Day 19 (September 19, 2019) - Snow Canyon and Zion

Snow Canyon State Park, Kolob, and a Zion Drive-through

The group that went to Zion yesterday was a little tired today ... and Susan and I are in a permanent state of tiredness.  We chose to take some easier hikes in Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, UT.  We knew it would be hot due to its relatively low elevation.  We also knew it would be sunny because none of the trails were shaded for significant portions.  But we were prepared with our sunscreen and plenty of water and headed off.

The road to Snow Canyon was pretty desolate with only a couple of very small towns to break up the high desert.  That changed when we reached Hurricane, UT and St. George.  Both were bustling with activity and both seemed to be growing rapidly.  Many new homes were being built right out to the park.

Snow Canyon was a big state park about 5 miles long.  It had 50 miles of trails.  With an area that big, the trails had varied features in its different sections.  The first trail we took, Jenny's Canyon, was short at about 1/2 mile out and back.  But it was our first experience with a slot canyon and we had fun with it.

Day 18 (September 18, 2019) - North Rim of the Grand Canyon

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

We split up today.  John, Marcia, and Lonnie returned to Zion for the big challenges - Angel's Landing and The Narrows.  Susan and I went to the Grand Canyon.

Our drive through Northern Arizona was a test.  The terrain was high desert, meaning it was bereft of trees and anything else to break the winds that wanted to push our car all over the road.  Luckily, other traffic was as hard to find as people.  We did see tumbleweed, though.  I ran over 2 of them as they blew in front of me.

Those tumbleweeds made me change my mind about a statement I made in what seems like weeks ago.  I stated that Wyoming reminded me of an old western movie.  This area in Northern Arizona nails that description for me.

We reached the park entrance after about a 90 minute drive.  Instead of heading for the main north rim stop at the Grand Canyon lodge, we turned toward Point Imperial, an overlook farther up-canyon.  We learned there that it was the highest viewing point of the entire canyon and the view was magnificent on a clear day.

Day 17 (September 17, 2019) - Zion, Condors, and Sheep

Zion National Park

If Bryce Canyon was fantastic, Zion was astounding and almost, but not quite, as awe-inspiring as Glacier.  We headed out to Zion with eager anticipation of the sights and trails and were not disappointed.  Zion is an easy drive from Kanab and, once there, all the driving is done by shuttle-drivers.  So that part of the day was relaxing.  The crowds were less so.  Both Bryce and Zion have been packed with people.  Parking spots are hard to find and we paid $20 for a spot today.  Many of the visitors were young Europeans in their 20's.

Zion was unlike Bryce in that it is viewed from from the canyon floor.  But visitors have to get to the valley first ... and that means a descent down a twisty and turny road.  Its a road not unlike the Road to the Sun except the lanes are far wider.  The turns provide ever-changing and stunning views throughout the descent.  Even a mile long tunnel has an occasional opening to the outside world.  Since I was driving, I didn't get many photos of the descent, but the dashcam captured its flavor.

Once on the valley floor, though, I took way too many pictures to post here.

Court of the Patriarchs

The Beehives

Virgin River

The Narrows

Day 16 (September 16, 2019) - Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon National Park

Today's choice for a visit was another high elevation destination - Bryce Canyon National Park.  It was a gorgeous park, much like Cedar Breaks except 50 times better.  It had more hoodoos, more trails, more scenic areas, more everything.  Just like Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon is a park seen from the top.  Drives are on the plateau above the valley and many trails are as well.

The most popular trail in the park covers both the plateau and the canyon.  It is the Queen's Garden and Navajo Trail Loop.  It takes hikers down the canyon wall into the valley and includes a challenging 600-foot ascension from the valley floor through a series of switchbacks.  It starts as a rim trail between Sunset and Sunrise Points.

Day 15 (September 15, 2019) - Cedar Breaks

Cedar Breaks National Monument and Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park

With a week in Kanab, we had our choice of parks to visit on the first day.  We decided to avoid the popular parks, like Zion and Bryce Canyon, because it was a Sunday.  The weather forecast was for a hot day so we wanted to go to a park with a high elevation - over 10,000 feet.  We went to Cedar Breaks National Monument, about a 90-minute drive.

