Bryce Canyon Utah 4/16 - 4/19/14

Check out the slide show on the right hand side of the page for beautiful pics of bryce canyon

BRYCE CANYON day 1

Wed 4/16/14

40° at 7am….we are difinetly back into cooler weather.  We’ll be heading up to Bryce Canyon about 80 miles from Cedar City through mountains with elevations up to 10,000 feet.  Pulled out of the (expensive) KOA campground at 8:50; then stopped at the local grocery for some food.  We arrived at the Bryce Canyon campground at 11:40, where it was 54°.  We lucked out because there were several campsites available so we had a good choice of which one would suit us best.  The other campground in the park is closed so it worked out real good that we got here before noon.  After lunch and a nap (for me!) we walked a short distance (~1/4 mile?) to the Visitor’s Center to check out the low-down on hiking trails.  It was packed with tourists.  Amazing still is how cold it feels.  The temps are in the upper 50’s, maybe low 60’s, but with the wind blowing it feels much colder.  I am becoming a total wimp in regards to the weather.  I need to get back to Alaska to harden up a bit.

Greg at Sunset Point

View from Sunrise Point

After the Visitor’s Center, we walked further up the road to the park store where they sell a few groceries, touristy stuff, snack items.  It is also where the showers and laundry are located.  The showers cost and it seems they are only open from 8am to 6pm.  We don’t need one tonight since I had that really good one last night!  From the store, we hike a short ½ mile to “Sunrise Point” and another ½ mile to “Sunset Point” where the panoramic views of the canyon are fantastic.  We could also see some of the hiking trails far below.  They seem to be hard packed with no rocks to scramble over.  After checking out the views, we walked back to the campground via part of the “Rim Trail”.  We may have walked a total of 2miles this afternoon, just enough to stretch our legs and try out our new hiking boots.

Dinner was stove top halibut enchiladas with a spinach salad made with grape tomatoes, white beans, cucumbers, and red onions with a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, and garlic.  It all turned out really good. 

Halibut enchiladas, spinach salad

Sunset through "window" above camp

It was about 7:30 when we finished with dinner and still light out so we decided to hike behind the campground to a small hill to see the sunset.  I was still cold so I wore my fleece running pants, wind pants, long-sleeved T-shirt, fleece top, down coat, fleece hat, gloves, and scarf….and I felt really warm!  I checked the temp and it was only in the 50’s but the wind made it feel so cold.  I am a wimp.  The sunset was not that spectacular because there weren’t many clouds to disperse the sun’s rays.  It set about 8:15 and we were  back at camp by 8:30.  Nothing much to do after that.  We don’t have any power hook ups at the camp so I was in bed by 9:30 reading my kindle.

Bryce Canyon Day 2

Thurs 4/17/14

Trail to Fairyland Point

28° at 7am….. I am freezing my butt off!  I didn’t get much sleep last night because of the cold.  Today we are planning to do an 8 mile hike.  We left the camp at 9 with the temp getting near 50.  I wore my hiking pants, long-sleeve technical shirt, heavy polar fleece top, fleece vest, and fleece hat.  I was comfortable for about 45 minutes then I had to start shedding some clothes.  The trail (Rim to Fairyland Point) was really nice for the first couple of miles.  I was actually thinking it would make a pretty good running trail, if I liked to run on trails, and if I liked to run up and down hills on a trail.  It would have been an easy run for Greg.  After the first mile or so, we started descending into the canyon.  The trail was still not bad only some spots where the gravel was loose.  Along this stretch of trail there are lots of rock formations which the ancient Indians call “Hoo-doo’s”.  They are tall spires where the wind and water have eroded them. 

Hoo-Doo's

There are no official names marked on the trail but we can see “sinking ship” in the distance, maybe “thor’s hammer” and “gossiping women”, although, maybe not, because they all start looking the same after awhile.  We did see “tower bridge” but didn’t get close enough to climb on it.  By mile 6, my knee was really starting to hurt and the next mile and half were straight up hill.  That last part Kicked My Butt (ok, not my butt, just my knee!).  We did the 8 miles with an elevation gain of 1710 feet.  Got back to the RV at 12:45 (65°); ate lunch, propped my legs up, took a nap (that was a given, right?). 

