Monthly Archives: September 2016

Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Swamp Milkweed, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (09/26/2016.) Scientific name is Asclepias incarnata.  Photo below was taken in St Clair County, IL on Aug 23, 2016. Go to the Swamp Milkweed detail page for more information and photos.

Swamp Milkweed, Western Swamp Milkweed, Pink Milkweed, Eastern Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata

Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata

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Common Sunflower – Helianthus annuus – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Common Sunflower, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (09/19/2016.) Scientific name is Helianthus annuus.  Photo below was taken in Ellis County, KS on Aug 24, 2016. Go to the Common Sunflower detail page for more information and photos.

Common Sunflower, Kansas Sunflower, Mirasol - Helianthus annuus

Common Sunflower – Helianthus annuus

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Small Green Woodland Orchid – Platanthera clavellata – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Small Green Woodland Orchid, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (09/15/2016.) Scientific name is Platanthera clavellata.  Photo below was taken in Grayson Highlands State Park, Grayson County, VA on Aug 2, 2016. Go to the Small Green Woodland Orchid detail page for more information.

Small Green Wood Orchid, Club-Spur Orchid, Green Rein Orchid, Wood Orchid, Small Woodland Orchid - Platanthera clavellata

Small Green Wood Orchid – Platanthera clavellata

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#RV Journal: Cottonwood Campground, Willard Bay State Park, Perry, UT

Location / Name: Cottonwood Campground, Willard Bay State Park, Perry, UT

Date: 08/30-31//2016 (2 nights)

The Cottonwood Campground, Willard Bay State Park, Perry, UT is a bit under 300 miles from Moab, so it was our next stop on our August 2016 trip to Boise. It was in the right location and had power for our air conditioning, so that became my target. I didn’t make reservations. When I checked on our last night in Moab I discovered that I couldn’t make next-day reservations, but checking the following day, 31 of 35 sites were available, so I figured a walk-up would be a safe bet. En route we decided to stay 2 nights instead of one so we’d have a chance to check out the neighborhood (40 miles north of Salt Lake City.) A check-in with our daughter, who was expecting us on Wednesday, cleared us to stay that extra day.

Willard Bay State Park

Sunset over Willard Bay at Willard Bay State Park

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#RV Journal: OK RV Park, Moab UT

Location / Name: OK RV Park, 3310 Spanish Valley Trail, Moab, UT

Date: 08/27-29/2016 (3 nights)

Moab, UT is a town I wanted to visit on our trip so we could see Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, and it was around my 300 mile travel day target from our prior stop in Granby, CO. I Googled for some campgrounds, and the location, price, and reviews for OK RV Park were on target. I didn’t make reservations before the start of our journey (although I had a reserved night that I didn’t use in Arches National Park – it was too hot to do without air conditioning), but I called from Stillwater Campground in Granby, CO on the 26th, and reserved 2 nights. My wife and I had decided we’d go for a bit longer day than originally planned and not move one day anyway – I was ready for a layover, and my wife was a bit under the weather. When we spent the first night and then the 28th in Canyonlands National Park, we decided to drop the Arches reservation. OK was able to accommodate us for an extra day, so we were here for 3 nights.,

Sunset at OK RV Park, Moab, UT

Sunset at OK RV Park, Moab, UT

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#RV Journal: Stillwater Campground (USFS), Granby, CO

Location / Name: Stillwater Campground (USFS), Granby, CO

Date: 08/26/2016 (1 night)

Stillwater Campground is a US Forestry Service campground on Lake Granby, after you exit the Rocky Mountains National Park on US 34, our planned route. I wasn’t sure how far I’d travel the next day, but this positioned us nicely for a push on toward Moab, and made for a reasonable travel distance through the park so we could take our time enjoying the views. This was one of only 2 reservations I made prior to starting on our trip. A good thing, the campground was full when we arrived; not unexpected for the start of a weekend. This was our favorite campground, not only because it is a nice campground (which it is) but also because of the majestic surroundings.

Stillwater Campground, Grandby CO

T@b at Stillwater Campground, Grandby CO

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#RV Journal: Prospect RV Park, Wheat Ridge, CO

Location / Name: The Prospect RV Park, Wheat Ridge, CO

Date: 08/25/2016 (1 night)

The Prospect RV Park, Wheat Ridge, CO showed up on a Google search for campgrounds in the vicinity of about 300 miles (328) from my prior stop on our August 2016 trip to Boise; prior stop being in Ellis, KS. It had good reviews, and was on the west side of Denver where I wanted to be, wasn’t too expensive, so that became my target. In retrospect I’m not sure I would do it again since I like more space than the parking-lot style commercial campground this turned out to be, but for an overnighter in the Denver area, it isn’t bad – clean bathrooms and friendly staff.

Apologies (again) – I didn’t get photos of this campground.  Here’s a “morning after” picture of  Colorado.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We reached an altitude of 12,090′ towing our T@b over US34 in Rocky Mountain National Park

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#RV Journal – Ellis Lakeside Campground, Ellis, KS

Location / Name: Ellis Lakeside Campground, Ellis KS

Date: 08/24//2016 (1 night)

Ellis Lakeside Campground showed up on a Google search for campgrounds in the vicinity of about 300 miles from my prior stop on our August 2016 trip to Boise; prior stop being outside of Kansas City in Missouri. It had good reviews, so I decided to check it out. (Apologies, but I didn’t get any photos of this campground, so I’ll use a couple of “Kansas” photos until I can see what photos my wife may have.)

Kansas Road Scene

I discovered as I wrote this report that I had no photos of the campground, so I’ll put a couple of “Typical Kansas” photos instead.

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#RV Journal – Lake Jacomo Campground, Lee’s Summit, MO

Location / Name: Lake Jacomo Campground, Lee’s Summit, MO

Date: 08/23/2016 (1 night)

Lake Jacomo Campground was located by looking at Google Maps in an area around 300 miles from my prior planned stop, which was Rend Lake, IL. Reviews and price were OK, and additionally there was a relatively close CVS pharmacy where my wife could pick up a prescription she needed (our local CVS pharmacist forwarded it for us,) so we spent one night on our trip from Georgia to Boise.

Lake Jacomo Campground

Lake Jacomo Campground T@b at site #37

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