Tag: travel

Cumberland Mountain State Park, TN
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Cumberland Mountain State Park, TN

Monica ScottLeave a comment
Kayaking the lake at Cumberland Mountain State Park

Cumberland Mountain State Park, TN

One of Tennessee’s best kept secrets is Cumberland Mountain State Park! Beauty abounds at this park! Take a stroll through the woods on a trail that winds beside a beautiful creek. Kayak or paddle boat on the lovely Lake Byrd and get a close up view of the stone arches located along the dam. Fishing, golfing, hiking and more await you at this secret getaway!

The campsites at Cumberland Mountain State Park are shady and most of them are pretty level. Only one loop in the campground has full hookups. The bath house facilities are clean and of course they offer a dump station. Playgrounds and picnic areas are located throughout the park. This park also offers Tennis, Basketball, and a pool for swimming in Summer. If you don’t want to camp, the park has cabins for rent too! You can even stay in one of the historic buildings on site! For more information check out their website at https://tnstateparks.com/parks/cumberland-mountain.

Selah Farms B&B

I highly recommend a stay at this local Bed and Breakfast! My dear friends, John and Reina, will make your stay as comfortable as possible while you explore the parks that are so close to their doorstep! Their B&B offers privacy in the separate space. Reina is an amazing cook too! Their farm is absolutely breathtaking! If you aren’t camping, I would definitely stay at Selah Farms B&B! Check out their listing here https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11342086?source_impression_id=p3_1632400130_6tFfUDNd5PUCVRI6&guests=1&adults=1.

Crossville, Tennessee

Located in Crossville, Tennessee, this park has so much to offer for a weekend getaway. The small town of Crossville has a weekly flea market, local livestock sales, convenient grocery and fast food. If you are looking for local cuisine, the park offers a lodge style restaurant on the beautiful Lake Byrd. Trip Advisor has some great local suggestions too! Check those out here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/RestaurantsNear-g54986-d207251-Cumberland_Mountain_State_Park-Crossville_Tennessee.html. Also located nearby is Fall Creek Falls State Park!

Cumberland County Playhouse

An ever popular pastime is attending one of the wonderful productions at Cumberland County Playhouse! When my grandparents used to camp at Cumberland Mountain State Park, they always made time for a show. Every season a new production is offered! Check out their website for more information: https://ccplayhouse.com

Paved Trails

A wonderful, paved trail can be found across from the camping area that winds its way around Byrd Lake where you cross the wooden walking bridge that leads to the Paddle Boat and Kayak rental docks. You can explore the lake via kayak or paddle boat too!

The Walking Bridge at Cumberland Mountain State Park

Hiking

What are you waiting for? It’s a wonderful time of year to get out and explore the beautiful state of Tennessee!

Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

Grove City Tour Part 4
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Grove City Tour Part 4

Monica Scott2 Comments

Banks Covered Bridge
Amish Bakery- Donuts, pies, cookies and more!
Group Photo at Banks Covered Bridge

Simple Life Amish Tours

When I realized we were in Amish country, I was secretly giddy with excitement! I love reading about the Amish and their simple ways of life. Their devotion to faith and family are truly admirable. They work so hard. If you’ve ever worked a long hard day in the summer heat, you know how it feels to do a good days work. I admire that and so many other things about the Amish community. So I spent a little time investigating the options in the Grove City area and came across the Simple Life Tours https://simplelifetours.com and promptly booked a tour for Friday morning.

Patriotic Barn by the Corn Fields
Amish couple out for a drive
Susie, our tour guide, and the Scott crew
Brick Silo

Although my sister in law grew up here, among the 10th largest Amish community in the United States, she had never taken a tour or visited the shops we discovered on our tour. We weren’t really sure that the kids would like it, but the tour guide Susie was so incredibly engaging that even the kids had a great time! It was such a pleasure to have Susie share her wealth of knowledge about the local community.