"windows" in hoo-doo

Trail toward the end of Fairyland

Slot Canyon

Around 3:30, we decided to hike the trail labeled the “World’s Best 3 Mile Hike”.  It is Queen’s Trail to Navajo Trail.  This is where we could see “thor’s hammer” and “two bridges”.  We were supposed to be able to see “Queen Victoria” but it wasn’t labeled so we don’t know if we saw it or not (no picture of it in any of our literature so we don’t know what it looked like).  We hiked though some slot canyons, then up a really steep trail (Navajo Trail) to get back to Sunrise Point.  We finished in time to get to the store and take a shower then back to the RV.  We wound up doing an additional 4 miles this afternoon making the total hiking for the day around 12 miles (in new hiking boots!!!). 

"Two Bridges"

Macaroni with caribou pepperoni

Dinner was gluten free macaroni with caribou pepperoni, spinach, peas, & mushrooms in a cream sauce with parmesan cheese.  I heated up frozen jalapeno cornbread (from a previous meal) and Greg grilled cream cheese stuffed poblano peppers.  I LOVE campground food!  Need I say I was ready for bed not soon after dinner was finished.

Bryce Canyon Day 3

Fri 4/18/14

46° at 7:30; definitely not as cold as the previous night.  We left the campsite in the RV and drove about 5 miles down the road to “Bryce Canyon Lookout”.  We hiked down the Bryce Canyon Trail to a section called the “Hat Shop”.  It was a steep downhill for 2 miles.  The trail took us through some pine forests with Ponderosa and Bristlecone Pines (the latter is the world’s oldest species of pines; some in the park are over 1700 years old).  The “hat shop” is a series of balanced rocks which are flattened and shaped to look like hats resting on stands (like in a store window).  It was really windy at this spot so we only hung around for pictures for about 25 minutes before starting our climb out. 

Hat Shop

"Natural Bridge"

Got back to the RV about 1; ate lunch then drove another 9 miles to the end of the park to check out Rainbow and Yovimpa Points which are at an elevation of 9115 feet.  It was 58° and very windy at these points so not a lot of walking around for me.  Some of the short trails still had snow on them.  Back down the road a few miles we stopped at a look out for “natural bridge”.  It was right beside the road so no hiking there at all.  The description of the “bridge” states that it isn’t really a bridge but an arch.  The difference is the way they are formed.  It didn’t say why the name wasn’t “natural arch” though. 

Caribou backstrap, mashed potatoes, with
stir-fry broccoli slaw

On the way back to the campsite, we saw some antelope grazing in a meadow.  It was still too windy to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, so I worked on the blog and did some reading.  We had grilled caribou backstrap, mashed potatoes with cream cheese, and stir-fry broccoli slaw.

Bryce Canyon Day 4

Sat 4/19/14

39° at 7:15

Peek a boo Trail

Peek a Boo

We are leaving Bryce Canyon today but will do one last hike as we drive out.  We pulled out of camp at 9:30 and drove a short distance to “sunset point”.  We are hiking down Navajo trail then to Peek-a-boo Loop.  Navajo trail is the steep section we hiked up on our 8 mile hike on Thursday.  It is a .7 mile very steep switch-back trail thru a slot canyon then hooks up with peek-a-boo loop.  The loop is 3 miles with steep ups and downs.  We came to the conclusion that the name of the trail must have been because of all the “windows” in the rock formations.  It was a really great hike; I thought it was better than the “world’s best 3 mile hike” we did on Thursday.  It took us 2 and 1/2 hours to go just over 4.5 miles.  It was slow going for me because of all the steep ups and downs

More Peek a Boo

Got back to the RV, changed clothes, grabbed a snack and hit the road for Torrey UT.  We’re staying at an RV park in town, then going into Capitol Reef National Park tomorrow.  Once again the campground there is 1^st come/1^st serve.

