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Rockies and Red Rocks
  • Jeff Joll
  • Eileen Joll

Rockies and Red Rocks

Targeting Colorado, Utah, & New Mexico. A road trip camping in the back of our Dodge minivan. Starting off thinking this will be a 6 week trip, we will see how it goes. Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 5, 2023
    Rockies and Red Rocks

    Babler State Park

    September 5, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Spending tonight and tomorrow night at this state park just west of St. Louis. We drove over 650 miles today starting in Pennsylvania and traveling through parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and into Missouri. We ate at Salt + Smoke, a great barbeque place. Tomorrow we explore!Read more

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    St. Louis

    September 6, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    We had a leisurely start to the day at the camp site. Breakfast was coffee and left over ribs (for Jeff).

    We drove into St. Louis and toured the national park area of the Arch including the old cathedral. The cathedral was beautiful in its simplicity although it evidently didn't always look that way. There was a guide there to answer questions and he said his father had described the cathedral as looking like a Chinese whore house (the guide had asked his father what he knew about those). The old courthouse was closed for renovations so only could admire it from the outside.

    We did the trip to the top of the Arch to see the great views of the area. After, we toured the museum under the Arch. While I question the status of this as a national park (the smallest), it is definitely a worthwhile stop.

    Our next stop was the Budweiser facility. We had booked the Beermaster tour. The tour took over 2.5 hours and covered about 2.5 miles. This is an great tour and the facility and its history are very interesting. We had multiple testing opportunities including while it was still being aged and was an unfiltered 8.5% version of Budweiser. We also got to sample from the 2500 gallon finishing tanks and finished off with a visit to a tasting room.

    Dinner was pizza at the gallery pub followed by frozen custard at Ted Drew's, which is evidently a local institution.    Read more

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    On to Abilene, KS

    September 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Today was another driving day (400+ miles) so not much in the way of pictures. We did manage to stop and visit with former President Harry Truman in Independence, MO. We figured it would be courteous since we plan to visit with Dwight Eisenhower in the morning.

    The Truman Library was worth the visit. I always enjoy learning more about history and Eileen tolerates it (she might secretly like it).

    We had dinner at the M & R Grill in Abilene. While I had a steak on my mind, I ended up ordering chicken fried steak at the waiter's recommendation. It was good.

    We took a walk around the town and topped it off with ice cream from Midwest Snow Cones and Creamery. The ice cream was good and the portions were large.

    We are spending the night at Walt's 4 Season RV Park. A nice little RV Park, will be fine for a night's sleep.    Read more

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    Abilene KS to Aurora CO

    September 8, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

    We had breakfast at Snuffy Joe's, a highly rated Abilene diner followed by a visit to the Eisenhower Presidential Library. A very nice exhibit of his childhood home, military life, time as president, and burial site. Very educational!

    Then another six plus hour drive to Aurora Colorado. We stayed on one highway for over 6 hours! There were lots and lots of open fields, cows, horses, and a lot of wind generators ( windmills). That was about all until we got closer to our destination. Then we could begin to see the Colorado mountains.

    Colorado has a lot of breweries so we stopped at our first one - A Bit Twisted. They served Texas BBQ because the owners are all from Texas now living in Colorado.

    We are spending two nights at Cherry Creek State Park. Tomorrow, Denver and Red Rock!    Read more

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    Downtown Denver

    September 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    We spend a good bit of the morning and afternoon in the historic LoDo (lower downtown) section of Denver, starting at the Union Station building. In addition to being an active transportation hub, it has a number of eateries (14?). The center court was being set up for a wedding reception.

    We did a two hour guided walking tour as part of our time there. There were about 20 in the group. Our tour guide owned the company and had been providing tours since 2017. Sounded like he had spent time bar tending and other things at giving up his career in IT, which he hated. One of the areas we visited was Larrimer Square, developed by general William Larrimer from Pittsburgh.

    While wondering, we came across Shakespeare in the Parking Lot where we got to watch a production of Romeo and Juliet.

    There appears to be a great network of trails and the streets seemed somewhat biker friendly.

    We had lunch and a beer at the Wynkoop brewery, very good.    Read more

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    Red Rock Amphitheater

    September 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    There aren't many things on my travel bucket list, but a concert at Red Rock was one of them and now it is checked off. Beautiful night, amazing views, and great music. We started with a short tailgate right next to the famous red rocks. Then, many steps upward we reached the amazing venue. Joy Oladokun was the opening act - very down to earth, and good original songs. After a break, Brandi Carlile took the stage for 2.5 hours nonstop. She is a very talented musician with a very talented band. We enjoyed every minute of it and pictures can't begin to describe the views.Read more

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    Rocky Mountain National Park

    September 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We went to Boulder, CO. It is a small, cute town with a mall of shops and eateries. It is a college town so there are many things to do. We just walked around. We were going to hike at the Flatirons, but decided against it due to time and the lack of parking.

