Near The River

 

The other day I had a rather large flying insect enter my inner sanctum in the van with a name. It was some kind of moth, and it flapped around running into the walls and lights. I swiped at it with my makeshift fly swatter, that in reality is just a park folder you get when  you enter a National Park. I have two, one from Lake Mead and another from North Cascades, and both are veterans at insect dispatching.

Offical National Park Fly Swatters Collect All 63

This bug was so big it just laughed at my meager  attempts to extinguish it. I even opened the door hoping it would return to the wild, and I thought it had as I hadn’t seen it for a couple of days. Early this morning I switched on the light, and voila the moth reappeared. It was 2:00 am and I didn’t have a plan to deal with it then, but when it reappeared at breakfast time I remembered how when plagued with some little, tiny flying insects a couple of years ago  I sucked them up with my vacuum and released the survivors into a Lowes parking lot.

It took a couple of tries with the vacuum but I captured the thing. Then remembering how the little bugs got out of the vacuum once or twice I blocked the moths escape route with a paper towel. I wasn’t going to look for a Lowes so I opened the vacuum at my camp here at Highline Lake. It fell to the ground and might have still been alive but I crushed it and put the remains on the picnic table to show any other bugs don’t come in here, it ain’t  gonna turn out good for you.

Bugs Stay Away!

With lots of photos of the Gold King Mine, it was time to move on.

I found Lees Ferry on the map, and because I knew the camp was small, I got a early  start and headed that way. That turned out to be a good idea as the campground filled up shortly after I got settled. 

The turnoff to Lees  Ferry is just past Navajo Bridge that has become a familiar landmark on this trip

Navajo Bridge

Rock balancing must have been a  team sport back in the day, as there are several examples along the road.

Classic Flxible Bus Converted To A Motor Home

Lees Ferry is the only place within Glen Canyon that you  can drive to the river so it is a popular place for rafters to put in.

I have no raft but it was fun to explore and  walk along the river. The orchard at the  Lonely Dell Ranch was interesting.

Colorado River At Lees Ferry

The only disappointment of dry camping at Lees was I discovered that the new batteries gave out on the second night, and I woke up to a dark house. Not to worry though I have prepared for just this moment and pulled out the emergency Jet Boil for koffee water. It was also discovered that the rechargeable torch I have will sit in a roll of paper towels and shine adequate light.

To the new batteries credit, after I got on the road,  they did charge after a couple of miles and switched everything back on automatically, including the refrigerator avoiding a unauthorized defrost which was very nice especially since I am the only one here authorized to defrost.