It was raining the last two days and we wanted to go out even if we got wet. We didn’t really have a destination in mind, we were just exploring the local area. We ended up driving by the Sam Houston University and passed the Sam Houston Home historic area. The rain had slowed down to a mist, so we stopped to explore. The buildings were really neat, some were original to the home and some were dismantled and brought in later.
Houston had a couple of homes in the area, the home at the University that we saw was called Woodland.
All the ducks in a row, garden on site, Houston’s office, outbuildings
We had not heard of Canyonlands National Park until getting ready for this trip. It’s not too far from Arches, maybe 30 minutes, so we left early in the morning to go see it.
It was crazy to see these deep canyons. It must have been shocking for people coming through to have mountains, then flat land, and then bam! suddenly huge holes in the ground. Apparently they also tried to mine for uranium in Canyonlands during the 1950’s.
Our first hike in the park was to the Mesa Arch. The trail is pretty easy and is only about a mile. It was a warm day, but we had a nice breeze for most of it. It made hiking much easier.
We then drove on to Upheaval Dome. The dome overlook was quite the hike with several areas close to the edge. I think it was about 1.5 miles. The beginning of the trail is marked pretty well, but then you get onto solid rock surfaces and the trail is only marked by cairns. The views were amazing. Upheaval Dome was pretty neat, with all kinds of colors and jagged edges.
We saw a few small lizards and a couple of chipmunks. As Will was sitting on a rock, a small lizard came right up to him and almost climbed on his boot!
After Upheaval Dome, we took a few minutes to chill at the picnic area at the trailhead. We all enjoyed cold waters from the cooler and a few snacks. We drove along the road and stopped at several pull-outs and overlooks. Several areas were hazy, so we didn’t get as clear of a view as I would have liked. As we were reading about the dryness of the area and how it only gets about 10” of rain a year, it started raining on us!
Top picture, right side: Rain in the dessert
NOTE: I would use bathrooms along trails in the park, not at the visitor center. The visitor center had squat toilets!
June 9th started our adventure. Although we had been living in the RV for a month now, it’s very different trying to pack it up, move it, and then unpack it all again.
We have watched countless YouTube videos. Seriously, we have been watching for about a year or so now. Trying to do this in real life is so much different (and harder) than watching all the videos would make you think it would be.
The night before we packed up all loose items. All loose items: coffee pot, radio, paper towel holder, baskets holding remotes, Nick’s plants, dehumidifier, all cords/games/etc.. Everything had to be moved out of the way of the slides. Anything that could move had to be packed away, shut away, etc. We even took out the microwave glass plate and wrapped it up after hearing about how the door could open in transit and the plate could fall out and break.
We also packed up the cooler and the snack bag for the truck and preloaded everything we might need. The slides were put in, and we thought we were good to go.
It still took us almost two hours in the morning.
After finally getting on the road, driving was ok. We hit a few spots of construction where there was heavy stop and go traffic. We had to slam on the brakes once when the person in front of us slammed on theirs. There was a semi behind us. Of course, the semi is larger and heavier than even us and stopping is even slower for them. He ended up pulling onto the shoulder to avoid rear ending us. Based on where he was sitting on the shoulder, we definitely would have been hit. We were very lucky. My heartbeat took awhile to get back to normal.
We ended up stopping every few hours for bathroom breaks and/or for fuel. Indiana had surprisingly nice rest stops with lots of larger parking spots for semi trucks and RVs.
Will took a turn in the front passenger seat when Ben had some work to do. (For some reason the back seat has more space than front passenger seat.) He took a few pictures, but quickly fell asleep!
Stopped traffic, Will’s reflection in mirror taking pictures, sound asleep minutes later
Iowa was very green. As we were driving through, we checked with the BassPro Shop that we were planning on stopping at for the night. They told us that the city had recently put out No Overnight Parking signs, so we could not stop there. As we were trying to find a new place to stay for the night (we were planning on boondocking), a big storm rolled in and with it a tornado warning. So much fun. The visibility was extremely low, even with headlights and wipers on full blast. It got extremely dark very quickly. It was a harrowing part of the drive. When it cleared up a little bit and the sun came back out, we decided to call it for the night and looked for another place to stay. With a little more research, we found Riverside Casino in Iowa. They did allow overnight parking.
We got the RV parked and went to find some dinner at their cafe. I’ve had casino food before and it’s normally not something to write home about (excluding Las Vegas). This place was delicious. We got several items to split between us: fish tacos, pizza, salad (with chicken), and an amazing poutine. It was a wonderful dinner. We also got a chocolate chunk cookie and a zephyr (glazed donut filled with mouse/cream puff filling, topped with sugar and glazed walnuts).
On our walk back to the RV, we were greeted with an amazing sunset. All in all, it was a decent day. But now I want more of that poutine and another zephyr!
