At this time in our lives, Jim and I aren't wired to live in one place
for more than a few weeks or months.
We do like finding a relatively warm location in the winter and
hunkering down there for two to four months at a time but from spring to
fall, we prefer to move around more often to see new places and revisit
old favorites. There are a lot more choices for RVers in the summer than
winter.
I got this shot of the Cameo with
Worthington Glacier (north of Valdez, AK) in the background. (6-17-15)
Some years our travel itinerary is more epic than others. This summer
we took our second trip to Alaska via the Alaska Highway
through Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.
We started in St. Marys, GA (near Jacksonville, FL) and spent several weeks in Pensacola,
FL and Colorado Springs, CO along the way. The main difference this year was
not having to drive back to our previous house in VA in the fall. We
saved a lot of miles by remaining out West and gradually heading south
to our winter retreat near Yuma, AZ.
Here's our general track for 2015, illustrated by three different
maps:
The Big Picture on a little North
American map
More detail of the Lower 48
states
More detail of NW Canada and
Alaska
REVIEW OF THIS YEAR'S TRAVELS
Despite some cooler, wetter winter weather than we experienced the
previous two winters in southern Georgia and northern Florida, we
both enjoyed staying at Kings Bay Sub Base in St. Mary's, GA for three-plus
months last winter and several weeks at the Blue Angel Naval Recreation
Area in Pensacola, FL in the spring.
We had been to Kings Bay twice before but it was our
first time at the Navy base in Pensacola. We loved it.
Sunset on Perdido Bay at the Blue Angel Naval Rec.
Area (April, 2015)
We changed our original plans to spend the month of May in Austin, TX
for dental and orthopedic appointments because of heavy rain, flooding,
and tornadoes.
We had considered Austin for our future part-time residence when we
stop full-time RVing and wanted to make some medical connections there
but have since changed our minds about that. Texas weather is
just too unpredictable -- continued bad weather events the
remainder of the year confirmed that, as well as the current high cost
of housing in Austin.
In late April we decided to go to Colorado Springs instead.
That's another small city we like a lot, although it's not the best
all-season place to camp because of its high elevation.
May started off well at the Academy . . .
We were able to make a reservation at the USAF Academy again, one of
our very favorite military campgrounds. We spent most of May there,
and found good medical providers in that area for our routine dental
cleanings and orthopedic care.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as warm and dry as it was during our
previous stays at the Academy in May. It was an unseasonably cold, wet
month at 6,700 feet, with several nights at or below freezing and
several sleet storms that dumped 2-3 inches of white stuff on the ground,
surprising even the locals.
Unexpected but beautiful snowfall at USAFA on 5-10-15
We kept warm, however, and our pipes didn't freeze. We got out a lot
to hike and ride our bikes.
Ironically, the weather in northwest Canada and Alaska was warmer in
May than in Colorado Springs! Those areas were having a much warmer
spring than usual. If it wasn't for my series of knee injection appointments, we
could have driven up there earlier.
ALASKA OR BUST
We left Colorado Springs on May28, immediately after my third and
final knee injection, did a brief staging at Malmstrom
AFB in Great Falls, MT (where we stored the car), and crossed the
Canadian border on May 31.
Yay!!! We were on our way to Alaska again and we finally had some
warmer weather when we dropped down to lower elevations in Montana and
Canada..
Symphony Lake, at the end of the
S. Eagle River Trail in the Chugach Mtns. near Anchorage (8-19-15)
Because of low fuel prices and warmer, drier weather
than normal, it was a good year to visit Alaska -- better in that
regard than our first trip there three years ago.
We mostly had a great time in Alaska back in 2012 even though it
was a cold, wet summer following a winter season that had record-setting
amounts of snow. It was our first trip there, a real adventure, and everything
was new and exciting to us.
Top of Exit Glacier at the edge
of the Harding Icefield near Seward, AK (July, 2012)
We knew on our way back that we'd go again . . . after Jim forgot
how long a drive it was!
This time we wanted to see and do some new things, as well as revisit
areas like Anchorage, Seward, and Denali NP that we enjoyed so much three years ago.
The weather this time was much better in Alaska and through Canada.
In total contrast to 2012, the winter of 2014-15 was the mildest
in their recorded history so we had no problems with melting snow, flooding,
washed-out roadways, or trails with too much snow to hike.
This summer
was noticeably warmer and drier than in 2012 -- even at the top
of Exit Glacier.
Compare this photo with the one above, taken at about the same place
from the trail:
What a difference this year, when the nunavaks (ice field
peaks) and trail were more visible.
