After a stop at the Dinosaur National Monument south visitor center and then the main one on the west side of the park, we headed to the campground. It was Thursday, May 31, 2007. The maps that we had and the ones on the walls at the visitor center indicate two campgrounds. One of which, Green River is only open in the summer. We drove down to the first one only to find it was a Group site only and only by reservation. It has a boat launch and was probably converted over to being just groups. The sign pointing there indicates group sites and boat launch but it does not say Group Campground. I would not want to be in a big RV and find that out as we did. The steep windy road and overgrown campground road are not big rig friendly. So if you go, go on to Green River Campground. Once there, there are two loops. The one to the right was busy and is where some rangers live as well. We went to the left where we were the only ones for some reason. It was a nice quiet stay right on the river. The spots were level. The restrooms were clean and water was available. You can self pay for firewood as well as your spot. The wind become something fierce as the night went on making us put our campfire out early.

The main attraction, the original Quarry Visitor Center is closed so the number of visitors is small and probably will be for years. That center has a huge rock wall with dinosaur bones coming out of it. It is behind glass and the visitor center was built around it in 1958. Unfortunately, it was unstable ground and the structure has been slowly breaking apart ever since. It became too dangerous in 2006 and was closed. You can still take a free shuttle up near that visitor center and hike a trail back down, looking and touching real dinosaur bones on the trail. There are also daily tours that you can take with a ranger.

The plan is to build a new visitor center down below the old one and then make the popular Quarry wall a safe viewpoint. Due to funding however, it could be many years before that happens.

Dinosaur National is around 20 miles from the nearest city of Vernal, Utah. There is a great dinosaur museum there as well. Look for all the dinosaurs outside of the state museum right on the main highway through town.

The Colorado National Monument is just outside of Grand Junction, Colorado. It is a gloriously beautiful place for a place that doesn't get very much attention. The drive up after the entrance station is steep, winding and includes two small tunnels. Big RVs beware of that. Most RVers seem to park at the Colorado State Park nearby and drive their two cars up here. Road construction on the park road had some scenic views closed and one lane sections that may cause delays. This construction also created dangers on the road as the trucks were not obeying the speed limit. The probably knew the road well from driving it all day but they were going excessively fast one after the other around a blind curve. And this was right where you turn into the campground by the visitor center. It was a dangerous turn that didn't need to be so scary.

The campground at Colorado National Monument is up on top next to the Visitor Center. It is more rustic, with sections A and B having a bit more room. This is made up of tent sites, a few small uneven pull through spaces and larger pull offs where your RV would be on the side of the road. Loop C is even more rustic and tends to be the last one selected. We chose the last one. Small RVs can get into some of the spaces, avoiding trees. Once there, it was very quiet on a Friday afternoon. The restrooms were closed and portable toilets are nearby. Water faucets were still operating.

There is a nice canyon cliff side hike from the campground to the visitor center as well as a great lookout trail. Our only real complaint about our visit was other campers who come in at 8:30pm and act like they own the place. Yelling adults, screaming kids, loose dogs, too many cars and tents in one spot make for a more undesirable neighbor. Upon a walk, I could hear these sad examples of humans across the entire three loops. According to signs, this monument only has rangers during daytime visitor center hours. There is no after hours contact other than 911. So this leads to more violations and problems with campers. We never saw a ranger in our 20 hours at the park. And looking at the registration board, locals new this and did not pay. There were many more campers than paid tickets. Lets hope our funding can help keep these places up and staffed. One day of Americas nation building cost in the middle east could supply our National Park system with proper funding and preserve these sites for our children.

Hovenweep National Monument is a great member of the US National Park system. It is 45 miles away from any small towns (Blanding, Utah and Cortez, CO) and it takes some intent and effort to get there. But if you are a tent camper or in an RV less than 25 feet, it's worth it.

The campground has 31 quiet sites for $10 as of our stay on June 2nd, 2007. Only a few are even capable of holding a small RV so please note that before planning to stay overnight. No hookups but there is a nice bathroom with flush toilets and drinking water faucet.

Almost immediately upon entering, we saw the campground host. He has been coming there for ten years now and was very nice and helpful. He even collected the money and posted the payment and slip for us. In the summer daylight, there are "no-see-ums" all over. These tiny bugs are quite annoying with their bite and can cause allergic reactions in some people. They disappear with dusk and come out again in the warm sun. The night sky is about as dark as you can find these days and filled with bright stars.

There are short hikes (from 2 miles to under a mile) that let you see some fantastic pueblo ruins still standing after 700 years. The visitor center is staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people as well. We only saw two other people on our weekend visit so it is a quiet out of the way place. You may see a rattlesnake by the trail or a lizard eating a large beetle. This is a place hardly touched by man in hundreds of years.

We also stopped at the Historic Hatch Trading Post on the way in from the west. This is a real locally active Trading Post with canned food and drinks. If you are looking for souvenirs or anything touristy, don't bother stopping. We were quite surprised during our very brief stop.

So go back in time, forget your hookups, look up at the night sky and listen to the natural desert sounds at Hovenweep National Monument.

