Geo Caching

Arches National Park- Canyon Lands and The Needles

Leaving the Swell we headed for Horse Thief BLM Campground, a beautiful drive 20 miles from Moab heading towards Canyonlands National park on Hwy 313, eight miles off of Hwy 191. The campground is very beautiful, campsites are nestled in amongst pinon pines and Utah juniper with panoramic views of the upper high dessert.

Sites are large and very private and just $10.00 a night. Amenities are again very clean pit toilets’, fire ring and a camp table. Just 8 miles up the road was Dead Horse S.P. and Canyon Lands N.P. and the Island In The Sky Section. Mountain Biking is abundant and the bike trails are everywhere and amazing. Jeep and side by sides are everywhere, but all trail riding and back road jeeping requires a permit.

We decided to bike from Moab to the Arches visitors center on our Blix Electric Bikes, the bike trail is paved and so much fun. Speed limit was 20 miles per hour, to funny because you could go a lot faster down some of those hills and we might have. It was so much fun we continued down the bike trail all the way to Hwy 313, In all we biked 21 miles and found about 8 geo caches ALONG THE WAY.

Arches N.P. requires you to make reservations to visit during the day time. BUT, if you enter the park at 5pm, you dont need reservations. So that’s what we did and worked well for us, less people and parking was great. Arches is so far in our travels a mind blowing experience of amazing wonders. This is our second time to visit, never gets old.

We spent a day in Canyon Land – The Needles and hiked to Indian ruins and lots of petroglyph’s. Very unique landscape and much different from Arches.

We tried out the Plant Based food in Moab and what a treat. It happened to be our 27th anniversary so we went a little crazy finding the best food ever. We first tried Quesadilla Mobilla and ordered the Vegetarian Quesadilla, no words can describe how good these were and I will be making these at home from now on -YUM. Oh no we aren’t finished, we were advised to try the Rainbowls Food Truck and order The Gold Knob Nachos made with plant based walnut taco meat with cashew cheese sauce, incredible. We were so happy we found such excellent Plant Based food. The finale was The Garage, a hip ice cream store we had visited on our last visit. The owner offered to make us both affogatos with their signature coffee, no words again so darn good. What a great Day! After all of that indulging we headed out to hike some trails and find some geo caches.

NEXT: Due to a weather anomaly (THATS WHAT THE RANGER TOLD US) we headed from the dessert to Blanding, Utah and luckily got a RV site at Blue Mountain RV and Trading Post. The wind advisory was 29 to 60 miles an hour and 20 degrees at night. We tucked in and stayed pretty warm, but our RV was litterly rocking all night long with 40 to 50 miles an hour wind gusts, it was scary.

CHEERS JEFF AND LIZ

NEXT HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT

The San Rafael Swell Utah – BLM camping

Its April 1, 2022 and we are fully loaded, probably overloaded if you know us headed to our first BLM experience at the Swell. We have given ourselves two days to reach the Swell. Stopping at a truck stop in Winnemucca, Nevada for our fist night and our second night at Rowley’s Red Barn in Santaquin, UT. This was a Harvest Host location and a lot of fun with great ice cream. We woke up early to snow capped mountain views and hurriedly headed to The Bonneville Salt Flats. First impressions, Flat, Vast and super white. Encompassing approx. 40 square miles and 7 miles long, you can drive on the flats as far as you can see. Very unique, you got to visit just once.

The drive from Nevada into Utah is definitely a high dessert experience, rolling hills, sage brush and sand dunes, surrounded by snow topped glacier carved mountains. Its mile after mile of sand and sage yet with this said there is a peaceful beauty. We headed down route 10 to Castle Dale and headed East into the San Rafael Swell. We stayed in a BLM campground named N. Swinging bridge. Amenities were a actual clean pit toilet that didn’t smell and cleaned daily , a picnic table and a fire ring. NO water is available in the whole area and we were twenty eight miles from a paved road. At $3.50 a night not bad, we were very prepared for this and only one other camper in the campground, very peaceful.

The next 2 days we spent exploring petroglyph’s and pictograph’s, hiking through slot canyons and even a dinosaur foot print. The views and the rock formations were incredible. the roads are ruff, wash boarded and dusty. We especially loved the Little Grand Canyon view point.