Volant, PA

We began our tour in Volant, PA where we headed to New Wilmington. These towns are so small that they really run together. One farm after another line these small streets with covered bridges. Colorful laundry hangs out to dry on the clothes line until a young girl brings it in to fold, once the breeze has completed the task of drying the clothes. No one has electricity. And no one is allowed to have a bathroom (outhouse) inside the house. Just recently they have allowed the outhouse to be attached with a covered walkway. The Amish are superstitious about many things: drains inside your home, having a photo taken, no faces on their dolls (no graven images), and the list goes on.

Banks Covered Bridge

This beautiful bridge was one of our first stops. This bridge was built in 1889 and restored in 1999. The craftsmanship of the bridge was absolutely stunning!

Banks Covered Bridge
DCIM106GOPROGOPR8683.JPG
DCIM106GOPROGOPR8684.JPG

Local Amish Farms

The next part of the tour was a lovely drive through the countryside to see the oats in the fields, community telephone booths on the roadside, which led to our first stop where we purchased corn from a new farmer. The family had picked 500 dozen ears of corn! We grilled some with our lunch when we got back and it was so delicious!

Cut and bundled Oats, drying in the fields
Shared telephone booth
Inside the telephone booth
Amish farm
Cans of milk stacked and ready for pickup
Oats

You would never know that these are Amish stores! Just a little sign by the driveway indicates that there is something for sale. All of the “stores” we visited were in the basement of their home except the wood workshop. It was a stand alone shop. We visited it on our return trip on Saturday.

Amish Grocery in the basement of their home
The entrance to the store.
Lots of birdseed outside.
Flour, sugar, grain, beans, chocolate, nuts, jellies, ect.
Roman loved meeting the horse.
Beautiful horses.

Amish School

The teacher at this little community school is 16 year old Emma.  She has 37 students! She was at the school, probably cleaning in preparation for class to begin again. It’s a one room schoolhouse where the children learn reading, writing, math, and English as a second language. At the age of 15, the boys begin training in the trade they choose, usually whatever their father does. They aren’t strict about it though. With such big families, it is likely that at least one will follow in their father’s footsteps. The girls begin training in housekeeping, gardening, cooking, canning and quilting. They must learn all the skills they will need to have a family of their own. In this area, they usually aren’t wed until age 20-21.

The little schoolhouse
Ms. Emma’s carriage parked outside the schoolhouse.

 

Amish Donuts

In winter they cook over a fire and in summer they use propane to cook with. Here are some outside fryers used to cook the amazing Amish Donuts:

Amish Donut Fryers

These donuts were enormous! So fresh and perfectly delicious! As you can see, we all enjoyed one immediately. We did take some back to the guys, since they were still home working on the kitchen remodel. The sweet ladies here had pies, cookies, jams, jellies, and even some fresh fruit for sale. Want to guess how much one of those huge donuts cost? $1.50- can you believe it!!!

Amish Bakery- Donuts, pies, cookies and more!
DCIM106GOPROGOPR8696.JPG
DCIM106GOPROGOPR8695.JPG

Our last stop with Susie was the quaint little quilt shop. It is located along one of the main roads, and is well marked for an Amish store. They had quilts, birdhouses, and a variety of other handmade wares inside!

Byler’s Quilt Shop
Birdhouses and outdoor crafts
Beautiful pot holders, quilts, and more!

Simple Life Tour Review

Susie was an absolute joy! She shared such valuable information about the history of the Amish, about their lifestyle, and faith. You can tell she has a close relationship with the people of the community. An awesome thing about this tour is that it provides an open door for Susie to share her faith in Jesus with everyone who takes her tour. She exudes the love of Jesus in her words and actions and interactions with those in the Amish community in such a beautiful way. I highly recommend this tour. Susie was professional and we truly enjoyed every minute!