We stayed Sunday night, June 3rd, 2007 at the Gouldings Campground and RV Park at Monument Valley. This is a classic case of a place where you stay because of the location, not the facility. The view is great even though the park is tucked away in a canyon with the main highway between you and the monument. The only other option is the $12 a night park inside the Navajo Nation Park. This campground should be the first choice if you don't need hookups. Gouldings has you for most of the season due to the heat. Most people want to run AC and have water, sewer and tv hookups and Gouldings is the only choice in the area.

Upon check-in, we felt about as welcome as a dust devil. On this first time, and on subsequent encounters, the staff was silent and rather unfriendly. The rate is high but all spots have full hookups. It is a Good Sam RV Park so members can save a few bucks. You are in a beautiful canyon so even if you have cellular internet, it probably won't work. At least our Sprint service wouldn't connect. Gouldings has the solution for sale. Very slow (11mbps) wifi for a fee per 24 hours. In our view, this really should be included for such a high priced park. But as we said, they have you where they want you. You can see the valley and some monuments from the park.

Our spot was level but the entire first row of spots is on a slope. I wouldn't want one of those. The hookups in our space were quite far away from the level place where you park. You'll need longer than normal cables and hoses. The sewer was actually on the other side of our electric pole, closer to the other camper than to us. And our hose wasn't long enough to use it at all. The restroom was okay but only had one stall for a sizable park. Don't go at the last minute because you may have to wait. We also noticed some bad language graffiti, rough surfaces and bugs in there.

Dining: Food was okay with very slow service. Allow plenty of time, money and patience for your meal. That is more difficult if you travel with young persons.

The map and amenities list includes a playground but it is gone. That space is now a group site. Amenity land becomes money earning. And instead of spending time playing with your kids, you can pay money for tours, dinners, John Wayne movies, fuel, groceries....all going to the same establishment. Any business has the right to run this way, it just smells a bit more here in view of such an important monument to the Navajo Nation.

In the end, the view is great and your choices are limited. If you want stay here, you have to pay up and move along as soon as you can.

As we planned a trip through the Rocky Mountains on the Amtrak California Zephyr route from San Francisco to Chicago, we noticed that they changed the route this summer. From July 8 to August 10, on Sunday through Wednesday (as of this writing on June 20, it has changed at least once already) they are going up to Wyoming and across plains and wide open spaces. This is quite a bit different than the Rocky Mountains and the Moffat Tunnel.

We only found this notice on their California Zephyr schedule PDF file and we thought it should be more noted on their route pages. If you were booking this trip based on the great scenery, you would be highly disappointed. So we have to hold off on our trip for now.

I just made plans to travel to Seattle for a business conference and have to ask who is paying all these high hotel rates? It was hard to find a room in downtown Seattle for less than $300 a night. That seems pretty crazy in today's world of lower wages and business cut backs. I've already avoided the city several times due to this fact. I just don't like to foster this kind of trend. It is one thing to be a luxury hotel and guests go there for a certain kind of treatment or experience, but a normal downtown chain like Marriott or Hilton? Business travelers are gouged because of expense accounts. Cruise travelers are gouged because they are there and it's the season for Alaska cruises and so on.

Even paying close to $300 a night, I'll probably be back on here complaining about some kind of add-on fees to that rate. Resort fee? Parking fee?

Adam

I help run this travel website and even I dread air travel these days. Once was a time when I was excited about flying. I loved going to the airport knowing I was going to see new places and people. I used to even like to go early and watch other people get on flights to other fantastic destinations that I could only dream about. People were happy.

Now I think about taking off shoes, standing in lines and obeying stupid rules that make no sense at all. A person can't try to be funny or frank with anyone because they may label you a troublemaker. We all have to be serious and grim. We have to act like scared children going into the principals office. We need to behave like a politician and show no personality at all. You can however, pay for lots of alcohol on a plane and make the flight miserable for everyone else. The airline is making money so it's okay.

No peanuts! The rights of the many succumb to the rights of the few. If you have an allergy, it is not your responsibility to avoid it or carry your medicine. Just make everyone else responsible for your safety and become outraged if someone else wants to eat something that may have once been close to a peanut.

Years after 9/11, we are not any more safe. we just have less freedom and more annoyances. Now the airlines have an excuse not to let you sell your ticket or give it to someone else. The airports have an excuse to make you throw something out of your luggage even though they'll sell you a replacement on the other side of security.

No profiling allowed. If you look like a bad guy, you'll get waved on through without question. If you look like a school teacher, an 80 year old lady or a cute young girl, you'll get examined like an apple in a strawberry patch. I've seen more young girls in bikini tops and short shorts get patted down than Arab looking guys in overcoats. The girl couldn't hide a safety pin in her clothes while the guy could be carrying a injection molded bazooka. Make your skin darker and wear a trench coat to get right through.

Cargo is still not screened and crooked baggage handlers outnumber the bad guys. I've said for years, if you have an elaborate plan to breach security, you just go get a job at an airport and bring your stuff right in the back door. Just like a spy, one can be a good employee for many months, even years before doing what they think has to be done. Giving up freedom for fake security is shameful and we're becoming veterans at it.