Arrived in Torrey at 4:15 after driving over some mountains with elevation as high as 9680 feet and temps as low as 40°.  Torrey does not offer much here; not even a red light.  We stopped at the General Store for some groceries; not much of a selection and the prices were high.  We got gas (4.19/gallon for diesel…Outrageous!)  Checked into the RV park at 4:40 and I made a bee-line for the shower.   For dinner we had smoked salmon-cream cheese scrambled eggs, spinach salad, and garlic toast.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
and spinach salad

The RV park is located at the junction of the main road that leads into the park and the road through the mountains.  Across the main road from where we are camped is a Days Inn/gas station/convenience store.  All night we could hear traffic (not a lot but enough to be annoying) and howling winds.  I slept with ear plugs in to drown out the noise.

Still in Vegas!

Tues 4/15/14

Greg went to bed early last night but I stayed up to see some of the lunar eclipse.  I only made it to 10:30 just as the moon was waning.  I did get up again at 12:30 to catch a glimpse.  Sure enough it was partially covered and it had a reddish/copper color.  We both slept in (I got up after 8 so I guess it was close to 7:30 when Greg got up.)  We decided to find a Sportsman Warehouse to look for new hiking boots before heading up to Bryce Canyon.  It’s funny how 10 miles takes an hour to travel when you’re in the big city!  We are convinced our GPS took us the long way instead of the shortest way.  But we found the store and both got new light-weight hikers AND I got a new pair of hiking socks and a pair of cheap flip-flops.  We then HAD to stop at Walgreen’s so I could get a lounge chair for sun-bathing plus nail polish, magazines, hair bands, a hand held mirror for the sun visor of the RV….. it was my first time “shopping” in a LONG time.  I needed retail therapy badly!!!!!

We finally hit the highway out of Vegas at 1pm.  It’s almost a 4 hour drive to Bryce Canyon and Utah is one hour ahead of Nevada so it’ll be close to 6pm before we get there.  We would still need to look for a campsite and we need to stop and eat lunch at some time!  We decided we’d better stop before we get there and spend the night somewhere.  We thought the town of St. George UT would be a good spot but it was still early in the afternoon when we got there so we drove on up the interstate to Cedar City.  We got a site at the KOA in town with electric hookups.  Arrival time was 6pm (MDT).  We didn’t start dinner until 7 (late for us!).  We had grilled caribou burgers, lentil tabbouleh, mixed veggies, & dinner rolls.  We’re getting up early for the 80 miles trek to Bryce Canyon.  Both campgrounds in the park are 1^st come/ 1^st serve.  The earliest we can get there the better we can snag a site.  (FYI….. this KOA cost 47.00 including hook ups and showers; no discount given for AARP; BUT the best showers EVER!  It was worth the high dollar amount.)

Dinner in Cedar City:  grilled caribou burgers,
lentil tabbouleh, mixed veggies, and dinner roll

VEGAS, BABY!

Friday 4/11/14
We pulled out of the South Campground at Zion National Park at 7:30, heading for Las Vegas, NV.  Greg's brother Anthony, nephew Chris, his wife Shelly, and their son Sean are all there with Chris' hockey team from Soldotna AK.  We are going to hook up with them for the weekend and watch some hockey (among other things).  We got to Vegas at 11:05 and went directly to the Ice Center for Chris' 11:15 game.  They lost :( and I forgot the score.  After the game Greg and I drove around looking for the rental car office to pick up a car.  After driving thru the Strip traffic (multiple times) we finally found the Enterprise office we were looking for.  Grabbed the car and we headed to our RV park; Greg driving the Rig, me driving the Jeep Compass.  We're staying at the Riviera RV Resort about 15 minutes from where Anthony and the gang are staying (Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino).  It is over 90° by 2:30 so I took advantage of the nice showers since it had been a couple of days without one at Zion.  Back at the ice center for another game at 4:30.  The ice arena was only 8 miles from the RV park but it took us almost an hour to get there because of all the traffic.  I DO NOT miss big city traffic.  This was their 3rd game and they lost it (they lost all 3) so now they are out of the tournament.

