[MudDog]

Southern Utah is one of our favorite places.

In the last year we've made 3 trips from Southern CA and usually start with Zion (be sure to check out the Kolob Canyon section of the park by leaving the main area and driving 15 miles or so North on Hwy 15 from Hurricaine UT). If you haven't already found it, I think there's a place called Doggy Dude Ranch on the highway between Virgin Utah and Spingdale, not too far from the SW entrance. we haven't used it, but always see the sign as we head to the park. After Zion, we normally head over to Cedar Breaks and Bryce.

At Bryce, we've stayed at the Ruby's Inn campground which has full hookups and is very close to the entrance. We weren't there at the peak of summer and felt comfortable leaving our dog in the TM for a couple of hours while we made a quick trip into the park and did the Navajo Loop trail.

On the last trip, from Bryce we took Hwy 12 (one of the few designated national scenic highways) thru Escalante/Grand Staircase. There seem to be endless possibilities along this route for hiking, exploring and camping. I imagine during the summer it's going to be pretty hot.

We went the length of Hwy 12 and then eventually met up with another highway and headed south into Monument Valley (last trip we arrived at night and woke up to a dust storm the next morning that reduced visbility to 30 feet or so....kids have been to Monument Valley but never saw it...we'll have to return soon). When there are no dust storms you can certainly see much of Monument Valley from the main highway with TM in tow. There are several dirt/jeep trails that take you closer to some of the formations - some of them are open to private vehicles (years ago I remember seeing some Cruise America motor homes on some of the dirt roads....not sure I would tow MY TM on any of them), some of them are by tribal permit only.

Sounds like a great trip - I can only seem to break away from my job for a max of 10 days and always wish I'd had more time to explore.