Amish Tour Take 2

Well, after we told the guys all about the wonderful time we had on the Amish Tour, they insisted that we take them on Saturday! We traveled back through Volant and into New Wilmington to Banks Covered Bridge, the grocery store, bakery and this time we visited the Furniture shop. The furniture shop was so impressive! Rudy makes beautiful tables, benches, futons, chairs, and pretty much anything you ask him to make. He supplies some of the local stores in Grove City where his pieces are a prized purchase for many buyers. Here are some pictures from our 2nd day in Amish Country New Wilmington.

Rudy’s furniture workshop
Rudy’s furniture showroom
Amazing craftsmanship!
Group Photo at Banks Covered Bridge
Shenanigans!
Banks Covered Bridge
Amish Farm Equipment

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

Grove City Tour Part 3
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Grove City Tour Part 3

Monica ScottLeave a comment

Grove City Park

Grove City Park is a great place to explore! Covered picnic areas, ball fields, a public pool, and lovely little trails in the woods make this a wonderful outdoor space. A local bike shop has been adding new trails to the park for Mountain Bike training. You are sure to pass a bike on the trail so beware!

The Enchanted Forest Trail

The Enchanted Forest Trail meanders through the forest with lovely evergreens. My nephews especially enjoyed showing us this wonderful little trail!

Pizza Night!

Sometime’s the best way to explore is through the local cuisine! We enjoyed pizza from Jets Pizza, just a couple of blocks from the house. Although it was “hot” for the locals, we thoroughly enjoyed the cooler temperatures that Grove City had to offer for us! The heat and humidity of Tennessee has been almost unbearable this year. So we ate our dinner on the front porch. It was a full day!

Fox’s Pizza
Perfect Front porch for dinner!
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Yummy!

Other Dining in Grove City

Because the guys were doing a kitchen remodel while we were in town, we ate out most nights for dinner. After Jet’s Pizza, we enjoyed a delicious meal at Blackout Burger Bar. It is located in close proximity to the KOA Holiday, near the Outlet Mall. Yes, there is also an outlet mall in Grove City! We dined outside at the Burger Bar. The food was great! Highly recommend it if you are in the area!

The final night of our trip, we dined at Rachel’s Roadhouse. We really enjoyed their Rueben, Chicken wrap, Grilled Chicken Salad topped with fries, and their most popular menu item, the Pretzel appetizer with Fudge Dipping Sauce! YUM!!! If you’re ever in Grove City, give Rachel’s a try!

Our most exciting adventure in Grove City is up next! Stay tuned!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

Kingsport, TN
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Kingsport, TN

Monica Scott1 Comment

IMG_5675

Kingsport, Tennessee is a city located in the north-eastern part of Tennessee. We have family that lives there and yet somehow we have never camped there! So, we packed up and headed to Warriors Path State Park. Our family lives close to the park, but they have never stayed there either. Here is my honest review of the park…

I made my reservations online. There were no pictures of the campsite on the website. The map of the campground shows that most of the sites are actually waterfront sites. When we arrived, we found the site a little difficult to park in. Most of the sites are pretty short. Our site number was #47. Here is the water view from our site!

IMG_2531

I’m not kidding! That is the waterfront site view. You can hear boats driving by and music playing on the boats but you can not see the water at all. This was a little disappointing! Here is a view of the campsite- notice that the water and electric hookups were on the wrong side of the site, so it was a bit of a trip hazard.

IMG_9074

The little camp store was so cute! And the campground volunteer came out to meet us when we pulled up to let us know she would check us in. She gave us a map and verbal directions to find our site.

IMG_8572

There are lots of activities here! There is a beautiful paved path around an island where you can fish, play tennis, volleyball, basketball and picnic. The Marina has kayaks, canoes and boats for rent too but they are only open on the weekends so we didn’t get to utilize the boat rentals. All of the activities are approximately 3/4 mile from the campground. There is a gravel path along the road if you choose to walk from the campground. It is a pretty big hill down to get to the lake area and of course a big hill to walk back up to get back to the campground.