Anthony's humongous turkey pot pie

Friday night in Vegas....whatever shall we do?????  We went back to the Golden Nugget which is on Fremont street which apparently is part of old-time Vegas.  On the street right outside the hotel, Fremont St. is blocked off for a long distance (maybe a mile or maybe only a 1/4 of a mile; I couldn't tell).  It is for pedestrian traffic only with a million casinos, hotels, restaurants, sidewalk acts to include several singing groups.  There were people in all sorts of costumes and panhandlers asking for money.  The lights were amazing and along the skyline above the street was a canopy that flashed lights as well.  Every hour on the hour at night all the lights along the street go out and only the canopy lights flash with some type of display for about 10 minutes.  It is totally incredible.  All I can say is Vegas is for young people and those who don't need any sleep and for people who aren't afflicted with migraines or seizures (the lights would totally set you off!!!)  We had a great time walking around and people watching.  I lost 10.00 gambling but got a free drink and Mardi Gras beads.  We ate a late dinner (got seated at 9pm!) then walked around all this amazment.  We weren't even on the actual strip and there was so much activity going on.  Greg and I left about 12:30 to get back to the RV, the rest of the gang (except Anthony) stayed up until 5:30 IN THE MORNING!!!!  I can tell you that by the time we got to the RV it was 1 am and it took exactly 30 seconds for me to fall asleep!

Fremont St. in the daylight

On Fremont St. during the day

SATURDAY 4/12......Greg and I up by 7:30 and had laundry done by 9.  I wanted to get back to the hotel and lay out by the pool.  By the time we got there it was a little after noon.  We had to circle the hotel a couple of times until Anthony could come down with a room key so we could get a parking spot in the hotel garage.  Got in the hotel and the pool area was so packed that there was no way I'd find a chair, let alone find one that was in the sun!  Gave up my dreams of a tan and went with Greg and Anthony to get some lunch.  Had a nice sandwich at a bistro a few blocks from the hotel and got to walk around the area for a little while before meeting up with the others (not until after 2pm).  We hung out in the casino of the hotel for a while watching Shelly win tons of money.  I lost 50.00 playing slots and spent another 4.50 on a Starbucks latte;  I'm finding it hard to part with our money when I can't see an immediate return on my investment!  Later in the evening we all drove over to the real Las Vegas Strip and parked close to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino which happened to be next to another pedestrian walk area called the Linq.  This area also houses the tallest ferris wheel in the world-- the High-Roller -- our destination for the night.  After walking around the walk area and checking out the Flamingo (watching the end of the NCAA hockey championships) we met for dinner at the Yardhouse and then headed to the ferris wheel.  There were about 25 in our group (Chris' hockey team and wives) so we got a group discount (a little less than 35.00 each).  The ferris wheel has at least 20 "pods" that hold up to 40 people each.  Our pod only held our group of about 25.....we had a blast.  The ride itself lasts 30 minutes.  There's a bar before you get on so you can get a drink (they don't allow you to bring in outside beverages) and restrooms!  The ferris wheel never stops.  It moves so slowly that you can easily get on and off as it is moving past the platform.  It reaches a height of over 500 feet and you can see all of Vegas.  Did I mention we rode this at 10:00 at night?  The lights from the city were fantastic.  Unfortunately the camera battery died so we didn't get many pics, but we had a blast!

Greg with High-Roller in the background

High-Roller in the background

platform for getting on and off

Inside the pod with the party people!

coming up on 500 feet above the city

high above Sin City!

