10/6/17 - Green River, UT

Route 66, etc. - Day 18

I know, you wondered what I have been up to, haven't you? Me too. That's the problem with skipping a day or two of blogging, I can't remember quite what I did. So my photos helps to remind me of what I want to share.

On Wednesday, the 4th, I stayed at the Sand Dunes Pool campground to catch up on work while my brother, Bob, went fishing. He was lucky enough to miss the rain, but I was lucky enough to capture this rainbow in the evening.

Thursday morning, Bungie and I went exploring. This picture fails to capture the steam rising from the creek that runs through the campground and feeds the hot springs pools. The ducks and frogs love the warm water. It is strange to get hot water from the outdoor spigots and to not be able to cool off the shower. By the way, it costs $.50 to take a 6 minute shower there. I found that I could take an adequate shower in 4 minutes.

The campground is about 20 miles from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and we were welcomed by these signs on our way into the park. I like to photograph signs, so I can read and remember things later. But I also wanted to show how flat the valley is and how the fog can hide the mountains all around.

Now, I had no intention of hiking the dunes, but I did see many others doing that. If you look closely, there are even some people walking the ridge. It's quite a sight!

Since it is a national park, I was able to get in free with my Senior's Pass that I got last year. I skipped the visitors' center because of Bungie, but I did go exploring the campgrounds there. When I get less dependent on electricity I would like to try staying there some day.

That evening Bob invited me to share his catch and fruits of his garden at his friend, Riley's home. What an adventure to get to his place and to see another home "off the grid." Traveling down miles of dirt roads to get to his "hovel," was well worth it. Check out this view. The second picture really illustrates the reason this mountain range was named Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ).

And then the full moon came out.

My sneaky brother captured some candid photos of me, Bungie, and Riley.

The guys were giving me advice on the routes to take on the next step of my journey. Their advice led me on a beautiful and smooth trip to arrive here in Green River this afternoon. After a wonderful home-cooked meal, and as it got too dark to read the atlas, the guys played some music for me. My attempt to record and upload their composition was unsuccessful but memorable.

Bungie enjoyed the visit to the hovel so much, he kept trying to get back in while I was trying to get him in my car to leave. But he finally joined me for the trip down the dirt roads back to the highway in the dark.

So today's trip to Green River was very uneventful but filled with beautiful sights. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos along the way. The Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado.