Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

Last night we headed to bed early, so we both woke well before the alarm this morning. After breakfast we hooked up the trailer and hit the road. Out of the mountains we coasted, though the rest of the day was a long roller coaster of ups and downs as we head south.

Gas dropped from $3.19 to $2.44 in about 80 miles. It almost felt like there had to be a catch, besides the very slow pumps. But we were happy to see the change!

We have 6 days to make a 6 hour drive into Phoenix, so we stop in Flagstaff for wifi and coffee. I get some journal entries ready for Ash to review.

We mosey along and find a Passport America RV park and snag the last spot for the night. We throw our laundry in to wash and go jump in the pool for a few laps before warming up in the hot tub. Then luxuriously long/hot showers before switching the laundry out.

Big ole salads for supper. Apparently we’ve been craving some fresh greens as they were delicious! We finish laundry and then it’s movie time before bed.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

Not interested in the 15 mile ride in to the park, we decide to hike locally. Just down the road from us is Forest Trail #4, which T’s into the Arizona trail. We head south, toward the Grand Canyon.

It’s beautiful country, not what we expected to see in Arizona. Pine and Aspen forests interspersed with mountain meadows.

  

Only 6ish miles to the park border, but we didn’t make it (1.5 miles short)- pushed back by dark clouds and suddenly cool winds. A few drops of rain caught us but we mostly made it home dry.

After discussing waiting out 2 days of rain we decide to head out in the morning, looking for warmer weather or hook-ups to wait out the storm. Plus, with the possibility of storms we can’t get more than a day hike in to the Canyon, anyway.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

Time to go check out the Grand Canyon! After breakfast we hop on the motorbike and head into the park. We go straight to the Visitor Center/Lodge and hike out to Bright Angel Point and look down into the Canyon. Way down!

   
 

We worked our way back to the Lodge, where we picked up some coffees and headed out to the patio to enjoy the view. For being a 1-mile deep ditch, words just can’t express how beautiful the place is. I sketched a bit, as I’m not a good “sitter”.

After finally finishing our coffees we headed back to the motorcycle to explore out to Cape Royal. We headed out to the cliff’s edge and found a delightful step in the rocks where we sat and enjoyed lunch while on the edge of the world.

    

Then we walked over to the interpretive hiking trails and explored, checking out even more spectacular views, including seeing the Colorado River through the Angels’ Window arch. Ashley really enjoyed learning about the different plants that we passed from the signs. “Cliffrose, pinyon pine, juniper, sagebrush, fernbush” she would yell out as we passed by and she identified them. 

  

More motoring around lead us to Point Imperial. It’s pretty amazing to see past the Canyon(7 miles to the river from here, the highest viewpoint in the park) and on into flat lands. The contrast betwen the landscapes is fascinating!

We headed back toward home, stopping to top off the motorcycle gas – $3.19 a gallon. Not going to fill up the RV here!

I gather wood and prep a fire, but we end up not lighting it. It’s ready for tomorrow, then.

Supper, reading, and then bed.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

After a bit of a lazy morning we decide not to head up to the Kolob Canyons and instead go south, back to St. George. We buy some bulk nuts at Natural Grocers to make trail mix, pick up everything else at Walmart, and then go to the nearby 5 Guys Burgers to gorge on cheeseburgers, fries, and a shared Coke. Across the street is a self-serve frozen yogurt shop that we hit up for dessert. We’ve both been insatiably hungry the last few days and finally decided to give in. 

Delightfully stuffed we mosey along to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. After a stop at the ranger station for maps and advice we head in to the Kaibab National Forest to find a camping spot. It doesn’t take long before we’re tucked up under the pines and Aspens. Though we’re only a few hundred feet from the main road it seems as if we’re all alone. Fabulous!

 

Settled in, we go for a walk, exploring the trail past our home and then a trail down the road. We pass through mountain meadows and turn around when we intersect the Arizona Trail. We’re back up at nearly 9,000 feet elevation so it’s chilly once again. The last few months have had us yo-yoing between hot and cold constantly.

  

Back home we settle in for the night, reading. We hear some rustling under the cabinets and I make sure the mouse traps are both set. A few minutes later one goes off – the rustling stops. I empty and reset the trap, we continue reading and eventually head to bed.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

After a bit of a slow morning we head into the park. Today we’re motorcycling up the Mt. Carmel Highway through the park. We zig zag up the switchbacks, affording a great view of the Grand Arch, and are soon at the 1.1 mile long tunnel. With no one behind us it’s a great opportunity to putter along and peek out the “Windows” into the valley. We’ve never ridden through a tunnel that long – very cool!

   
   

On the other side we continue on for a few miles, seeing what there is to see. This side of the valley feels completely different – more like the desert we expected. Eventually we U-turn and then stop for a few pictures, scrambling up a rock face.

   
 

Back down the road, we stop just before the tunnel to hike up to Canyon Overlook. We are sitting just over the Grand Arch, looking down into the valley. What a fabulous sight!

