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Yellowstone Surprises

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Everyone has heard of Yellowstone and its regularly erupting geyser, Old Faithful. So, of course, this National Park had to be on our list of things to see as we travel the US this summer. However, I had not anticipated at all what we encountered. I knew part of the area Yellowstone covers was once a super-volcano, A huge eruption about 631,000 years ago made the center collapse, and a 30 by 45 mile caldera or basin was formed. Magma lies below as close as 3-8 miles (5-13 km) from the surface. The heat of the magma fuels the park's geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, travertine terraces, and mudpots. In fact Yellowstone boasts the world's largest group of such hydrothermal features, and incidentally there are hundreds of small earthquakes below ground annually which means these features are in a constant state of flux. I'm not intending to give you a geography lesson, you can visit the park's website to learn more about it, but I will describe to you what I...
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A Bridge Too Far

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It's been a long time since I've put fingers to keyboard and written about our travels. Somehow life just got in the way – and that's not a complaint. Our RVing adventures, as this blog is entitled, simply ground to a temporary halt. We have settled for a more sedentary lifestyle over the winters, enjoying the winter warmth of Coolidge, Arizona, and the social aspect of staying in one community. By choosing to work over the winter season and summers at Elk Pines Resort, Indian Skies RV Resort and Wagonhammer RV park in Idaho last year, our options for travel have been somewhat curtailed for the last couple of years. But this summer we are back on the road again. Our desire to see more of the USA's National Parks dictated our route. We drove westwards out of Arizona into Utah, a natural stopover as we headed northwards, and another opportunity to visit Canyonlands National Park (NP). This time we wanted to explore The Needles, in the southern part of this im...
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The Wagonhammer Experience

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It feels like deja vu. Mist rolling in over rounded scree covered mountains, fishermen casting into rivers, heating still on in June, skin covered in bug bites... I could be in parts of Scotland, but no, I am in central Idaho, our fifth wheel is parked beside the Wagonhammer RV park office, in view of the Salmon River, and the American mosquitoes are ganging up on me just like the Scottish midges used to do. Having said that, when the sun is out, Wagonhammer RV park is one the prettiest parks I have stayed in during my many years of camping in Europe and the USA. Working here is a pleasure. The managers treat us like family, with many communal meals shared during the quieter month of May. Richard keeps busy grooming the 12 acres of grass that is the main part of the park. Richard cutting the lush grass at Wagonhammer RV park  There is a bridge over a side tributary of the Salmon river leading to an island where dogs can run free and you can hunt f...
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AZ to ID Road Trip - Part 2

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Continuing cold weather in the north was the main reason we decided our one day stop in Page had to be extended to four. We managed to book the campsite at Glen Canyon National Park's Wahweap Resort on the edge of Lake Powell, which looked as though it was rather upmarket.  I had heard Lake Powell was a reservoir formed as the result of building Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado river. Having just seen Theodore Roosevelt reservoir, a rather uninspiring piece of water, gave me totally the wrong impression. Yes, even I who pride myself on an open mind, have preconceptions! So I was completely unprepared for the singular beauty of the dramatic rock formations and their changing colors during the day, set off against the changing blue's and grey's of the man made lake. Even Glen Canyon Dam was spectacular, and we signed up for a free tour. I never knew the Colorado River is such a life-giving source of water to the states of Wyoming, Colorado, ...
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