Thursday 9-8 Moving On & Steinaker State Park in Utah

 

Welcome sign to Utah

Last night we decided it was time to move on from Amphitheater Campground. Our next destination was Flaming Gorge National Park.

Before I went to bed I got the Minnie ready to move on by putting things away and secured. This morning I got up around 7:00. We had a lite breakfast, a protein shake and a banana. Then I bagged our chairs and Larry put the grill away. Then we checked to make sure everything was secured in the Minnie like the drawers closed, the closet and bathroom doors closed, the overhead storage doors closed and the blinds up. Ready to go.

Before leaving I helped Larry back the Minnie next to the water faucet so he could fill the Minnie with water. While he was doing this I went next door and told the host we were leaving a day early and the site was available. We were on the road by 7:30.

Larry drove 250 miles. It was a long day. We started in the mountains and once out of the mountains we hit desert. Next we hit rolling hills and back to mountains. We drove highways we had driven many times and a new one. We drove through Grand Junction, where we stopped at Love's for gas before picked up I70. We drove I70 to Highway 139, which was a scenic route. We had never been on this highway. It started out with desert scenery, then we got into the mountains where the scenery changed. As we drove the scenic route we saw beautiful rock formations and the mountains were grayish color and at times it had red rock formations. We had to stop for road construction a couple of time. They were repaving the highway. Before we got to the construction we had to climb a steep mountain range with a lot of tight curves. The curves were so tight you could only take them at 15mph. We were behind some construction trucks and the road was so steep one of the drivers slowed down so we could pass him. When we got to the construction we had to wait a bit. The flag lady let the construction trucks go through because they were carrying asphalt for the paving job. When the pilot truck came and took us through the construction it was interesting watching the workers, they were doing a great job. Once out of the construction we were on our way again. In Rangeley, Colorado we parked the Minnie in a fire station parking lot and had lunch.

We drove another 90 miles to Vernal and filled the Minnie at a Pilot. It was weird because it didn't have a store, it was totally self-service. After filling the Minnie we parked and looked at the weather. We had been seeing rain on the mountains where we were going. The radar said there were showers around. Larry found a city park with a large parking lot and a lot of trees. It was hot and all the shade was taken. Larry parked the Minnie so we could wait out the rain. We were there about an hour when Larry thought about Steinaker State Park, which was 7 miles away. We had stayed there years ago. It wasn't that terrible sitting where we were because there was a breeze. Larry figured we might be there awhile and it was getting late so we might as well see if the state park had openings where we can plug into power. He called the park and the lady said they had one site available with power. He told her we would be right there.

Driving the Scenic Highway 139

 

A red rock formation

When we got to the entrance the same lady Larry talked to checked us in. It was the easiest check-in ever, we did not have to register or fill out any paperwork, we didn't even get out of the Minnie. She came out to us, told us it was $25 dollars and told us the site number. She gave us a map and showed us where the site was and where the bathrooms and showers were located.  The powered sites are pull through which is great. Our site was excellent. It was leveled and by the bathrooms with showers and running water. There are other restrooms but they are vault toilets. It was a quick setup.

Steinaker State Park 

After plugging in we started the air conditioner and setup the fan. I walked around the campground, which was one loop. I walked for a half hour because it was too hot. While cooling off I read.

For dinner we had leftovers. After dinner I walked around for an hour, which was nine laps for a total of 3.5 miles. After resting I finished my steps outside. I ended up doing 27,500, which put me in 5th place in my group.

While I did my steps Larry read.