Next Stop Arches National park

Cheers for Jeff and Liz

PS: Not everything is perfect on the road. We had to buy a new battery for our Honda CRV that we tow, but luckily we were in Santaquin and not in the middle of Swell. Otherwise all systems are working great.

Grand Teton National Park

Words haven’t been designed to explain the beauty of the Tetons. We have traveled to a lot of amazing National Parks, for this one Jeff and Liz are finally out of words to describe.

We left Phillips Lake campground where if you remember we met up with are goods friends and camped. Jeff with his traveling brilliance came up with a great idea of since we were already halfway to The Grand Tetons, why not just head that way. Long story short we did just that and now here we are camping at Gros Ventre Campground – site B99, just spectacular. At $15.00 a night (golden age pass) we stayed for a glorious 13 days. Now this is dry camping, so our solar really came in handy as the nights got down into the high thirties. But the views from every angle were priceless. Gros Ventre is just yards from the Snake River and sometimes inches from Bull Moose. Gros Ventre Campground has over 300 first come, first serve sites with one loop of full hookup ,one for employees only, one tent only no generators and one group Loop. Always Remember National Parks have strict rules on pets so check regulations before you come. BE BEAR AWARE. Bring bear spray and carry it at all times. It is much cheaper to buy at home than in the Tetons.

So much to do, the pristine bike trails are a must and kayaking the many lakes as well as the Snake River will leave you with endless memories. A word to the wise..hit the lakes and trailheads early which means by 8 am.Those happy campers can clog a parking lot like a bird getting the early worm. You can find yourself parking on the road side where allowed and hiking an extra mile or more to the trailhead parking lot. Also the best photo opportunities of nature and wildlife are early. Moose and Bears are not much for luncheons. Our Bull Moose showed up at 5:30 am by our campground and left by 7:00 am for the river wilds.

If you get burnt out of nature things to do there is always the town of Jackson to explore.You can shop, eat and drink to your heats content. Jackson is very popular, traffic and parking are a challenge. We did find some great Bakeries, Ice cream and really enjoyed Snake River Brewery which had a lot of healthy choices of pub food which we found to be much better than our local Bend Oregon Breweries. The town also has numerous Art Galleries and Museums.

Until our next adventure – CHEERS from JUST AROUND THE BEND _ Jeff and Liz

  • Snake River

Metolius River Camping in Oregon

I was having a conversation recently with a friend which brought up the subject of  RVing. She asked me if I would ever prefer to leave the RV or Tent parked at home and go on a road trip staying in a B & B, hotel, motel etc!  Admitattley I answered NO. So in my long winded way I explained why. I know my husband and I are not the only ones that feel this way as we have met many RVrs and snow birds experiencing the same journey.

There is nothing like having your home (comfort zone) with you, I personally love the fact I can cook healthy fresh food and not break the bank. We also love our own comfy bed and concealed weapons (just kidding).

This is the Metolius River camping part. For the past seven days we have been camped at Smiling River Campground site #22, less than 100 feet from the most glorious, pure flowing river, we have ever experienced.  We do this every spring and fall at a mere $7.00 a night.. This is why we dont stay at B & B’s, hotels etc. Settled in acampground there is a campfire feel of calmness, the tranquille sounds of the river flowing over rocks and its many changing sounds.  Then there is many mixed aromas, grilled trout someone just caught, steaks BBQing and grilled veggies . But it’s the campfire thats the real star, you cannot sit around a campfire telling stories and roasting smores with your grandchildren in a hotel room. We look up at the stars at night and feel such a part of this earth, this is pure relaxation and what its all about.

Lots To Do

The beautifully groomed trails along the metolious wind along the river for miles.

The head of The Metolius has a paved 1/4 mile walkway-to view the beginning of the river-a must to witness

Wizard Falls Fish hatchery-so fun

Camp Sherman General Store is a fun experience with a state of the art fly fishing dept.

Fly Fishing

Kayacking

Birding

Mushrooming

Geo Caching

Fine Lodging and dining

ATV Opportunities and hunting

Hope you enjoy my pictures and maybe someday you can experience the RV life.