   
 

It’s lunch time, so we get in line for the tunnel and head back down, through the valley and into town for gas and to split a sandwich. Ashley checks out the menu at MeMe’s Cafe while I fill the tank and we dcide to go on to Cafe Soleil. Delicious sandwich! After eating we check out a couple of shops and then catch the shuttle in to the Hidden Canyon trail.

   
  

I wouldn’t say that it’s hard to find, but the trail is fairly steep and often quite narrow. Like Angels Landing there are a few times where a chain is bolted into the cliff face with sheer drops a foot or two behind us.

The Canyon is narrow, no more than 20′ wide, and we are very much walking up a dry creek bed. It’s filled with sand and boulders and bordred by vibrant green trees. The sand makes everything slippery and we have to scramble up rocks a few times. About 1/4 mile back we find a cute freestanding arch and a huge chunk of stone that looks like a sunken ship. We turn around at a particularly challenging rock scramble and head back down the trail to catch the shuttle.

  
   

While waiting for it to arrive, Ashley pours a sand dune out of each of her shoes. They didn’t work nearly as well nor were they as comfortable as our boots, which are still drying up on the RV’s roof.

When we return to the Visitors  Center it’s already closed so we mosey on home. We load up the motorcycle and then reassemble the awning. The wind gusts today pulled one arm apart. Tried leaving it set up, as low as possible, so to help keep the fridge cool. Won’t do that again!

Tomorrow we are heading along to the northern portion of the park to hike in and see the Kolob Arch.
We’re both hungry, have been all day. I scramble up a huge pile of potatoes, onions, sausage, and eggs. We eat and eat and are finally full.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

Today’s adventure is a hike up The Narrows, perhaps the most famous trail in Zion. There are only a couple of cars lined up at the gate so we are quickly in, parked, and on the shuttle. Today we ride to the last stop on the line, Mt. Sinawava, and walk up the paved Riverside Walk.

   
    
 

We wade into the river and make our way up the canyon. There is no trail, we are simply working up the Virgin River – alternating between crossing exposed rock beds, hopping across boulders, or wading through the water. We’ve paid extra attention to the weather – with the 1,000′ canyon walls on either side there is nowhere to go but up or downstream and any bit of rain can bring about a flash flood.

   
  

We pass by Orderville Canyon and find a downed log on a sandbar. What a fabulous place for lunch! The canyon alternates between spectacular cliff walls and vertical gardens growing on the stone. The river provides water for the whole valley, turning this area from a desert to a veritable Garden of Eden.

      

After a couple more miles we stop for a snack and decide to head back. On the way we detour into Orderville Canyon, scrambling up a short waterfall and enjoying a smaller, less traveled canyon. A few people we pass describe it as a long obstacle course. Thus far we’ve stayed mostly dry and hope to remain so. When it becomes inevitable that we will get wet it’s time to turn back and head on down.

We try to rinse off the bulk of the sand from our shoes before leaving the river and returning to the Riverside Walk. Along the Walk we pass a woman with her easel set up, painting the river.

  

Back at home we shake our boots out and I put them up on the roof, hoping they will catch more wind and sun there and dry out faster.

We eat and read before bed.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

Though it was warm when we went to bed, the night cooled off and we both slept well (and late, to make up for our night at Walmart) and the morning temperature was perfectly comfortable. We enjoyed breakfast then hopped on the bike and headed into the park. We found a spot at the Visitors Center and grabbed a seat on the shuttle.

After a few minutes we arrived at The Grotto, our stop. One last water and bathroom stop and then we headed on up to Angels Landing. A couple miles of switch backs (including “Walters Wiggles”) lead up to a stone ridgeline that juts out for half a mile into the canyon. The rock varies beteen 4-20′ wide with sheer 1,000′ drops on either side for that last half mile. There are chains bolted to the stone as handholds.

The trail itself was not too challenging, except for the number of people trying to pass through. Lots of mini-breaks so that one-way traffic could pass at wide spots.

   

        
    
 

We ate lunch up on the Landing, taking in the view. It’s like a natural Christmas! Green trees cover the canyon floor and dot the red stone cliffs that rise 1-2,000 feet, with a sandy ribbon of the Virgin river winding through the trees. Almost a surreal view – beautiful and majestic.

   
    
    
    
   

Eventually we head back down, top off our water bottles, and hike up to visit the Emerald Pools. We check out all three: the Upper, Middle, and Lower. The Upper is our favorite, a garden of Eden tucked in at the foot of a cliff, surrounded by fallen boulders and lush trees.

   
    
    

    
 

Continuing on down the trail we return to the Lodge and catch a shuttle back to the Visitors Center. We are really enjoying the shuttles, though we didn’t expect to – they’re readily available with short wait times. More parks should employ them.

  

We hop back on the bike and head home, exploring a bit further up the road we’re parked on. There is a decent amount of traffic passing by us, so there must be great hiking, biking, or something up there, though we didn’t go far enough to find out what it is.