Sweet Girls!

We enjoyed fishing, letting the dogs swim and walking around the island!

So, over all I was not impressed with this campground. Sometimes it’s not where you are, but WHO you are with that makes a memorable, special trip! We had great fun together playing Mafia around the fire and games around the table. We re-connected with family that we have not seen in a very long time. We enjoyed great meals and conversation. It was wonderful!

Plus there were donuts! If you’re in the area, go check out Seaver’s Donuts! They were amazing!

Make the most of the time you have together, no matter where you are!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

Wild West Trip Part 8
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Wild West Trip Part 8

Monica ScottLeave a comment

62100158_10219142018360211_6911874479857598464_n

Moab, Utah

Moab is such a quaint little town!

The town is full of little restaurants, hotels, and campgrounds. While we try to eat most of our meals at our campsite, we did eat at a couple of local places.  Pasta Jay’s was a delightful little Italian restaurant! (https://pastajays.com/locations/moab/) We also dined at the Moab Diner where we enjoyed a burger, fries, and milkshake. (https://www.moabdiner.com/Home)

Cole loved the Guitar Sculpture in Moab
Lovely Wildflowers blooming in the desert
Cactus Blooms
Meal Planning for our Wild West Trip

Candi and I planned all our meals in advance for the trip. We spent one day shopping and cooking all the chicken/ground beef we would need for quick, delicious meals. It didn’t take long to prepare. This provided healthy, cost effective meals for our family. We took turns preparing dinner each night for our group so we both didn’t have to cook every night. For more information on meal prep, check out this post: https://wp.me/pbFU3T-fH. We prepared 19 meals for under $6 per family dinner! And we ended up with several extra meals to enjoy when we returned home. That’s a tremendous savings compared to dining out!

We each planned our own breakfast and lunches according to what our family likes. Most of our lunches were picnics at whatever park we were visiting that day. We also plan picnic lunch for our travel days because it is nearly impossible to find a restaurant with room to park the rv. If we are traveling through a city where there are no rest areas, we will find a Walmart, Lowes or Home Depot to park at while we eat our lunch and take a bathroom break.

IMG_6253

Last Day in Moab

On our last day in Moab, we played cards and went swimming at The Portal Rv Resort. The most surprising thing about this trip is our lack of down time. We usually play games and visit with our friends or family a lot more than we did on this trip. Our days were so long and we were completely exhausted from our explorations each day. Traveling can really take a toll on you both physically and emotionally. Our plan to go hiking in Arches National Park never happened. Jonathan and his crew managed it, but Jamey and I were just too sick to go. Our friend Teresa reminded us of the importance of staying hydrated, using nasal spray (because we are not used to the dryness of the desert air) and resting as much as possible. It’s a fine balance for sure!

One last sunset in lovely little Moab. Until next time!

 

 

DCIM106GOPROGOPR8337.JPG
Sunset from Portal Rv Resort, Moab, Utah

Here are some of my favorite moments from our Wild West Trip!

 

Candi, Jonathan and Parker
Parker and Noah
Yay! Arches National Park!
One crazy group of adventurers!
DCIM103GOPROG0165909.JPG
DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR2155.JPG
Jamey and Noah at Grand Canyon
Cousins
Fantastic family adventure! We can’t wait to go back!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

 

Wild West Trip Part 7
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Wild West Trip Part 7

Monica Scott3 Comments

62243562_10219174062961306_7787630496334217216_n

Natural Bridges National Monument

A two hour drive from our home base in Moab, is the Natural Bridges National Monument. We stopped at the visitors center for some tips on hiking in the park. There is NO cell service here, so it is crucial to get a map and stay on the trails. The boys were especially excited about this day because of the planned hike. They even learned what a payphone is! I volunteered to stay with Cole, since he can’t navigate the ladders required on the hike and that way Candi could go with the boys. Let’s face it, the reality is my fear of heights had a tremendous affect on my decision. Plus I love hanging out with my buddy, Cole! We enjoyed the views from all the overlooks. Here is more information about Natural Bridges National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm

