Gwenne & Len
Senior Member
gorgeous place!! you remind me how beautiful it is there......maybe we need to go through Yellowstone on our way home from our spring trip.......we'll be so close......
First long trip with the TM
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inghamm
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Twin Falls to see our Nieces
We traveled on to Twin Falls to see our nieces and their families.We camped on their driveway. On the way we visited Craters of the Moon, which is basically lava flows. Then we stayed at Willard State Park in northern Utah for a night.
We traveled on to Twin Falls to see our nieces and their families.We camped on their driveway. On the way we visited Craters of the Moon, which is basically lava flows. Then we stayed at Willard State Park in northern Utah for a night.
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inghamm
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1st Day a Bryce
Spent our first day at Bryce Canyon National Park today. It’s amazing scenery. We are going to bed early and getting up at 5:15 to catch the sunrise in the park tomorrow, and then do our challenging hike (for us) down into the canyon and back up.
Spent our first day at Bryce Canyon National Park today. It’s amazing scenery. We are going to bed early and getting up at 5:15 to catch the sunrise in the park tomorrow, and then do our challenging hike (for us) down into the canyon and back up.
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inghamm
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2nd Day at Bryce Canon NP
2nd Day at Bryce Canon NP
We wanted to get some sunrise pictures so we got up at 5:15, and headed out at 6:30. Got to Bryce Point at 7:00 and dashed out to the point. DW with just one sweatshirt on, me with 2 sweatshirts, but neither of us with gloves. It was 28 degrees with a pretty good wind going, and still 30 minutes before sunrise, so while we were able to stake out a pretty good spot at the viewing area, we were pretty frigid by the time the sun came up.
Then we headed off to Sunrise Point for our big hike “Navajo Loop Trail” down the canyon and back up. We did wait for things to warm up a bit. We started off at 9:30, temperature up to 34 degrees, so we started with 2 coats each plus hats and gloves, but it did warm up as we went. For the final climb back up with the switch backs we were both in t-shirts. The end of the hike was going up “Wall Street” which is a slot canyon – very narrow and very high walls. Then 28 switchbacks. Then it was an easy hike along the rim back to our car for lunch. A total of 3.3 miles in 3 hours and 11 minutes. It wasn’t as hard as we imagined, but we are pretty tired afterwards.
2nd Day at Bryce Canon NP
We wanted to get some sunrise pictures so we got up at 5:15, and headed out at 6:30. Got to Bryce Point at 7:00 and dashed out to the point. DW with just one sweatshirt on, me with 2 sweatshirts, but neither of us with gloves. It was 28 degrees with a pretty good wind going, and still 30 minutes before sunrise, so while we were able to stake out a pretty good spot at the viewing area, we were pretty frigid by the time the sun came up.
Then we headed off to Sunrise Point for our big hike “Navajo Loop Trail” down the canyon and back up. We did wait for things to warm up a bit. We started off at 9:30, temperature up to 34 degrees, so we started with 2 coats each plus hats and gloves, but it did warm up as we went. For the final climb back up with the switch backs we were both in t-shirts. The end of the hike was going up “Wall Street” which is a slot canyon – very narrow and very high walls. Then 28 switchbacks. Then it was an easy hike along the rim back to our car for lunch. A total of 3.3 miles in 3 hours and 11 minutes. It wasn’t as hard as we imagined, but we are pretty tired afterwards.
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inghamm
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3rd day at Bryce Canyon
3rd day at Bryce Canyon
Slept in a bit and then went out to Mossy Cave and a waterfall. Not as spectacular as the main part of the park, but more interesting than we had anticipated. As we were going up the trail and saw the water coming down the canyon with a pretty good flow, we wondered where the water was coming from. Turns out the early Mormon Pioneers used the “Water Canyon” as a leg of a canal - “tropic ditch” bringing water from the Tropic reservoir to the town that became the farming community of Tropic.
Then we went for a little bike ride in the town of Cannonville (where our KOA campground is located) and visited the visitor center and got some information for our day tomorrow, which includes a hike down Morris Creak, which includes a slot canyon. (or 5 of them)
After dinner we went back to Bryce Canyon for some sunset shots, but got there late enough that it was twilight, which didn’t look that different from the morning the other day.
3rd day at Bryce Canyon
Slept in a bit and then went out to Mossy Cave and a waterfall. Not as spectacular as the main part of the park, but more interesting than we had anticipated. As we were going up the trail and saw the water coming down the canyon with a pretty good flow, we wondered where the water was coming from. Turns out the early Mormon Pioneers used the “Water Canyon” as a leg of a canal - “tropic ditch” bringing water from the Tropic reservoir to the town that became the farming community of Tropic.