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Cheers from Just Around The Bend ♥♥♥♥                                           Harvest Hosts Affiliate Banner

Catalina State Park Arizona

Sometimes I’m not sure when we are headed to a new destination what’s ahead. I get anxious,wondering will the park be nice, comfortable, amenities that we enjoy, things to do and explore. Not to worry at Catalina State Park out of Tucson Arizona. Actually I should play this park down and really not tell you the truth as this is a true gem nestled at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The park is a haven for desert plants and wildlife with nearly 5,000 saguaros. I would highly advise staying at least 2 weeks as when you are finished hiking, biking, visiting the ruins,attending the free concerts and Saturday wildlife exhibits you still need to explore what Tucson has to offer.
The campground itself has 120 sites, which are strategically arranged to give you much privacy yet an amazing view of the Catalinas. Campground slips are paved including picnic tables, bbq grills water and electric.Campgrounds have modern flush restrooms with free hot showers. RV dump stations are available in the park with no limit on RV length. Campground is open year round. The fee is $30.00 a night with a 14 day limit.
This is one time we both did not want to leave, we were so comfortable in our site with a spectacular view of the Catalinas and so much to do the time just flew. We will return.

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CHEERS FROM JUST AROUND THE BEND♥♥♥♥

Sorry most of our pictures of this camping visit are MIA, if they show up I will re post. I did re cover a few enjoy and join me on our next adventure at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

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Fort Stevens State Park – Oregon

Fort Stevens State Park in the fall is another 10 experience. The weather has been perfect with 72 degree days and 60 degree nights. Wind, none-that’s unheard of at the beach-right. Even though the park is literally packed with snow-birds, you would never know it. You practically have the most pristine paved trails to yourself and once you are back in  camp, it’s quiet and so relaxing. The campsites are situated so you have ample privacy, lots of trees and vegetation separating you from your neighbor. All sites have fire pits, tables, water and electric. Two larger loops have full hookups. Restrooms are clean, pretty modern with token paid showers. Full hookup for us was $32,00 a night, well worth it.

Our first day we were so excited to explore the many bikes trails, we actually got up early, packed snacks, water and off we biked hoping to end up at the beach. We geocached along the way and found many, ending up at the beach and exploring  a wrecked cargo ship named The Peter Iredale . Well what’s left of it.

Second Day was exploring bunkers, watching ships come in and out of the mouth of the Columbia River and more biking. This particular bike exploration brought us to a new trail which led to a very pregnant very large elk just grazing in a marsh right next to the trail. Wow are they big! The last day of our time here we are going to spend at the beach and yes probably get there by bicycles. What a fun, relaxing and memorable time this has been.

 

 

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What To Do Here:

First thing we did was get our bikes unloaded and hit the many miles of beautiful trails.

Find the beach – yes we rode our bikes directly to the beach- You can drive there also.

Tour the many bunkers

Geocache – So many very creative caches to be found, most you can find on your bikes or by walking, we found many!!!

Start a fire in your fire pit  and relax

Explore The City Of Astoria and be sure to ride the train

Visit The  Peter Iredale a wrecked cargo ship

See you next time from Just Around The Bend♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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CLIFFSIDE RV PARK WHIDBEY Island, WA

We are headed to Cliffside RV Park to meet up with our son Ian and his adorable wife Alicia for a family camping experience. They have just recently purchased a 23 foot Keystone Passport Travel Trailer, so this will be fun.

Nestled along the shoreline of NAS Whidbey, Cliffside offers 57RV sites as well as several tent sites, and six furnished yurts overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver Island, the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula. These sites offer water and electrical hookups; there are great restroom and shower facilities in each loop. More than that, these homes away from home provide the ambiance of shoreline living, an open window on an ever-changing marine environment and unparalleled sunsets. There are several miles of private military beach strewn with interesting driftwood and lots and lots of rocks.

Our camping site faced the Strait of Juan de Fuca, couldn’t have been more perfect, even the weather cooperated. We explored  surrounding capes, abandoned bunkers, homemade ice cream and fresh fish caught that very day. Staying in camp was a relaxing treat, to sit in our chairs, drinking fresh made Kombucha and listening to the soft sound of the ocean. Then there is the trail system, miles of paved walking or biking trails with views of the ocean and driftwood art along the way.