Natural Bridges National Monument Entrance
Noah and Parker learning about the Pay Phone! Ha! They had never seen one before!
Parker and Cole
Jonathan and Parker
Parker and Noah
A Natural Bridge
Family Time
Jonathan, Candi, Cole and Parker taking a selfie!
Jamey, Me and Noah
Natural Bridges

We read a book together and had snacks while we waited on everyone. If I remember correctly, the hike was around 2 hours. I was relieved when they finally made it back! They loved it! Everyone agreed it was the best hike on the trip and they would definitely do it again.

Trail Maps
Trail Maps at the Overlook

On this hike, they walked to the edge and climbed down stick ladders. They hiked and climbed all the way into the valley where the Natural Bridges can be seen along the path. There was a creek in the bottom too! I love the pictures they took along the way! It looks like so much fun!

Heading down the trail
Ladders on the trail were the only way to descend into the valley
Walking along the trail
Part of the trail in the valley
Stick Ladder
Jamey and Noah at one of the Natural Bridges
Sick Ladder
Candi and Jonathan heading down a ladder
Creek bed at a natural bridge
Sign along the trail
Noah observing the natural bridge
part of the creek bed
Candi, Jonathan and Parker
Noah by the creek
Group photo
Crossing the creek bed
Parker on the trail
Hiking!
Sign along the trail

After a great day of exploring and learning all about Natural Bridges, we headed back to Moab for dinner and a swim.

Tomorrow we will explore the town of Moab and enjoy a day by the pool before we begin the long journey back to Tennessee!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

 

 

Wild West Trip Part 6
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Wild West Trip Part 6

Monica Scott2 Comments

Arches National Park
Yay! Arches National Park!

Arches National Park

This morning Jamey woke up sick. The altitude, desert heat and long day yesterday finally caught up with him. I wasn’t feeling well either, but he was really sick. I thought we should just stay at the camper and rest in hopes that by doing that now, we could just pick back up tomorrow with our plans. He insisted we go on and try, so he took some sinus medicine and off we went.

I let my brother know that we would probably end up going back to the campground early and they could just go on without us. Steve and Teresa were planning to join us at the park later. So we split up planning to just each see what we could for the day.

DCIM106GOPROGOPR8137.JPG
DCIM106GOPROGOPR8175.JPG
Jamey ended up feeling better, thanks to the sinus medicine. Right around the time he was feeling better, Steve and Teresa made it to the park wanting to meet up with everyone for our picnic lunch. We continued on from there, exploring as much of the park as we could. We still had one more day planned for Arches National Park so we were saving the hikes for day two.

Parker with a double arch behind him
Candi and Parker
Jonathan and Parker
An Arch through an arch
Jonathan and Parker
Trying to scale the boulder…
Parker and Cole
Arches National Park lives up to its name! Here is more information about the park:

https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

There are lots of hikes to choose from here! My favorite place to explore was this area where you walked through a narrow place between the rocks. The area had an arch, places for kids to easily climb rocks and a shady place to play in the sand. Lots of families were there with picnic blankets, sand pails, and shovels. It would be a great place to spend a whole day if you had time!

Narrow pathway
Candi walking through the narrow path
Entrance to the sandy area
Boys climbing and exploring
Arch in the sandy area
I believe Arches National Park is one of those places you could visit multiple times and still not see everything. Most of the places we went today were easily accessible. The sheer number of arches and rock formations made this an experience of a lifetime!

Two more full days  in Moab and then we head home!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

Mesa Arch Sunrise Wild West Trip Part 5
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

Wild West Trip Part 5

Monica ScottLeave a comment

 

Mesa Arch Sunrise
One of the most sought after arch photos is the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park and this is why.

There is such diversity and beauty everywhere! It’s what I love most about traveling and exploring new places. Experiencing the Moab area is something I will treasure forever!

