Weather Advisories are messing up our trip!

It took a long time to post my last blog as the internet here is not very speedy and I like to put lots of pictures on my posts. 

So….there are thunderstorms, lightening, wind and freezing advisories for where we wanted to go near the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  We may get to ride a bit on Saturday/Sunday/Monday but we will have to watch the weather.  I’ve checked the regular weather sites but they are all conflicting so we are going with the National Weather Service sites. 

We will leave Kanab on Oct.5th and travel to Page, AZ for one night.  From there we will go to a park in Cottonwood, AZ south of Sedona.

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We had hoped to stay in the Williams area which is at 6,766 ft and closer to the south rim of the Grand Canyon but it is going to freeze and as well there could be snow above 6000ft.  Unusually cold weather for the beginning of October so this is bad luck.

The Rio Verde RV park in Cottonwood will be at 3314 ft so we should be fine.  It is just south of Sedona but I couldn’t get a reservation there and the Rancho Sedona RV park  said they had nothing until after Thanksgiving which is in November and I had to keep looking.  This business with full sites is all new to us and the woman at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park (which was full) said it is the start of fall break for the students so that is part of the problem. 

Eric has dashed out for a ride this morning as the bad weather is supposed to hit again this afternoon.  I stayed home to make sure we had somewhere to go after this.  Anyone who reads my blog will know that we are very cautious with the weather and always err on the side of caution.  Better safe than sorry.

Stuck in Lodi again…or so the song says!

Bummed out in Kanab, Utah!

It’s Thursday afternoon and we are stuck in the RV because it has been pounding rain with huge thunderstorms.  There is a flash flood warning for all the canyon areas so we aren’t going anywhere today. 

Yesterday we left Kannaraville under sunny skies at about 10am.  With only 85 miles to travel there was no rush to get on the road.

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Yesterday’s route.  You can see that we could have travelled the northern route but….that’s the Zion Hwy that costs $25 to travel and another $25 for an escort through the tunnels as tall vehicles have to travel down the middle and take up both lanes.  https://www.nps.gov/zion/frequently-asked-questions-about-the-zion-mt-carmel-highway-and-tunnel.htm  This link explains the Zion Highway. 

I said goodbye to Gail the owner of the Red Ledge RV park and told her that we’d had a really good stay. 

Office.  Gail had just jumped out of the shower and wouldn’t let me take her picture.  Nice lady.

The night before we’d had a long chat with Sharon a full time RVer from South Dakota who was asking about travelling into Mexico. 

This is her rig.  She also has a smaller rig that she would likely take if she goes to Mexico.  We gave her all the info we could think of and had to admire her guts as she is on her own.  She is in her 70’s and still has the zest for new places.  Very well informed about travel and how to look after herself but we did advise a first trip into Mexico might only be to San Carlos.  Eric also advised she should travel with someone but she said she preferred to travel alone.  Our kind of lady!  We said we do travel with other people but only one other rig and only people we know and like. 

The above pictures are of the Hurricane, Utah area. 

We travelled I 15 south and left it at exit #27 for Hwy 17 which took us through Toquerville, La Verkin and then into Hurricane where we headed east on 59 towards Kanab.

As soon as we left Hurricane we started to climb once again.  Up some windy highway before it flattened out and the beautiful red mountains and geology of Utah appeared once again.  The beauty of it all is quite stunning. 

We travelled along through Arizona, turned left at Fredonia and were soon back in Utah and into Kanab. 

Looking pretty black up there.  Hope it waits until we are parked.

Left for Kanab.

Passing through Fredonia just before Kanab and the rocks are still stunning. 

We missed the entrance to the Kanab RV Corral on the first pass and had to make a loop and circle back. 

It was quiet when we entered the park and it looked okay but rustic.  I found the manager and he told us that our site was #39 and it was right against the highway and at the entrance.  Neither Eric or I were very happy about our location but we had to suck it up and just roll with it.  There are a huge amount of RVers on the road and it’s hard to find a place to stay.  In the end it worked out okay and we have decided to stay 7 days before moving on.  This park is much more expensive than the Red Ledge but it is the norm. 

So we parked but as you can see we are squeezed right up against the big motorhome next to us.  We can’t even put our back stairs down due to his electrical pedestal.  We tried moving the other way but then our bedroom slide was in the tree.  These sites were engineered when rigs were a lot smaller. 

Eric unloaded the bike expecting to use it every day. 

He also got the satellite set up and we got a good signal once the afternoon thunder and rain storm settled down.  We spent the evening watching the Blue Jays get beat by the Orioles.  Our relief pitchers aren’t doing their job and the guys aren’t getting enough runs.  Listen to me….you’d think I knew what I was talking about!

This morning Eric uncovered the bike in hopes of  a ride but the clouds were threatening.  So….we took a walk around town.  A very nice place with lots of shops and restaurants.  A short walk to Pizza Hut, Mexican or Chinese.  Right up our alley as we don’t like to drive to dinner after happy hour. 

The horses are metal and almost full size.  Too bad they’re advertising a restaurant. 

This afternoon the skys really opened up and Eric was dejected.  We really hope to get some riding in while we are here so the weather had better smarten up!

We are glad we decided to stay and have a place to park as the rigs have been rolling in here steady since yesterday.  It is very, very busy.