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 Until Our Next Adventure Hope To Meet You On The Road – Just Around The Bend♥♥♥♥♥
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UNION CREEK CAMPGROUND, OR

We love this campground, with this being our third return visit. Beautiful, Quiet and well maintained, with the most helpful camp  hosts we have yet encountered. The camp hosts deliver ice and even fishing worms to your camp site on golf carts. Ha, too funny, but we loved it. Our favorite site is # B17, a large very private site overlooking Phillips Lake.

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This year we were very fortunate to be able to meet our good friends Dave and Jen from Enterprise, Oregon. We kayaked, BBQed and drank a lot of homemade Kombucha together and just caught up on our lives and what adventure and great fun awaits us. Planning on making this an annual camping experience with our great friends, oh and Mocha!

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Facilities

The parking spurs are paved and gravel and large enough for any size RV. Several sites offer full hookups,and some others offer water and electric.

Units are equipped with picnic tables and grills. Drinking water and very clean restrooms with yes flush toilets are available. Some of the facilities are handicap-accessible. Upon leaving is a very modern and free dump station, very important.

This camp is part of the Union Creek Recreation Area, which includes a picnic and day-use area. Union Creek Campground is set on three loops with separate walk-in tent camping, and it has four group sites that can accommodate from 60-100 people.

Natural Features:

Phillips Reservoir is a popular destination within the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest because it offers scenic views of the surrounding Elkhorn Mountains. The shoreline is forested with a mix of Ponderosa pine and various firs interspersed with small grasslands.

Visitors enjoy several varieties of colorful wildflowers in the spring.

Recreation:

The campground is near a boat launch and a small, rocky swim beach. Activities include swimming, fishing, boating and water skiing.

Anglers can fish for bass, trout and perch. There’s an access point for the Phillips Lake Shoreline Trail, a 6.5-mile scenic trail for hiking and mountain biking.

Nearby Attractions:

The historic gold mining town of Sumpter is about 10 miles away. Visitors can explore the Sumpter Dredge State Heritage Park, browse the holiday weekend flea markets or take a ride on a historic steam locomotive.

Overview

The Union Creek Campground is one of the largest Forest Service campgrounds in eastern Oregon. It’s nestled on the northern shore of Phillips Reservoir amid mature Ponderosa pine, with a few sites offering views of the lake.

Activities and Amenities

Within Facility
  • Accessible Boat Ramp
  • Accessible Flush Toilets
  • Accessible Swimming
  • Beach Access
  • Birding
  • Boat Ramp
  • Boat Trailer Parking
  • Boating
  • Canoeing
  • Concessions
  • Drinking Water
  • Dump Station
  • Firewood
  • Fish Cleaning Stations
  • Fishing
  • Flush Toilets
  • General Store
  • Grills
  • Group Camping
  • Hiking
  • Host
  • Lake Access
  • Mountain Biking
  • Paved Parking Spurs
  • Paved Roads
  • Picnic Area
  • Restaurant
  • Security Lights
  • Self Pay Station
  • Swimming
  • Getting There:
GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude):
44.69694, -118.01861
44°41’49″N, 118°1’7″WFrom Baker City, Oregon, travel south on Highway 7 for about 18 miles. The campground and day-use entrance is signed on the left side of the road. Follow the signs in the Union Creek Recreation Area down to the various campground loops and areas.

Contact Information:

Recreation.gov for reservations

Phone Number: 1-877-444-6777

Getting Ready To paddle
Paddle Boarding
Our Camp at North Twin Lake

Cheers from Just Around The Bend♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
PLEASE JOIN US ON OUR NEXT ADVENTURE AT CLIFFSIDE RV PARK WHIDBEY ISLAND

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Twin Lakes Resort RV Park

The Twin Lakes Resort RV Park sits adjacent to the Deschutes Channel into Wickiup and across the street from the Resort general store, restaurant, and cabins. All sites come with 30 amp electrical hook-ups, water, and sewer. Take a short stroll down to the channel shores for sandy beaches and amazing views. They also have real restrooms and showers available for RV Park guest use.

Twin Lakes Resort Restaurant

Nothing beats the lakeside dining experience at Twin Lakes Resort!  Join them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner on Wednesday through Sunday from opening day through Labor Day weekend.  They offer a full menu for dining in or take out service, with a wonderful selection of beer and wine.  Make sure to check back for daily specials, but you can count on their famous Slow Smoked Prime Rib dinner every Saturday evening.  Don’t miss  Sunday brunch as well.

