Almost a week in the Las Vegas area...NICE!

With our fall travels winding down, it was time to head to Las Vegas to prepare to store BIW and then fly home for the holidays.

Our first stop along Lake Mead at the NPS Boulder Beach campground.  The park service continues to upgrade this campground with paved and level campsites.  Now under construction are the camping loops on the north side, so even though almost 50% of the campsites were closed due to construction, we once again scored a great site with views of Lake Mead.

   And a side note:  when checking out this campground we found the NPS photo that has our 2010 Winnebago Vista at another of the primo sites!  How cool!  

And now with our E-bikes we were ready to tackle the 26 mile bike trail loop.  One day we headed to town of Boulder City which was built to support the building of Hoover Dam.  Another day we rode the trail north along Lake Mead.

We did have a shortened stay at Boulder Beach, as Morey figured out what caused the smell of burning plastic that we had noted at Snow Canyon.   Our transfer switch which manages our shore power (110v) had a loose wire which was sparking and arcing...…...NOT GOOD!  No fire, but worrisome.  So on day two at Lake Mead, we were able to get an appointment at Findlay RV (where we go for oil changes in Las Vegas), and after some checking and needing to wait a day for the new switch, we were all repaired and back on our travels.

We then headed to Red Canyon, one of the most developed BLM parks we've ever visited.  Arriving at the campground we discovered our online chosen site would never accommodate our RV...and it was Veterans Weekend and the park was 100% full.  Talking with the campground host, we were able to obtain a site near the host's area.  AOK!

Once again it was time to take our E-bikes out for a spin; this time on the 13 mile loop road which also climbed almost 1500 feet.  We watched our battery level drop in the first few miles, but then the coasting back was a "free" ride...…..  So glad we've got these bikes.  We stopped at many of the lookouts and took some 2-3 mile hikes.

With only a couple of days until our departure back to home, we headed back to Las Vegas and stayed at Sams Casino KOA. Somewhat of a parking lot, but a great park to get our RV prepped for storage, our laundry done, and even time to take their shuttle to the "Strip."  Even took in a show, Beatles Love with Cirque du Soleil -- we loved the show and of course, the music!

   

 We all live in a yellow submarine.....err......a Winnebago RV !

Thursday morning was our travel home day, so we headed over to our newly chosen storage lot.  All good and only a $15 Lyft ride to the airport.  No record, but we arrived at the departures gate 2.5 hours early.   But of course!

Home we went...…………..and all good back in New Jersey.

Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah

We were last here in St. George in 2013.  At the time we thought this would be a good place to spend some of our time....maybe even buy a small one-story house  Were we surprised when we drove up the road to Snow Canyon as obviously many people had the same thoughts.  There is development everywhere, but nice development, and all set against the red Navaho sandstone, the lava rock, and the muted green vegetation.

Our campsite at Snow Canyon was one of only a few sites with electric (and not in the well documented A&W car hop area where slide outs are dangerous).  {our site: 18}  Out our windows were all of the beautiful rock formations.

Over the four days spent here, we biked the "loop" three times with our E-bikes.  First we climbed to the top of the park road, then we swooped down and up the cycle paths that lead us 18 miles through all the great scenes. What wonderful biking!

Even found a bike shop for a minor adjustment and an ice cream shop!

We also hiked both inside the park and at Paradise Canyon.  The hikes included climbing up some of the petrified sand dunes, to a viewpoint of a lava tube, and high on the plateau where we could see all of the development.

RVing in Zion National Park

We've been to Zion a number of times with BIW, but this time we decided to spend more time, 9 days, and share this wonderful park with some of our friends ….. who are also RVers.

Six months (to the second), prior to our arrival, Morey booked campsites at Zion... Sites for us and the Feesers; both with electricity.  Unfortunately at the time of booking, all of the primo river side sites were taken, and the next sites along the loop which were reserved, turned out to be the two most unlevel sites in the campground...…. Oh well, lots of boards, and we were almost level!

Now we were ready for the majesty of Zion.  The soaring cliffs, the colors of the rocks, the Virgin River flowing through the canyon, and the hikes and bikes were all enjoyed.

We had planned an overnight backpack trip on the West Rim Trail.  Starting at Lava Point, we were going to hike the 16.2 miles along the plateau, overnight at a campsite reserved in Potato Hollow, and the ending, after passing Angels Landing, at the Grotto bus stop.  So excited, but then the weather changed...high temperatures in the low 50s (we can handle this), but night time temps in the mid teens or lower!  We were bummed,  we canceled our planned hike. Fortunately the Zmostny's, who were our backpack partners offered to drive to Lava Point and we hiked the first 4 miles of the West Rim Trail.  Then another day we hiked from the Grotto bus stop up 1,500 feet and 3 miles.  We now know we must come back and do this entire hike!

