Laura out West: Hot and getting hotter

It's 100 degrees and going up! I am at 4400 feet and it’s HOT.  But, as we Missourians say, at least it’s dry heat. Doesn’t feel anything like KC (or Houston or Charleston) in the summer where it’s muggy and close and, well, you know.  Here, sweat and hair dry quickly and I don’t look like I just got out of a farm pond all the time.  Two or three days to go and I will…Her royal highness (yes, fully recovered and back to her high maintenance self) and I are headed home for a few weeks, those pesky obligations, then it’s up to Michigan.

Dan and Ann in McCall couldn’t have been more gracious. Dan took me to Warren , an old mining town that still has a few inhabitants living off the grid.  Then Ann cooked a delicious dinner and we said our goodbyes.  Headed south to loop over to Redfish, but never made it. Olga had some starting issues so we spent a couple extra days in Boise getting her fixed up.

We left the Mercedes dealer in Boise (thank you DAVE, and to Mark for the dog treats) with a newly tuned and freshly washed Olga.  She was spic and span, inside and out and we headed right into rain… I swear I am changing my last name to Murphy and writing a new law.  I am behind schedule so skipped Craters of the Moon also, but I’m sure I will come back out.

We only got as far as Mountain Home and decided to call it a day. We needed to stretch after sitting at the dealer for 9 hours.  (They worked on a Life Flight Ambulance ahead of us -wouldn’t have it any other way).  The rv park I chose was less than stellar so I decided to unplug and make haste. It was in a very seedy neighborhood and I was not in the mood to buy drugs, engage in something illegal, or make an involuntary donation to the local hood. This was the first time I have done that, but when I got to the next rv park, and told the gal where I had been, she congratulated me on my wise choice and desire to live a clean, healthy life.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly!  Hit the road early and made it a whopping 45 miles to Malad Gorge. I keenly spied it from the highway, okay- it was hard to miss, and made a quick exit. This is the best thing about RVing without an itinerary- snap decisions and change of plans.  It was a lovely state park with a nice little gorge, waterfall and fantastic views.  After spending an hour or so, I decided to backtrack to Bliss and take the Thousand Springs Scenic Route to Twin Falls.  It did not disappoint, I saw about 6 more waterfalls along the Snake River!

In Twin Falls, I ate lunch at the huge Shoshone Falls and took some pictures.  Bad time of day for photos, as the sun was high, but it was worth the stop! On to Utah, and overnight in Brigham City where we didn’t go anywhere or do anything- we were slugs.  Up at the crack and longish drive to Fruita, CO., which is at the entrance to the Colorado National Monument. If you haven’t been, GO- I came here last year and loved it. The whole drive today was just marvelous, lots of magnificent and changing landscape with many stops along the way.

Her holy hotness sacked out at the foot of the bed, after a quick swim in the lake and a good roll in goose poop (not great in close quarters….thank you RT for the outdoor shower!) Isn’t it Deuce Coupe? But stuck in my head was  “She’s my little Goose Poop”.   I met 2 RT couples, one from Arkansas and one from Denver. They were as friendly as could be and we swapped lies and bragged a bunch!

Today I drove, and drove some more. I-70 is gorgeous through western CO. I stopped in Vail for some Yaki Soba (noodles, veg and chicken) and then in Frisco and took a short hike on our last mountain stream Boo hoo!   Then through Denver and a real pisser.   A rock hit my brand new windshield and put a nice ding in it!!! This was after having it replaced in Mississippi after a terrible hail blew it out, earlier this year.  I could not believe it…

On to the boring part of the drive through eastern CO, sore butt and Ruka giving me the “LOOK”.  It’s warm here, too, but still dry! And rumor has it- cooling off in KC just in time for my arrival!

I am finally back in Kansas, Toto, at the Goodland KOA with Mr. and Mrs. Tkacz who were glad to see me, and I promised to pay for breakfast tomorrow!