Off on a hike

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Waking up to a moose

Today Ally, Linda and I had planned on hiking to Phelps Lake. We were leaving at 8:00am to avoid the rush and get an early start before it gets too hot.

I set my alarm for 6:00am (YUK!) as I wanted to eat a good breakfast. A car caught my attention that was stopped directly in front of my campsite. I looked out my window and noticed my new neighbor.

There is nothing like waking up to a bull moose eating 20’ from your doorway. Luckily Chica was fast asleep and didn’t make a sound (except for her snoring).

This guy then moved to the campsite directly across from me and continued eating his morning breakfast.

He finally looked up but was not interested in me whatsoever. Breakfast seemed like a better idea. I had gone out my door to get a better picture, but stayed right at the door in case he decided to make a move toward me.

Hiking to Phelps Lake

We made the drive to the Phelps Lake area and then started our hike to the lake. Ally was our guide for the day. On the way we passed a beautiful water fall.

Here is a pic of Linda and Ally crossing over on a bridge.

We finally made it to Phelps Lake. What a gorgeous view.

Seven miles or three miles..

At this point we talked about hiking back to the Visitor’s Center, which was 1-½ miles for a total of a 3-mile hike. Our other option was to hike around the lake. The girls were willing to do it, but left it entirely up to me. I couldn’t wuss out so I said lets go for it.

So off we trudged around the lake. I was really glad we did this as the scenery was fabulous.

Here is a pic of Ally and Linda on the trail. We each carried bear spray with us, as this is bear country. Jane had loaned me hers until I can pick some up in town. She had spotted a bear close to her yesterday, while hiking.

Here are more pics of the lake.

Spotted a huge Bull Moose

We passed a huge Bull Moose eating about 20’ from the trail. I took pics but they did not turn out, as it was very dark. Here is a stream we crossed. The water is crystal clear.

The scenery around the lake is so cool!

We reached a hug rock where lots of kids were jumping off into the water. I can imagine that the water was very cold.

The entire hike was 7 miles. I have not hiked that far in some time. I was a bit tired and had sore muscles but really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to many more hikes like this while I am here.

Riverside Campground – East of Idaho Falls, MT

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Stopped in Idaho Falls

Traveling from the Leadore BLM I made a stop at the Walmart in Idaho Falls, ID to pick up some supplies. Then it was a pretty drive along the Snake River out to the Riverside Campground just down stream from the dam. I was thinking of going to the Calamity campground and the instructions were to turn right at the dam and drive over the dam and then up to the campground.

Well that was not going to happen. Ever since 9/11 the government has closed off all the dams and traffic is not allowed on them. I did see a sign for the Riverside Campground back about a mile and so I turned around and headed back.

When I was approaching the entrance I was greeted by the camphost driving a golf cart. I asked him about the Calamity Campground but he stated it was about 5 miles up a washboard gravel road so this campground seemed like a good spot. Plus it was right on the Snake River. He lead me to a nice spot and I got settled in.

About an hour later this guy pulls up and told me I have his spot. I had already paid for the spot and put my receipt on the post. By the way there was no other receipt on the post at that time. I mentioned that the camphost had directed me to the spot as well. He left but soon returned with the camphost. The camphost explained that the weekend camphost had assured him that spot. He had camped in it for several days prior to me taking it over. I pointed out that there was no receipt on the post and that it was his responsibility to post it.

To make a long story short, the camphost offered to let me stay in a double spot on the river side of the road with a path to the river at the same rate. I would have stuck it out and told the guy to take a hike except that he mentioned that his wife had difficulty being in the sun. The spot he wanted was partly shaded. Anyway I gathered up all my stuff and moved to the nicer spot. What a way to start the day. YUK!

I signed up for 6 days here as I have to return to Idaho Falls Walmart to pick up a prescription. When I came through there it was too soon to get my prescription. What a bummer. Here is my campsite.

Right on the Snake River.

Right below the dam

The campsite is located right below the dam and Chica and I had many nice walks all around it Her is a pic of the dam.

All the water is released on the right side of the dam. Here you can see some fisherman out trying their luck at catching something.

I also got a pic of this seagull taking a break on the roof of this small building.

Headed up to Calamity Campground to check it out

I decided one day to drive up to Calamity Campground to see what I missed. It was about 5 miles on a washboard gravel road and mostly up hill until a mile from the campground where it goes down hill. It is a really nice campground and one that I would prefer except for the road going there. I could have made it OK with the rig, but everything would have really got bounced around.

There are three loops and one is expressly for tent campers only. Down below there is a large boat ramp that has access to the reservoir. This was taken from Loop A.