After supper we read until bed time.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

After a lazy breakfast we start calling around. No one seems to have either a tire or tube in stock, so we set our sights on the next town, Washington, UT. A shop there does have some tires available and can fit us in after lunch. We head down, drop off the bike, and eat lunch.

Since we’ve got a few hours we head over to a nearby mall to pass time. End up in the bookstore, reading and catching up on journaling. Once they call to tell us the bike is ready we wrap up and head on back. I settle the bill, go for a test ride and we’re on our way to finish errands. We fill up gas, drop off the used oil at AutoZone (that we’ve been carrying around for a month) and drop off our donations bag at Deseret Industries (ie: LDS Goodwill). Then a quick stop at Home Depot for a few bolts for one last project and we’re off to Zion!

  

It’s been a full day. We pass through one small town after another. How unexpected! Our previous parks have  been off on their own in the wild. We turn around just before the park entrance and backtrack to a gravel road that the GPS says heads up into BLM land. A mile walk to check it out leads us to a camping spot just next to the road, tucked into a curve and backed by cliffs. We drive up, settle in, and relax for the evening.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

After a quick meal, cooked on the JetBoil, we head in to town and load up the motorcycle and head to Home Depot in Cedar City. Along the way Ashley reads through our journal entries, approving and editing. We have to slow down for a herd of sheep crossing the road, that’s not a sight we expected!

  

Arriving at the Depot we buy tubing, fittings, and tools to replace the whole leaking section. How frustrating, having to buy yet another tubing cutter and flaring tool – I can add them to my collection back in KY eventually.

It ends up that I don’t need any of the parts, as there is enough slack that I can cut off the end and reflare it and still reattach everything. Horray! We can return half of what we bought!

There’s definitely something to be said for being able to do projects in the store’s parking lot. I can run in and easily pick up the little pieces that are inevitably forgotten and then return un-used items after wrapping up.

Reassembled, we smell no propane and head to a nearby coffee shop to pass time and use some wifi. Ashley finishes proofing our journal entries and I get them uploaded. Nothing to do the rest of the day (we’ve made a list of places to call in the morning) so we’re pretty comfortable people-watching at the shop.

Eventually we head back – still no propane smell. Huzzah! Only cost about $30 to fix and now we have the tools to do a complete replacement of a section down the road if we ever have to.

  

We move over to Walmart for the night and go in to pick up a few items for a decadent supper – we feel like some comfort food has been earned. Creamy cajun chicken over bowtie pasta with a crusty round bread loaf – delicious and filling!

I get some emails drafted up for tomorrow and we decide we’re craving dessert. The custom, make-as-you-watch ice cream shop across the street is closed so back into Walmart we head, emerging with cheesecake. Oh so tasty!

Thoroughly full, we start winding down for the day. Ashley finally catches her mom on the phone and they chat for a bit. We pull the blinds back and watch the lunar eclipse out our window – not quite the darkest-sky-in-the-US over Bryce Canyon we had planned on, but still quite a cool sight to watch.

Journal entries are just that – the digital copy of my hand-written entries in my journal. If you aren’t interested in the daily details of our adventure, feel free to skip on to the next “regular” post.

After breakfast and last long showers we prepare to head back into the woods for the weekend. I lead on the motorcycle and Ashley follows in the RV. She parks at the entrance to the park while I head down the gravel road. The first campsite is 0.2 miles away and I plan to park and walk back to drive in our home. It’s occupied, so I head back and leave the bike at the entrance. We drive 1.1 miles back and set up home. Argh, the propane smell seems to be back! We walk to the bike, ready to head in and hike. Alas! Our back tire is flat.

We head in to town and stop at the service station to air up, but it doesn’t hold. They are out of tubes and don’t carry bike tires but recommend the closest Harley-Davidson shop, a couple hours away.

I was pretty annoyed about the tire and LP and snapped at Ashley. She remains mad at me until supper. We hike separately most of the day. 

We hike the Figure-8, two loop trails that are connected by a little trail. As usual, my description won’t do the views justice. Though a couple of the hills were steep they were more than worth traversing! Every turn brought a more spectacular view than the last, whether the trail went over, around, or through a hill!

   
    
    
 

Wrapping up our hike we catch the shuttle back to the motorcycle to grab our helmets and then, since the shuttle can’t make unscheduled stops, walk back home.

   
    
    
   

Leaking propane, flat tire, and everywhere is closed until Monday morning. We plan for tomorrow – about an hour away is a Home Depot in Cedar City, along with a couple of bike shops. It’s on the way to Zion National Park, our next stop, we can fix the propane there at the Depot and stay overnight nearby till the shops open on Monday and call around to find our best option for a new tire. Sounds like a plan.

   
   

With signal available I fix the bug on our website and finally get all of our journal entries from the last month or so ready for Ashley to edit during the drive tomorrow.