April 11-14,2008 - Update on Our Trip

The last time I wrote in this blog, we were in Moab, UT and had been to Arches National Park. Here is what we've being doing since then. As you will see, we've been plenty busy and keeping the highways hot. I don't know how many miles we've driven, but it is well over 4,000.

On April 11th, we left Moab and headed west on I15. Our trip took us through some very desolate and rugged country. In fact, we drove over 106 miles between places to get fuel. I honestly don't know how anyone could live in some of the places we been. However, every now and then we would see a house way back off the road. I guess some people like being all alone and don't mind that they don't have a WalMart within 150 miles. Not me! I need human contact.

After about 115 miles (9 more than it took to get to the next gas station), we came to a beautiful valley with a town called Richlands. It was easy to see how the place got it's name. It was almost like an oasis after where we had been. The interstate highway is up close to the mountain range so that the valley is not affected by its presence. What amazed us most about this valley is that it was very obvious that the land had once been covered by lots and lots of rocks but they had been removed and the land is being used for farming or grazing. We theorized this because on the side of the interstate where the land is native, the rocks are everywhere. We did not see any evidence of what became of the rocks. We thought we would see piles of them, but we didn't.

The valley went on for over 25 miles. At the end, the road took us through the rock mountains and then out into another valley that is pretty, but nothing like the one before. We started looking for a place to camp when we got near the turn off for Bryce Canyon. The place we found in the campground book did not look too hot, so we continued on down the road a bit. Mike pulled off the road for us to look at the atlas to see how far it was to the next town, when he looked and said - "The sign out on your side says RV Park & Motel Now Open". I looked and could not believe my eyes, we were sitting in front of a brand new campground. So, I went in and got us a spot. We were the only people there in the RV park. There were three or four cars at the motel. What a lucky break for us!!! We were close to Bryce Canyon and had a very nice park to stay in for the night. By the way - the little town where we camped is Hatch, UT. It does have a gas station, but that is about all.

The next morning, we got up early and headed out to Bryce Canyon. Our plans were to visit Bryce and get back to the RV park and pack up and get on the road by 11am. We read in one of the brochures on Bryce that it is best to travel to the end of the canyon road (18 miles from the entrance gate) and then stop at the pull offs on the way back down. So, that is what we did. The drive up the mountain was not too bad for me. There were only a few places that gave me the creeps because of the heights. We got to the top and it was only about 27 degrees up there. Good thing we dressed warmly. The view from the top was another of those views that are hard to describe. But, as usual, I have some pictures to post that I hope will give you a feeling of what it was like. The hardest thing to convey in words or in pictures is the height of the stone pillars (they are called Hoodoos).

We made our way back down the mountain, stopping at all the lookouts and taking some very short hikes at some. We got pictures at each place we stopped. Our last stop was the most fabulous. I now think that is why they recommend that you go to the top first. Even though the sights are great at the top, the sights at the last stop were spectacular. I'm glad we saved the best for last. Again, we got pictures but they just don't do justice to the place. It is one of those places that you have to see to believe.

We did not get back to our RV and get out of the RV park until around noon. We drove south from Hatch on our way to Zion National Park. We planned to cut across and get back on I15 on Utah 14. However, when we turned on Utah 14, there was a sign saying the road was not recommended for large vehicles. So, we turned around and decided we might need to go from Utah back into AZ and then come across. When we got to the road that goes into Zion, Mike said we should give it a try. There was a sign saying that we would have to pay $15 to go through the tunnel because of the size of our vehicle, but we figured we would spend a lot more than that in fuel to go around.

It was only a few miles into this leg of our trip until I starting saying = "Oh, my gosh" and snapping pictures. The cliffs were the most unbelievable yet! Maybe it was because we were at the bottom looking up this time, but they were just absolutely breathtaking. I bet I took 50 pictures before we got to the first tunnel.

The first tunnel was short and we went through fine. The next tunnel (the one that we paid $15 to go through) was another story. We got to the ranger post and they had us stop. The ranger on our end of the tunnel radioed the ranger at the other end letting them know we were waiting to go through. The traffic on the other end of the tunnel was stopped and once those cars in the tunnel came out, we were allowed to go through. We were told to stay in the middle. We were only a short way in when Mike said to me - "Am I in the center". Well, that was a bit of a shocker. I asked him what his problem was and he said he had on his sunglasses and was having a hard time seeing. I don't know why he did not stop and put on his regular glasses - or - why I did not insist that he stop, but we continued on. His eyes did adjust somewhat, but he did have to ask me a couple more times about being in the middle. The tunnel was a very long one and had several curves which made staying in the center more difficult. Mike managed fine. There were actually a few places along the way that the wall on the outside of the mountain was open and you could see out. It was like having a huge window every so often.

