Smoke as We Travel East

After two weeks at Ridgway State Park, we headed east. First stop was in Gunnison to have some work done on our truck at the Chevy dealer. The trip took us past Blue Mesa Reservoir which stretches 20 miles along US Hwy 50. It is usually a beautiful drive but there is so much smoke from the forest fires in Oregon and Montana we could hardly see the water at times.

There was also road construction along the route, of course. It is summer, isn't it? Look at the long line of vehicles ahead of us.

There were some pretty rock formations along the road, as well.

At the KOA in Gunnison we saw some cute decorations and chain-saw carvings.

I love poppies like this.

And then there was the pet donkey. He and John quickly made friends.

Clear Skies and Another State

Today we entered yet another state, Utah. That is four this week. Driving into and across Idaho, we continued to have smokey skies.



During our 2-night stay in Boise, we were able to run (John) and walk (Carol) three miles each morning along the Boise River. It is a really neat trail through the woods



across the river



and along upscale neighborhoods.



The campground is right next to the fair grounds, which are very large, but old. I loved this sign.



We saw these cormorants above the river.



I don't often blog about the RV parks we stay in, especially those located behind a gas station. But the one we stayed in last night, Valley of Trees, was really special. The first photo is of our site. The driveway you see is for the next site over. Since no one parked there overnight, the second photo shows the view we had of the Valley of Trees between us and the gas station.





Today, as we drove from Declo, ID, to Brigham City, UT, the skies were smoke free but filled with a mix of clouds and sun. I really liked these clouds.



We saw very little evidence of wildfires today. Yesterday, we drove by mile after mile of burned sagebrush. We did see this hillside that had been burned.



In this photo, we couldn't decide if we were seeing smoke or irrigation sprinklers in the distance.



During our stay at Santa Ana NWR in Alamo, TX, early this year, we saw fields of onions being harvested. Today we saw this truckload of Idaho onions. Obviously, we have fresh produce year-round because different parts of the country raise fruits and vegetables at different times of the year.



Not only do they grow onions in this part of the country, they also raise cattle. This is the sign for Grants Range Bulls.



And that's no bull. It's plastic.