We didn't run into any weather-related problems in Alaska until late August
when a week of cold rain and predicted snow drove us out. We
cut short our second visit to Denali NP and returned to the Lower 48 on
the Alaska Hwy. instead of trying a new route past Stewart-Hyder and
through Banff and Jasper National Parks, which were also too wet to be
appealing.
Despite all the new places we saw and things we did this time
(Whitehorse, Skagway, Haines, Jim's 100-mile bike race, my river float
trip, etc.), this trip to Alaska wasn't as exciting as the first one.
It wasn't a disappointment or a total "been there, done that"
experience. It just wasn't as epic the second time around. When I think
about it, most of our first trips to various places have been
more memorable than subsequent ones.
We didn't get as many clear views of Denali this summer as we did in 2012.
This view is from the mountain across from the Eielson
Visitor Center. (July, 2015)
I don't know at this point if we'll ever drive all the way
to Alaska again unless we get another compelling urge to go up there.
I'd definitely like to visit the towns of Stewart-Hyder on the
Alaska-British Columbia border and spend some time at Banff and Jasper
National Parks. We missed doing that on both of our previous trips up
there. Those destinations are closer than Anchorage or Denali so they'd
make a good two- or three-week trip into Canada some spring or fall.
Shaggy blond grizzly bear at
Denali NP (7-20-15)
I'd also consider a one-way ferry ride up the Inside Passage to Alaska
some day so we could see some different territory but that is more practical
with a smaller RV. Driving just one way through Canada would be easier
than driving both directions.
FOLLOWING THE AUTUMN LEAVES
Last year we followed the fall foliage from Nova Scotia and PEI
through New England and south to the GA-FL border. We did the same thing
this year from Alaska to Arizona.
We got back to Great Falls, Montana on September 1 and slowly worked
our way south, spending a week there,
Giant Springs State Park, Great
Falls, MT (9-7-15)
. . . a few days on the back side of the Grand Tetons,
Our favorite campsite in Teton
Canyon, WY (9-9-15)
High in the Alaska Basin in the
Jedediah Smith Wilderness (9-10-15)
. . . a night in Logan Canyon, UT, several days at Hill AFB in
Salt Lake City, and finally landed in Red Canyon, UT in mid-September
for a comfortable month at about 7,000 feet elevation.
We figured Red Canyon would be less crowded than nearby Bryce Canyon
NP, and it was.
The time we spent at Red Canyon was one of our best experiences of
the entire year. We enjoyed the trails there as much or more as the ones
in Bryce Canyon and they were 98% less crowded.
The Arches Trail in Red Canyon
has numerous "windows" that are fun to find. (9-19-15)
Hoodoos on the popular Thunder Mountain Trail in
Red Canyon (10-1-15)
Ironically, the campground where we stayed was a serendipitous find.
The forest service campground we aimed for didn't take reservations
and was full when we arrived in mid-September. Red Canyon
Village RV Park, just down the road, had plenty of room, grassy sites,
plus full hookups, cable TV, and free WiFi at a very reasonable cost for
a private RV park near so many popular national parks (Zion and Bryce)
and national monuments (Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Glen
Canyon).
Utah rocks!! Colorful
cliffs in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
(9-26-15)
Our horseback ride in Bryce
Canyon NP (9-30-15)
Above and below: sunrise at Sunrise Point in
Bryce Canyon NP (10-10-15)
The place was so convenient to hiking trails and places to ride our
bikes that we ended up staying for a month instead of just a few days. We
wanted to stay in Red Canyon even longer than a month but the campground
closed on October 18 because of freezing weather overnight.
Now what?
WINTERING IN ARIZONA
It was still in the low 90s F. at our next destination in
mid-October -- Black Canyon Ranch RV Park about an hour north of
Phoenix. We had reservations there for October 1 to mid-January, and
longer if someone cancelled in January and February. When we made the
reservation several months earlier we had no clue that the western U.S.
would be experiencing a significantly hotter than normal fall season.
While it was in the 90s F. at
lower elevations in southern UT and northern AZ,
it was already snowing at 10,000
feet at Cedar Breaks National Monument. (10-5-15)
We considered other options in southern Utah and northern Arizona but
decided to just drive on down to Black Canyon City.
For various reasons, including malfunctioning electrical service in
the campground, we decided to stay in Black Canyon only one week.
We were pleased to get our deposit back. On October 25 we drove farther
south to the Yuma Proving Ground, an Army base about 20 miles north of Yuma, AZ.
This post is very close to the California border, Imperial Dam, the
Laguna Wildlife Conservation Area, and
the BLM Long-Term Visitor Area (LTVA) where we wintered four years
ago. Although we haven't camped at YPG before we used other facilities
on post (commissary, gas station, laundry, cafe, etc.) when we
boon-docked at the LTVA.
