The Search for Energy

We hitched up and headed out bright & early for our first camping trip of the 2024 season. Once again we decided to head down to Utah & then to Nevada before the summer heat. Bridger gets to visit his favorite spa while we camp, bike & hike in a few National Parks. He hates the heat & loves pool time so pretty sure he won't miss us one bit. National Parks are not exactly 'dog friendly' places especially if the humans want to hike & bike.

Tin Can Allie with her Cliferd

We had a beautiful drive along the Gallatin River to West Yellowstone, MT. Surprisingly not much traffic for a Holiday weekend & we made it through West Yellowstone easily. The tourists were heading in from Idaho so oncoming traffic was pretty heavy. Glad we were heading away from that chaos. While Bill took his favorite after breakfast nap I started wondering if we'd packed all the essentials. Specifically the battery chargers for our bikes which I had not seen in the pile. Just before Ashton, ID Bill woke & I asked if he'd packed the charges?? The answer was cussing followed by looking for a bike shop in Jackson, WY. 

I managed to drive most of the way up the Teton Pass without any issues. We switched drivers at the top of the Pass & Bill took over to drive into town. As a side note the very next week this road was shut down when a crack opened up & the entire road collapsed & slid down the mountainside. People commuting to Jackson from Driggs, ID now have 3+ hour commutes to work. WYDOT has been quickly building a temporary road that should be opened in a couple of weeks. Glad we missed that excitement.

Steinaker State Park's Reservoir below us

Once in Jackson we stopped at the local bike shop, but no chargers for sale. Lots of rentals with lots of chargers, but no luck getting one. Filled up the truck & headed toward our next bike shop along the route in Rock Springs, WY...of course it was not open either. Did I mention it was a Holiday weekend? 

At this point we continued toward our first overnight spot at Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT. As luck would have it there was a couple of bike shops in town. Both claimed to be opened on Sundays, but nope neither one was open when we wandered into town. Holiday weekend strikes again!

Under Moonshine Arch

Moonshine Arch

We gave up our search for power and managed a hike out to Moonshine Arch. A fairly short out & back hike to a rather unimpressive arch as arches go in Utah. We found a few western fence lizards on the red rocks near the arch.

Western fence lizard with amputated tail

One had a partially amputated tail that was regrowing. Always fun to see what we can find to photograph that others wouldn't find too interesting. 

A few violet-green swallows flew around the cedars & pines. One of the most hyper birds & so difficult to get a clean shot...unless it happens to land above our heads.

Violet-green swallow

As always we found some wildflowers to photograph & try to identify. Back in camp we watched black-chin hummingbirds at the Park's Entrance. Vicious little birds when guarding their feeders. 

Black-chin hummingbirds fighting

Yellow warbler

Another bird that I have difficulty getting a clean shot was the yellow warbler... such a pretty bright bird with a lovely song. Sitting in camp during dinner was a blast listening & trying to find where it was hiding. 

Of course while fixing breakfast on our last morning it sat right by the window in plain view, but the screen obscured my clear shot. 

Dang birds drive me nuts!

Just before leaving for our next destination Bill called our friends in Livingston, MT to see if they could drop by the house & mail us one of our chargers to Moab. We were still hopeful that we could find one in Grand Junction or Moab. Both towns are know for extreme mountain biking. So thankful for good friends that could help save our trip & a backup plan was in place. 

We stayed 2 nights in Steinaker and made a plan to take a small detour toward Grand Junction, CO. Actually we were heading to Moab, UT & Canyonlands National Park, but took a turn west that only added 30 minutes to the trip. There was a Specialized dealer in Grand Junction that 'supposedly' had a charger in stock...according to the Specialized website they were open on Mondays. The question was will they be opened on Memorial Day Monday? Their website said yes, but we had our doubts which proved accurate. 

At least it was only a 30 minute detour dragging a AS through the streets of Downtown Grand Junction... then we were off to Moab, UT. Talk about crazy traffic heading toward us...WOW! All of Salt Lake must have spent the Holiday in Moab. A solid line of trailers & RV's heading toward us all the way toward Moab.

 

Pale-evening primrose

Flat-top buckwheat

Broadbeard beardtongue

*click any picture to enlarge