Tomorrow hopefully we will go to Zion on the bike or the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  

The internet has been down for two days!

I just managed to post Saturday’s blog and am now working on yesterday which was our trip to Bryce Canyon.  The internet here is slow if I upload a lot of pictures to the blog and of course, that is what I like to do.  So….will try to get that done today.  Tomorrow we will move to Kanab, Utah for eight days and then move toward the Grand Canyon.  That stop hasn’t been planned yet.  The weather is sunny and warm although it is supposed to cool off a bit later in the week here in Kanarraville.  Warmer in Kanab. 

The stay in this park has been very relaxing.  Extremely nice people, well behaved, non barking dogs and all in all a great place to stay. 

A trip to Bryce Canyon, Utah….A Red Letter Day!

 

Red rocks, red canyons etc. etc. …..you get what I mean.

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This is our route and we will do this trip in the truck.  We will not unload the bike untill we get to Kanab and we have more time. 

First order of business is fuel in Cedar City and then on the road for Bryce Canyon National Park.  We leave Cedar City at an elevation of 5,840 ft.

As soon as we head along Hwy 14 we start to climb.

The vistas are beautiful.

The first look-out that we stop at explains how the terrain was created. 

Lots of dead wood appearing and apparently more higher up.  Looks like the beetle kill in B.C.

We hit a plateau and it opens into a wide meadow.  This is much similar to home in the Williams Lake and the Chilcotin area of B.C.

Not too far and we hit a huge lava flow area. 

We pass through the Duck Creek Village area which is at 8000 ft.  This is where the fellow that we met in the Boise/Meridian RV park has a house.  He suggested we stay here but we wouldn’t make our truck pull the RV up here and besides that it gets too cold at night. 

We turn left onto Hwy 89 and head north to Highway 12 where we will turn right towards Bryce Canyon.

Turn right in 1/2 a mile.

As we enter the park we arrive at Red Canyon.  We got out to take a walk and have a look at the visitor’s centre.

Rock pinnacles.

Pine trees.  I even picked up a little pine cone to go with the one I have at home that I picked up at Lake Tahoe in 1992 on a trip to Reno with my Dad.

Signs about the early days and settlement of the area.

Water is a prime commodity here.

Only “YOU” can prevent forest fires!  Okay Smokey.

Can you spot any tourists here!

Rock tunnel leaving the Red Canyon.

Entering Bryce Canyon Village.  Lots of crap…oh I meant souvenirs here!

At the park entrance a nice young lady collected $30 from us and Eric just about choked.  Now the complaining really started! 

First stop was Sunset point and it was just packed with every type of tourist you could imagine.  Really not up Eric’s alley….way too crowded and it was really hard to find a place to park.

The views are just spectacular.

This does not even look real and it is really far down.  There are trails to hike and they were just jammed with people.

How beautiful is that!

See right in front of the garbage truck….well that’s where Eric initially parked the truck.  I said “ We are going to get towed!” and he moved.  Good thing don’t you think.

One really funny thing happened when Eric walked back to make sure he locked the truck.  There was a young couple in the parking area really going at it.  Eric said “ Hey, that’s not allowed in a National Park!” and they jumped apart and said “Sorry!”  I don’t know who they thought he was but maybe the buzz cut makes him look ex military.  Later we passed them and the girl wouldn’t even look at Eric.  Come on, get a room for that kind of thing.  We laughed about it all day!

Next stop Farview Point and it is getting higher.  There are less people here and Eric has stopped griping about the $30 bucks he had to pay.  The views are definitely worth $30.

It is very high and very sunny and the pictures are a bit washed out with all the light.

Surveying the landscape.

We are now at the Natural Bridge.

Explanation of how they were formed.

Definitely a wonder to behold.

One of a few arches.

As we pass Agua Canyon (we’ll stop on the way down) I spy these people on top of the rock.  Are they nuts!

The end of Bryce Canyon and the highest point….Rainbow Point.

Eric and I both have a bit of a headache at this point and our sinuses are very unhappy.  We live at an elevation of 500ft. so this is a huge change for us. 

Way, way down.  See that rock cliff on the upper left of the picture…well that’s where those people are standing.

I zoomed in and you can just see them.  I wonder how many people die up here every year. 

We are heading down now and stop at the Agua Canyon trail.

A real Group of Seven picture.

It’s getting later and the color is once again rich with the fading light.

A post card shot.  Just breath taking.

Down a bit more to Ponderosa point.  Still very high.

How red is that.

As we continue down we pass through huge areas of dead trees.  Forest fire, natural death…who knows.

We are now back to beginning of our journey into Bryce Canyon and are at Red Canyon. 

This is just up behind the Visitor’s Centre and what’s nice here is that the rock formations are very close.

Visitor’s centre.  I bought a t-shirt here as a momento of our trip.

We are back around Duck Lake and this is Duck Lake pond.

From here it’s all downhill to Cedar City.  It was really nice driving the truck without the trailer attached to it’s ass.  It has been a great truck and has never let us down even though it is 11 years old and has pulled the trailer to Mexico many, many times.

All in all it was a really good day and we are both tired.

P.S. – Eric begrudgingly admits the day was worth $30!