View of Castle Dome from the
Laguna Conservation Area near YPG (12-21-15)
Golden cottonwood leaves at the Laguna Conservation
Area add more color to the desert.
The tracks in the sand are from foxes and/or
coyotes. (12-19-15)
This winter Jim really wanted full hookups instead of boon-docking at
the LTVA. The monthly rate to camp at YPG is one of the cheapest in the
entire system so it was practically a no-brainer to see how we liked it.
Although military retirees can't reserve sites ahead of time at YPG,
we were one of the first seasonal guests to arrive at the travel camp.
We had our choice of about 85 of the 104 sites. We found a large
pull-thru site at the end of one of the loops where we can park the
truck on one side of the 5th-wheel and the car on the other side:
I built a rock "Inukshuk"
(Canadian version of a cairn) and later bought
several more flowering plants to
add some color to our patio. (10-28-15)
We're at the far end of the campground where it is nice and
quiet. By the end of December 90% of the sites were full -- and
it was still pretty quiet.
Although the desert is not as scenic in the Yuma area as some other
places we've been in Arizona and it's dusty when the wind blows across
the sand, the pluses far outweigh the minuses -- the weather is
better than most other places in the U.S. this winter, we have many
miles of roads and trails to hike and cycle, the price is right, we like
our neighbors, and we enjoy watching all the activity at the produce
farms and fruit orchards on the California side of the Colorado River
between here and Yuma:
Harvesting what looks like
Romaine lettuce (12-22-15)
And those Medjool date shakes at Imperial Date Gardens,
Inc. are to die for!
Above and below: Imperial
Date Gardens offers free tours during the winter. (11-18-15)
CAMPING FEES:
As our travel MO has gradually morphed over the years to
include longer stays in some locations, we've been able to take
advantage of lower weekly, monthly, and seasonal rates at campgrounds
and RV parks. That has lowered our "housing" costs to some extent.
So has our increased use of military campgrounds, which
are 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of private campgrounds for comparable amenities
in the same areas.
However, as we age we're also seeking out more RV parks
with full hookups (i.e., electricity, water, and sewer), often including
cable TV and some level of "free" WiFi. It's a lot less work for Jim and
we're more comfortable.
Our site at Kings Bay Sub Base,
St. Mary's, GA; the rate for lakeside sites is $570/month. (Jan., 2015)
The figures below show that our camping costs haven't
sky-rocketed recently, though, compared to
previous years when we did more boon-docking (dry camping) on BLM land
or had just electricity at local, state, and national parks and forests.
Here are our average daily camping fees for the last few
years:
2015: $19.73/day for 365 days (includes
Canada and Alaska this summer)
2014: $22.50/day for 236 days (includes the
Canadian Maritimes in the summer)
2013 summer trip to the Rockies:
$11.12/day for 115 days
2013 winter trip in the Southeast:
$18.95/day for 79 days at the beginning of the year
2012 summer trip to Alaska: $16.85/day for 150 days
2011-12 winter trip in Arizona: $5.79/day
for 119 days (that includes 2½ cheap
months at the Imperial Dam LTVA north of Yuma, near the Proving Grounds)
View of part of the Imperial Dam
LTVA and reservoir from a nearby mountain (11-4-15)
Those costs do not include propane or gasoline for the camper.
Our range and oven use propane whether we have
electricity or not. If that's all we're using propane for, it lasts a
long time. The Cameo has two 7-gallon tanks.
When we don't have an electrical hookup we also use
propane in the refrigerator, water heater, gas space heater, and
(rarely) furnace, plus gasoline in the generator so we can run the
microwave, coffee maker, air conditioner, etc. Then we "burn through"
propane faster.
Solar panels with 480 watts of power reduce the
amount of time we need to use the generator when boon-docking --
as long as the sun is out and we aren't under a bunch of trees.
Jim installed more solar panels
when we stayed at the Imperial Dam LTVA in early 2012.
WHAT'S NEXT?
We plan to stay at the Yuma Proving Grounds until at least the
end of January, and maybe February. By mid-March it will probably be
hotter than we like.
We haven't yet determined all the
places where we want to travel the rest of 2016 but will probably remain
in the mountainous western states until fall. We don't have any "epic"
destinations planned this year. We want to visit some places that are new to us
and go back to some spots we've enjoyed previously.
I'd like to go back to the Leadville, CO area and
hike awesome trails,
like this one to Windsor Lake. (July, 2013)
I haven't been good in recent years about keeping the entries in this
website current but when I start the 2016 journal I'll continue my habit
of listing where we are on the topics page so folks can see where we are
and where we've been recently.
At the end of December, 2015 I still have the last six months of entries
to upload so check back periodically to see what's new . . .
Happy New Year,
Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil,
Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup
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