I know, it's been over a week since I blogged...I know. It's not my fault, really, it's isn't...honest! We left Williams, AZ on Sunday April 25th. As I said in our last blog, we really wanted to see the
IMAX Grand Canyon
theater and as the weather on Saturday turned out to be very nice, we did just that. We rode up from Williams, saw the film and then headed on through the eastern side of the
Grand Canyon, down to Flagstaff and back to Williams. We didn't get back until almost 8pm - cold and tired but some coffee and pie at Pine Country Restaurant perked us up.
Sunday we headed out to Page, AZ for the night. The Wal-Mart there is very RV friendly and we needed to stock up on groceries. After spending $200 we settled in for the night. I could have blogged but was lucky to just get photos uploaded. If you have never driven from Williams to Page, AZ...you are missing a gorgeous trip!
Since Kanab, UT wasn't too far away we had a short trip on Monday. Well, we thought it would be...LOL! The drive continued to be scenic although different that than of the Page area. We drove through Kanab, trying to find a boondocking spot that we had located in the
Escapees Days End directory. Well, we found it but it really wasn't as advertised...not really large and the red sand looked somewhat soft. After continuing down the road till we could turn around, we headed back in to Kanab and the BLM office there.
They gave us maps and directions to
Pink Coral Sand Dunes Recreation Area. They assured us there would be plenty of room for our rig and since it wasn't the weekend, we wouldn't be too overrun with ATVers. They also told us that of the two campgrounds we MIGHT be able to fit in one, the Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park, but would definitely not fit in the other. Since we planned to boondock, that was fine.
So we headed back off to just north of where we had originally turned off Hwy 89 and headed westerly to find our spot. Nine miles later we did...perfect location! Hmmm, but no cell phone and no aircard internet access. Oh well...LOL!
Our only adventure, oh yeah, was getting the Freightliner stuck again. Not as bad as in Joshua Tree thank goodness. Stu unhooked the truck and between him and an ATVer with a Rhino, they got it out. We then hooked back up from another direction and circled around to a more solid spot. Be forewarned...red sand in UT is very deceptive...with the amount of wind what looks to be solid very often isn't. We dug out the chairs and enjoyed the sun for an hour or so till the late afternoon chill drove us inside. [
GPS]
The next morning, Tuesday, we packed a lunch and headed out to Zion National Park. I had ridden through the park in 2005 on my motorcycle tours and was excited for Stu to experience it. There have been a lot of improvements to the visitor center and other facilities since then. They have also added shuttle service to help decrease the amount of traffic.
As I suspected, we stopped often to take photos and enjoy the scenery. Breathtaking! We ended at the visitor center where we found a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch. We even had a little cell signal so we quickly caught up on email and updated our Facebook accounts.
From there we continued on to Hurricane, UT and the local Harley dealer. Again, I had been there in 2005 and was looking forward to seeing the quirky motorcycle statue outside. I was disappointed to find it missing.
We still had time so we headed back to Zion and rode it in the opposite direction...getting back to our rig before the afternoon was gone. What a wonderful amazing day!
We stopped for gas and a coffee break at the Best Western,Thunderbird Restaurant. Beautiful building inside and out and we enjoyed watching the hummingbirds.
Unfortunately cold, wet weather was moving in and we'd been told that the parking area became a bog when wet so we headed out on Wednesday thinking that we might stay at Wal-mart in Richfield. But as we continued to monitor the weather we realized that boondocking with a forecast low of 12 degrees wasn't smart. LOL! So we set our sights a little further out, Green River, UT.
I have ridden and driven US 89 north through UT several times...it always surprises me with its beauty....it instills a sense of calm in me. We stopped for lunch beside the river that meanders along the road. What a great spot to take a break.
We continued on to I-70 and then headed east. I have ridden and driven I-70 in Colorado but this was the first time I had been on it in Utah. Wow! Can you say, WOW?!? It's like visiting a National Park without the fees (and fewer pull-over spots). There aren't words to describe the beauty...you have to see it to believe it. The winds were extreme and when we did take one of the scenic view turn-offs, we felt like the rig was going to flip. We got back on the highway quickly!
As we drove into the KOA in Green River, I realized that I had stayed at the hotel beside the campground...again, back in 2005. It was raining really hard and I stayed 3 nights to wait it out, enjoying the beautiful setting overlooking the Green River and being able to walk to the neighboring restaurant.
So Stu and I had to go to dinner at the restaurant that night and of course had to sample the local UT beers from
Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City. We both enjoyed our beers, mine was King's Peak Porter and his was the Cut Throat Pale Ale.
We had booked two nights with an option on a third, not knowing what the weather was going to do. We still hoped to visit
Arches National Park
, just not sure if we will make it or not. Yesterday some online RV blog friends,
Rod & Deb Kendall moved up here from
Moab
. They are on their way to Salt Lake City and knew they needed to out wait the weather as well.
We spent a great afternoon getting to know each other in real life, finding many similarities and then headed over to the restaurant again for a late lunch, early dinner. We all enjoyed more of the beer and sat there talking well after we were done eating.
Today we slept in...I had insomnia the other night and am still trying to get caught back up. Around noon we headed off for a walk, trying to find our first
geocache
. I had taken a seminar at the Gypsy Journal Rally and was determined to try it, at least for the exercise.
I had downloaded a free application for my iPhone and we used that. There were three caches, two within a half mile. We headed for the closest one but as we got to the "found it", the app switched to another location...confusing. But since it's a free app...you get what you pay for. We wandered quit a bit and couldn't find either the original or the new one. We headed back towards the rig and I found another that was on the way.
So we started again...but this time...WE FOUND IT! Our first geocache...yippee!
From there we headed to the
John Wesley Powell River History Museum across the street from the campground. We snagged a few photos, visited the gift shop and then headed back to the rig for some lunch.
Tonight we went with Deb & Rod to Ray's Tavern for some burgers....it was recommended to all of us from different sources. They plan to hit the road tomorrow, we might extend one more day and take Big Red down to Arches. Dinner was as good as predicted, the fries were TOPS and oh my, the apple pie...added to the beer and we are all stuffed and ready for bed. (Forgot to take a photo of the burgers but this shows the great fries!!)
Here are the major photo album links...way too many for me to post!
When we finally leave here we will be headed to Colorado. Lots of visiting with family & friends, events to attend and not much time to post...but I will try to do better. Honest! LOL!
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu
