Just Another Day in Paradise

by Carol White

 

Another beautiful day here in paradise!! We were up early and heading for the Park. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is not the deepest canyon in the US or the narrowest, but it is one of the most spectacular for the combination of factors, and that the Gunnison River drops so precipitously through the crevice. It is much like the Grand Canyon – you are just driving along this mesa and all of a sudden, there it is.  With my fear of heights, I was a nervous wreck the entire time in the park.  The road runs right along the rim much of the time, and it is awesome -- but sooooo scary!

We took some time to just enjoy the serene beauty – and the spring wildflowers that were popping up everywhere we turned.  As many of you know, I really enjoy photography, and the wild flowers were a fun subject.  The Canyon, on the other hand, was really difficult to get a shot of, even with a wide angle and telephoto lens.  I tried several combinations, but only captured a portion of this spectacular canyon.

The afternoon took us out of Colorado and into southern Utah -- what a change of scenery in a short period of time. We stopped at the Utah Visitors Center to try to get a handle on the route for all these parks in Utah. They actually call it the Grand Circle, and have a well laid out path to follow, no matter where you enter the circle. Some of the roads look a little scary -- but it appears that this is the only way to really see everything. So we're off.

 

In the parking lot, we ran into another Class B camper, and stopped to chat with them for awhile.  They were just finishing their tour of the parks and assured us that we would be fine – even on the Crescent Junction highway that descends into Zion National Park.  Apparently anything much bigger than we are has to have a special escort (think money!) or they can’t use the highway at all, it has some very sharp turns, but is spectacular.

Our first stop in the late afternoon is Arches NP. They say go early in the AM or late in the PM for the best photography and views. The sky is clear blue, and the scenery out of another world. Many of the biggest arches require a good hike to view, but there are so many other formations to see, that it leaves your mouth hanging open. The red rock against the azure blue sky can only be captured in pictures. And talk about personalities, some of the tall "figures" have faces and expressions that you can easily see! It was quite shocking.

 

As we were heading for town, we spied a group of bicyclists having a great time on the “slick rock” formations so famous for bicycling here.  That looked like a little more “adventure” than we were ready for right now.

Moab, UT is a town I have heard about for many years. It is really a special town; very much an outdoors town with four-wheeling, biking, rafting and float trips all emanating from here. I can see we would be in really great shape if we lived here! And the setting! Right on the Colorado River with the red rock all around and the crystal blue sky above. One of the prettiest towns we have visited.

 

We drifted into town and had dinner at a fun little Mexican restaurant, El Bandito Grille. The saying on the wall read: "There are no cans in our Mexi-can!" Good food. And you could buy a beer! (Remember, we're back in Utah -- the land of strange liquor laws!). The campground that we chose, the Riverside Oasis, was very private with nice grassy sites, the river nearby and lots of trees. A perfect ending to our beginning day of the Grand Circle.

 

Following Carol and Phil White's year-long adventures, they co-wrote 'Live Your Road Trip Dream', a great guide packed with useful info and suggestions for RV'ers and other road trippers.