Canyonlands National Park

https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/publications.htm

Our group of 9 crawled out of bed around 4am to head to the iconic Mesa Arch so we could attempt to capture the sunrise. This is a very popular place to capture sunrise through an arch! When we arrived, the parking lot was almost full. We headed down the little trail toward Mesa Arch with lots of other people. There was a hushed silence among the nearly 100 people gathered to get a photo that morning. We were really amazed at how many people were there! It was a little sad to me that everyone was crammed all along the arch because it made it so difficult to actually get a photo of the sunrise THROUGH the arch.

Wildflowers blooming
The Mesa Arch trail
Mesa Arch Trail is marked with Cairns- stacks of rocks
The crowd of people waiting for sunrise in the arch
Mesa Arch Sunrise 2019
It’s really something else, isn’t it!

We continued on to see some of the other view points in Canyonlands, before heading to Dead Horse Point State Park. We planned to go check out that park and then head back to Canyonlands to have a picnic.

Dead Horse Point State Park

https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/

The legend of Dead Horse Point tells that cowboys used the point to corral wild Mustangs, blocking the only exit with brush they gathered. They would choose the horses they wanted and let the others go. Legend has it that one time, for an unknown reason, the horses were left there, where they died of thirst overlooking the Colorado River in the valley just below the point.

Ya’ll, to me this place rivals the Grand Canyon! The views are striking- the Colorado River carved into the valley below. You can see forever. I was incredibly impressed with the views here!

Dead Horse Point
Colorado River at Dead Horse Point
The overlook area
Another overlook area
One crazy group of adventurers!
View from Dead Horse Point State Park
Please take note of the dirt roads in the valley. Do you see those tiny dirt roads in the pictures? Those are the roads in Shafer Canyon. We didn’t know what kind of crazy adventure we were getting ready to embark on, or that it was even a possibility to drive those roads in Shafer Canyon. The road that winds around the base of Dead Horse Point? Just take a closer look at the pictures above. What happened next was the highlight of the trip according to my husband. I think it’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever agreed to do.

Back at Canyonlands National Park

When you start the day at 4 am, you have lots of time to explore! Since we wanted to see more of Canyonlands, and it is just a few miles from Dead Horse State Park, we headed back to the informations center and picnic area to enjoy a delicious lunch with our group.

Teresa, Candi, Cole, Parker, Jonathan and Steve!
Noah, Jamey and me.
While we were at the visitors center, the guys talked with a park ranger who told them about the Shafer Canyon Road. He insisted that you must have a four wheel drive vehicle, plenty of fuel, and good brakes to attempt driving this dirt road. There is an overlook at Canyonlands NP called Island in the Sky. It is sheer drop offs around three sides of the “island” and directly below these sheer drop offs is the Shafer Canyon Road. This is the road I mentioned earlier from the pictures at Dead Horse Point State Park. Here is a link with more information about the Shafer Canyon Road:

https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/591-shafer-trail-road-usa.html

 

Island In The Sky, Canyonlands National Park
Remarkable viewing point at the end of this little trail!

Shafer Canyon Road and Potash Road

We went to the head of the Shafer Canyon road to look at the map and decide if we wanted to attempt it. I was terrified, but willing to do it if the whole group wanted to go. We had the biggest, heaviest vehicle so we led the way. We drive a Chevy 3500 dually. Apparently everyone thought if we could make it then they would make it too. I didn’t take any pictures as we traveled down the very narrow, winding road along the bluffs. There was no place to turn around. We were committed once we began, unless something happened in which case we would need a rescue vehicle to help us. We passed a couple of other vehicles. They all stopped us to ask if we were sure we wanted to try it. They were coming up. Their comments made me even more nervous. Another family followed us down so we had a caravan of 4 four wheel drive vehicles.

