Utah to Idaho (Fillmore KOA to Twin Falls-Jerome KOA) - August 10, 2022

Fillmore KOA to Twin Falls-Jerome KOA - Another long day on the road, straight through the greater Salt Lake City urban/suburban corridor with glimpses of the Great Salt Lake which is shrinking, another sign of our drying western landscape.  We drive past fields of RVs yet to be sold and realize why we have to reserve an RV campsite in advance.  There are too damn many of us all trying to do the same thing at the same time … spontaneity has gone out the window.  

The Twin Falls-Jerome KOA is adequate, but again, it was packed with campers and near the major roadway, so the sound of traffic, particularly truck traffic was ever present.  Trucking seems to be a major industry in Idaho.  And, Idaho seems to be home for a particularly virulent form of political insanity that defies logic … war on women, war on democracy, war on reason … time to move on.  

Flagstaff to Fillmore, Utah - August 9, 2022

Flagstaff to Fillmore, Utah - Into the lands of Deseret, we drove from Flagstaff KOA to our favorite KOA in Fillmore, Utah.  It is literally in the midst of nowhere, but it remains one of our favorite KOA campgrounds, well-tended, large poplar trees, grassy areas in front of each campsite, well-spaced trailer campsites with friendly staff.  

Along the way, we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam Welcome Center, which was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (not very welcoming).  Particularly unwelcoming because there were a number of international visitors (we heard French and German spoken), who had stopped to see the dam.  The water levels are exceptionally low … and getting lower.  And, the walls around the viewing area were tall, but not tall enough to keep Coco from wanting to hop up on the wall.  Fortunately we were able to stop her before she got up on the top of the wall as the drop on the other side was all the way to the water level (note to self:  No wall is too high for Coco).  

We spoke for a bit with the man who guided us to our campsite.  He was in his first year of retirement and was working with his wife at this KOA.  They had previously lived in Chicago and he had worked for 37 years as an ER nurse.  He was quite content with his retirement and felt that the last few years of nursing were so mired in overwork, understaff, and patients with such extreme levels of entitlement that he was pleased to retire (and he agreed that the KOA in Flagstaff was way too crowded ;-)

We also met a Dutch family who had gone on a grand tour of the Western US in a rental RV and were headed out the next day (via Salt Lake City Airport) to return to Holland.  They gave us their bottle of bear spray (with a nice holster) for our travels because they could not take it on their trip home.  

Coco made a mad dash for freedom … and ran to the Dog Park … where she and two other gold retrievers had a big dog excitement party.  Fortunately we were able to get her back on the leash and had a pleasant conversation with the owners of the two golden retrievers who understood Coco’s enthusiastic greetings (and understood the challenges of a young, energetic pup like Coco).   

Generous, hospitable folks to be found everywhere … even in a remote Utah campsite …

Leaving Town - Honeybear to Flagstaff KOA - August 8, 2022

Leaving Town - It is always amazing the number of pieces that have to come together to get out of town … and equally amazing that each time we pull it off and get on the road.  This time heading toward Flagstaff.  This is not a particularly long drive, but gives us an opportunity to get our road legs under us and to potentially trouble shoot any problems that might emerge.

We stayed the night in the Flagstaff KOA, despite having sworn to ourselves that we would not do it again.  Bonito Campground, our favorite campground near Sunset Crater, was not open due to the impact of the Tunnel Fire and the flooding that has occurred in the burn area during this monsoon season.  Our second choice, JH Campground, was not available, even though we pulled out the name of our friends, Jim and Kathy, who are well known to the owners of the campground.  So, back at Flagstaff KOA we went …

It was dismaying to again have such tight quarters on such uneven, not level, campsites at a high price.  We were near the bounce pad for kids and as I walked Coco, I saw parents driving their kids to the bounce pad and dropping them off.  I also saw people driving themselves and their dogs to the dog park.  Something seemed so wrong to drive kids in a campground to a play area … something seemed wrong to drive dogs to a dog park to get exercise.  However, Paul had a more compassionate take on it all and suggested that perhaps the dog owners had mobility concerns … three cheers for compassion!