Day 10, Arco/Craters of the Moon KOA, 2789 miles, 1572 miles to the moon,

It was in the 20's when i emerged from the tent this morning, and snowing slightly. I later learned that my decision to move on from Yellowstone yesterday afternoon was a good one - the light snow that was among the motivations for my abandoning the camp turned into a heavy one that apparently closed the entrance i had to take out. It pays to think through these decisions. While it was a good decision, i still paid a price with the cold when i was breaking camp. Breaking camp in freezing weather is no fun.

En route to Arco, i stopped at a Jiffy !ube in Idaho Falls to get the Defender serviced. In total, i did only 190 miles today to get to Arco, where my plan is to spend the night in a cabin the before moving on down the road to Craters of the Moon National Preserve. After heavy snows prevented me from camping there last year, i vowed to return and spend a week there, camping right on a lava flow. I don't know about a week, but a night might do. The temperature there tomorrow promises to be 55 during the day and 34 at night. Life on the road does not get any better than that, unless you are a dog.

I arrived in Arco at a wonderful KOA run by a couple, Barbara and Allen, who are from Ely, Nevada, a town i know well, as readers of my earlier blogs know. Of all the KOAs i have spent time in, this is clearly the most hospitable.

Soon after arriving, i set out to get the chorses out of the way - grooming Donner, cleaning the inside of the Defender, taking a well deserved shower, and doing the laundry. Even Donner's red coverings on his bed get cleaning. Biggest decision i wilł have tomorrow will be, do i turn his bed yellow or stay with the red?

Although i came well prepared for the cold on these trips, this is not why to take them. So, after Craters of the Moon, i will head west to the coast and then head south. I am thinking about Zion National Park. Apparently, it is more popular than Yosemite and Yellowstone, but that means nothing to me. Some of my favorite campsites would rank last on most peoples' favorites list.

Time to collect my laundry and then call it a day.

Ed and Donner, from the road in Arco Idaho, cold Arco Idaho.