Our other RV friends, the Feesers, decided during our travels together that it was time to upgrade to a new larger motorhome.  So they left us after a few days at Bryce Canyon and arrived at Zion nine days later.. having driven out to southern Alabama to pick up their new vehicle.  Now that's dedicated RVers!

There is so much to do at Zion, nine days was not enough!

  

And there's more....incredible rocks..

Another day in the Kanab area, and another day hiking to some more mind blowing scenery.

Today we contracted with Dreamland Safari Tours to drive us to the White Pocket formations.  Once again we rode the pavement 40 miles east of Kanab, and then the unpaved road south.  This time, though, we continued past the prior Wirepass trailhead where we hiked through the slot canyons and then Ruthie hiked to the Wave.  We spent another hour on a road that went from a washboard dirt road, to a deeply rutted very sandy drive.
Good thing we had Orion from Dreamland do the driving!

We arrived at another unworldly scenic wonder.  This time the rocks looked like pillows in some places, and swirls of colors and patterns all around.  Orion pointed out that the landscape had similarities to rock formations that were found by the Mars Rovers.








Should we have donned space suits for real out-of-this-world photographs?

The WAVE !

What a geologic masterpiece!

Traveling around the country in our motorhome, we've had the opportunity to complete many top rated, scenic, and just plain pretty awesome hikes.  Many people have asked "What area that you have been to that you like the most?"   It's always been difficult to answer.  They are different.  Each is unique and scenic in its own way.  

But, at last, Ruthie has the answer; resoundingly, its "THE WAVE".  Not such an easy place to get to -- a 6-mile round trip hike from a trail head that is 8 miles down a very rough, dirt road, (40 miles east of Kanab, Utah).  

If that wasn't enough to make it difficult to access, the BLM requires that you must have a permit, obtained online 4 months in advance or at the daily lottery.   Only 20 people total per day are lucky enough to get a permit, over 50,000 apply annually--from all over the world.  Gail and Dan, our hiking buddies (pictured), were lucky enough to get 3 permits.  They called us from the BLM lottery and told us they had one permit...who should go?  Being on Ruthie's bucket list for a very long time, there was no question who should join them.  How lucky to be in the right place at the right time!

Here are the results of the hike!
Upon Ruthie's arrival, her jaw dropped open...and never closed.   At each turn, the color palette, the  smooth swirled shape of the rock, scoured by sand over hundreds of years, the striations, were simply beyond belief.  That this kind of wonder could exist in the desert surrounded by pretty, but common (in Utah)  rock formations and colors was impossible to wrap her head around.  Not an overused word for this hike.....WOW !

Utah Rocks !!!

After having spent five days at Capitol Reef, we drove Utah Scenic Highway 12.  Driving along this ridge road in the 1.9 million acre Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, every view out of our windshield was totally amazing.  The rocks, the colors, the formations....

Along the way, we stopped at Hells Backbone Grill.  How could this restaurant in the middle of this country be so good?!  Almost getting stuck in their parking lot with our motorhome, we were able to extricate ourselves and park.  Being 11am, it was time for brunch...Yum!

Then on to Bryce Canyon National Park, where we arrived around 2pm and secured one of the few campsites still open at Sunset Campground.  The park is renovating North Campground so it was closed, while Sunset had already been renovated with new shorter sites Why?!)....And you would think with the renovation, the sites would be level....no way...
It took us 8 wood boards to get level enough for our motorhome's leveling system to be able to operate.  But, we succeeded in setting up camp.


Then off to check out the Canyon and later we biked with the Feesers along the fun and windy bike path to the entrance of the National Park.  Maybe mid-October is too late to visit; although there were lots of tourists....just cold.  The second night the temperature went down into the low 20s and for the first time, our water pipes froze in the early morning.  No damage, but no fun, so we decided to head south to a lower elevation (Bryce is over 8,000 feet) after first taking a hike into the canyon on the Queens Garden Trail and the Navaho Loop Trail.

Arrived in Kanab, Utah and reconnected with the Zmostnys.  They suggested a slot canyon hike which was a wow.  About 45 minutes out of Kanab including a 12 mile drive on a very unimproved road, we arrived at the trailhead.





Then 5.5 miles of hiking through Wirepass Canyon and then to Buckskin Gulch -- the longest slot canyon in the world.  Incredible views, and even a ladder to keep us in the slot.

  

Our RV travel buddies, the Feesers left us in Kanab to head to Alabama.....on a mission to purchase a new motorhome and be back in a week to join us in Zion.

