Kodachrome Basin to Escalante Grand Staircase to Escalante Petrified Forest - ??

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Been on it with our 40' Beaver towing a Dakota. No big deal and enjoyed the ride. The climb over the top is a bit long, but the drive along the ridge looking down on both sides of the road is neat!

Just reviewed our trips and we've done that drive twice with the Beaver and enjoyed it both times. When You get to the high altitudes be sure and notice the large Aspen groves. They say those tree stands are all from one root and are some of the oldest living things on earth. I'm sure we'll be doing it again in the next year or two.

Be sure and stop at the top of the grade and enjoy the view. We had lunch there in June and froze, it was so cold.
 
jagnweiner said:
Great!  Now tell us more details about what you saw/did on the trip so I can get excited for my trip to the same area in 4 weeks.  :)
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One of the reasons that I recommend driving and exploring the UT-12 Scenic Byway without the RV is that there are attractions like Calf Creek Falls, Anasazi State Park, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park and Red Canyon that you will not see by simply driving through(there are links with more information on these and other attractions from the first link provided). There are also Scenic Backways like the Burr Trail and Hell's Backbone road that you could not drive in an RV.  There are also a number of good Hiking Trails. We have spent several weeks in the area over a number of years and still have not seen it all.
 
Okay Jagnweiner - here it is:

The first night on the road after leaving Desert Hot Springs California we stayed at the Palm Creek @ Warm Springs RV park located on the Maopa Indian Reservation near Valley of Fire State Park Nevada. This place is not new or fancy but a great place to stay. It is the former site of a nursery therefore is a desert oasis populated with many trees both mature and new. The place is like a park complete with acres of mowed lawn and a stream with swimming hole on the property. I would go way out of my way to stay there again.

Bryce and Kodachrome were both highlights of the west side of the mountains and certainly don?t need any pumping up from me. They both have great views and trails that take you into their amazing interiors.

Driving over the mountains on highway 12 was no problem at all and has some of the largest and coolest territorial views that we?d ever witnessed. After crossing the mountains we found ourselves driving through the middle of Capitol Reef with more killer views and hikes.

Heading north from Capitol Reef we stayed at Goblin Valley State Park where one has their choice between an interesting hike out to the Goblins or simply driving out to the parking lot viewing area ? another cool place to be.

A few days later we found ourselves on the Hell?s Canyon Scenic Byway in Oregon. Locals told us that scenic highway 39 was open so even though a narrow switchback road we decided to take it. That is until about 1.5 hours later where we came upon the shady side of the mountain where the snow hadn?t melted. Dang, the price to be paid was backing up our 34 foot 5th wheel for about the next two hours looking for a place where we could turn around.

All in all ? life is good !
 
Thanks, JHarp!  We will be spending a night at Goblin Valley en route from Moab to Kodachrome on the recommendation of other RVF members.  Then a couple days at Kodachrome, using it as a base to explore there and Bryce.  Then on to Zion.

Sorry to hear about your Oregon adventure.  I'm sure that's a story you'll tell for years.
 
jagnweiner -

You might want to book a reservation at Goblin Valley. We arrived there early on a Wednesday to find the campground full. At the last moment a site came up due to a cancellation therefore we lucked into a spot.

In Cannonville near Kodachrome we strayed at the KOA which is nothing special but we had no complaints either. They had plenty of empty sites available while we were there.

Near the end of the road in Kodachrome there is a restroom kiosk with good parking. Across the street there is a very easy trail to some cool lookouts which are well worth your time. My wife Joan who suffers from a bad hip was able to do it with moderate effort.

If you decide to stay at Palm Creek at Warm Springs RV park on the Maopa Indian Reservation don't do it on a weekend. The owners charge a fee to locals who picnic & use the swimming hole which could make it rather crowded.

One other thing - bring plenty of film.
Jim
 
JHarpJ said:
A few days later we found ourselves on the Hell?s Canyon Scenic Byway in Oregon. Locals told us that scenic highway 39 was open so even though a narrow switchback road we decided to take it. That is until about 1.5 hours later where we came upon the shady side of the mountain where the snow hadn?t melted. Dang, the price to be paid was backing up our 34 foot 5th wheel for about the next two hours looking for a place where we could turn around.

All in all ? life is good !
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Wow ! That must have been exciting :)
 
Wendy,

There was one area of snow we had to back through in 4 wheel drive and another area of rock fall that we had to clean off the road to back through. There were four other vehicles that had attempted to 4 wheel it on through and had to dig their way out. After the first bit of snow I put it in reverse.You would be surprised how calm we managed to remain through it all and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

By the way - apologies for calling you Windy in a previous post.
Jim
 
JHarpJ said:
jagnweiner -

You might want to book a reservation at Goblin Valley. We arrived there early on a Wednesday to find the campground full. At the last moment a site came up due to a cancellation therefore we lucked into a spot.
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Thanks, Jim.  Already on it.  We have reservations for every night of the trip except overnights on the way out from and back to IL.  3 nights at a SP in CO, then once we get to UT it's three nights at Dead Horse Point SP, an overnight at Goblin Valley en route to Kodachrome, 2 nights at Kodachrome where we were able to book one of the full hookup sites, then finishing with 4 nights at Zion.

I appreciate the tips and also the reassurance that with some care, we won't be flying off a cliff while trying to drive Hwy 12.
 
Jagnweiner -
4 days at Zion and 0 days at Capitol Reef might be a mistake. You'll be driving right through Capitol Reef and I'll bet you change your plans when you get a load of it.
Jim
 
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