Scenery was beautiful

It was really beautiful up here although very dense.

An Aspen grove.

Lots of curves and dust.

I am heading out tomorrow to drive back to Idaho Falls where I can pick up my prescription and other supplies. I also want to take Chica to the Petsmart there to have her nails clipped and teeth cleaned. Then it is off to Gros Ventre just outside of Jackson, WY to meet up with many LD’ers who are there through Labor Day. It should really be fun.

Kootenai Falls, MT

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Kootenai Falls were spectacular

The last thing I wanted to do before leaving the Libby area was to hike to the Kootenai falls. I was going to drive out there Monday since I thought I would be driving east when leaving Libby, however after talking to Butch, the camp host, he suggested driving a different route to the Missoula area.

This would take me past the falls so I decided to head to the laundromat and did about two weeks of dirty clothes. I’m glad I got that done so I wouldn’t need to look for a laundromat later on down the road.

So I got all hooked up and headed west toward Troy, MT. The falls were about 11 miles out of Libby and you could tell where they were by all the parked RVs and cars.

It was a short hike to a swinging bridge where you could get a great view of the river. There were signs posted stating how dangerous the river is in the spot. Nine people have lost their lives including rescuers attempting to save others. I hiked to the swinging bridge and took this pic from it.

This was taken from the trail leading to the bridge.

Finally as I was returning I discovered a trail that led closer to the falls. What a view this was.

Heading South

My plan was to head west and then south to Thompson Falls, MT. But as I was traveling down Highway 200 I noticed along the Noxon Reservoir many signs indicating National Forest campgrounds. I decided to stop for a minute and check in my “Free Campgrounds” book what was available in the area. I found many in the area and headed for the North Shore NFS Campground just outside of the town of Trout Creek, MT. What a find!

There were quite a few campers there but I was lucky to find a nice site among the trees. It also looked like it might be a good spot for my solar panels as well. Plus the cost was only $5 per night with my “Geezer Card”. I paid for two nights and got settled in.

I am behind on my blogging and I apologize, but unfortunately I have been in areas where I have very poor Internet access. Sometimes I can get on and other times forget it. As far as uploading pics it is very slow. The pics in this post took between 20-30 minutes EACH. I can normally upload 10-15 pics in just a few minutes with a good Internet signal. I am hoping I can catch up once I get to Missoula tomorrow.

A beautiful day in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Snow flurries

Woke up this morning to more snow flurries. It did collect on the ground for a little while but then warmed up and melted. However it did snow most of the day.

I got my Wave 3 out of storage and fired it up and it is keeping the rig at just the right temperature. It didn’t take Chica long to figure out the warmest spot.

Short 4WD run

After it stopped snowing and things were starting to dry out I took a trip down to the Visitor’s Center. Nice views from there and really informative Rangers. By the way I forgot to mention that the mountains that I am backed up to are the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.

After looking around in the Visitor’s Center I decided to go for a ride. There is a 4WD road that heads up into the mountains although most of it is closed until later in the Spring. So off I went. Here is the spot where I turned around. A sign said to deflate tires to 20 lbs because of soft sand. Unfortunately I did not have my tire inflator with me so this was the end of the trail for me.

On my return trip I spotted some mule deer off the side of the road. I got out and took these pics. They did not seem to be bothered by me at all.

This one was only about 15 feet away when I took this shot.

I got this pic of the sunset last night. Really beautiful.

Great day…

Today I awoke to lots of sunshine. I just had to go for a hike my last full day here. I chose the Zapata Falls. They are a few miles outside of the park and about 4 miles up a washboard gravel road. This is a pic after driving about 1/2 up.

Zapata Falls

Once at the top there is a hike of 1/2 mile which isn’t too bad except there was an elevation gain of 400′. Up, up and away.

This was a pic of the mountains about 1/2 way up the trail.

Finally I reached the falls except there was no real falls at this time. The snowpack has not melted enough I guess. This is a pic of the river.

The falls would be coming down in this area. There was still snow and ice here.

Down the hill and back to camp

Then it was down the hill. What beautiful scenery!

Looks like it might rain…

This is a pic heading into the campsite about 5 miles from here. Looks like it may rain. Once I got back it sprinkled a bit, but that was it.

It was a great day!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Add Colorado to my “Visited States”

I left Taos and the weather was perfect. A great day for driving. It was only 134 miles but if you asked Chica she would tell you it was 1,000. She hasn’t quite got used to the movement of her new home. Hang in there bumkins!

Our destination was Great Sand Dunes National Park. The scenery heading up there was fantastic.

I can add Colorado to my map of states that I have RV’d in. By the way I have made a small map of all those states on the right sidebar just below the Site Meter.