Then we went for a little bike ride in the town of Cannonville (where our KOA campground is located) and visited the visitor center and got some information for our day tomorrow, which includes a hike down Morris Creak, which includes a slot canyon. (or 5 of them)
After dinner we went back to Bryce Canyon for some sunset shots, but got there late enough that it was twilight, which didn’t look that different from the morning the other day.
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inghamm
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4th Day at Bryce
We hiked the Willis Creek trail with 5 slot canyons. Not as dramatic as Wall Street the other day, but still pretty cool. First we had to drive 6 miles on a dirt road to get to the trailhead. Willis Creek is not very much water. 1-2 inches deep, 3 feet wide on average. Sometimes we had no choice but to walk in the creek, but we had our waterproof boots and it wasn’t very deep, so our feet stayed dry. About 3 miles in and back.
Then we went out to Kodachrome State Park to eat lunch and look around a little bit. Also on some dirt roads there.
We were very happy to have the SUV with all the dirt roads. Never could have made it with a mini van or a Motorhome.
We hiked the Willis Creek trail with 5 slot canyons. Not as dramatic as Wall Street the other day, but still pretty cool. First we had to drive 6 miles on a dirt road to get to the trailhead. Willis Creek is not very much water. 1-2 inches deep, 3 feet wide on average. Sometimes we had no choice but to walk in the creek, but we had our waterproof boots and it wasn’t very deep, so our feet stayed dry. About 3 miles in and back.
Then we went out to Kodachrome State Park to eat lunch and look around a little bit. Also on some dirt roads there.
We were very happy to have the SUV with all the dirt roads. Never could have made it with a mini van or a Motorhome.
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inghamm
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picture rotation
don't know how to rotate those 1st 2 pictures
don't know how to rotate those 1st 2 pictures
Gwenne & Len
Senior Member
This is all very helpful - thanks!! We are going to the Zion area in the spring, so I am cutting and pasting your info for reference!! Your photo's are beautiful!!
Bailey'sMom
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Enjoying this very much
Thanks for posting al the pics. Looks like a great trip.
Are there many people out there at this time of year?
Thanks for posting al the pics. Looks like a great trip.
Are there many people out there at this time of year?
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inghamm
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we were surprised at how many people were out, especially 10am-3pm, the popular parking spots were full.
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inghamm
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Bryce to Zion
Bryce to Zion was a short trip. We stopped at Red Canyon on the way. We walked the “Pink Ledges” loop trail. We got in to St. George at 2:45. We had come from elevations in the 7000-8000 range down below 3000, and watched the temperature climb as we came. In the 40’s when we left and 84 in St. George. We had a late lunch at “The Habit”, a hamburger place that we had loved in Santa Barbara several years ago, and has since expanded to a chain.
Bryce to Zion was a short trip. We stopped at Red Canyon on the way. We walked the “Pink Ledges” loop trail. We got in to St. George at 2:45. We had come from elevations in the 7000-8000 range down below 3000, and watched the temperature climb as we came. In the 40’s when we left and 84 in St. George. We had a late lunch at “The Habit”, a hamburger place that we had loved in Santa Barbara several years ago, and has since expanded to a chain.
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FujiPedaler
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Great Trip
Great trip and Pictures, Thanks for posting.
We've done the National Parks of Southern Utah and Yellowstone and are planning a return Trip to Yellowstone next Sept., after taking in the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.
Great trip and Pictures, Thanks for posting.
We've done the National Parks of Southern Utah and Yellowstone and are planning a return Trip to Yellowstone next Sept., after taking in the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.
LoveToCamp-TMO
Senior Member
Fuji, we did the North Rim this August. Wonderful! Boondocked, and also explored the rim NW of the National Park. PM me if you are planning to boondock outside of the park, as there is one spot on the rim that is spectacular.
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inghamm
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Our time in Zion NP
For our Zion visiting we picked staying at Temple View RV in St. George. I’m not sure why. We did the planning for this trip in May. I was still teaching then, so as usual, not a lot of free time for anything else. It was an hour drive to Zion. On the way we past a lot of RV campgrounds. Next trip I should have time to plan better. The good news was that they had a nice pool and hot tub there which we enjoyed several time. The Wi-Fi was terrible except at the Activity center where it was great, so we hung out there when we wanted to use the Wi-Fi. The other good thing was we were close to a lot of civilization and services. Monday we went to the Toyota dealership in town for an oil change. They found 2 recalls that hadn’t been done (shame on our home dealership), and one of them was a $3000 hybrid controller. So what we thought would be a short appointment was considerably longer, but they could shuttle us to our trailer and we could hang out there instead of the dealership. We also got some grocery shopping done and I got a haircut. That night we went to Tuachan for their outdoor musical theatre performance of Peter Pan that was just amazing. That was close to ST. George.
