That is a gorgeous shot! Thanks for reminding me of the beauty to be found here in my home state. Captiol Reef is a small park that's not to be missed if you get out this way. Much less crowded and still fabulous. If you get a chance to travel Highway 12 which goes from Torrey (right by Capitol Reef) to Bryce Canyon, you'll see some truly amazing sites. Including the 'Hog's Back' which is a narrow road with a 300 foot drop off on either side. Also, Calf Creek Falls which has striking blue water and red rock walls. There's even petroglyphs on the short, easy hike to the falls. You'll also want to stop at the BLM office in Escalante and get directions to Spooky Gulch- this is the site of many of those photos of the light penetrating the swiss cheese red rock. Lots of odd little canyons- but you have to know who to ask to get to these. My senior year of Landscape Architecture school we did a project along highway 12- it's one of Utah's best kept secrets!

Posted by laura_42: "Wow, was it windy up north today, or what? . . ." Laura, I thought maybe you meant waaay up north. Then I realized your location and I'm a nervous wreck from the wind, 800 miles to the north of that. Yesterday, wind gusts to 59mph and it only let up some, today. There was an hour around lunch time when the sustained wind was below 20mph but that was it. This morning, everything seemed just dry and dirty until I sprayed water on the window of the pickup. It promptly froze! At the garden 20 miles away, it was freezing but even a shallow puddle there was too active to have ice. So, it wasn't quite as cold. The plants took quite a beating in the wind . . . which continued. I thought about turning on a sprinkler to give them a little more moisture but it had rained over night and a little during the day, yesterday. The wind was so strong, I was concerned about chilling them further from the evaporation. Tomorrow morning will be even colder, the Weather Service says. I'll be out there at sunrise because I think the wind will stop. . . . Do you suppose there's any truth to this odd idea I have that the friction created from beating the plant against the soil surface actually warms things up?? If life doesn't get a little easier out there for the plants -- it is going be me beating my head against the soil surface . . . Steve

I'd take your time on the drive up if you can, it's such a pretty trip. You'll come towards the 4 corners on the highway (550?) from Bernalillo towards Farmington, about half way up is a very small town called Cuba, in the middle of which is one of the very best restaurants in the area, I'm pretty sure its called El Brunos, and well worth stopping, we actually time our trips down to Abq to hit Cuba at lunch time. Durango has the best selection of restaurants. Telluride also has good food (for a price). Riding the steam engine narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton is a blast, it takes about 4 hours one way, and coming back down (ie doing it twice) can be a bit of a snooze, while the bus trip is only an hour and one can see different stuff. There are two ways to get to Telluride from Durango, the beautiful, hard way with a few mountain passes and lots of curvey roads; up to Silverton, Ouray, Ridgeway, and then over Dallas Divide and up alongside the San Miguel river. Its absolutely spectacular mountain driving. The other way is west from Durango through Mancos, over to Dolores, and then up the Dolores River, over Lizard Head pass, by trout lake, and on into town. I live about 5 miles south of Dolores. I'd sure try to do both trips at some point in your stay. The local radio stations are now playing songs by the performers, should be a heck of a show, but then it's considered the best Bluegrass there is. Say hi to Sam Bush, Emmy Lou, Allison K, and all the gang.

I wish I'd seen this thread before posting mine! Yes, you can use a pressure cooker on the propane stove. I had a pressure cooker in my RV (and plan to put it in the camping equipment for this summer's trip). I have also used it on the white-gas stove (older Coleman model), when we were renovating the kitchen at home. We looked at those 12-volt refrigerators. My husband was annoyed that he got rid of his after leaving the trucking industry. Well, how could we know! Thanks for the tips on the newer ones. As far as camping reservations go: from experience, the national park campgrounds fill fast. Many of them are on the reservation system, and others (like in Arches) will require you to start trolling through the CG at daybreak, looking for departing campers. Our trip is about the same length as yours, though we are staying in motels and with friends and family instead of tent-camping. From experience with long trip tent camping, though, you'll want to get a motel room or find a truck stop with reasonably priced showers (bring shower shoes) every 3-4 days. Your trip sounds like a lot of fun -- we're heading from CA to ME via Orlando, FL, and back through MO (daughter, son-IL and new granddaughter live there). So we're going opposite of you, grin. I've placed a link to a great resource for road-trip planners. It's one of my favorite Internet sites. Donna Here is a link that might be useful: Road Trip America