It didn’t cost me anything to get into the park. Just show my Geezer Pass. Plus the camping was 1/2 price for no hook-up sites. I am camped in the Pinyon Flats campground and found a nice site that was fairly level in Loop 2. Chica and I walked down and paid for 4 days and we are settled in for a nice relaxing time.

We had to move…

The next morning I was walking around the site and noticed that they had put a reserved sign on the post that covered the last 2 days we had already paid for. What is that all about. There was no reservation sign on the post when I posted our receipt. I went down and talked to the host who said there was a huge group of kids coming on the 9th and 10th but I could stay in that site tonight.

I decided I better move now rather then later so I piled everything back into the rig and moved. I had planned on moving to a particular site that seemed fairly level, but after moving there, I realized I wouldn’t have room for the toad (Billy).

Then it started to hail and thunder like crazy. I have never seen snow hail like I did up here. I finally found a good spot just when it finished storming.

I took a couple pics of the sand dunes as well. Yes those are sand dunes and not snow dunes.

Just after I got moved we had a visitor. Chica didn’t know what to think of it even though I have told her about all the bears and big animals they have up here. It is not a great pic as it was taken through my screen.

Went for a walk…

The weather cleared up and I decided we need to go for a walk. I dressed Chica in her stylish best and we hit the road. She hates her coat, but puts up with it.

Love this place…

I really love this park. It has some fantastic scenery. I just wish I was here a bit later in the season. There are some awesome 4WD trails some leading as high as 13,000 feet, but I am afraid that the creeks are running too high for me to chance it. I am thinking of going to Zapata Falls which is off a dirt road and a short hike. Stay tuned!

In the meantime this is my backyard. Life is good!

Taos, NM

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Jim Melvin

The weather was really cold…

After leaving Orilla Verde I drove the 18 miles to Taos. The weather had changed drastically. The lady at Taos Valley RV Park told me they had snow in Denver and we were getting some of that cold front. NO KIDDING!

I signed up here for 2 nights but are thinking of staying longer, but not sure. It all depends on the weather. Here is a pic of our campsite.

The snow-capped mountains are really beautiful and I am really enjoying the scenery.

On the way into town I stopped at the Walmart and decided I better get Chica a coat to wear in this frigid weather. After all I was heading up to Colorado next week and eventually Canada by the end of the month. It is not easy finding something in her size, but I did find this one. I thought she might fuss a bit when I put it on her, but surprisingly she didn’t.

She actually likes her new leather coat. I think she knows that she is really stylin.

Warmed up nicely

It has really warmed up from the time I first got here. Chica and I took the nature trail which surrounds the park. She really enjoyed it.

There was a beautiful view of the mountains.

Heading downtown…

Sunday I will head into the downtown area and hope to get some good pics. I forgot until I looked at my calendar that today is Cinco de Mayo. I hope it isn’t too busy. I couldn’t ask for a nicer day.

South of Taos and no cell phone/Internet

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Free night at a winery…

I spent Sunday night camped at the Anasazi Fields Winery just north of Albuquerque. It is in the little sleepy town of Placitas, NM. The road into the winery is very narrow, but I made it.

Anasazi Winery is a member of the Harvest Hosts network of wineries, orchards, and farms throughout the country where you can stay free overnight. They usually have a designated area for us RVer’s with no hookups but Anasazi offered to let me hookup up to electricity which I declined since I have solar panels. All the places that I have stayed at have been extremely friendly. They don’t require that you purchase anything from them, but I usually buy a bottle of wine to stock my wine cabinet.

Then I was greeted by Terry and told where I can park. They had an overflow area that worked out good. After getting settled in I went to the tasting room where there were others also wine tasting.

The Anasazi Winery does not use grapes in the making of their wine. Instead they use fruits. Normally I do not care for fruit wines, as they are very sweet. However Terry explained that to his knowledge, the Anasazi Fields Winery is the only winery that makes their fruit wines dry. I liked several of them. The wine tasting was free and Terry explained each and every wine in detail.

Heading north…

My goal the next morning was to reach the Orilla Verde Recreation Area just 17 miles south of Taos, NM. Jim and Gayle of had told me about it while I was Rockhound State Park. They mentioned that there were a lot of hiking trails and beautiful scenery.

I stopped at the Pilar Campground and was greeted by the host Pat. He was a real friendly guy and told me a lot about the area. I found a nice electric/water site and signed up for three days. The electric/water sites were only $7.50 (half price) with my Geezer card.

The campground is located in a big canyon next to the Rio Grande River. The river is much larger then in the southern portion of the state because of all the snow runoff up here.

