The motorhome has only been in storage 3 weeks so picking it up is a cinch. Batteries are still charged, tires all aired up, and the engine fires right up.  Easy peasy with the exception of piles of dust along the slide and curb side windows…..  Kent had seen that they had a big dust storm while we were gone.  Guess this is the result.  I see vacuuming time in our near future.

We want the boat too this trip and that is a bit more of a challenge.  It has been here in the big trailer storage since April.  Tri-axle trailer tires are all low and its batteries are dead.  Thankfully we can get the tailgate down and boat out without moving the big trailer.  Still, removed batteries to charge and aired up all the tires so we can see what’s needed before we do need to move it.  No issues un-trailering the boat and trailer lights even work after just a couple thumpings.  Next, a new experience for me; I tow the boat with the pick-up through town to camp.  It is only about 12 miles but the forward distance isn’t what’s on my mind!  Every intersection, every turn, every lane change, don’t even talk to me about the stop for fuel; I’m thinking about how to be certain that I don’t get in a position that I need to back up, not my thing.  All is well.  I have arrived, safely waiting in a huge empty parking lot just above the boat ramp in camp quietly practicing my trailer backing skills.

We are settled in at Katherine’s Landing on Lake Mohave in the very site we left early last month B48.  It is sunny and quite warm, the high 80s.  That is immeasurably better that the 100+ that we ‘enjoyed’ here earlier this fall. We are charging batteries, checking out fishing gear and organizing the grocery restocking that happens whenever we store and turn off refrigerator.  It’ll feel like home again soon.

The are kisses and hugs as the girls head off to school and daycare then end of trip laundry and packing.   We are heading back to the motorhome in Bullhead City Arizona.  Mike drops us at the Albany airport around 3:30PM to start off our 12-hour journey.  There is some airport preboard time, a short hop to BWI, a nice chance to stretch our legs, then a fanny numbing segment on to Vegas.  Baggage takes forever, as usual, and we have a couple hour drive on to Bullhead City.  Nothing note-worthy, except maybe the Cinnabon in Baltimore! We collapse in a hotel in town for the night after 1 am.  We can’t get into storage until 8 in the morning.

The cake is a hit as are the cake-pops.  Gifts overflow and kids run crazy.  Happy birthday Hazel.

It is chilly and rainy this morning.  We start off slowly but are out of the house before noon to check out trails and sights for the upcoming days.  We pick up maps, check out the park movie, I get my Bryce medallion, and we get advice from a ranger on hikes.  Clouds are building and we run through a bit more rain on our way back to camp.  It is a breezy but relaxing afternoon.  I am hoping for clear sky tonight.  Camp is very dark and should be great for star gazing, if the coyotes don’t move in too close!

Kent just saw a report from Cedar Breaks, the entrance sign is snow covered.  We plan to head there Wednesday.  I wonder what we’ll find?

We climb the grade up from lakeshore to US95 then point it north toward Vegas.  This is all pretty familiar.  We have driven it three times this Spring already.  There is a fuel stop – great surprise $3.84 for diesel.  We were expecting $4.45 per gas buddy.  Yeah!  We make our way through Vegas traffic then hit I15.  It is scrub land and pretty flat.  Spotty sightings of Joshua trees add some interest.  We pass Mesquite and soon enter the Virgin River Gorge. It is Impressive.  Brick red, white, and tan layers of sandstone stripe the towering cliffs on either side.  Some perfectly level some tipped nearly vertical by the movement along an ancient fault line.  Lush green grass clings to the flater slopes nearer the river providing a striking reminder the impact of water sources in this arid land.  Cedar Pass is a BLM campground right in the middle of this remarkable place.  We could not get a reservation so have our fingers crossed for one of the first come first serve sites.  Hooray!  Site 63.  Great view.  Bonus, $4 a night with a senior pass.  We will put this campground on our “certainly return” list.  Sunset is not spectacular but quietly lovely.  The sky cleared for pretty amazing star gazing, surprisingly spoiled a bit by tramp light from both the north and south.  There is some traffic noise from 15 but the night is wonderfully restful.  I fall asleep to the sound of water rushing through the bends of the narrow canyon.

Why are there so many jewelry stores in cruise ship port towns?  There must be a dozen in Skagway.

Kent found a different way to celebrate too. A Ménage a Trios’ at The Red Onion Saloon and Brothel in Skagway.  He’s nearly 60 you know and maybe felt his opportunities are running out?

Yeah right, you say.  Does this sound more like Kent?  The Ménage a Trios’ was off the lunch  menu.  It is a ham, turkey and cheese on a croissant.  Back in 1897 you could have gotten about anything you wanted at this establishment but they have calmed it down a bit for today’s tourists.

It is a 3 hour drive and our train ride eats up 4 hours of our touristy time in Skagway so we get an early start, up at 5:15 AM.  It is just getting light as we head out the door.

We check out the pseudo desert in Carcross.  Sand dunes walk up the windward side of the mountains as rock ground fine by the glaciers is carried to this spot by rivers then blown by the prevailing winds.  Looks like desert to me…except that the older dunes here are stabilized by pines not dune grass.  We find mountain goats high on the steep mountainsides.  Amazing given it is foggy and rainy!  We pass through what they call moonscape.  It is subalpine but too rocky and dry to support much tree growth.  It is rugged and beautiful but it sure looks like it would be horrific to hike through!

We started our history lesson on gold rush a couple months ago at the finish line, Dawson City.  Here in Skagway we see how it all started for most of those stampeders.  Here they chose either the White Pass or the Chilkoot trails to cross the coastal mountains to the interior and riches.  The stories of hardship, tenacity, determination, and ruthlessness are unbelievable.  That applies to the soon-to-be-miners and those who capitalized on their fever along the way.  This whole Klondike rush unfolded in just 2 years.   Oh, what gold fever can do to a man.

Vintage diesel engines pulled 12 restored parlor cars up to White Pass.  This is certainly a lot better than hoofing it like the early stampeders.  It is a beautiful valley and there are great old bridges, tunnels, and trestles (even one old wooden trestle).   I love train travel.