucky is an understatement!

I did make it to Sioux Falls and "the falls." I ate lunch next to the falls with food I had left over from all my road-food stops. I was tired but bound and determined to make it home...and I did.

Again, here is a link to the video montage for more of the photos of Las Vegas Road Trip East Bound.

The other two blog posts are here...

West Bound

Las Vegas

Las Vegas Road Trip - Las Vegas

 Quick link to video montage.

I am falling further and further behind. This is the Vegas portion of the Las Vegas Road Trip.

So, this was the reason for the road trip, an off-the-strip tour of Las Vegas call "Beyond the Neon." The tour was curated and hosted by Scott Mayer and John Zeches. You can get more information on the tour here. There is another version of the tour scheduled for next year. I recommend looking into it especially if you've been to Vegas.

The video pretty much covers the itinerary. Turns out I didn't take that many photos so the video is short.

It was nice to see parts of Las Vegas not on the Strip that showed the variety of the city. While many of the sites were casino-related, many were not and the casino-related were interesting from a historical perspective.

I'll leave it there and let the video give the review...click here.

Las Vegas Road Trip East Bound Leg

Las Vegas Road Trip West Bound

Arkansas River

Still catching up on my travels! In September right after the Forestville State Park camping adventure, I started a road trip to Las Vegas for an event hosted by Scott Mayer called "Beyond the Neon." A decision was made to make it a road trip. If you want to jump to the video, click here.

Left Minneapolis on Monday, September 18 with only 2 stops planned - Mesa Verde and Zion National Parks. Plan was to get to Colorado as quickly as possible so without much stopping made it to Salida, CO by the second day (spent a night in Kierney, NE). Salida sits along the Arkansas River and has many interesting shops and restaurants.

Day three's final destination was Mesa Verde National Park. Took US-50 through the mountains of Colorado. Took a gamble on US-50 as there is a major construction project with lots of warnings of delays and closings. It turned out to be a good gamble. The views were spectacular, and the delays were not bad. The delays allowed for more calm viewing time.

From US-50 you take a left in Montrose on US-550 and head higher and higher up the mountains. Fall colors brightened the slightly overcast skies. A short stop in Durango and a right turn onto US-160 then Mesa Verde National Park.

Pitched a tent in the campsite at Mesa Verde. It was a beautiful evening with a half-moon and lots of stars. It did rain a little over night, but I was dry and comfortable in the tent. Got up early and fixed a healthy breakfast before heading up the mesa to the cultural historic cliff dwellings.

Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace

Advance reservations are needed for touring the dwelling sites. There is also a self-directed drive around the top to view several sites.

The Cliff Palace is the largest of the dwellings. The photos do not give a true sense of the immense size. The history of these dwellings is astounding. Click the link above for more information on the history. The Park rangers do a really good job of telling the story of the Ancestral Pueblo people that lived on the mesa and the cliffs for centuries but only in the cliffs for a very short time. 

Took the self-directed road tour to see many dwellings and the progression of where and how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here. Then toured Balcony House which is kinda beyond explanation (for real - it isn't known what this structure was truly used for). 

One thing to keep in mind at Mesa Verde is that it is a cultural history site and not a geological site like the Grand Canyon and Zion. You are not permitted to wander paths and explore too much on your own. Thousands of people lived here for centuries so there could be artifacts nearly anywhere and everywhere.

From Mesa Verde, headed toward Zion to close the distance and realizing that it was going to be a day's drive and wanted to spend time in Zion. Spent the night in Bluff, Utah which is surrounded by dark red buttes.

From Bluff passed through Monument Valley which straddles the Utah-Arizona border. Took part of the drive tour on the Navajo Nation's park. Glad I had an all-wheel drive vehicle.

Glen Canyon Dam

From Monument Valley to Glen Canyon Dam. This was an unexpected site along the way as my geography skills are quite challenged. There is a spectacular (I seem to use that word a lot) viewing site of the spillway side of the dam.

From Glen Canyon Dam to Zion National Park and through and into the Park via eastern entrance which takes you through incredible views and tunnels.

Zion National Park is crazy popular even in September - why aren't all these people at work or school?! I had been to Zion in the 1980's and enjoyed it very much. I figure it hasn't changed much since (it has been in here for centuries, right?) and didn't want to be part of the throngs of people. After a good night's sleep, I decided to take a back country hike along the Coalpits Wash trail, part of the Southwest Desert Wilderness Hiking Trails. I was the only one on the trail!! While not having the crazy views of mountains and buttes, this trail offered plant and flowers of so many types...the kind of hiking I love.