I had planned on doing some hiking while in this area, but the day after I arrived I came down with a very sore throat. I rarely feel ill and this had me stumped. My nose was constantly running and my throat felt horrible. I was not in any mood to get out on a trail. I will return to this area though as it is really nice.

One other thing that put a damper on my time here was the lack of cell phone and Internet services. I could not even get anything with my booster. What was weird was that my phone could send and receive messages intermittently. For example I would get an email, but it could not download the content only the subject line. I guess if I really had to get any type of important email I could tell the sender to write it all on the subject line. HA! Even that was very sporadic.

Here is a pic of the sunrise coming over the plateau.

Off to Taos

I am hoping I can find a reasonable campground closer to Taos so I can check out the town. By the way, I have finally gotten over the sore throat although there was one night I could not sleep due to it.

Potty training Chica…

There are times when little Chica makes a mistake inside the rig. I have tried everything including changing her feeding time. I take her outside several times during the day for walks, which she really enjoys. Sometimes she does her duties while walking and sometimes not. I always take her out late before I go to bed hoping that will take care of it. NOPE!!

I know this sounds gross but I sometimes wake up in the morning and she has had an accident. She sleeps on the couch on her bed under a cover. Then she will have an accident on the blanket at the other end of the couch. I scold her but it does not make any difference. It is really hard not to scold her very much as she has those sympathetic eyes.

Last night I left a small light on and she went potty on the mat I have put out for her in front of the toilet. She is smart enough to know that is where she should go potty. I think the problem is that she cannot see in the dark to get back on the couch. She has to use the first rung of the ladder to jump onto the couch. She is too small to jump up on the furniture, which is good. But without using that first rung she can’t get back into her bed. I don’t think she can see the step in the middle of the night so she just goes where it is convenient so she can go back to bed. Leaving the light on allowed her to see therefore she was able to get down and go on the pad.

I am going to try leaving her bed on the floor and see if that works. I don’t like to sleep with any lights on, but if it helps her I guess that is what I will have to get used to doing. I am wondering if Chihuahuas have a large enough bladder to go the entire night without having to pee. Does anyone else with a toy Chihuahua have a similar problem?

Chica’s New Friends

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Chica loves to meet new friends…

When we arrived at Rockhound SP Chica was very anxious to meet her new friends. I had been telling her all about them so she was really happy when she actually got to meet them.

There was Sophie and Elvis the kittens we had heard so much about from Jim and Gayle’s blog Life’s Little Adventures. Chica only got a chance to meet Sophie when Jim brought her out one day. She only got to see Elvis through the screen door. Here is a pic of Jim and Sophie.

Chica was very excited about meeting her new “cat friend”.

Lots of new friends…

Besides Sophie and Elvis she also go to meet Debbie’s very fun loving dogs Elliot and Rupert. She had lots of fun going on walks with them. In this pic she and Elliot are discussing their favorite dog food.

Plus don’t forget Katie owned by Barbara of Me and My Dog and My RV fame Katie is also a Chihuahua just like Chica, but she is larger and Chica has to look up to her (just like everyone else). Here are a couple of pics of all the gang including Elliot, Rupert, Katie, Sophie and Chica.

We have now moved to Elephant Butte where we will spend the next couple of days. Chica misses her friends as you can see from the next couple of pics.

She is going to miss all her friends, but soon she will be meeting up with Sadie when Jimbo meets up with John and Linda to head north to Canada. This is a pic of Sadie at Quartzsite.

Chica and I would like to thank all our friends we camped with at Rockhound State Park. We both had a wonderful time. We are both looking forward to seeing you again.

One last hike before heading north

The day prior to leaving Jim, Gayle and myself all want on a hike out in the desert. It was a couple miles past where we hiked the first time. It was a neat spot. We even found some flowers. It is amazing how beautiful plants grow where there is absolutely NO water.

Jim and Gayle led the way as we climbed next to a wash. They are very experienced hikers and it took a lot to keep up with them.

We didn’t make it to the top but had some terrific views nevertheless.

This next rock formation looked like an elephant.

Off to Elephant Butte State Park

We took off Monday and stopped at Elephant Butte State Park at the South Monticello campground. I have been here many times in the past and never tire of the beautiful here. I took a couple of pics to show you.

I was only going to stay there one night but changed my mind and stayed two instead. I am glad I did as the wind was blowing pretty good and wouldn’t really have wanted to drive in it.

Next stop Albuquerque

I will be heading to Albuquerque tomorrow and staying at the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of the city. I have an appointment at the Apple Store on Thursday and I hope they can fix my phone at that time. On Friday I will have my interview with Amazon for next winters job.

