Southern Utah Trip
We finally got out of Colorado on our winter trip and have spent the last few days traversing southern Utah. This is spectacularly beautiful country.
Our first stop was at Sand Island Recreation Area, near Bluff, Utah. This is a small spot, used mostly by river runners but don?t let that keep you away. There?s a small campground with no hookups but water available as well as vault toilets. Most of the spaces are quite large and some are huge. We took a smallish one because it was one of those pull-thrus along the side of the loop. We didn?t feel like unhooking the toad or we would have grabbed a huge site under a cottonwood tree (no, the tree didn?t block the southern sky). There?s a very nice petroglyph panel in the campground with several Kokopelli?s, big horn sheep, spirals, and lots of other etchings. I wonder what they were thinking of when they chipped through the desert varnish.
The next day, we drove through Monument Valley, Kayenta, and Page Arizona. This is always a beautiful, awe-inspiring drive We ended up at Lone Rock, an isolated camping beach, part of Glen Canyon NRA, about 10 miles north of Page. Very secluded, very scenic, and only $2 a night in the off-season ($4 if you don?t have a Golden Age or Golden Access card). Gordon had a ball, running around in the sand, chasing rabbits. We kept him away from the water since we were still winterized and didn?t have a lot of water for cleaning up a wet, sandy, muddy Labradork. Then the full moon rose up over the cliffs and lit up a silver path across the lake and we knew we had chosen a wonderful spot.
Because we don?t travel with an itinerary, we detoured off highway 89 to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, a spot we?d never been before. What a great decision that was ! Wow, was it beautiful, and off-season so there weren?t many ATVs zipping around. There?s a small campground there, $16 with no hookups but nice big sites, water available, showers, and dump station. We picked a good spot with nice southern exposure and Mike got online right away. Unfortunately, we didn?t notice until later that the solar panels were in the shade of a big pinyon pine. Oh well, occasionally you have to use the generator. We hiked out into the dunes, tracked down a geocache, and enjoyed this relatively unknown southern Utah gem. Gordon slept like a rock. As we were leaving the next morning, we noticed a huge area where ATV folks were camped out....probably a great spot to stop during the week, BLM and free.
We got back on our planned route to Zion National Park. It was a long trip, 41 miles. The drive alone is worth the price of gas, even if it was still $4. We made the trip through the tunnel ($15) with me snapping pictures every time we came to a ?window? (I kind of thought that since I paid $15, I should be able to stop in the tunnel and take pictures but the ranger disagreed). Vehicles over 13'1" tall and over 40 feet in length are prohibited, as are combos over 50 feet. Sometimes having a small RV is handy (we measure 47-feet with the motorhome, bike rack, and VW toad). The length limit has more to do with the switchbacks on the west side of the tunnel.....6 tight switchbacks. We?re now parked at Watchman Campground in Zion. Two loops at Watchman have electric hookups. There?s a dump station and water available and the Visitor Center and Shuttle stop are within easy walking distance. There are campsites in the open with great southern exposure, there are great sites in the trees, there are sites along the Virgin River where you can hear the river as it passes by. Electric sites are $18, half off if you have a Golden Age or Access card. Are you guys sure you don?t want to change the ?Hop? to Watchman?
Enjoy your travels, wherever they take you.
Wendy
Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, Utah
We finally got out of Colorado on our winter trip and have spent the last few days traversing southern Utah. This is spectacularly beautiful country.
Our first stop was at Sand Island Recreation Area, near Bluff, Utah. This is a small spot, used mostly by river runners but don?t let that keep you away. There?s a small campground with no hookups but water available as well as vault toilets. Most of the spaces are quite large and some are huge. We took a smallish one because it was one of those pull-thrus along the side of the loop. We didn?t feel like unhooking the toad or we would have grabbed a huge site under a cottonwood tree (no, the tree didn?t block the southern sky). There?s a very nice petroglyph panel in the campground with several Kokopelli?s, big horn sheep, spirals, and lots of other etchings. I wonder what they were thinking of when they chipped through the desert varnish.
The next day, we drove through Monument Valley, Kayenta, and Page Arizona. This is always a beautiful, awe-inspiring drive We ended up at Lone Rock, an isolated camping beach, part of Glen Canyon NRA, about 10 miles north of Page. Very secluded, very scenic, and only $2 a night in the off-season ($4 if you don?t have a Golden Age or Golden Access card). Gordon had a ball, running around in the sand, chasing rabbits. We kept him away from the water since we were still winterized and didn?t have a lot of water for cleaning up a wet, sandy, muddy Labradork. Then the full moon rose up over the cliffs and lit up a silver path across the lake and we knew we had chosen a wonderful spot.
Because we don?t travel with an itinerary, we detoured off highway 89 to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, a spot we?d never been before. What a great decision that was ! Wow, was it beautiful, and off-season so there weren?t many ATVs zipping around. There?s a small campground there, $16 with no hookups but nice big sites, water available, showers, and dump station. We picked a good spot with nice southern exposure and Mike got online right away. Unfortunately, we didn?t notice until later that the solar panels were in the shade of a big pinyon pine. Oh well, occasionally you have to use the generator. We hiked out into the dunes, tracked down a geocache, and enjoyed this relatively unknown southern Utah gem. Gordon slept like a rock. As we were leaving the next morning, we noticed a huge area where ATV folks were camped out....probably a great spot to stop during the week, BLM and free.
We got back on our planned route to Zion National Park. It was a long trip, 41 miles. The drive alone is worth the price of gas, even if it was still $4. We made the trip through the tunnel ($15) with me snapping pictures every time we came to a ?window? (I kind of thought that since I paid $15, I should be able to stop in the tunnel and take pictures but the ranger disagreed). Vehicles over 13'1" tall and over 40 feet in length are prohibited, as are combos over 50 feet. Sometimes having a small RV is handy (we measure 47-feet with the motorhome, bike rack, and VW toad). The length limit has more to do with the switchbacks on the west side of the tunnel.....6 tight switchbacks. We?re now parked at Watchman Campground in Zion. Two loops at Watchman have electric hookups. There?s a dump station and water available and the Visitor Center and Shuttle stop are within easy walking distance. There are campsites in the open with great southern exposure, there are great sites in the trees, there are sites along the Virgin River where you can hear the river as it passes by. Electric sites are $18, half off if you have a Golden Age or Access card. Are you guys sure you don?t want to change the ?Hop? to Watchman?
Enjoy your travels, wherever they take you.
Wendy
Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, Utah