    Because we went to Boulder, we entered the park on the east side through Estes Park. We stopped at the Estes Park brewery for pizza and beer. Our campground was on the West side of the park so we had to drive through the park to get to our campground, Timber Creek. Shortly after we entered the park we saw elk in the fields. It is mating season and they are in the fields evenings and mornings.

    After that we started an upward climb. We were crossing the high point (over 12000 ft elevation) around 7:00PM where we were driving through the clouds. It was extremely foggy for 15+ miles, with visibility at times under 50 ft. Not a relaxing or scenic drive. The temperature was down to 37. We made it safely and found out the road was closed this morning because of ice, with snow on the mountain.

    Our campground is nice, but like many NPs, no showers. While we were setting up, we heard a bull elk calling.

    It rained around 11:00 pm but it didn't keep us awake. We awoke to 38 deg temperatures.    Read more

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    Rocky Mountain...more

    September 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    We slept in, checked in to the campground, and got both hiking and food recommendations from the camp host making the office. The host and her husband are full time RVers for the past two years. They sold their home in Cape Cod after her restaurant failed during COVID. This is their first hosting gig (they get to stay for free but work 32+ hours per week). They leave here in a couple weeks and are hosting at a regional park in Florida for the winter.

    We started off with a 2 mile hike right from the campground to a historic dude ranch resort that started in 1920 and operated until sometime in the 70s. Easy hike for a warmup but wanted to start off slow since we were at an altitude of around 8900 ft.

    Next we hopped in the car and drove to the trailhead for Cascade falls. This was a 7 mile out and back hike without a lot of elevation change, perhaps 600 feet. Much of the trail was very rocky so spent a lot of time watching the ground. We saw deer, chipmunks, snakes and groundhogs. Much of the area was burned out from a 2020 fire but it was still beautiful. Evidently, earlier in the season it was even more beautiful as it was filled with wildflowers.

    The falls was a cascading type, no steep drop, but very beautiful.

    We ate and drank at the Sagebrush grill at the recommendation of the camp host and were not disappointed. The barbeque app had brisket, ribs, pulled pork and sausage. That and some loaded fries made a great dinner. Our server was a girl named Sawyer, nicknamed Sawyer Spilly Pants by her family due to her tendency to spill things. She and her mother moved to Grand Lake 4 years ago when she was 16. They recently bought a duplex, her mother one half and her the other. She was great to talk to, very friendly, day down at it table to talk.

    When we drove back to our campsite, we saw a moose cow and calf about 50 - 75 yards from our site.    Read more

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    Rocky Mountain ...again

    September 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    We woke up to a cold (35 F), but beautiful morning. The sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The stars the last night were amazing!!!! We cooked breakfast in camp - bacon, eggs, and polenta. Then we had to move sites because when we made reservations we couldn't get the same site for three nights.

    We went to the Grand Lake visitor center and then started on the Colorado River hike. We were hiking to Lulu City, a former gold and silver mining town. The town had 200 people from 1879 - 1884. Then suddenly, it wasn't producing what it thought it would, and everyone left. Supposedly there are some remains of buildings but we didn't see any. Just beyond the town marker, the trail led to a very peaceful river edge. We rested and enjoyed the scenery before heading back. The scenery was different from yesterday's hike. There were some burnt trees but far less and many, many pine trees. We saw chipmunks, squirrels, and yellow bellied marmots (like groundhogs). When we got close to the trailhead, we soaked our feet in the cold Colorado River. As we got to our car, there were 8 or 9 elk grazing by the parking lot.

    We went into the town of Grand Lake, walked around and had some ice cream. Back at camp we cooked hot dogs and baked beans and sat by the fire. We heard a pack of coyotes and some squealing. I think the coyotes had an elk dinner.    Read more

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    Goodbye Rocky Mountain

    September 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    We woke up to another cool, but beautiful morning. After some coffee and breakfast, we drove back to the east side of the park on the same road that was fog covered on our way in. It was a beautiful drive filled with rocks, forests, and plains. We were in search of the long horned sheep that roam the park but we didn't see any. We did see a bear, a moose, and did a short hike in the tundra area at an altitude of over 12,000 ft above sea level.