It was a nice drive except that we missed the turn for the park and ended up in Cedar City.  That mistake cost us an hour.  It was a perfect day in Cedar Breaks, though, with temperatures in the 60's for our single hike along the 1.9 mile Spectra Point Trail.  The views were into a beautiful canyon filled with formations like balanced rocks, hoodoos, and arches.

Of course, we were always on the lookout for critters.  The best we could do this day was a chipmunk, but what a fine chipmunk he was.

Near the end of the trail was a very old-looking tree.  It was, in fact, a 1,700 year old bristlecone pine tree.  It made a nice backdrop for our group of hikers.

It was obvious from the odor of burning wood that a fire was in the area.  As we moved around the park, we stopped at various overlooks and got different vantages of the fire.  It was relatively small and the expectation was that it would burn itself out, although there were some flare-ups while we were there.

We ate a late lunch on the return trip at Aunt Sue's Chalet in Duck Creek.  It was pretty good as a last-minute choice.  After lunch, we still had a lot of daylight so we headed to Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park on the way home.  There was nothing to do there except admire the dunes.  It seems to be used extensively by ATVs and occasionally by ski-boarders, but not while we were there.

After a fun day, we headed home to an easy meal of spaghetti.

Susan’s quote of the day:  "I'll be the "ho" for a old-time photo."  This happened after a sequence of events.  First, we saw a sign advertising "ho" made pies with a scantily-clad cartoon woman pictured.  Then the conversation turned to Deadwood, a place we visited earlier this trip, and the famous people buried in the cemetery there.  One was the madame in the town.  This was followed by a sign advertising old-time photos.  John expressed no interest in such things so Susan worked on changing his mind.  It didn't work.

The highlights - Cedar Breaks.
The regrets - None.

Today's total miles - 211
Today's miles from start to destination - 0
Today's miles on side trips - 211
Today's miles driven by Paul - 211
Today's miles driven by Susan - 0
Today's hours in car - 5 1/2
Total Miles Hiked - 1.9

Cumulative total miles - 4,933
Cumulative miles from start to destination - 3,668
Cumulative miles on side trips - 1,265
Cumulative miles driven by Paul - 4,346
Cumulative miles driven by Susan - 587
Cumulative hours in car - 98
Cumulative Miles Hiked - 18.8

Day 14 (September 14, 2019) - On to Kanab

Salt Lake City to Kanab, UT

Today was a day to sleep in.  Our first task was to pick up my brother Lonnie at the airport.  His flight was scheduled to arrive at 10:08 AM and we were only 8 minutes away.  We woke up, had breakfast, and came back to the room to check his flight status.  It was 30 minutes early!  It wasn't a problem and we picked him up without issue.

The drive to Kanab was easy on a Saturday and we arrived earlier than expected.  Utah is another relatively desolate area when outside the greater Salt Lake area.  Exits have no services.  We finally settled on a Mexican chain restaurant, Costa Vida, attached to gas station, for lunch in Fillmore, UT.  It actually was pretty decent.

Since I drove the whole way, only a few photos were taken, mostly in the southern end where the scenery was better.

Day 13 (September 13, 2019) - The Great Salt Lake

Antelope Island State Park

Today looks like a glorious day in Utah.  There is not a cloud in the sky and the temperature is very comfortable, although I know it will be hot by mid-afternoon.  Yet again, we’ve had a significant change in plans.  We originally wanted to attend the Mormon Tabernacle organ rehearsal.  But the choir rehearsal last evening had the organ playing in full throat.  Then we planned to go to Park City for the afternoon.  Instead, we decided that we couldn’t visit Salt Lake City without visiting the Great Salt Lake.

While our destination was Antelope Island State Park - a large island very close to the city, we started by going to Temple Square.

As non-Mormons, we could not go inside the Temple, but we could certainly take pictures.

While Antelope island was close, its entrance was not.  We had to venture out onto I-15 for 25 miles and put Susan through the dreaded 70 MPH urban traffic again.  It took about an hour to arrive at the entry gate, including the time for a quick carwash that did not get the mud off the car.

I had bought a state park pass that saved us $10 and we were on our way across the causeway.  The lake was low.  We learned at the information center that this wasn’t unusual.  The lake is very shallow and its level fluctuates with the season.  The summer is dry so its level decreases and the level increases with the melting snow pack in the spring.  Its record low was in 1963, prior to global warming.  When Anglos first settled on the island in the 1840’s, they took a horse and buggy across the lake bed.