I’ve never been so scared. I prayed and sang hymns all the way down as I clung to my door handle. At a couple of turns, Jamey had to make a six point turn just to get through the hairpin curves. There was one hairpin curve where neither of us could even see the road. Noah and I were both ecstatic to reach the canyon basin.

I took this video as we neared the bottom of the canyon. The scariest part of the drive was over:

Here are some pictures as we entered the basin and as we drove through the Shafer Canyon basin along the dirt road. We took the shorter route, turning onto Potash Road. The total drive of 17 miles took us a little over two hours. I would do the drive through the canyon again, only starting from Potash Road and turn around before driving up the canyon wall. The drive through the basin was really cool, especially since we could reference where we were based on what we had seen from Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point State Park.

Shafer Canyon Road
Shafer Canyon Road
Passing another vehicle on the narrow road.
Shafer Canyon Road
Colorado River in the distance
Colorado River
Lovely views on the drive
Views in the Shafer Basin
Staying on the correct road in the canyon is crucial!
Shafer Canyon Road
Salt mines on Potash Road
Potash Road ends near Moab. We drove along the Colorado River where we saw more Petroglyphs and trails to explore but we continued driving because we were pretty exhausted! A delicious dinner of  Easy Tuscan Chicken Pasta (https://sanctuary-ridge.com/?s=pasta&orderby=relevance&order=DESC) back at The Portal RV Resort completed our day. Tomorrow we head to Arches National Park!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

 

 

The Wild West Trip Part 4
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

The Wild West Trip Part 4

Monica Scott1 Comment

 

The Road to Moab
The Road to Moab

The Road to Moab

The Road to Moab from Bluff, Utah is surrounded by stunning landscapes. Lakes, Snowcapped Mountains, Deserts and Buttes along the 2 hour stretch of highway. Once again, there are several places to stop along the way, including The Hole in the Rock. The photo above was taken while we were stopped on the highway for some roadwork. Here are some other photos from along the route.

Snow Capped Manti La Sal National Forest
Jamey Driving with a lake view in the distance
The Road to Moab
Noah and Lila enjoying the drive!

Our itinerary in Moab is intense! We stayed at The Portal Rv Resort: http://www.portalrvresort.com

The Portal Rv Resort Campsite
Views from our campsite at Portal Rv Resort

This is a full hook-up resort with a nice pool and gorgeous views. They also have vacation homes for rent if you have friends who want to visit Moab but not camp. The full hook-up sites are $59 per night. There are several other campgrounds in Moab and they probably all have a view of some sort. Our friends, Steve and Teresa, recommended this rv resort. We highly recommend it too!

Slick Rock

After we set up camp and caught up with our friends, we headed out to watch the sunset at Slick Rock. This is a world famous mountain bike trail. Moab is a hub for all things outdoors. There are public lands with trails everywhere. You can go off-road with your 4×4 vehicle, rent an ATV or Jeep, ride motorcycles or mountain bike. If you prefer hiking, there are tons of trails for that too! It is HIGHLY recommended to pay for a guide if you decide to do mountain biking here. It can be quite dangerous if you are not familiar with the area. If you want to check out some history of Slick Rock and see some great video of the area, check this out: https://www.discovermoab.com/sand-flats/

We hiked out to an area that is popular for watching the sunset. All around us were dirt bikes, mountain bikes and other families hiking. The terrain is literally like a moonscape. Smooth rock with craters everywhere! The trail is painted on the rock with white lines so it’s pretty easy to follow. It was an easy hike, even my nephew Cole was able to do it. We just stopped along the way to let him rest. That kid is my hero! He loves a good adventure and brings joy to everyone he meets! I love our family picture from Slick Rock- its one of my favorite group shots from our trip west.

Jamey and the rest of our group hiking
Slick Rock, Moab, Utah
Cole and Jonathan
Me and Candi
Me and Noah
Taking a break on the hike!