Coffee! Oh yes Java Hut, located in the main parking lot. It’s worth stopping by for a Wickiup Wakeup or delicious espresso drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, and sno cones.

Restaurant Hours:

Wednesday through Sunday: 8am – 8pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for our Lakeside Patio Cookout

Java Hut Hours:

Open Thursday through Sunday: 8am – 2pm

 

FISHING NEWS:

Fishing is open all year round at South and North Twin Lake and April 22nd for Wickiup!

General Store

The Twin Lakes General Store has most everything you’ll need for your stay at the resort.

Single day fishing licenses and live bait.
Large selection of fishing accessories.
Oil and other small items for your boat.
Souvenir t-shirts, sweatshirts and gifts.
Grocery and pharmaceutical items.
Snacks, drinks and  ice cream Jeff’s favorite food!!!
Beer and wine
Crushed and block ice, fire wood
Most things forgotten when camping!
They also have both unleaded gasoline and propane available for purchase

Java Hut
I Love Bears
Dining
Patio
View from restaurant
Store

 

We reserved RV Site 9 and definitely will  return again. Nestled in a waterfront,  back-in site approximately 65 ft long, with 30 amp electrical service, water, and sewer hookups. Two picnic tables and a nice over sized fire pit. The featured picture is a view from the kitchen window from our RV.

The Twin Lakes RV Park is located on the shore of the Deschutes Channel leading into Wickiup Reservoir, and each site has a fire pit and a picnic table. Check-in is at 1:00pm, and check-out is at 11:00am.
Price includes one RV, one vehicle, and no more than 2 pets that must be on-leash at all times. Each additional vehicle is $5 per night, parking tags available at the Twin Lakes Store. They do not allow tent camping, however you may set up a tent in addition to your RV and there is a $10 fee per tent per night and a limit of 2 tents per site. We paid $32.00 a night, in addition to a  8% Deschutes County lodging tax and 1% Oregon lodging tax.

Deer everywhere
View from camp
Sunset
Me
Our Camp at North Twin Lake
Exploring the lake
Nu Canoe adventures

We had great fun boating, paddle boarding, fishing and swimming. The water was incredibly warm and felt so good on a 90 degree day. We even found 4 geocaches by walking around South Twin lake which is a  very picturesque and enjoyable one mile walk . We will be back.

Cheers From Just Around The Bend ♥♥♥♥♥

PS: Our next Adventure takes us to Union Creek Campground located on Phillips Lake just out of Sumpter Eastern Oregon.

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North Twin Lake Oregon

This is a small but popular campground and lake just north of the South Twin Resort. Located next to North Twin Lake, this site offers opportunities for fishing in the summer as well as the winter. There is also a little beach at the shallow end of the lake that is great for wading and swimming.

There’s an interpretive trail leaving the campground near the water that informs visitors about “dwarf mistletoe” infecting the ponderosa pine trees in the area.
There is a boat launch area within this campground.Water levels vary little over the season and the lake is rich with weed beds.
At a Glance
Reservations:  visit HoodooRecreation.com.
Fees Per night, per site fee: $14/first vehicle; $7/each additional vehicle.
Open Season: 4/20/2017 – 10/31/2017
Usage: Medium-Heavy
Restrictions: Maximum site spur length is 30 feet.
Water: No
Restroom: Vault Toilet  Not my favorite, and heavily used!!!
General Information : Motorized boats are prohibited on this body of water. 
Directions:
From Bend, OR: Travel 26.8 miles south on Highway 97 to Wickiup Junction, then 11.0 miles west on County Road 43, then continue 4.6 miles west on County Road 42, and finally 0.2 miles south on County Road 4260.

On a personal note, we made it around the lake on a very nice groomed trail and found two very nicely placed geocaches. I also left a painted rock on a log, hopefully someone special will find and it puts a smile on their face. Next we are going to Paddle Board this lake as it is so calm, serene and scenic. Please join us for the next adventure and Cheers to all from JUST AROUND THE BEND♥♥♥♥♥liz-logo-1DCIM100GOPROGOPR0786.