My first 4 wheel drive adventure

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Hiking to a very cool canyon…

We all decided to go hiking in the desert. Jim and Gayle had picked out a great spot past Spring Canyon. So Jim, Gayle, Debbie and I all took off and headed out there. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so don’t have any pics of our hike. However, it was up and into a neat little canyon and very pretty back there with all kinds of neat rock formations.

After the hike Jim wanted to drive up a road to the cell towers on top of the mountain overlooking the Rockhound State Park. We got up quite a ways and met several ATV’s and a jeep coming down. At that point we decided to turn around and head back down. It was getting steeper and lots of loose gravel.

We then returned to our campsites. Then I got the bug to test out my Suzuki Samurai to see what it could really do. I invited Jim to go along and we headed back to that same road. I got just a bit further then we had previously and my tires started to spin out in the loose gravel. At that point I stopped and put it into 4WD. I had it in 4WD low and it went right up that steep gravel road like it was nothing.

The rocks in the road kept getting larger and the road in some spots became very steep. But my Sami went right up like there was nothing to it. We then arrived at the top with the towers.

What a view from the top…

The view up here was fantastic. However the wind was blowing like crazy and we had to take off our hats or we would have lost them. Here is a pic of the campgrounds below us.

Deming is way off in the distance.

Here is a great pic of the towers. They were huge!

We spotted another tower further up the mountain so naturally I just had to check that one out as well. On the way driving over to it I spotted what looked like a coyote skeleton.

Road was very rocky and steep as well

The road was very rocky and in some spots it was loose gravel and steep as well. But the Sami went up it like it was nothing. I had read many reviews on the Suzuki Samurai before purchasing it and they all said it can go anywhere. I am now very convinced of that. Plus it doesn’t take much effort to get to these spots. I am glad I had high ground clearance since many of the rocks in the road where very large. This is a pic at the second tower.

It was extremely windy up there. There was a work truck up there but the workmen had left.

Two towers was enough for today

Once we got up on top of the mountain we could see many different towers. We counted 5 different towers, but there could have been more. The views from up there were fabulous.

I am so glad I purchased the Samurai. It performed just like I thought it would and will be able to take me to places I never even imagined going.

The towers from my campsite…

I wanted to take a couple pics of the towers from my campsite just so you could see how high we got. This a pic of the first tower we climbed to.

And the second tower.

My life on the road now has really changed.

I knew once I got a vehicle that things would drastically change for me. For one thing I don’t have to unhook everything in a campsite just to go into a town or a store. Plus now I can go to those really out of the way spots I had always dreamed of seeing.

Rockhound State Park

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Met up with friends at Rockhound State Park

It was a bit windy from Silver City to Rockhound SP, but not too bad. When I arrived and after I settled in I was met by my good friends Jim and Gayle and Debbie. They had been here since Sunday. I was lucky to get a site directly across from them. We did a little catching up on what we had done and where we had been since last seeing each other. It sure is great meeting up with old friends.

I settled in to an electric/water site for $14 per night. I could have got this same site for $4 per night if I paid for the New Mexico Annual Pass for $225, but I decided that I probably would not be in New Mexico that much this year.

Hiking at Rockhound

Yesterday we all went for a short hike. I had slightly twisted my ankle while hiking at the Gila Cave Dwellings, but it did not give me any trouble.

Here is a pic of Gayle, Debbie and Jim on the trail to the Visitors Center.

Very windy…

The wind started blowing in the afternoon and it started getting stronger and stronger. You could see the dust clouds off in the distance in Deming. In the evening the dust clouds had reached us and this was a view out my window.

It was rock and roll the entire night, however we have a pleasant little breeze now and no more dust. This is a view of the sunset in the middle of all that dust. You would normally be able to see the lights of Deming, but not tonight.

Perfect weather now…

The wind stopped and it is now a perfect day although a bit chilly. Chica now feels more comfortable as she does not like it when the rig is rocking and rolling. We are planning on going into a brewery in Deming this evening for dinner. It should be fun. We had planned on going there last night but the weather man just did not want to cooperate.

I took this pic of our campsite with Deming in the background.The sky is perfectly blue with no clouds whatsoever.

Paid through Saturday…

I will probably leave here and head north to Elephant Butte State Park on Sunday. I wish I had longer to stay here but I do have to get my phone fixed as the speaker does not work at all. I can only tell if a person calls if it vibrates. BUMMER!!! Especially since I purchased it only a few months ago.

Trying to get caught up with the blogs I read…

I follow certain blogs which I love to read, but when you are in an area without Internet or cell phone service it makes it difficult. I am almost caught up with many of them. Oh well, the life of a fulltime RV’er can really be tough. HA!