Courthouse Rock BLM Campground. This one is not free - it is costing us $10 a night. For that, we get a dumpster and toilet. Ok, the parking lot is stark, and it’s a lot like a wagon train circling for the night, but it serves the purpose and the general area is nice.

So, where did Sunday and Monday go? Poof!! Chores, bills, restocking, cleaning..... Basically, boring Sheeeeet. I did play my guitar on Monday afternoon. That was great, although my calluses have withered away in the past two months and now my fingers ache. I believe the last time I hauled out my guitar was at Magnolia Beach in Texas.

On Monday evening, my old high school schoolmate, John, knowing that we were heading to the Moab area, referred us to a campsite he recently used, south of Moab. It sounded great and I even found it on Google Earth in 3D. The image was so good that I was surprised that I didn’t see John waving at me.

However, we didn’t end up there. Instead we settled in at Courthouse Rock BLM campground, about 12 miles north of Moab. We picked this site for three reasons: 1) The access road was only a half-mile from highway 191, the main road into Moab. This access road is short and in spectacular shape even though it’s not paved. We only sleep at our sites. We get up, we go out and explore, we return in the evening, I write my journal, and we go to bed. For this regimen, we want quick access in and out. John’s site looked wonderful, but access was more difficult. 2) This site has good cell service. Again, this isn’t essential, but it is nice for assembling my newsletter. I need service to build the email, as well as to send it out. 3) The campsite is gravel, not dusty dirt like most BLM sites are. When the wind blows, most BLM sites can get pretty dusty. Oh yeah, this site also has a dumpster and a toilet. Bottom line - the parking lot isn’t pretty, but it’s very serviceable.

Anyway, we got up at 6 am and hit the road for Courthouse Rock. We arrived around 9:45 am. Funny, Google Maps kept trying to send me down gravel roads when I-70 was available. What’s with that? Supposedly, Google Maps has a new algorithm that favors gas mileage over time. I-70’s speed limit is 80 mph. The gravel roads around here are about 10 mph. Yeah, that would save gas.

Technically, the gravel lot at Courthouse Rock can hold about 30 rigs, but there are only 8 sites actually laid out with picnic tables and fire pits. There were two sites open when we got here. We set up and lit out for exploration. After wasting 2 days doing responsible stuff, we were antsy to get back to checkin’ stuff out.

First, it was driving into Moab. We have gotten so many conflicting reports on Moab that we weren’t sure what to expect. Well, that’s not entirely true. I expected it to be a touristy town much like Minocqua, Wisconsin, and for anyone that knows Minocqua, I think I nailed it. It is on the smaller side with a population of 5,500 with another 5,500 tourists. Hotels, restaurants, and gift shops predominate.

Overall, Moab is just fine, but I wouldn’t spend much time there. It was a bit crowded, but not too bad. However, I bet over Memorial Day weekend it was a zoo. I am glad we avoided that. OK, enough about Moab.

Perhaps the coolest part of Moab is that it is surrounded by red cliffs.

We love funky junk art.

It seems to be the thing for restaurants to spray a cooling mist during the afternoons. With temperatures hitting the mid 90s, I’m not sure this would do the trick.

Some businesses have great murals.

We also love food trucks and food carts. The quesadillas at this food truck were delicious.

There are three scenic byways around Moab: Highway 279 to Potash; Highway 313 to Canyonland National Park and Dead Horse State Park; and Highway 128 along the Colorado River. We started with 279. It also follows the Colorado River.

The Colorado is quite muddy up here. That surprised me, although it shouldn’t have. We read that when the Lake Powell Reservoir was built, it slowed the current allowing the sediment to drop to the reservoir river bottom. The water below the dam at Page, Arizona, where we kayaked, is crystal clear, devoid of any nutrient-rich sediment. That’s great for esthetics but bad for fertility - but isn’t that what chemical fertilizers are for (sarcasm)?

Highway 279 ends up at the Intrepid Potash Plant, or at least the paved part of the road does. Potash, primarily used for fertilizer, is still produced at the plant. In fact 60% of US potash is produced here. I guess they are covering for all those lost sediments in Lake Powell.

Here is a useless, but fun factoid. The first US patent was granted in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for his method of processing potash.

The scenic byway was very nice. The canyon walls were gorgeous. The River was a cookin’ at a feverish pace. Gosh, it’s good to be back at it, baby.

Rock climbing was big along Highway 279. Several people were practicing, including this little girl. Her parents and siblings were cheering her on. Mom, on top of the van camper, sipped her cocktail for each successful step the girl made.

The mighty and muddy Colorado River.

Petroglyphs along Highway 279. Proof that space aliens not only visited earth, but they were into bowling.

Jug Handle Arch - what a great name for this arch.

The tracks that service the Intrepid Potash Plant at the end of the road.

At Courthouse Rock, there is a trail leading to some dinosaur tracks right at the campsite. Before it got dark, we walked down the trail. These tracks were only discovered a couple decades ago. A boardwalk was built around the tracks so people don’t step all over them.

Now, here is what confounds me. The tracks, made 112 million years ago, are in a very fragile basin that if you even breath on them they would disintegrate. So, how did they survive for 112 million years of water, wind, land upheavals, animals walking around, sand dunes coming and going, and all the other forces that built the surrounding giant canyons? But, there they were.

It reminded me of the time that Wanda and I worked at Sunburst Youth Homes, a residential treatment facility for wayward kids. We had a runaway problem, so we built a pair of big wooden footprints and went out to a sandy area to make some impressions. We had another staff person in a gorilla mask and a oversized fur coat waiting on a hillside. Around dusk, we took the kids out for a drive. I pretended to stumble across the footprints and the gorilla costumed guy roared right on cue. The kids just freaked and ran for the van. We didn’t have a runaway for weeks after that. I’m not suggesting anything, but..............

So far, we’ve met a fair number of so-called “full-timers”. These are people that have sold everything they own and are living on the road. The only hitch is, every one of these full-timers have just started. Two of them were only on their first week of being nomads. The nomad that has been on the road the longest was Jeff and his wife, Sue. They have been roaming since December. They sold everything for a truck and 5th wheel camper.

Personally, as much as I enjoy our travels, I do like having a home to return to now and then. It gives us a feeling of stability. If something happens, we always have home. We can recharge, replan, and dream about the next journey. Plus, I kind of like our country cabin, nearly 30 acres, and the Plover River that flows through our land.

The info plaque at these footprints claim that they are 112 million years old.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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