We came out of the tunnel to find that we were very high up and that we had a lot of switchbacks to travel before reaching the bottom. Thank God for good brakes. This was a little hairy for me, but I made it ok.

Our next decision was to find a place to park the RV so we could see the canyon. We had decided by this time that Zion was worth spending some time exploring. I started looking in the campground directory for a place and it looked like we were going to have to go about 10 miles outside the park. There is a small town just outside the park boundaries called Springdale. As we were driving through, I spotted a campground. I looked in the directory and found it and called. They had some sites available, so we turned the rig around and went back. When I checked in at the campground office, the person who checked me in told me that the park and town have free shuttles that could take us to a place in Zion that we could not see if we drove. After we set up camp, we headed out and caught one of these shuttles.

The park shuttle took us up a road that ended at a place called the Narrows. There were seven stops along this route where we could have stopped and done some sightseeing or taken some trails, but we decided to go all the way to the end. Along the way, we heard a recorded tour recording that told us about the park and this area of the park. It was very interesting. We got to view the rock cliffs as they were named on the recording. In addition, our driver would stop the tape when she saw something that she wanted to point out to us and start it back up as we continued. The driver showed us some climbers on the cliffs. They looked so tiny from where we were. I don't know how people climb up those sheer rock faces. They have to have so much strength and no fear of heights. I doubt I would make it ten feet.

As I said, we went to the end of the route and got off at a place called the Narrows. It is named this because this is where the canyon gets very narrow with rock cliffs on both sides and the Virgin River flowing between them. There is room for a trail along the river. We walked the trail and saw some mule deer and a wild turkey. At some places along the way, people were playing in the river. At the end of the trail, the pathway narrowed so that all there is are the two rock cliffs and the river. There is no room for the path. We saw some people who had on special clothing who had gone on up a ways by walking in the river. We did go down to the water here and put our hands in and it was pretty cold.

After hiking back to the shuttle stop, we headed back to the RV. I took the dogs for a walk and Mike had a beer and visited with the guy in the RV next to ours. For dinner, we walked into town to the old church house that is now a pizza restaurant. The pizza was great. We walked back to the RV even though we could have caught a shuttle. My thought was that I at least walked off one slice of pizza.

On the 13th, we left Zion (Springdale) and headed to Nevada to see Hoover Dam. Our drive brought us right through Las Vegas. We did not stop in Vegas because we have both been there and we are not willing to give the casinos any of our hard earned money. We selected an RV park in the town of Boulder City which is just a few miles outside Las Vegas and very close to Hoover Dam. As we were stopped at the stop light to turn into the road to the RV park, Mike looked out his rear view mirror and saw that we had a flat tire. Thank goodness, we were right where we planned to stop. I tell you, God has been good to us on this trip. We have had some problems, but He has placed us in spots where we were safe and had access to help. In fact, we were able to pull into the RV park and pull off under a shade tree next to the office. The RV park owner came out and talked to us and told us he had a person who could help us get a new tire on Monday morning. He also told us to get up early and go to Hoover Dam before the tourist buses started bringing people out there.

So, that brings me to today - April 14th. Mike and I did as the RV park owner suggested and got up early and went to see Hoover Dam. It is an impressive sight. It is hard to imagine the amount of work that went into building the dam. It was started in 1931 and completed in 1935. Highway 93 goes across the top of the dam and there are sidewalks on either side so that you can walk across and see Lake Mead and the Colorado River flowing out from the dam. The lake is way down - over 40 feet. I know that a few weeks ago, the powers that be did a planned flood and let out water to see the impact on the downstream environment. I don't know how much water they released, but I doubt that it drop the level nearly 40 feet. The lake is clean and we were able to see large fish up close to the dam in a shallow pool.

Another interesting fact on the dam - the highway is being reconstructed near the dam and a new bridge built so that in the near future, regular traffic won't cross over the top of Hoover Dam. The new bridge that is being built is a lot higher than the dam and it will cross the Colorado River - not the lake. So, it is going to be a very, very, very high bridge. It is scary to see them working on it. I have a few pictures of this work being done. I hope they are good enough to post. I don't know the plans for the future for tourist travel on Hoover Dam, but based on the number of people we saw coming to visit as we were heading back into town, I expect the dam will continue to be open for tourist traffic.

I probably won't be updating the blog for a few days. Mike and I have decided that we need a rest. We have been hard at traveling and sightseeing for 6 weeks now. We are going to take a break and sit still for a few days. Our next destination is southern CA. I hope you enjoy the pictures I am posting.