Sand Island BLM CG, Bluff, Ut

Thursday: (04/18) Up really early to prepare to leave. After showers we dashed to the RV dump to beat the line. It was 18 degrees when we were at the dump. It seemed to be stuck there. It's amazing our shower drain trap wasn't frozen up. All the water faucets were frozen in the park so we couldn't fill our water tank.

 
We headed out highway 64 East toward the East Exit.We stopped at most of the view points along the way. 

 
At one we met a ranger attending to the needs of a photography crew working for the Discovery Channel. We also had breakfast there. Fried meatloaf with home fries and eggs. At a later stop we couldn't stop because the view point was filled with two film crew trucks and a dozen other cars related to the filming. Not one parking place left let alone enough for the RV with the towed. We weren't far out on the East Rim drive when we noticed a good coat of snow on the ground. They obviously got more snow than we did last night. Sorry I didn't get a photo of the show and we drove out of it before we exited the park.

We continued on through the Navaho Indian Reservation on Highway 89. We stopped in Cameron for gas and propane and in Tuba City at the market. We had a Chinese chicken salad for lunch.

 
We continued up Highway 160 to Highway 163 into Monument Valley. The wind was blowing hard and there was a small dust storm. It was 5pm so we considered stopping for the night. A dry camp with no facilities was $25 and a full hookup site was $50. Water to fill our water tank was only $6 so we filled up and left.


We stopped at Sand island BLM campground getting the last site available. Only $5 to camp here with the "Gezzer" pass (Federal senior pass). The campground is at the junction of Highway 163 and 191.

 
The campground is right beside the San Juan River. We settled in and I cooked pork chops with rice and asparagus for dinner. After dinner we took a walk around the campground. It is different from our last visit. Now it's an improved CG. On our last visit it was a place to camp by the trees near the river. No improvements then.

(GPS: 37.2613, -109.6172)

Friday: (04/19) I was up late tinkering on the computer so I slept in and Lou was up early. She walked the campground and spoke to the people in a campsite we would like to move to. When I got up we walked the campground again and another site by the river was vacant better than the one Lou was looking at. When we checked the campground yesterday I mentioned I didn't think we could use the site that was vacant because it had a big drop into the site. I decided to try to get in so Lou held it while I brought the RV over. We fit nicely, no bumps or high centering. We are right by the river and can watch all the rafts and kayaks float by on their trips down the river. There is only one other campsite by the river. Breakfast was oat meal with diced apple, sunflower seeds and yogurt followed with a sausage. We walked along the river checking our surroundings. I retired to tinker on the computer some more and Lou relaxed overlooking the river. She saw a coyote come out to the river on the other side for a drink. Lunch was grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. More relaxing at home brought us to dinner time. Chili rellenos with rice and ham for dinner.