    We left the park and went to Garden of the Gods - fabulous red rock formations where slabs of rock seem to stand straight up. While hiking there, we saw several people rock climbing some of the formations.

    We checked into the Lone Duck campground and then went to eat at a local dive bar Definitely a locals place but the pizza was good. Not so impressed with the campground.    Read more

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    Pikes Peak or bust

    September 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    We had a leisurely start to the day highlighted by a shower (no showers the 3 nights in Rocky mountain NP. We then headed into Manitou Falls for a walk around town before our ride on the cog train to Pikes peak. Great scenery and views on the way up .... most of the way. When we got to the top it was snowing, so very limited visibility from there. While on top, we tried the famous pikes peak donuts, which were OK. We returned after about 45 minutes on the peak. The today trip was about 3 hours.

    After the cog ride we went to a western dinner/show at the Flying W Ranch. The ranch has been doing shows since 1953 and was recommended by a friend who was here 25 years ago. The ranch burnt to the ground ( along with over 200 houses) from a forest fire in 2012. They rebuilt and opened again in 2020. First we walked around the ranch where they had some hands on activities for kids and seeing the farm animals. Then we were entertained by native American dancers. Dinner was a chuckwagon meal of brisket, sausage, beans, baked potatoes, applesauce, bread and spice cake served in a tin plate. It was delicious. The final entertainment was a group of 5 guys with string instruments who sang western songs in 4 and 5 part harmonies. They were very good musicians!
    It was a good day!    Read more

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    Manitou Incline / Manitou Springs

    September 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Yesterday, we saw the Manitou Incline and decided to give it a shot before leaving town. We walked about 1.25 miles from town to get warmed up. We then started up the former incline bed, with the very irregular shaped railroad ties as steps.

    There are 2768 steps that take you up over 2000 feet in elevation in less than a mile, taking you from 6500 ft to 8500 ft elevation. Part of what makes this difficult for us low-landers is the elevation. While we weren't speedy, we completed it in roughly 90 minutes. Our son, Jason, had done it this spring in less than half the time it took us.

    After completing the summit, we returned via a 3 mile downhill trail.

    https://www.pikes-peak.com/manitou-incline-hike…

    Oh, and this hike was done in the rain in 50 deg weather. The weather was actually a plus, kept is cool. We found a Laundromat to dry our clothes while we had a beer and food at the Manitou brewery.

    We then started our drive to Lathrop State Park, with a stop at the crafty canary brewery (it was raining). Tomorrow we will visit Great Sand dunes MP.    Read more

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    Great Sand Dunes

    September 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We started off with Eileen cooking breakfast. After that, we hopped on the car for the 80 minute drive to Great Sand Dunes NP. Along the way we stopped at Spindrift Sand Boards to pick up boards to use as sleds, no standing up for us.

    As you approach the park, the view is amazing. At the base of the mountains, there are miles of sand dunes, with the highest being about 750 ft. It doesn't look like it could be real.

    Once in the park, we hiked through the sand to the dunes. We didn't do that well on our first couple attempts, in part by not picking sand that was really dry. We kept turning and flipping. A couple guys told us that for them, the key was to not keep hands on handles, but keeping them outside sled to steer. After that, we picked a fairly steep, long run and had success. We made 4 runs on this (you have to hike back up so it takes a while). Videos are attached, make sure you have volume turned up.

    When we got to the car, we spent 15 minutes getting most of the sand off of us, including eyes, nose, and ears.

    After leaving the park, we stopped at Zapata Falls at the recommendation of Amy, the woman who rented us sand boards. It was a .5 mile hike at 9000 ft. To see the falls, you had to hike up and across the stream at the top. Pretty cool, with the hike.

    After that, we returned the boards and spent 20 minutes talking with Amy. She has big plans to expand to multiple locations and to manufacturer hemp sand boards. She and her husband and 4 dogs live in a tiny house (under 200 SQ ft) off grid.

    Next stop was the Crafty Canary brewery (2nd day) for dinner and beer. The food was great.

