Fall 2020 – Utah & The “Mighty 5” – Part 1 (Zion NP, Capitol Reef NP & Grand Staircase Escalante NM…)
9/18/2020:
Although it had been a terrific/safe experience at Hearst-San Simeon State Park it was time for us to leave and get back on the road. When we decided to sell our CT home and set out on this Full-Time RV adventure, our goal wasn’t to spend 3 months in the same spot. It was sad to leave the Central California Coast though it was definitely time to move-on. We were there exactly 3 months and we both agreed that’s too long. We reminded ourselves why we took on this volunteer position(to stay safe from Covid, find a way to volunteer/contribute, and explore a new area of the country in depth). We both feel we accomplished this objective.
Just outside of Las Vegas – Solar Farm
Immediately, as we started out of the park, we commented almost simultaneously how excited we were to be traveling again… As we head EAST – Our first stop is just for an overnight at Desert Springs RV Park in Daggett CA. Nothing fancy and a tad pricey for what we got, but quiet and no one bothered us. It was a long day of driving on that Friday. (over 300 miles…) – We had full hook ups and a pull through site, so didn’t even unhitch the car.
Desert Springs Campground
Desert Springs Campground
With our travel goals for Fall 2020 very clear:
- Stay safe in this Covid pandemic!
- Try to find new/safe places to explore and journey to regardless of the Covid-19 closures, modifications, social distancing requirements, and (you know)…
We put together a plan to explore more of the state of Utah, Southern Colorado, New Mexico, and finally, a little more of Arizona including arriving in Tuscon, AZ for service work to be completed on our RV.
Utah:
- Zion National Park
9/18/20: We arrived in Hurricane, UT at Quail Creek RV Resort. We found out about this park from our friends Fred and Julie. We knew coming in we would have to move to a different site for the following two nights to get a 3 night stay. We originally were fine with this. After setting up for the first night we walked the park to scout the site we would need to move to for the next 2 days. We both agreed it was an awful location (Worst site in the park). Although the park overall is nice/new and the bathrooms were very clean, this really wasn’t our idea of a great place to experience Zion National Park from. Knowing we had familiar/ perfect boondocking spot just outside the entrance to Zion NP, Mike decided to text Monty (the ranch owner at the bottom of the access road leading to this boondocking spot, whom we had met last year; he said nobody was on it. We quickly went to the campground office and cancelled the next two nights. They refunded $70.00 and kept a $10.00 cancelation fee.
Quail Creek RV Resort
Quail Creek RV Resort
We pulled out next morning (filling/emptying the appropriate tanks to prepare for our boondocking spot in Virgin, UT. We stopped at the Super Walmart in Hurricane to get provisions for the next few days. On our way to Virgin we cut through the mountains and drove adjacent to Quail Creek State Park which definitely looks pretty nice and is right on a lake. We take note that it could be another option when visiting this area.
Our favorite Boon-Docking spot of All Time!
Our favorite Boon-Docking spot of All Time!
Arriving in Virgin, UT at our favorite boon docking site, we get set-up quickly with plenty of time to take a scenic drive through Zion National Park’s famous east side tunnel. On the way back we turned up Kolob Reservoir Road for a 2nd scenic drive for the day as we still had plenty of good sunlight left in the day. This beautiful 24 mile drive winds through the mountains and switchbacks over some very secluded scenery and vistas. You can actually access the Western side of Zion NP from this road though it is a gravel access point. Being rewarded with a view of the lake at the end of the 24 miles is pretty nice. We notice kayakers, paddlboarders and several others RV’s boondocking along the lake shoreline. Its a long way up to this point but the privacy could be worth it for a few quiet camping days some day in our future…
Zion East Side entrance drive…
Kolob Reservoir Trail…
Kolob Reservoir Trail…
Monday morning around 4:30 Mike woke me inspired for an early morning hiking adventure… “What if we get up early and do the “Zion Canyon Overlook Trail” near the east side of the tunnel at sunrise? ” –
We had read that typically as the morning gets going the trail can get very busy and getting parking spots might be difficult to find (which proved to be very true). Arriving at the parking lot near the trail head at 6:45 am we got the last parking spot!
We are so glad we decided to get up early for this special sunrise. The hike was not overly difficult and we were rewarded with a great perspective of Zion NP valley at sunrise! The sun actually rises behind you as you stare up the Valley below and as it climbs, the mountains become alive with color.. It was spectacular and if in Zion you really should try to do this. Note: you do not need trekking poles for this hike and they could be a hindrance. Our recommendation is plan to sit for at least 30 minutes at the top and just relax and take in the moment…
Zion NP at sunrise…
Sunrise in Zion NP…
After the morning hike we went back to the camper for breakfast.. (So convenient boondocking close to the entrance…) During breakfast we decided to return to the park and hike the “Watchman Trail” in the afternoon. We arrived in the park/visitor center around 2:00pm hoping to score a parking spot from someone that might be leaving. (Even though all signs said the parking is completely full…) -After circling the parking lot many times we were about to give up when suddenly we caught someone pulling out… Wow were we lucky…!
