Apr 27, 2013 - Zion National Park

This morning we rode our bikes from our campground into Zion National Park and checked out the Visitor Center. We left the bikes at the VC and started off on a hike called Watchman's Trail, so named by Mormon settlers. It's a prominent red spire rising from the canyon floor. We are also calling this hike The Lizard Hike, and you'll see why from the photos. Lizards of all sizes shared the trail with us. The trail leads up to a rocky bench on the slopes of Zion Canyon. Lots of riparian vegetation along the trail, fed by small springs. We saw...

Apr 26, 2013 - Traveling to Zion National Park

The first part of our drive this morning was very pleasant--a mostly deserted two-lane highway through forested low hills. We stopped in Panaca, NV at the town's "bakery" as it was advertised--turns out to be someone's home where if you are a local and you know the number you can call her and she'll whip you up some baked goods. But she had 4 leftover oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from the night before and she sold them to us and they were delicious! We were headed for Cedar City, Utah this morning and then on to Zion, but we decided to...

May 23, 2012 - Into the Slots

We broke camp at Escalante Petrified Sate Park early Wednesday morning and headed west along Highway 12. Our plan was to find a spot for breakfast and then explore the area around Kodachrome Basin, particularly a slot canyon that was only 6 miles down a dirt road. Nancy had the bedding rolled up tight so I could easily cover it with a tarp in the back. Even with all the windows closed, the fine red dust is able to permeate the camper shell. We went west as far as Tropic before we found a café open for business. I tried the chicken fried...

May 22, 2012 - Escalante River Hike

After breakfast in camp we planned to take a hike to a natural bridge located in part of the deep canyon carved by the Escalante. The temperatures were in the mid 80’s and a hike in a cool canyon along the river made sense to us. We drove back along the exploratory route we had taken the previous day and down to the canyon bottom. We found a good park at the trailhead. As we were leaving the parking lot, a lady hiker volunteered some helpful info regarding our planned hike. She said it was about three miles one way to the natural bridge and...

May 21, 2012 - Car Camping

One of the reasons we chose a travel trailer over a fifth wheel was the added flexibility of being able to leave ‘The Neighborhood’ in a safe port while we went off exploring less accessible areas on long day trips or overnighters. The camper shell on the ‘Rocketeer’ is carpeted and the bed of the truck has a padded “BedRug” kit installed. We are quite cozy when we sleep in it, especially when Nancy rolls up our 3 inch memory foam topper and brings it along. We took off on a Monday morning and drove east through the park to US Highway 89,...

May 16, 2012 - Hop Valley

Now that we have moved to an RV resort a few miles outside of Zion National Park we are exploring more of the region. One of the cool places happens to be down the road from our new address less than a mile. The Kolob Terrace Rd climbs almost 7000 feet to a reservoir. The road climbs in and out of Zion National Park past beautiful, verdant horse ranches that are scattered along Kolob Creek as it meanders along towering red sandstone cliffs. You can tell when you are on park grounds by the color of the asphalt. Zion National Park’s roads are...

May 6, 2012 - Angels Landing

This is one of our favorite hikes in Zion. The elevation gain is 1500 feet in 2 ½ miles. The last half mile is along a precipitous, needle thin ridge that requires chains anchored in the slick rock to keep the masses from falling to their deaths. The trail starts out deceptively easy as it crosses the Virgin River on a footbridge just up the road from Zion Lodge. Soon the trail leaves the Virgin River far below as it climbs steeply up a trail that was cut out of several shear sandstone headwalls. The path levels out as it enters a narrow,...

May 3, 2012 - Short Hikes

We have completed several of our favorite short hikes while we have been here. One of the best hikes to do if you are short of time is the Canyon Overlook. It starts at the east end of the world renowned Carmel Tunnel. You can get a good feel for the terrain and there is an incredible view at the end overlooking the canyon. This trail is at a much higher altitude than the valley floor so it was cooler. At the end of the trail you can get a good look at some of the air vents the workers created when they dug the famous tunnel through the...

May 1, 2012 - Observation Point

One of the hikes we look forward to the most is the ‘strenuous’ trail to Observation Point. It is 8 miles roundtrip. The park guide suggests planning on 6 hours to complete the quest. The ‘kicker’ here is that you climb 2100 vertical feet in the four miles up the cliff faces and through the slot canyon to the crest. During one of the many breaks I took on our ascent, in a fog of oxygen deprivation, I did the math and figured out that the trail averages a significant 10% grade. There is a short stretch through Echo Canyon, a magnificent slot...

Apr 29, 2012 - Zion National Park

After spending two nights on the road, we arrived at Zion National Park for a 14 day stay, the maximum allowed. Since we have the “geezer” pass, the $25 park entrance fee is waived and the campground fee is discounted by 50%. That means we are only paying $9 per night to stay in this incredible place. We made our reservation six months ago and are very happy with our campsite. After getting set up, we hopped on our bikes to ride the scenic Pa’rus Trail, the only trail in the park for biking. Spring is in full bloom here and the daytime...

May 21, 2011 - Springdale, UT - Zion Canyon Campground

Our 132 mile trip from the campground on the North Rim to Springdale, UT was anything but uneventful. The drive itself wasn't bad but getting started was another story. We awoke Wednesday morning with snow on the ground and it starting to snow harder and harder. Thankfully we had hooked up Libby the night before so we didn't have that to do. As it kept coming down, we decided we couldn't wait on it to stop and melt but that we had better get started before we couldn't get out. Went to put the slides in and DUH there was too much snow on the...

Nov 8, 2010 - Springdale, Utah

It was a lovely warm night. Woke up this morning to find that it was 11 degrees (52F). Therefore no delay getting away this morning waiting for the temperature to get above freezing. Most of Utah is now under a big storm front. I have been trying to keep ahead of it. But just as we were leaving the campground it caught up with us. It started to rain and the temperature started to drop. Within one hour it had dropped to only 4 degrees (39F). Drove all day in the rain. It got worse with heavy rain and wind. Finally just before reaching...