Crossing the Natural Bridges
Day 14 (Friday, May 14, 2021) It is time to head back into cellphone-and-internet-free areas of southeastern Utah and to my all-time favorite park: Natural Bridges National Monument! Located off Hwy 95 just under an hour from Blanding, we get there by midday. Ideally, I’d like us to stay inside the park again, but as we approach the campground the sign already shows that all 13 sites are occupied. Prepared for this, we head back out a couple of miles, … Read More
Hiding in a Deserted Valley
Day 9 Sunday, May 09, 2021 While we don’t have enough time in Bluff to give the trailer a full wash-down inside & out, we can at least get ourselves clean again, after the red sand got everywhere. By midday we’re off towards the next stop on our route: Hovenweep National Monument. Just a little over an hour east, following some pothole and gravel roads, we reach this little gem just before the border to Colorado. The 31-site first-come-first-serve campground … Read More
Isolation in Valley of the Gods
Day 4 (Tuesday, May 04, 2021) Aside from setting up our camping chairs around the self-made fire ring and getting the solar panels out and in place, we do nothing today. That’s right, nothing. Just relax! Day 5 (Wednesday, May 05, 2021) After all the excitement yesterday, it’s time for another day of the same. Relaxing at the site, hiking up the hill to take photos of how remote our site is (it is really remote), enjoying the sun (it’s … Read More
A Couple Days at the Grand Canyon
Day 2 (Sunday, May 02, 2021) It was a long drive yesterday, but the excitement of being inside the National Park already finally gets us up and going, and we are heading out to see the Grand Canyon. Walk & Bike paths lead from the campground directly to the Visitor Center and the Rim, from where we’ll be able to walk along the Rim all the way to the Village – with J.T.! While dogs are not allowed on trails, … Read More
We’re Getting Away in 2021
Day 0 (Friday, April 30, 2021) Maybe it HAD been a little optimistic to think we could leave after Kirk gets home from work on Friday evening, but having quite as many obstacles thrown our way as ended happening – never would have guessed THAT! So what went wrong? Well … the trailer wasn’t quite packed yet (procrastination issues) and not washed yet (since it rained earlier this week), the truck wasn’t packed yet (since we didn’t even get it … Read More
All Good Things Come to an End
After overnighting along I-15, we’re hitting the road home, from the desert areas around Las Vegas, NV and Mojave, CA into the hot and pretty poor air quality of the Central Valley towards Livermore … and after 13+ hours on the freeway, we’re home again, back to reality.
Bryce Canyon National Park
After so much time away from people or at least from big crowds, we know we have to expect more activity at today’s destination: Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s been many years since Kirk had been here, even if not the 32 years since my last visit! Funny note – at the entrance sign, we meet a guy who had been here with his family also in 1988 – and he’s trying to re-enact the same photo as taken back … Read More
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Out in nowhere-land, we had a destination in mind that takes us even further away from everything else. A hidden gem in the middle of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National: Kodachrome Basin State Park. Yes, named after the Kodak company (with their permission) because of the wide variety of colors in the rocks. A couple small hikes take us (including J.T. – dogs allowed!) to many different spires and various rock formations inside the state park. Need to get away even … Read More
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Just when you thought scenic drives can’t get any better, we head out onto Hwy 12, through the Dixie National Forecast and the National Monument. The 1.9M acres of Grand Staircase-Escalante NM, where preserving the land’s wild character is a top priority. These public lands don’t just protect astounding scientific values, they safeguard one of the rarest natural resources of all – the opportunity for solitude – in a landscape sculpted by wind, water and time. We could spend a … Read More
Capitol Reef National Park
Another national park, another great surprise! When you think you’ve seen most rock formations, bring on a reef! Not below the ocean, but for all to see here at Capitol Reef NP! A Wrinkle in the Earth, as the Rangers call it, where millions of years geologic forces shaped, lifted, and folded the earth, creating this rugged, remote area known as the Waterpocket Fold. After a first stop at Goosenecks Overlook and Panorama Point, we’re heading south on the Scenic … Read More