Saskia and Richard's RVing Adventures

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...

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, ...

So we picked up our new fifth wheel from the dealer, with some issues fixed and some still to be rectified in July, (when we will be back at Indian Skies RV Resort for a month). After a quick load of essentials and some creative packing, we headed out on our 2 week road-trip which would get us to Idaho in time for our next camp-hosting job. Our first stop heading generally in a northerly direction, was at Tonto National Monument. We have a lifetime pass for National Parks (including National Monuments) in the USA, so any visit to either is free of charge. I have previously written about our visits to sites of the Ancient Ones , and I wanted to see how their culture differed to that of the Salado people who settled in pit houses and cliff dwellings in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona at about the same time as the Ancient Puebloan people. Of the two hundred once thriving communities in this area, we visited only one. Combining a three mile round trip hike with a guid...

It's HOT, and we are ready to leave Indian Skies. Record breaking spring temperatures here in Coolidge have finally forced us to switch on the air-conditioning. Easter called many of our seasonal residents home to reunite with their families in Canada and the northern US states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, though the weather there is still very wintry. The last two weeks has seen many more leaving. We had planned to travel as soon as our new fifth wheel was ready, and do some sight-seeing before arriving in Idaho at the beginning of May. But we encountered a few hitches. After picking up our new Sabre 5 th wheel in El Paso on 28 th March, and having it inspected for Texas license plates, we had a couple of nights to check it out. They say that you rarely get a new 5 th wheel that is in pristine condition – and we were advised to do a thorough check just to be sure that everything worked. Luckily some of the issues we found during those first few days where...