    We tried to find a shower in the campground but no luck with that, a problem for tomorrow.    Read more

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    Great Sand Dunes to Gunnison

    September 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Happy anniversary to us. We left our campsite and headed towards the Black Canyon of Gunnison. Our friend, Amy from Sanddrifts Board Rental, told us about the Great Sand Recreation Center. It has swimming, basketball, camping and other things. But it has what is called the Greenhouse, which is a real greenhouse where they used to grow tomatoes and other vegetables. The rules for producing and selling became too intense that they quit. The greenhouse then got turned into a 21+ hot tub area with four tubs ranging from 98° to 112°. The tubs are fed from hot springs. There are a lot of plants still in the greenhouse giving it a very peaceful look. We tried out all four tubs and the sauna. There is also a bar and food which we partook. It was a wonderful way to spend a few hours. Sometimes the most interesting stops come from talking to other people. We then got back on the road and traveled to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison where we are camping in the park campground.Read more

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    Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    September 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    While a lot of national parks get over 3 million visits a year, Black Canyon of the Gunnison usually gets around 300,000. An often overlooked park, it has very different and beautiful scenery. The canyon is the longest and deepest canyon in the west . At one point, the two sides are only about 45 feet apart. It is very narrow but deep and impressive. We hiked the Small Oak Trail which went just below the edge of the canyon. Going any lower required a permit and climbing skills. A lot of young'uns will hike to the bottom and climb back up. The trail is lined with oak trees, but given the small amount of water and sun, they grow slowly. A small tree could be over 80 years old. Other than chippies, a snake, and a lot of birds, we didn't see any other wildlife. After the hike we drove the rim and stopped at some of the look out points. There was a little rain in the air. We were staying in the park campground and had a very nice, private site. We went back to the campground, built a fire, and had Jeff's favorite camping meal, mashed potatoes and Dinty Moore Stew . Once the clouds cleared, the sky was filled with stars once again. During the night we heard a pack of some kind of animals - maybe wolves or coyotes, not sure - getting a prey.Read more

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    Black Canyon to Arches

    September 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Fairly uneventful day. After getting packed up at Black Canyon, we made a couple stops in Montrose, including replenishing our food supply.

    We took the scenic route 128 from I70 down toward Moab. We ended up with a campsite at the BLM Hall Canyon campground. It has 11 sites, right on the Colorado River. It is about a 15 minute drive from Arches Park and Moab.

    We venture into Moab and stopped at the Moab brewery followed by desert and coffee at Bonjour bakery.

    After we crawled into the van the wind kicked up. It was the first night in a while we had the hatch and windows open, much warmer here. A camper across the way had a tent on top of their van. The winds sent them into the van.

    We plan on spending 3 nights in this site.    Read more

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    1Which one is the dark angel?1

    Arches National Park

    September 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Our campground, Hal canyon, was about a 15 minutes drive to the park entrance.

    After a stop at the visitors center, we headed to the Devil's Garden hike. This 8 mile hike presented some incredible scenery and by taking the "primitive" route on the way back, it added a little extra challenge to it. The furthest point on the hunt was a rock formation called Dark Angel. Check out the picture and help me figure out which was the real dark angel.

    We did stop at various viewpoints including Delicate Arch.

    The day was completed by a stop at Proper Brewing for a burger and beer.    Read more

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    Fred Flintstone's house!Sliding down the Butte on her butt.

    Canyonlands National Park

    September 21, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 72 °F

    Canyonlands is really spread out with the unique sections. We headed to the closest part of the park, known as Island in the Sky. It took us about 50 minutes to reach the entrance, where we encountered a short line of cars to get in.

    The diversity of landscape in just this section of the park is incredible. Our first hike was on Lathrop trail go the canyon rim. The first leg was through a grassy, sandy desert area. We transitioned to a rocky area with beautiful formations before getting to the rim of the canyon.

    Our second stop was at Mesa Arch. This was a relatively crowded half mile hike to a very cool arch. Seemed wrong to me that someone was able to pull into a handicapped parking spot (with permit) and then walk 1/2 mile over rocky, uneven terrain that included some elevation.

    The third hike was at Mesa Butte. There were two parts to the hike. The first took you to a granary storage area built into a cliff , supposedly over 1000 years ago. Most of the bricks were still in place. From there we climbed the Butte. Lots of scrambling and climbing up smooth rock. It was fun, the wind was strong, and the views were incredible. It was a great way to wrap up the day in the park

    Dinner was pizza, unfortunately they did not serve beer.    Read more

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    Delicate ArchPetroglyphsBroken ArchTapestry ArchFinally got a picture of oneThe scene from my bed (aka the back of the van) the last 3 mornings

    Arches part 2

    September 22, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    Today, after a leisurely morning, we left our very nice BLM campsite and went back to Arches NP. We hiked the Delicate Arch trail. We had seen this arch from a viewing point but today we got up close and personal. It was a popular trail and at times we felt like a line of ants climbing up rocks, but the end sight was worth it. After a few pictures we headed back. One of the cool things that happens here is that someone will always offer to take a picture of both of us. In return we have done the same. It is a special kind of understanding among NP travelers.