You can do research and have a tentative plan when you take trips like this, but please be flexible. Take time to talk to locals and get recommendations. This was not one of our “must see” destinations, but it was really neat and I am so glad Steve and Teresa suggested we check it out! It’s a quick 10-15 minute drive from the campground.

Moab is such a quaint little town! If I had to pick one place to go in Utah, this would be it! There is no place quite like it. Over the next few days I will share each park we visited while we stayed in Moab. This place should be on everyone’s “bucket list”!

DCIM103GOPROG0165909.JPG

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.

The Wild West Trip Part 3
Sanctuary Ridge Adventures in Camping

The Wild West Trip Part 3

Monica ScottLeave a comment

fullsizeoutput_24af

Just a short 2 1/2 hour drive from the campground at Lake Powell is the quaint little town  of Bluff, Utah. My brother had visited Bluff while on a job and really loved the area. He insisted that this be one of our stops and I’m so glad he shared this little piece of heaven with us!

We stayed at Coral Sands RV resort- it was nice enough. We only slept there so I can’t really tell you much about it! As soon as we had our campers set up, we headed out to see the Petroglyphs at Sand Island, along the San Juan River. Having read about these, it was really cool to see them in person. You can actually get pretty close to them! The Sand Island Petroglyphs are on the National Register of Historic Places. You can read more about the Petroglyphs here :https://bluffutah.org/sand-island-petroglyphs/.

Sand Island Petroglyphs
Jamey, Noah, and Jonathan looking at the Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs
The San Juan River
Close up of the Petroglyphs

When you are trying to pack in as much sightseeing as possible, you make the most of every moment! After moving campsites and viewing the petroglyphs, we packed a picnic dinner and headed out to drive through the Valley of the Gods, which is a scenic sandstone valley in Mexican Hat, Utah. It’s a short drive from the campground. What a unique treasure this is! You just turn off the main highway onto a dirt road and drive through an amazing landscape. It was almost like going on a treasure hunt, and around each bend in the road, just over the next hill, was another unbelievable view!

Valley of the gods
All the rock formations have names!
Each one is so unique!
Jamey, me and Noah
Candi, Cole, Jonathan and Parker
On the far right is the rock called “The Hand of God”
Stunning landscape!

As we planned the trip, my brother told us about this road he really wanted to take us on: The Moki Dugway. Since I research everything, I soon discovered that this road is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the United States. Here is one resource I found if you want to read more about it: https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/783-mokee-dugway-usa.html. I learned to drive the “W” road so I felt pretty confident that I could handle it. It consists of hairpin turns but has NO guardrails. As soon as we finished driving through the Valley of the gods, we headed for the Moki Dugway. I was prepared to close my eyes and be terrified. The views from the top were really amazing! We passed other vehicles on the narrow road, but over all it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We turned around at the top and headed back down, trying to make it back to the Valley of the gods to drive through the valley again and have a picnic dinner at sunset.

Moki Dugway
Moki Dugway views from the road

We headed back into the Valley of the gods for a fun family game of Bocce Ball in the desert. We enjoyed a delicious picnic dinner of Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad as the sun set in the valley. It was a beautiful end to a pretty perfect day!

Cactus Candy!
Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad for our Picnic Dinner in the desert
Breathtakingly Beautiful
Boys playing Bocce Ball
Jonathan, Cole, Candi and Parker enjoying the picnic dinner
Perspective!

I’m not going to lie, I was so completely exhausted by the end of this day! It was so much fun and even now I would love to drive back into this valley! This is one of the public lands that you can boon dock on but it would be difficult to get our camper into this place- some of the hills were straight up and down. A 30 foot might be the maximum I would recommend if you wanted to stay overnight here- no bathrooms, water or electricity. You just basically pick a spot to pull off the road and set up camp! I’m sure the stars are amazing out here at night!

After enjoying a good night’s sleep, we prepared to drive to Moab! This is what we came for! What an amazing adventure we’ve already had on this trip!

© Copyright 2020– or current year, Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.