Our "new" favorite National Park, Capitol Reef NP ?

Having just spent 5 wonderful days at Capitol Reef, we're thinking that CR is now our favorite.

At what other park can you have incredible views, great hikes, wonderful bike rides, a really nice campground, great evening Ranger programs, orchards to pick fresh fruit......and the Gifford House where you can purchase just baked fruit pies, apple, peach, cherry, strawberry rhubarb?  YUM!

The pioneer town of Fruita where the campground is located (and its namesake) is located along the banks of the Fremont River, one of the few perennial rivers in this part of Utah.  The Mormons settled here in the late 1880s, and planted fruit orchards, using the river for irrigation.  An oasis in the desert environment where less than eight inches of rain fall each year.


The incredible plateaus, the sandstone formations, and the deep canyons are eye
candy.  We took a number of hikes, many with our friends, including the Rim Overlook, the Grand Wash, and the Old Wagon Trail.  For two of these hikes we climbed over 1,000 feet to incredible views.  All of the hikes explored part of the Water Pocket Fold, a geological formation that runs over 80 miles as a backbone.

Dead Horse State Park, Utah

We wanted to get back to Canyonlands, although this time up on the plateau overlooking the Colorado and Green Rivers.  We camped at Dead Horse SP where horses used to be corralled at the plateau's point with only a narrow neck to the balance of the plateau.  A very short fence is all it took to keep the horses on premises....although a few decided to try a way off the plateau...thus "Dead Horse Point."  We enjoyed this nice campground, but didn't get too close to the edge!


Having biked the White Rim Trail, 1,000 feet into the canyon, we wanted to gaze down from the top, so we biked along the park's road.  We kept stopping as we biked out to Grand View along Canyonland's "Island in the Sky" section of the National Park, and saying....."wow, we were down there...."  Deep in the canyon, biking around the canyon edge, and along the rivers.

 

Arches National Park

First having visited this National Park back in 1985 when our youngest child was still getting a ride on our kiddie backpack, then in 2004 when we camped in a tent, and this time we camped at Devils Garden Campground at Arches in our motorhome.  The campground was totally refurbished a couple of years ago, and we found it fabulous.  Great sites set in the rocks, with views out of all of our windows.

We even met Lila, the camp host for the past 16 years, who knew all of the inside scoops.   We even discovered that Lila was from Iowa and it just happened that University of Michigan was playing Iowa on Saturday, so we were invited to watch the football game on her DirectTV in her very own park service cabin at the entrance of the campground.
{Secret:  Verizon data and phone service from site 21!}

Now that we were camped deep inside Arches NP, we took hikes to see a few of the over 1,000 arches.  We even tried a bike ride down a gravel road through Salt Valley to Tower Arch...but just too rough for us and our E-Bikes, so we had to turn back.  All of the surrounding landscape was magnificent and we realized that our five days at the park just didn't allow us enough time.

Arches National Park is a place that we will be coming back to....

Landscape Arch

Utah's White Rim Trail -- We biked it !

On many visits to Moab, Utah and its surrounding national parks,  Ruthie has looked down into the deep  canyons of Canyonlands National Park and has longed to bike the off road trail, known as the White Rim Trail that is 1,000 feet deep in the canyon.  So this year as part of our RV travels, we decided to book a supported mountain bike tour.  We contracted with Escape Adventures, based on their online literature.

Our bike adventure began with a steep descent down the Shafer Trail.  After a very brief explanation of how to operate our Specialized Stumpjumper trail bike, we headed down the 1,000 feet of switchbacks that wound the way down to the lower plateau.  By the time we arrived at the White Rim Trail, our hands ached from braking all of the way down....but we were excited to bike in the lower  parts of Canyonlands.

With 11 other bikers and our two guides we biked 71 of the 84 miles on our four day trip.  The tour was described as suitable for "families with young children", we found otherwise.  There were a number of 18 percent and higher grades where we weren't embarrassed to walk our bikes.  So we did ask for the promised support of riding in the "sag wagon" over the more grueling parts of the trail.

Although there were a number of steep climbs and drops, rough rock strewn segments, and areas of soft sand, we had an awesome and wonderful ride through Canyonlands.  Biking along the mesa tops, following along the Colorado and then the Green Rivers, camping out under the Milky Way, and as we became more comfortable with our bike riding abilities, we got into cruising down the hills and gliding over the slick rock and small boulders.  The suspension on the Stumpjumpers was quite amazing....just had to trust it.

Back from our four grueling, but awesome days, we got back to our RV parked at the Moab Cyclery bike shop.  Rest time for the next few days before our next adventure.