Turkeys, toilet paper, and trash bags.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Turkeys, toilet paper, and trash bags.

Destination: Newspaper Rock.

We can’t get into Arches or Canyonlands, so we opt for a trip today to Newspaper Rock.  We climb west into the mountains and down Hart’s Draw Road which comes out at Highway 211.  Jack spots some wild turkeys off the road: we stop, get some pictures of the 25 or 30 turkeys having breakfast, and continue on our way.  It must not be turkey hunting season or they’d be making tracks over the hill.

When we reach Highway 211 we turn left to take the short drive over to Newspaper Rock.  The dark area on the right side of the photo is Newspaper Rock.

 

And, a little insight into the archaeological site.

Next – my interpretations.

Indian shooting elk with bow and arrow …

Medicine Man …

Man shooting a buffalo…

And, last but not least -- Santa’s reindeer….

Enough deciphering.  Let's see what lies ahead.

Into the Jeep and back down Highway 211 and north on Highway 191 to see what lies ahead.

A few miles north we notice vehicles traveling on a rather obscure road to the west.  It’s early in the day so we turn west to check it out – Needles Overlook Road (Road 133).  Sounds nice.

What does “Campground Closed” really mean?

Windwhistle Campground on BLM land comes into sight.  Now, there’s a name for you!  The gates aren’t barred, there are no signs warning us not to enter the campground, so we turn off the main road and head into the campground to check it out.  At the bulletin board the sign reads, “Campground Closed Due to Lapse in Federal Funds”.  Near the sign stand the ever-cheery resident campground hosts, Ed and Doris. 

We approach them and I ask, “Is the campground closed?  I see other vehicles here.”

The response is, “Technically, we are closed.  The BLM is calling it a SOFT CLOSE, which means if people show up, they can camp.  We are allowed to stay open until we run out of toilet paper and garbage bags.”

  

Jokingly I responded, “So you’re not really closed.  So where do we sign up to donate toilet paper and trash bags?”

We select a campsite that backs up to the canyon, pay our fee for a few days, and drive back down the highway towards Monticello to get the motorhome and drive back up to Windwhistle.  We hadn’t planned on backtracking, but this area is just beautiful.  We’re backtracking!

Later in the day we take a hike up the slick rock and down into the wash.  Absolutely fantastic!

 This is a very gorgeous area of Utah, a great campground, and with Jack's Senior Pass - a mere $7.50 per night.  Thank you BLM.