Melanie and I volunteered to be Interpretive Rangers at San Juan Island National Historical Park during the summer season two years ago.  Recently, one of our bosses, Ranger Jeff Hodge, paid us a surprise visit to Dinosaur National Monument where Melanie is currently a seasonal Interpretive Ranger and hung out with us for a few days.  Always great to see Jeff.

He and I made the drive out Island Park Road taking in Island Park, Rainbow Park Campground, Ruple Ranch, and the McKee Springs Petroglyphs. Great day in the monument.

Yesterday, Melanie and I traveled a short ways outside of Vernal, Utah to the McConkie Ranch, site of Fremont Petroglyphs of the Northern Uinta Basin.

There are two trails located here.  Yesterday we walked and viewed the petroglyphs and pictographs along the Upper Main Panel Trail.  The 3 Kings Trail will have to wait for another day's visit. The 2 trails are both easily done in one visit, but we opted for lunch in the van and then decided the heat was prohibitive of hiking the 3 Kings Trail. 

We took a "field trip" to mainly check out a portion of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area for places to escape the summer heat we know is about to pay a visit here in Jensen, Utah at Dinosaur National Monument. (DINO).

We're residing in DINO at about 5,000 feet above sea level. We went in search of camp spots that are located at around 8,000 feet above sea level. And we found a few that will definitely work for us.  We expect when the temperature reaches 95 degrees fahrenheit in DINO, it should be in the 60's and 70's (cooler at night) in the mountains.

A friend here in DINO told us of milk shakes to be found in Manila, Utah so we traveled there first and had lunch and a milk shake, of course. Browning's has what I'd call a solid lunch menu, Melanie had the Crispy Chicken Sandwich with fries, I had the Pastrami Burger with cheese and fries and a strawberry milk shake.

We stopped in a Red Canyon Visitor Center and walked a small portion of the rim trail there.  We also checked out the 3 campgrounds, Red Canyon, Canyon Rim and Greens Lake, in that area.  These campgrounds need some care to bring them back up to speed, but they'd work in a pinch.

We continue to explore Dinosaur National Monument on Melanie's days off. Yesterday we traveled into Colorado and drove to the end of Harpers Corner Road and hiked Harpers Corner Trail, a 2 mile out and back hike.  

Hog Canyon Trail runs from Josie Morris Cabin into Hog Canyon, a 1.5 mile round trip hike. 

We've been in residence at Dinosaur National Monument for about three weeks. While I've been regularly cycling Cub Creek Road, Melanie and I haven't done much hiking.

Melanie has been in training for seasonal work as an Interpretive Ranger here so she's gotten a good idea of where we should hike and Jones Hole Trail made her list.

We hiked from the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery along Ely Creek to the Day Use Area on the Green River, an 8.4 mile round trip.

Wildflowers, a Bull Snake, Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep, cacti about to bloom and Pictographs.

We are in La Conner, Washington visiting with friends who live here. On this Wednesday past we visited Tulip Town in Mount Vernon.

Our first and only seasonal campsite.

Cape Ann Campsite has been around since the '50's. Located adjacent to the beautiful Jones River salt marsh, the campsite began when the owner started allowing friends to come and camp there. The home located near the office/check-in location dates to the 1600's. There are generations of family who now own and operate the campground. Generations of campers come here every season from all over New England and Canada.

The lower sites which overlook the marsh are better for larger rigs. Many of the sites located up the hill from these sites are either primitive tent sites and/or smaller sites with various combinations of electrical and/or water and sewer. The sites are heavily wooded and primitive with purpose. There are no street lights in the campground.

I've only been in the bathhouse we use near our site. It's older, but almost always clean except on some weekends when families with children are present. Individual rooms house the showers and are $.25 for 5 minutes. Plenty of hot water and adequate water pressure.

Melanie and I are camped here from July 12 until November 2, 2024. She is a Seasonal National Park Ranger at Salem Maritime National Historic Site which is about 15 miles away. I've been driving her into Salem to work in our 25' LTV five days a week leaving around 6:00 a.m. We've not encountered any traffic going in to work on the Yankee Division Highway or coming back to the camp ground at around 4:45. I park on Salem Common (free) each day and wait there for her to finish work.

Three miles away from the campsite is a light rail station (MBTA). There's ample parking there and the cost of a round trip ticket into Salem, for instance, is $9.50.

The very popular Wingaersheek Beach is 1.5 miles from the campsite.

To say the surrounding area is rich with history would be understatement. Gloucester is "America's oldest seaport" and the setting for the novel and movie of the same name, "The Perfect Storm." Salem also has a rich maritime history and is the birthplace of the National Guard and, of course, the infamous Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Boston, Concord and Lexington are a train ride away too.
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We have electric assist bikes that serve as transportation and as a way to get a bit of exercise and see the sites. We've enjoyed riding the coastal roads and rail trails since our arrival. Out of Salem I've ridden as far as Rocky Neck Artist Colony and south of Salem, I've ridden as far as the Mystic River and into Charlestown. Bikes are allowed on the train during off-peak times.

We spent a month touring parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The following are campsites I can recommend to you.

KOA's:  Quebec City KOA Holiday and Montreal South KOA Holiday

Canadian Provincial Parks:  Sugarloaf Provincial Park, Amherst Shore Provincial Park, Mira River Provincial Park

​City and County Parks:  Shubie Campground, Camping Municipal De La Pointe

National Park:  Cheticamp Campground

Private Campgrounds:  Camping Amqui, Hideaway Campground & Oyster Bar, Rivers Edge Campground, Ponderosa Pines Campground, Sunset View Campground

Harvest Hosts/Boondockers Welcome:  Great Mountain View, Biencourt, Quebec and Half-Cocked Brewing Company, Antigonish, Nova Scotia

We only spent a night at Ocean Pond. I was using it as a way point as we traveled towards Port Saint Joe near Cape San Blas, Florida. I wish I'd planned to stay at least two nights.

Secluded and located on Ocean Pond, the campground offers both full hookups and water/electric sites. Shower/bathrooms are dated, but clean.