    Our second hike took us to three more arches. We saw Sand Arch, Broken Arch and Tapestry Arch. It was a 3 mile loop trail that also took us through the camp sites. It was a pretty easy hike but very pretty and mostly quiet. We walked through a lot of sand all of which had come from the weathering of the sandstone rock all around us.

    Tonight we are staying in an airbnb. After 17 nights in the van, tonight we will sleep in a bed, get a good hot shower, and do laundry. There also is a pool and hot tub for our use. Living in luxury! Actually, we have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

    While in the hot tub, we had a nice conversation with a young couple from rural Wisconsin on their honeymoon. He is 19, she is 20. Also talked to a couple about our age from Missouri.    Read more

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    Jeff picking apples1

    Capital Reef day 1

    September 23, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We had a leisurely morning at our Airbnb then packed up all fresh and clean. It was about 3 hours to Capital Reef NP. We went to the visitor center and found that we were in the Fruita area. This area is an area where all of the mountains focus together in that area and the water runs there making the area very fertile and where crops grow easily. It looks very weird after being surrounded by nothing but rock and not seeing much grow at all. An Indian group lived here and had set up an gravity irrigation system. This was followed by 10 Mormon families. They planted a lot of orchards and grew about a dozen different fruits along with some vegetables. They had a school and managed to live here for about 30 years. Eventually they all sold their property to the N P service with the last house being sold in 1969. The orchards are now owned and managed by the NP service and they open certain orchards to the public. If you eat the fruit there it doesn't cost anything. If you take it with you you are to use the honor system and pay $2.00 a pound. We got two apples and two peaches for our pound. Next to orchard was a very nice picnic area.

    We did a 4 mile hike (879 ft elevation chg) near there where we played on the rocks and explored some small canyons. Next we drove the scenic road.

    For dinner, we headed into town where we ate at the Rim Rock Restaurant. Jeff had a plate with bison sausage, grouse and trout. Eileen had ribs. Eileen ordered an Irish coffee which was delivered as a cup of black coffee, a shot of Jack Daniels, and several creamers.

     Next stop was the Singletree Campground. It is in the Dixie National Forest. Lots of pine trees in the area although the campsites were fairly open.    Read more

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    Last Mormon home
    One room school houseArch - we hiked to above itPetroglyph2Cows are free range around here

    Capital Reef day 2

    September 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    We cooked bacon and eggs this morning before heading back to Capital Reef. Our camp host told us about cinnamon rolls made in the park on the Fruita area so that is where we went first. In what was the last house of the Mormons to live there, they have a store with a lot of country things and homemade cinnamon rolls and pies. We shared a delicious cinnamon roll and bought a strawberry-rubarb pie and a peach pie for later.

    We drove along the main road stopping at the Mormon one room school house and other historical places.

    We started the Grand Wash Hike. It was an easy 4.5 round trip hike through the wall area that had carved out these beautiful walls of rock. There is no water now but there are signs for flash flooding when it rains. When we came to the other end of the trail we saw a sign for the Cassidy Arch trail, mashed for Butch Cassidy who supposedly hid out here. It went up almost a 1000 feet. A hiker coming down said the views were worth it so we decided to do it. It was very steep at first but then a gradual climb. At the top, we were above the arch, and yes, the views were amazing. After a snack and sharing a few nuts with a chippie, we headed back down. Once we got to the bottom, we still had 2 miles back to our car. Our simple hike turned into a 8.5 mile hike. We were tired and ready to be done. A quick stop at the petroglyph path and then back to the campground. There were cattle at the campground entrance to greet us. This is open range area, no fenced to hold them back.

    We had a fire, ate dinner, are our delicious pies, and listened to Jimmy Buffett followed by the Steeler game    Read more

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    Bryce Canyon National Park

    September 25, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We got into Bryce around 13:00 and went straight to our camp site which was very close to the park entrance. The campground has running water but no showers. Sites are pretty nice but fairly open.

    After some lunch, we started hiking to the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop trails via the Rim Trail. It had been 24 years since we had been here and I wasn't sure if the actual park would live up to the memories. The park did not disappoint. The hoodoos, with their fantastic shapes and colors are incredible. The hike ended up being 5 miles, a nice distance for an afternoon outing.

    Dinner ended up being pizza from a small shop right next to the park Lodge. Beer was served in a Starbucks cup. Might be my new morning drink.

