Before talking about our stay in Kanab, Utah I forgot to mention that we stopped for the short hike over to Horseshoe Bend, It is part of the Glen Canyon National Rec Area and the city of Page charges $10.00 to park. The hike is relatively short but seems longer in the deep sand. Also, expect to see throngs of people. Still, it was worth it to see another one of nature’s spectacles!
Now on to what we did in Kanab, Utah. Our first afternoon we drove over to Jackson Flat Reservoir to play a round of disc golf. We don’t often get the opportunity to play much disc golf out west so we were eager to knock the rust off. The course was typical of courses found in the southwest as we were fighting sage brush and cactus as we looked for our “misplaced” discs. We had fun nevertheless.
Our goal in Kanab was to hopefully win the daily lottery for an opportunity to hike to the Wave. Only 20 people per day are allowed to take this hike. Ten of them were selected in an on-line lottery and the other ten are selected in a daily lottery. I got up the first morning and went to the BLM office in Kanab which hosts the lottery. I filled out my application and handed it in. This all takes place between 8:30 and 9:00am.
No more applications are accepted after 9:00 when numbers are assigned to the leader of each group. Our group of two had number 10 the first day. A tumbler with numbered drop balls like you see in bingo is used to select the winners. My first day there were 168 people vying for those coveted 10 spots. After failing to get one I returned each day at 8:45am hoping to get one. Lottery after lottery we failed… Oh well, maybe next time we pass through.
Instead we took a drive over to Cottonwood Narrows North to hike a nice slot canyon there. While not in the same category as Antelope Canyon this was a nice slot canyon and a scenic drive. The trailhead had trail to the right and left so we hiked only a few miles making sure to go both directions. We were very glad we did as both sides were uniquely different!
Another day we drove north of town and checked out the Dragon’s Belly and the Sand Caves. Dragon’s Belly is a short manmade tunnel created as a water culvert under HWY89. However, over time water draining from up canyon eroded the rough surface and smoothed out the sandstone walls creating a fascinating tunnel, definitely worth a stop.
Not far down the road are the Sand Caves, a short hike that requires rock scrambling to get to. These man-made caves were used to harvest sand for glass production in the 1970s but now are just an interesting diversion to explore. Sharon opted to stay below as it requires climbing a fairly sheer wall of sandstone. Good hiking shoes that l grip the rock would help immensely for climbing up a short wall. The caves themselves were pretty neat and the view above was nice as well.
NOTE: We are currently near St George UT for a while, then on to Mesquite Nevada a few days before visiting Las Vegas…
Like you we've also failed to obtain a Wave permit 4 times ... But the tunnel looks like a nice booby prize. I've not heard of it.
ReplyDeleteWe too tried to no avail to win the same lottery, oh well next time we'll try again. We did White Pockets as a consolation place, very different kind of formations than The Wave.
ReplyDeleteSuch cool caves. Another great find.
ReplyDeleteDon’t forget an extra shirt when you go to Vegas, just sayin’.
ReplyDeleteWe won the lottery on our third try. It was one of the best hikes of our lives, so we encourage you to keep trying!
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