From Zion it is a short 3 hours to Las Vegas. Stay tuned for the Vegas leg. Click here for the video of this leg (westward bound) of the road trip.

East Bound Leg

Biking-Camping Forestville State Park

Second biking-camping trip for this year. This time there were 4 biker-campers. Bud and I were joined by Pam and Susan. (video link - best viewed landscape)

We headed out on Monday to southern Minnesota using two cars because Pam and Susan have pretty heavy electric bikes and theirs' take a different bike rack than Bud and my bikes.

Destination, Forestville State Park - less than 3 hours from the Twin Cities. We were the only people tent camping in a part of the park that allowed RVs. The tent only part of the park only had one set of campers! The tent-only sites were very woody so being in the RV area was better in my opinion.

We got our camp site setup pretty quickly (including the picnic tablecloth and a very special center piece made by Pam) so decided to take a walk/hike along the South Root River to find the historic town Forestville. The South Root River is full of trout...so full you can see them hanging out in the deeper pools. But "deeper pools" isn't really valid this year as the drought made the entire river fairly shallow. We made it to Forestville which during normal summer hours has costumed docents. There was no one around when we visited. It felt very ghost-towny.

We had beautiful weather and got to enjoy Susan's very tasty Chile, some s'mores, and a magnificent starry night. I don't remember if it was the first night or the second, but we had a visitor during the night that for some reason I was the dumb one that got out of the tent to investigate. Turned out a racoon was having its way with our belongings. I did my best to "scare" it away though it didn't really seem to care.

Bud fried up bacon and some delicious scrambled eggs to get Day #2 started which was a good thing because we were riding round-trip (a little over 20 miles) from Preston to Lanesboro. Bud and I had a Lanesboro trip in 2021 (click here for that blog post) but from the east side then. 

The Root River Trail is fairly flat and easy. In Lanesboro, we ate and wandered around some. The weather was starting to look stormy so we headed back to Preston. It was threatening the entire way so we did not dawdle. We made it to the cars and started to load the bikes right when the clouds opened up. We jumped in the cars and waited for the deluge to end before finishing the bike load and getting back to camp.

I am writing this almost a month after the adventure, so my memory is not great. I think the second night we ate in camp. Sweet potatoes baked on the fire coals with two different Indian curries. There was another beautifully clear night. While I was looking at the stars, a trout fisherman came by (he was night fishing) and told me he saw a 30" trout eating a mouse!

Day #3's event was a tour of Mystery Cave. Reservations are required. The South Root River runs underground through parts of the cave system. Having the river run underground is how trout can survive here. The water is always in the high 40's year round! 

The cave tour is an easy walk/stroll and the State Park tour guide was informed and even turned off all the lights so we could experience the total darkness.

The road to the campsite was being repaved and was limited to a single lane. While we were hanging out with the road guard, we were able to get her recommendation for eating in Preston. She suggested the bowling alley and while not a high culinary experience, it was decent but surprisingly the drinks were very mediocre.

We were definitely some tired campers by the time we made it back to the campsite. Thursday, we packed up the campsite and headed home to Minneapolis. 

The trip video is here (best viewed landscape).

New carpeting

I think the carpeting in my condo bedrooms was the original from when the building was built in 2006. For the 2 1/2 years that Mrs. Kravitz the Roomba has been working, she has filled her bin with carpet fibers and gross dirt from the carpeting. I had the carpets professionally cleaned before I moved in, but it didn't seem to do much good.

Three rooms into one.

So, I finally made the decision to change the carpeting out. I went with Empire Today again. I used them for the carpeting in my Emerson house and the wood flooring in the rest of the condo. I also went with a top-of-the-line plush that feels oh so nice on your feet.

Three rooms into one.

The big challenge was going to be where to put all the furniture. The master bedroom and dressers had to come out and so did the loveseat and 2 bookcases from the office/guest bedroom.

Somehow it all fit in the living room!

Three rooms into one.

New padding.

Most comfortable spot.

Maggie did really well with whole ordeal and most importantly, she really likes the new carpeting.

Oooo, so comfy.

Maggie approves.

Ahhh.

The installers did a good job though I had to remind them that moving the furniture was part of the contract. Also, they could not make short cuts (literally) in the master bedroom around the baseboard heaters.