On The Road

frosty

Grand Staircase: Covers a lot of area in Southern Utah; we were based in Kanab.

The National Monument covers over one million acres in three different units, much of it inaccessible without high-clearance 4×4 vehicles or backcountry hiking. It would take weeks to see a significant part of it. We only had an afternoon.

We checked in with the GSENM Visitor Center to see if they could recommend something easy, short, and close by. They gave us two possibilities and we chose Lick Wash Slot Canyon. It involved a 30 mile drive, the first 16 paved, the other 14 on a graded dirt/gravel road, and took us into the White Cliffs, the third step (out of five) of the Grand Staircase of sedimentary rock deposits.

This was one of the most enjoyable hikes we’ve done. I had wanted to hike a slot canyon for awhile but most of the ones I saw in hike descriptions said the canyon was at the far end of the hike. This one was just a few hundred yards from the trailhead. The whole hike was four miles one way but the slot canyon was only about a half mile long so we turned back when we saw that it opened up.

May 21, 2021

The beginning of the trail, through the wash.

On The Road – frosty – Grand Staircase – Escalante National MonumentPost + Comments (22)

frosty

North Rim: The Arizona strip between the Canyon and Utah. We visited it from Kanab UT.

Once more opting for less traveled areas of a National Park, we spent a day at the North Rim of the Canyon. We saw the South Rim on a family trip in 2004, and since then I wanted to see the other side. Apparently only 10% of Grand Canyon visitors get here; understandable because it’s quite remote from Flagstaff, Phoenix, and other parts of Arizona. It’s a 200 mile drive from the South Rim to the North, so it makes more sense to add it to a trip to see the Utah parks, which is what we did.

Nevertheless, there were a lot of people visiting, especially considering it opened for the season on May 15th. The parking area for the Kaibab Trail down into the canyon was jammed, with cars parked on the road on both sides. This set of pictures was taken from the lodge area at the edge of the canyon.

On our way back to where we were staying in Kanab, we drove out Cape Royal Road, which had several overlooks, seeing parts of the canyon that aren’t visible from the South Rim. We also saw evidence of fires on all of our drives, some prescribed, some not. Fire suppression in most of the 20th Century changed the ecology and the intensity of the fires that occurred.

May 20, 2021

This was our first view of the canyon.

On The Road – frosty – Grand Canyon, North RimPost + Comments (20)

frosty

Zion Nation Park:  Southern Utah. We were based in St George UT.

Continuing our travel theme of not doing anything that requires waiting in lines*, we got to see the main canyon despite the crowds and the sold-out shuttle buses. We unfolded our eBikes and headed up the road. The trip from the visitor center to the end of the canyon scenic drive was just under eight miles, and we covered the round trip with stops, and with a hike, in three hours. While Kolob Canyon was impressive in its own way, there’s nothing like being in the bottom of a canyon like this looking up at the sheer rock walls. As it turned out, we spent three days in Zion, when it wasn’t even in our trip itinerary to begin with.

*this goes back at least to 2014 when we bailed on seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Zion National ParkMay 17, 2021

Alternative transportation. We weren’t the only ones with pedal assist – about 80% of the bikes we saw were eBikes. This is a great way to see the canyon if you’re not planning to take one of the long hikes.

Last year the Park Service legalized the use of eBikes on park roads, with the caveat that they have to be Class 1: No throttle, and pedal assist limited to 20mph. I have never seen a Class 1 bike for sale anywhere! Every one I know of has a thumb throttle which runs the motor without pedaling, which is a Class 2 or 3.

On The Road – frosty – Zion National Park – Zion CanyonPost + Comments (9)

frosty

Zion Nation Park:  Southern Utah. We were based in St George UT.

We had a little change of plan after Great Basin. We were going to take a couple of days to get to Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas, stopping at Cathedral Gorge SP on the way. However, the trailer needed a little work so we decided to go to St. George, Utah instead and have a mobile RV tech come look at it. With a couple of afternoons free in St. George we decided to see Zion National Park again.

Zion Canyon is one of the most crowded areas in the whole park system. Cars aren’t allowed, visitors take a shuttle bus which requires online advanced ticket purchase, which we didn’t have, so that was out. Instead, we went to a less-traveled part of the park, the Kolob Canyons.

Zion National ParkMay 12, 2021

My Fodor’s guide to Western National Parks says “Though there’s little evidence of Kolob’s beauty from the entrance point of Interstate 15, once you negotiate the first switchback on the park road, you are hit with a vision of red rock cliffs shooting out of the earth.” This picture was taken at that point. We both gasped as we made the turn.

On The Road – frosty – Zion National Park – Kolob CanyonPost + Comments (15)