On our first day in Zion we parked at the visitor center at the entrance and took the shuttle. Zion was amazing. It reminded me of Yosemite – much more red of course. We did a very easy hike to Weeping rock. I rented some gear to try to do the narrows the next day, leaving DW behind at the trailhead.
On our 2nd day at Zion we got up at 6:45 and headed out at 8am. Got to entrance and took the shuttle up to the end of the road at the temple of Sinewava. Ichanged into my “dry pants” and special socks and shoes and then we took the one mile Riverside walk up to the beginning of the Narrows. The plan was for me to then hike for a half an hour up the narrows and then come back while DW waited. It was almost 11 am when I headed up the narrows. It was pretty chilly in the canyon still, too cold for DW to sit on the stone benches without something in-between. I felt water in my left boot while making the first walk in the water, and soon in the right boot as well, but like a wet suit, you warm the water up some and so I didn’t get too cold. Sometimes you could walk on dry land on one side or the other of the canyon, sometimes you had to walk in the water. Water got over my knee’s at one point. Sometimes the current was pretty strong, so the stick was helpful. I almost lost his balance a couple of times, but mostly it was fun, and I would have kept going except for worrying about DW being cold waiting for him, and my bladder filling up. Then we hiked back the trail, got on the shuttle back to the car and had lunch at the visitor center.
Our 3rd day at Zion we got up early again (6:30). Our objective was the Emerald Pools. Parked at the visitor center and took the shuttle to the Lodge. The hike to the first pool was easy – even paved most of the way. The hike to the next emerald pool was a bit harder, and not very long. The hike to the last one was much harder. Lots of rocks with sand on them, which made them slippery, plus longer, plus the temperature rose. At the beginning of the hike we were bundled up in sweatshirts. By the time we got to the last emerald pool we were sweating. We almost gave up, but persisted. When we got there it was quite lovely AND cool. So after some rest and recuperation we headed back down. It was a total of 4.1 miles. “Map my ride” said elevation gain of 2872 feet, but I wouldn’t swear to that. Took the shuttle back to our car and had lunch.
Our last day in Zion we drove the Mt. Carmel Hwy, which included a 1.1 mile tunnel. Really different geography on that side of the park. We hiked the Canyon Overlook - not very long but scary in some spots. We kept saying, “Glad they put hand rails here” and “wish they had put hand rails here”. Then we drove back to the museum, watched a movie and listened to a ranger talk, and took some more pictures. We marveled at this park – more beauty than we could take in.
Even though we were an hour away from Zion, we ended up having to deal with things every afternoon or evening, so in that aspect it was nice to be in St. George. When we got there I noticed that one of chains on the Anderson WD hitch was slack, even though the nut was tightened to the usual spot, so I suspected that the bracket had slipped forward. I only had one wrench that would fit the nuts and didn’t have the right size hex wrench for the set screw, but there was a Lowe’s nearby, so I went and bought those. Next day when I got the bracket off it looked like I hadn’t drilled a hole for the set screw, so I went back to Lowe’s and bought a cheap drill and some drill bits. Drilled the hole where I thought it should go, but then when I went to put the bracket on it didn’t fit, but then I noticed a similar hole and realized I had drilled the hole in the initial installation. Put the bracket on with the set screw in the original hole and everything seemed fine. I did take my handy silver sharpie and marked where both brackets were so I could tell in the future if they moved. The next night I thought I should fill the propane tank we had been using, even though the indicator was still green. When I re-attached it I could hear (and smell a leak). The supply hose had an intermittent leak, so I turned off the tank, the next evening went and bought a new hose.
We also had 3 evenings of a little swim and some time in the hot tub, so there was that positive as well, but I did resolve to plan better in the future when picking a campsite.
For our Zion visiting we picked staying at Temple View RV in St. George. I’m not sure why. We did the planning for this trip in May. I was still teaching then, so as usual, not a lot of free time for anything else. It was an hour drive to Zion. On the way we past a lot of RV campgrounds. Next trip I should have time to plan better. The good news was that they had a nice pool and hot tub there which we enjoyed several time. The Wi-Fi was terrible except at the Activity center where it was great, so we hung out there when we wanted to use the Wi-Fi. The other good thing was we were close to a lot of civilization and services. Monday we went to the Toyota dealership in town for an oil change. They found 2 recalls that hadn’t been done (shame on our home dealership), and one of them was a $3000 hybrid controller. So what we thought would be a short appointment was considerably longer, but they could shuttle us to our trailer and we could hang out there instead of the dealership. We also got some grocery shopping done and I got a haircut. That night we went to Tuachan for their outdoor musical theatre performance of Peter Pan that was just amazing. That was close to ST. George.
On our first day in Zion we parked at the visitor center at the entrance and took the shuttle. Zion was amazing. It reminded me of Yosemite – much more red of course. We did a very easy hike to Weeping rock. I rented some gear to try to do the narrows the next day, leaving DW behind at the trailhead.