We had decided to do this hike for a number of reasons; many hikes leave from farther in the park and we would have had to take the shuttle. With Covid apprehension the shuttle did not appeal to us and this was reinforced when we saw hundreds of people waiting on the shuttle lines to board some very crowded busses. Also several hikes were closed because of contaminated water (glad we did “The Narrows” last year!). The chains for “Angels Landing” were also closed due to Covid. We also discovered several other trails were closed because of rock slides. This narrowed down our choices greatly!
The Watchman Trail is fairly easy and the views (if you do the extra loop at the top) are spectacular. The only challenges for us was the midday heat and our masks! We are diligent about putting our masks on any time we pass someone on the trail and both of us had grown tired of the “mask on / mask off” routine pretty quickly… – (Though we had to be safe!) – The hike is almost all in the sun so we did our fair share of sweating for sure! At the top we tried to walk the nature loop but you could only walk out to the view point then walk back. We took most of our pictures from there and with the breeze it gave us time to cool off a bit. At three miles this was a great afternoon hike. We got back tired and satisfied with our time here in Zion for a second year in a row.
Watchman Trail…
Watchman Trail …
Last year we were here in late August, though even with Covid concerns this year in late September we both agreed the park seemed even busier than last. Not sure why?
- Capitol Reef National Park & Grand Stair Case Escalante National Monument
9/22/2020: We headed for our next stop “Capitol Reef National Park” area:
We had made a reservation at ” Thousand Lakes RV Park” in (Torrey, UT) which is conveniently located just outside the park and close to several other places we wanted to visit while in this area. It turned out to be a great decision with laundry facilities and several other amenities.
9/23/20:
Our first full day at this stop we decided to do the scenic Rte 12 byway South towards “Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument”. Receiving the designation of “All American Road” The Rte 12 Scenic byway is between two National Parks; Bryce Canyon on the West and Capitol Reef at the North and many other scenic points between. The drive south from Torrey is spectacular and takes you through the Dixie National Forest. We stopped many times for pics. At the very top of the mountain we stopped at the historic Info Center where we met the camphosts/ interpreters whom were very friendly and informative. They were from Ohio though had been coming to this location for many years and were willing to share a wealth of personal experiences/information about the area. We also were rewarded with many groves of Aspens taking on their Fall Yellow colors… Before continuing on the hosts gave us a guide for the scenic byways and several others stops in Utah that proved to be a very useful tool on several future scenic drives.
Grand Staircase -Escalante National Park
Dixie National Forest…
More pics of the changing Aspens of Dixie National Forest…
More pics of Grand Staircase Escalante….
The drive through historic Boulder, UT, the Ridge trail and Hell’s Backbone all provided some breathtaking views on the formations and slick rock of Escalante. Little question why this is a National Monument. Our path took us by Anasazi State Park and Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Too much to see on a single day of driving…. We did stop at the Hole in the Wall Visitors Center, just outside of Escalante, UT and took in the historic film about the very hardy Mormon Missionaries who traveled the famous Hole in the Wall trail. We were also provided many details of the area by the ranger…We had thought we might continue to drive south to visit Kodachome Basin State Park but opted to turn around here instead and save that for another trip.
Note: Joanne had read about a scenic backroad called “The Burr Trail” that indicated it was on a fairly well maintained dirt / stone road. We discussed whether or not we should do it and decided we would give it a try. On the map it showed that we would see parts of Capitol Reef few people see.
BIG MISTAKE!! – I REPEAT VERY BIG MISTAKE! –
The beginning of the road to the Burr Trail is paved and beautiful. We had been told by the Hole in the Wall Visitor Center Ranger about a small slot canyon at the 12 mile mark on the trail. This part of the road was well paved with easy driving. The slot canyon was close to the road and was definitely worth the visit. Beautiful!!! – About 35 miles in, the road immediately turned to dirt, stone, rocks, dips, wash-outs, boulders, and every other road hazard you can imagine. Might not be a difficult drive for a 4 wheeler or jeep but definitely not for a low clearance Mini cooper convertible…. Knowing we had been advised and had read that it was passable in a passenger car we thought it might just be bad in this short section…
Slot Canyon just before The Burr Trail…
Heading down to the Slot Canyon …
After the first few miles of going less than 5 MPH we knew we had made a mistake. We didn’t know it was going to be as far on this road as it was and turning around would have required nearly another hour back to Boulder… (In hindsight we should have turned around…) About 1 hour into the dirt nightmare we arrived at the famous “Burr Trail Switch Backs”… Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse??? The switchbacks are very steep, and the terrain is incredibly challenging, even for a 4 wheeler. In a Mini we were borderline crazy for sure….