    We were in bed early, as had been the norm, although Eileen tends to read longer than me.

    The night skies continue to be fantastic even though the moon is infringing on the star observation early in the night. The weather has been great, too, with lots of blue skies and good temperatures.    Read more

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    Bryce to Zion

    September 26, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    After a leftover pizza breakfast, we packed up and drove the scenic road through Bryce stopping at some of the overlooks. The views just continue to amaze! We parked and hiked the Rim Trail from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point to Bryce Point. While we were looking at the same area the whole time, with every bend it brought a different perspective. The views never got old or boring, just more beautiful. I think this has to be my favorite park by far. We rode the shuttle back to our parking spot and said goodbye, heading to our next destination - Zion National Park. As we drove, the landscape changed dramatically. We entered from the west side and drove through a couple of small rock tunnels and then one very long tunnel, where they only let one direction go at a time. We finally arrived at the campground. Our site is a walk in site so we have to use the tent we have been carrying with us this entire trip. Since we have to carry everything into our site and park elsewhere, and because it was very hot, we decided this was a good night to eat out. We went to the Zion Brewery in Springdale where there happened to be live music. It was 88° when we left the campsite and it is supposed to go down to about 55° tonight.Read more

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    Waiting for a park bus

    Zion National Park

    September 27, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Our night in Zion National Park campground was very interesting. The canyon got very windy. While our tent was secure, the noise of the flaps and the wind made sleeping interesting. We made coffee, had something to eat and then packed up. We considered doing a hike in the Virgin River where we definitely would get wet, but the temps were only in the 60's. Instead we hiked the Angels Landing trail to Scout Lookout. It was a very steep climb with a lot of switchbacks. The views were worth it though. Unfortunately, at this time of year you need a permit to go the additional .5 mile to Angels Landing. This distance is over rock with chains built in to assist hikers. It is also a one way trail so a group goes up and then comes back before the next group goes. We couldn't get permits so we just had to watch others make the climb. After a snack we headed back down. It is easier on the heart but harder on the knees going down. At the bottom we soaked our feet in the river. We walked to the Zion Lodge and had a well deserved beer. After that we rode the bus along the scenic road. Only buses are allowed on the road. Returning to the visitor center we found our car and headed to Page, AZ where we had secured a hotel. On our way out of the park we were stopped by a herd of mountain sheep coming over the hill and crossing the road!!Our takes on Zion NP - it is a very nice park with very majestic looking rock formations, but a very popular one. We were not impressed with their transit system though it got us where we needed to be. It is one of those parks where getting there early before the crowds is a great idea .Read more

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    Page, AZ - Antelope Canyon/Horseshoe

    September 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We ate breakfast at the hotel before heading out to our tour in Antelope Canyon. As we were heading out, I suddenly realized that Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time and that it was an hour earlier than we thought. Our phones were still showing MDT and hadn't picked up the difference. Someone later said that the Navajos do recognize DST so if phones were picking up off towers from their land, it would explain. Assuming that to be true.

    We decided to drive to tour location just to be certain about time and we were 90 minutes early. We decided to drive back a short distance to the Glenn Canyon Lake Powell access. We checked out the public launch and then the private marina before heading back for tours.

    We toured Canyon X, one of the slot canyons in Antelope Canyon. Those canyons are very interesting: so narrow and such exotic shapes. There was another smaller slot canyon we got to visit, also. We chose this tour rather than the Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon tours because of price and were glad we did. From a photo opp perspective, unless you had a higher end camera (not cell phone), I don't think it would be worth it. These canyons are all on Navajo land and you have to pay for a tour to access them.

    Next stop was for a burger and beer at Slackers, followed by a milk shake at RD's Drive In. We are sticking to a healthy diet even though traveling !

    We headed over to Horseshoe Bend, a bend in the river in the shape of a horseshoe, which has lots of people walking to the observation point. Once there, were we able to continue walking to a less crowded area and scramble on the rocks for even better views. Only source of irritation were the people who ignored the signs to stay on the path and took the straight line because it saved them a hundred yards or so.

    Our camping spot for the eve was a tent spot in an RV park that didn't have much ( or any) shade..... one of the downfalls of camping in the desert. So, we decided to find a place to get a beer. We ended up at the State 48 tavern sitting next to 2 young pilots (ages 29, 32) who were private pilots for someone out of the Tampa, St Pete area. They typically do 2 or 3 trips per month. Sounded like a great gig. We talked with them for a couple hours before heading to the camp site.    Read more

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