Looking for interesting places to visit near Kanab we checked out the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It is home to nearly 1,600 animals on around 3,700 acres and these animals live in a scenic environment alongside other animals. This is the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals. They aren’t limited to only dogs and cats as they also host wild animals, horses, and other animals as well. We sat down and chatted with one of the volunteers to learn more about this group. While chatting he told us of an interesting little hike on the property.
After learning about the hike to Hidden Lake we decided to check it out. The walk is mostly down a high clearance and four wheel drive type road as the deep sands keep other vehicles away. We slogged our way through the sand to eventually find not only the hidden lake but some petroglyphs and an old Indian ruin as well.
Hidden Lake is really just a water filled cave sitting underneath a red sandstone cliff. Hidden lake is the water inside the cave that can only be seen by wandering inside the cave. Going slowly so our eyes could adjust to the darkness we could see that the water was not very far inside the cave.
One unsubstantiated story is the scuba divers dove into the lake finding themselves unable to find its bottom. Truth or not this was a neat little place to visit. On our way back we checked out the ruins and the petroglyphs. There were still many shards of pottery onsite as well as a few old corn cobs indicating it might have been a food storage area.
Another interesting area we explored was the Town of Paria. This is on a dirt road and is a ghost town located on the Paria River in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It was inhabited from 1870 to 1929, and later used as a filming location for many films including one of my favorite old Clint Eastwood movies, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
However, the canyon with its colorful sandstone walls streaked with desert varnish is the real feature here. The colors seen on these mountains is unmatched by any place we have been before. Definitely worth a stop!
Our last outing while in Kanab, UT took us to Zion National Park where we we hiked the Zion Overlook Trail. This short trail on the east side of Zion was one we didn’t do during our last Zion NP visit. It was a short hike with some elevation but it also presented some challenges especially for those who have a fear of heights, like Sharon.
I thought this would be a good hike for Sharon to take to help overcome some of her fears. Sharon was a real trooper to finish this hike and we were both rewarded by the overlook of Zion NP at the end of the trail.
NOTE: We are leaving Mesquite Nevada and moving over to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada if we can get a spot there…
Your view from the Zion Overlook is amazing. Glad you both enjoyed it and shared with the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great trail. Congrats to Sharon. Beautiful photos, inspiring.
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