SUNDAY 4/13/14.......This morning is windy and not as hot.  Greg went for a short run; I went to the pool.  I was not going to miss out on sunning today so I decided to take my chance at the RV park pool.  I had the whole pool to myself for almost an hour then it was only 1 other person.  I got to lay out for 2 hours before we met up with the gang for an afternoon golf tourney.  It was another late night for the party people so we met at the golf course at 1:30 for a 3:00 tee time.  We are playing "best ball" with teams of 4.  Greg and I are paired with Anthony and Sean (Chris' son).  Both of them actually play golf; neither Greg or I do.  The rules of the game went as follows:  each team gets a 5 card draw to begin with; after the game additional cards are added to your hand depending on # of pars and  birdies.  The best 5 card hand from all the cards you wind up with wins 1/2 of the pot (each person pays 10.00 to play + they can "buy" mulligans and throw-ins for 5.00 more dollars per mulligan and throw-in).  The team with the best score at the end of the game wins the other 1/2 of the pot.  To mix things up again, on 1 hole, we had to draw a card to see which club we would use for each shot we make.  For example, if I draw an ace, then I'd have to use my putter to drive with, then a new card is drawn for my next shot, say a 5, then I'd use a 5 club.  Since we don't play, it didn't matter to Greg and I what clubs we used.  Another hole, one person on the team drew a card and this was the club we all used for the entire hole.  For another hole, we had to use our putter like a pool cue.  I was so proud of Greg, he knows how to play pool; he sank that ball from a long way from the hole.  We used Anthony and Sean's shots for almost all the holes.  My drive was used once and Greg had several putts that were used.  We played really fast so we could get all 18 holes in.  There was only one other team (out of 5 teams) who finished all 18.  Even as good as our team was we didn't win -- either pots-- but we had a good time.  Greg and I finally got into the "swing" of it by the back 9.  Maybe that was due to a couple of alcoholic drinks.  Not many pictures today because on the 3rd hole I accidentally shoved the camera in a whole on the golf cart that I didn't see and it fell into the front fender and we couldn't get it out.  Fortunately an employee retrieved it after we were finished playing....whew!  Oh yeah, as warm as it was during the day, as soon as the sun went down, it got COLD!  I was freezing while waiting for the other teams to bring their carts in (the club house was closed so we had to wait outside for everyone).  Had another late dinner and Greg and I booked it back to the RV.  Greg changed the oil in the RV once we got back (under cover of darkness because oil changing is prohibited in the park).  It was after midnight before bedtime again.

Greg getting pointers from Anthony

Look at that form!

Anthony and Sean after a great game!

  On MONDAY 4/14/14.... we left the Riviera RV park about 10:30.  We don't know where we are going next....so we went to Walmart to get groceries.  We ate lunch in their parking lot while we discussed out options and Greg helped me get the shellec off my finger nails.  I let him know that it saved him about 50.00 for him and I to do this, but he reminded me that I had already lost 60.00 gambling not to mention the money we put into the pot for the golf tournament.  Oh well, I got the dreaded polish off.  By the time all of this was done (we're still in the Walmart parking lot) we decide to spend another night in Vegas.  This time we drove out to Nellis AFB and got a nice spot in their campground.  We scratched our heads:  "why didn't we stay here for the weekend?"  It was a few more miles out of town and with all the late nights it wouldn't have worked as well for us.  We decided to head for Bryce Canyon in Utah tomorrow which is about 4 hours from here.  For dinner Greg grilled ling cod (from our freezer, caught in Alaska) and we had quinoa, brussel sprouts, and brocolli slaw.  I tried to stay up to see the lunar eclipse but only made it until 10:30; Greg hit the bed much earlier than that.  We have a long drive tomorrow so I can nap!