On our 2nd day at Zion we got up at 6:45 and headed out at 8am. Got to entrance and took the shuttle up to the end of the road at the temple of Sinewava. Ichanged into my “dry pants” and special socks and shoes and then we took the one mile Riverside walk up to the beginning of the Narrows. The plan was for me to then hike for a half an hour up the narrows and then come back while DW waited. It was almost 11 am when I headed up the narrows. It was pretty chilly in the canyon still, too cold for DW to sit on the stone benches without something in-between. I felt water in my left boot while making the first walk in the water, and soon in the right boot as well, but like a wet suit, you warm the water up some and so I didn’t get too cold. Sometimes you could walk on dry land on one side or the other of the canyon, sometimes you had to walk in the water. Water got over my knee’s at one point. Sometimes the current was pretty strong, so the stick was helpful. I almost lost his balance a couple of times, but mostly it was fun, and I would have kept going except for worrying about DW being cold waiting for him, and my bladder filling up. Then we hiked back the trail, got on the shuttle back to the car and had lunch at the visitor center.
Our 3rd day at Zion we got up early again (6:30). Our objective was the Emerald Pools. Parked at the visitor center and took the shuttle to the Lodge. The hike to the first pool was easy – even paved most of the way. The hike to the next emerald pool was a bit harder, and not very long. The hike to the last one was much harder. Lots of rocks with sand on them, which made them slippery, plus longer, plus the temperature rose. At the beginning of the hike we were bundled up in sweatshirts. By the time we got to the last emerald pool we were sweating. We almost gave up, but persisted. When we got there it was quite lovely AND cool. So after some rest and recuperation we headed back down. It was a total of 4.1 miles. “Map my ride” said elevation gain of 2872 feet, but I wouldn’t swear to that. Took the shuttle back to our car and had lunch.
Our last day in Zion we drove the Mt. Carmel Hwy, which included a 1.1 mile tunnel. Really different geography on that side of the park. We hiked the Canyon Overlook - not very long but scary in some spots. We kept saying, “Glad they put hand rails here” and “wish they had put hand rails here”. Then we drove back to the museum, watched a movie and listened to a ranger talk, and took some more pictures. We marveled at this park – more beauty than we could take in.
Even though we were an hour away from Zion, we ended up having to deal with things every afternoon or evening, so in that aspect it was nice to be in St. George. When we got there I noticed that one of chains on the Anderson WD hitch was slack, even though the nut was tightened to the usual spot, so I suspected that the bracket had slipped forward. I only had one wrench that would fit the nuts and didn’t have the right size hex wrench for the set screw, but there was a Lowe’s nearby, so I went and bought those. Next day when I got the bracket off it looked like I hadn’t drilled a hole for the set screw, so I went back to Lowe’s and bought a cheap drill and some drill bits. Drilled the hole where I thought it should go, but then when I went to put the bracket on it didn’t fit, but then I noticed a similar hole and realized I had drilled the hole in the initial installation. Put the bracket on with the set screw in the original hole and everything seemed fine. I did take my handy silver sharpie and marked where both brackets were so I could tell in the future if they moved. The next night I thought I should fill the propane tank we had been using, even though the indicator was still green. When I re-attached it I could hear (and smell a leak). The supply hose had an intermittent leak, so I turned off the tank, the next evening went and bought a new hose.
We also had 3 evenings of a little swim and some time in the hot tub, so there was that positive as well, but I did resolve to plan better in the future when picking a campsite.
Gwenne & Len
Senior Member
still taking notes on your experiences......we are going to Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef in the spring. We hope to be able to stay at the Ferber campground in Springdale, but cannot make those reservations til Jan 1......so I made reservations at the Zion River Resort in Virgin, cya......in your daily 'commute' to Zion, do you recall how close that was? Yes - hard to make plans from far away!! I'll try Ferber on New Year's Eve, and change our reservation if successful. We plan to stay there a week......was there more you wished you could do? Love that you are doing this trip now!
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inghamm
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I think the Zion river resort was more like 20-30 minutes away. It was one that when we drove past it I thought to myself "Why didn't we stay there?" I think a week would be good. There were a couple things we wished we could have done including in the area but outside the park.Springdale would be great for seeing Zion, as you could get in the parking lot before it filled and get and earlier start than most - less standing on the shuttles.
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inghamm
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Gwenne & Len
Senior Member
Beautiful pics!! thank you!! We love Zion!! eager to go again.....it's spectacular, isn't it??
ArkyDoodle
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RV LIFE Pro
Two words.......Angel's Landing.......
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inghamm
Senior Member
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We saw people doing that trail, and people up at the top, but that was way beyond what we were capable of.
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