Still Smiling at the Start of The Burr Trail just before the pavement disappears…
The Burr Trail…
The Burr Trail & parts of the famous Water Pocket Fold…
The Burr Trail…
The “Burr Trail” is probably the only drive in our history that we actually both were concerned we might not make it out in the car and would have to hoof the last 20-25 miles…. Concerns of an impending flat tire (with no spare on board), getting stuck in the heavy sand, breaking an axle, or just a significant breakdown, were definitely top of mind with little exaggeration… It was so stressful, for nearly 3 hours, we hardly got to enjoy some of the most beautiful parts of Capitol Reef National Park. Finally at about 70 miles into this nightmare we could see some actual pavement about a mile ahead.
“Were we actually going to make it out of here?”
That thought turned out to be slightly premature… To get to the pavement we had one final very difficult hurdle which included a descent into a terrible washout followed by a daunting climb up to the paved road through heavy sand piles surrounded by more pot-holes and rocks. We both held our breath which seemed like minutes as we pushed our little Mini to the edge accelerating way too fast down so we would hopefully have enough momentum to get us through the heavy sand. We both knew we were so close but this final obstacle was daunting to say the least…. With the car’s engine just screaming, the entire vehicle fish tailing from side to side, and the threat of us getting totally bogged down in the heavy sand, so close to pavement, we both were just astonished as we crested this final hill! We were both emotionally exhausted as we surprising made it to the pavement. We looked at each other and couldn’t believe we had made it without being stranded in the middle of no-where, with no help in sight, no cell service, and without destroying our little tow car… This drive will be an adventure we will never forget and hope we never ever have to experience again. -Roads like this would be a strong case for a jeep to tow…We have never been so thankful and happy to get back to civilization! (Note: we don’t have a lot of pics of the Burr Trail & switchbacks… TOO stressful for the camera????)
9/24:
Today we decided to head to the official Capitol Reef National Park visitors Center.
Capitol Reef National Park…
We opted to take the paved scenic drive in the park, past Fruitta, and then hike the “Grand Wash Trail.” We started the hike in the middle of the afternoon and although it was hot it was a fairly easy 3 mile walk through the wash and slot canyon. Nice hike and although we had to drive on another dirt road for about a mile to the trail head we both agreed, in contrast to yesterday’s adventure, it wasn’t much of a problem… Later we found that access to this hike would have been reachable from Rte 24 on paved surfaces on the other side of the park (Wish the ranger at the visitors center had told us that. We arrived back to the RV park late but had a nice dinner and relaxed for the evening.
Capitol Reef Scenic Drive…
Grand Wash Trailhead…
9/25:
Another day, another hike is on the agenda with the “Rim Overlook Trail.” Round trip it would be around 5 miles hiking on slick rock. It is classified as strenuous. The lookout at the top of this up the valley is really spot to take a break and take in this beautiful park.
Rim Over look Trail…
Rim Over look Trail…
The Hickman Bridge …
As we sat enjoying the view here, we engaged several others hikers that were returning from The Navajo Knobs Trail. The Navajo Knobs Trail is an extension of the Rim Overlook trail which adds an additional 5 miles to the hike. Of course Mike is all in while I am hesitant. Originally we hadn’t planned on doing this extended hike and with the temps in the 90’s on open slick rock surfaces and a total of nearly 2,000 feet elevation change we hoped we had enough water for the added 5 miles… Deciding to continue on we ask if anyone else sitting and chatting with wanted to tag along. One woman named Anne wanted to do it but not by herself (she is on a road trip by herself).
The three of us continue on this fairly well marked Navajo Knobs Trail Extension which has Cairns at nearly every corner marking the path… This is a very strenuous hike on slick rock and totally exposed to the sun. Cresting the top Mike and I realize we are completely out of water. Not good… About half way down, arriving back at the overlook point, Mike and I both realize we are starting to show signs of dehydration and may be in a little trouble. A scary thought. We don’t mention it even to each other but Joanne can see that Mike is starting to struggle, not saying anything and literally just putting one foot in front of the other and continuing down the mountain trail and starting up Navajo Knob Trail we haven’t seen any other hikers in hours so we know there would be no help. No cell service as well…
The Navaho Knobs Trail Extension…
The Castle view from the backside on the Navaho Knobs Trail Extension…
Long story short- we do make it to the car where Mike can just sit in the driver seat while Joanne keeps handing him water hoping he can get hydrated. We talk in depth about how we must be more diligent in planning and making decisions like this. As well as what to always have with us when we hike. Definitely a learning experience about hiking preparedness for the future…. We were lucky…
We arrive back to the park very late, eat supper and get to bed early, both of us exhausted! The following day when we get up Joanne weighs herself and lost more than 3 lbs! But also has several blisters on her feet!!
Getting back to the car at the bottom and forgot how tight the parallel parking was when we arrived…
9/26:
We plan a more relaxing day today. A family history through ZOOM call in the morning while getting some laundry done, and then in the afternoon we drive back over to Capitol Reef NP for a visit to the Gifford House Museum and a final drive through Fruita, and a stop at the Petroglyphs…
Last views of Capitol Reef National Park…
Saying goodbye to Capitol Reef National Park… Until Next time!
We loved our time in Zion National Park, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument , and Capitol Reef National Park on this First part of UTAH 2020 on continuing Revolutionary Journey….