Day 3 at Zion National Park

Thursday 4/10/14
We left the campground at 9:50 and walked to the Visitor's Center (maybe 1/2 mile?) and caught the free shuttle bus.  Today we went to "Weeping Rock Trail head" which was about a 30 minute bus ride including all the stops.  This stop is further up the road than where we went yesterday.  Our hike today was to Observation Point, 8 hours round trip, with elevation gain of 2100 feet (that's in 4 miles).  We made it to the top in 2 hrs 2 mins.  It was very steep, with lots of switch backs but the trail for the most part was a nice hard sandstone most of the way.  About 1/2 to the top we passed through a really cool slot canyon where the walls are really close together, windy and narrow.  We also spotted a few big-horn sheep on one of the cliffs.  We stood and watched them for a while with the binoculars.  At the top, we ate lunch and chilled out for about 40 minutes then started our decent down.  About 1 1/2 miles from the trail head, we took another trail toward "Hidden Canyon".  We hiked for about a mile & half up winding, narrow trails that took us up another 800 feet in elevation.  The trail skirted the rim of the canyon so at times we were literally right next to the edge.  Thank goodness there were big heavy chains that were bolted to the canyon walls to hold on to.   There was also a section of steps climbing straight up carved right into the rocks.  We had to "scramble" over big rocks and logs.  There was an "arch" in the rock made from water erosion which we finally made it to (32 minutes from the Observation Trail to the Arch).  We hiked back out after taking a few pictures.  By the time we made it down to the original trailhead and the shuttle bus stop, we had been hiking for 5 hrs and 45 minutes and about 11 miles.  Back on the shuttle we decided to ride up to the last shuttle stop at "Temple of Sinawava".  There is a 1 1/2 walk on paved trail along the Virgin River to the beginning of the "Narrows" trail.    We saw several mule deer and some wild turkeys.  We would have loved to take that hike but it had a lot of water crossings and we don't have any dry suits or wet suits with us.  As we were walking we noticed a lot of people with rented gear.  Somewhere in the park we could have rented what we needed to do the hike.  Oh well, that will be for another time.  By the time we got back to the RV it was almost 7pm.  We did about 12 miles today so my body was aching.  I took a quick shower at the RV while Greg grilled pork chops.  We had baked sweet potatoes and sauteed asparagus again.  Heading to Las Vegas tomorrow.

Big Horn Sheep

Part way up to Observation Poing

view from Observation trail

Slot canyon

at Observation Point

View from Observation Point

Slot Canyon

more slot canyon

Dona under the arch at Hidden Canyon

Greg on top of the arch (he loves to climb)

one of the rock "scrambles"

it is written in stone "scrambling required"

Thank goodness for the chain-hand rail

Greg:  "who needs a stinkin' hand rail?"

It's flat for awhile!!!! whew!

Day 2 at Zion National Park

Wed. 4/9/14
Greg has convinced me to use the time for the state in which we are traveling so new DISCLAIMER:  ALL TIMES WILL BE IN MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME (MDT).

53° and windy at 7:30.  Greg rode his bike over to the South Campground at Zion to see if there was a vacant slip this morning.  We packed up and went over there.  We had electric and water at Watchman but no hook ups at South.  That's ok for us.  We rode our bikes about a mile up the rode to the Museum and caught the free shuttle that runs all through the park.  It was about a 20 minute ride from the Zion Human History Museum to the Zion Lodge (several stops along the way).  From Zion Lodge, we hiked the Lower Emerald Pool Trail, then the Middle pool trail, the upper pool trail and the Grotto trail back to the lodge.  It may have been about 2.5 miles total, no more than an hour for us to do it.  It was not a hard hike.  There were TONS of people on these trails and by the pools.  We rode the shuttle back to the museum; went inside (Greg bought me another hiking stick cos I really need 2) to look around.  We rode back to the RV by 12:30 and ate lunch.  I took a nap (surprise!) then we went for another hike later in the day.  This hike started a short walk from our campsite (maybe 3/4 mile).  The entire trail was 2.7 miles called the Watchman trail.  It had over 350 feet in elevation.  Once again, it was not a hard hike and it took us just over an hour.  Back at the RV we chilled with some drinks and appetizers.  Dinner was grilled T-bones, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed asparagus.  Late night for me cos I was writing in the blog.  Once in bed, heard the wind blowing all night.

Checking out the maps at Emerald Pools

Waterfall at Lower Emerald Pool

middle Emerald Pool

Dona at Upper Emerald Pool

Upper Emerald Pool

waterfalls from upper emerald pools

View from Watchman Trail

At the view point at top of Watchman Trail