A Mountain Drive and Hiking in the Canyonlands National Park…

One thing I wanted to mention about our campsite in Monticello Utah was that we had a nesting bird in a tree in our front yard. We loved sitting outside and watching this baby Tree Swallow call for its mom. Mom would go out to catch some goodies and return to a wide open mouth which was lots of fun to watch!

Near the park is a nice lake that we walked around. Also close are some mountains that one afternoon we drove up as far up the dirt road as we could. The drive was harrowing at times for Sharon because of her fear of heights but the views from above were breathtaking. We sure liked the cooler temperatures up high.

We saw lots and lots of deer in the high country. It must have been a great year as there were lots of fawns and many of the does had twins in tow. Colorful birds such as the Western Tanager were flitting about the tall firs and pines in the forest. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Also a short drive away is another place we have visited before, Canyonlands National Park. Previously we visited the Needles area of the park so this time we visited the rest of the park on the other side of the river. However, before getting there we stopped along the roadside to view newspaper rock. It was a large boulder riddled with petroglyphs from a  bygone area.

We drove into the park to take in the sights close to the roads. Then we found a nice short hike (less than 3 miles) to enjoy. This hike took us across a lot of slickrock and we were rewarded with not only views but cool rock formations.

It was a bit toasty and we went through our water pretty fast. It was also smoky as the smoke from the fires in California were permeating the skies above. The haze made for poor photographs but we still tried to capture what we were seeing. All in all another great hike.

Our time in Monticello Utah is up and we will move back into New Mexico for our next stop…

NOTE:  We are currently in Winslow, Arizona until August 19h…

Day Trip to Arches National Park…

We originally planned to go to Moab, Utah from Monticello but with all the smoke in the NW we have changed our plans. Since we wouldn’t be staying in Moab we decided to drive over for a day of hiking in Arches National Park before moving on.

It was only about an hours drive from our park so we headed there early in the afternoon. I had been watching the live cams at the entrance of the park to gauge how crowded it would be. We have recently heard horror stories of not being able to get in much less find any parking once inside. After monitoring the entrance cams we felt like we wouldn't have any issues.

The drive up was quick and pleasant.. We passed by Church Rock and Wilson’s Arch so we stopped to take a photo. Back in the car we soon found ourselves in a line of three cars to enter Arches National Park. Feeling good about the crowds we started around the loop stopping at several pullouts for photographs before finally stopping to park at one of the arch hikes.

The park wasn’t very crowded at all as we had no issues with pulling out to park at any stop on the loop.. As a result we did all the popular arch hikes that are relatively easy to get to. We only had to actively look for a parking place once at one of the arch trails.

While we have visited several times before the scenery never disappoints. The winds had shifted this day and the smoke from the California fires was not evident within the park so we felt pretty lucky to see the clear blue skies. Arches is truly a gem in the National Park system and one if you haven’t been to you really should make the effort to visit to see its splendor.

Late that afternoon we figured no hike would be complete without a visit to the Moab Brewery. Liquor laws in Utah are still a bit archaic but way better than when we first visited years ago. The beers they offer are still only about average at best but were a welcome treat after some dusty hiking . While relaxing and looking at our photos we decided we were more than glad we made the trip.

NOTE:  We are currently Gallup, New Mexico until August 16th…

Hiking in Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah…

Leaving Delores Colorado we made our way a bit further west and pulled into a nice mom and pop campground in Monticello, Utah. Westerner RV Park. It offers full hook ups, plenty of shade and fresh apricots growing on the tree beside our RV. While here we enjoyed watching mule deer foraging for freshly fallen apricots most mornings and evenings.

We chose this location since there are many great hikes within an hours drive in just about any direction. The first spot we chose for hiking was at a National Monument we haven’t visited before. So we hopped in the CRV and drove a little over an hour before arriving to Natural Bridges National Monument.

We checked in the visitors center to pick up a map. The map showed a nice loop drive one can take to see most of the sights within the park. However, our goal was to hike to two of the coolest bridges the park has to offer.

If the weather was cooler and we were in better shape we would have considered the 8.2 miles under the bridge loop trail which takes hikers underneath both of the bridges we wanted to see up close. We chose instead to hike to each bridge independently which made the overall hiking a bit less than four miles.

First up was the 3 plus mile hike to Sipapu Bridge which was rated as a moderate hike.The trail is challenging especially for people with fear of heights, like Sharon. I didn’t read up on the trail like I normally do and was unaware the the trail included, ladders, hand rails and scrambles over rock in places. The trail down is not for the faint of heart.

As we embarked on the trail we were lamenting the fact that we would have to climb back out of the canyon we were steadily descending into. The steep decent down is scenic and offers a few rest areas where we enjoyed a shady respite. About halfway down we came upon our first ladder.

Knowing Sharon’s disdain for such encounters I quickly tried to assuage her fears and explained to her that I would go down with her to provide support and courage. After, moments of pause and concern, she agreed to continue down especially after I explained what beauty we would see once looking up at the arch from below.

Once Sharon made her way down the ladder her confidence to move forward soared. As we continued to descend we began to see blue sky peek out from under the arch. A bit further down the panoramic beauty revealed itself. After a long pause soaking in the views it was time for the return trip. After some huffing and puffing we were back up to the top ready for the next bridge.

The hike down to Kachina Bridge was not only shorter but much easier. Although it was a steady descent this hike was a cakewalk when compared to our previous one. Once again we were able to watch the sky peek through from under the bridge as we dropped down into the canyon and were rewarded with a beautiful bridge to gaze up upon.

We both were glad to have experienced the wonderful hiking in the Natural  Bridges National Monument as it was yet another great stop on our road of retirement…

NOTE:  We are currently Gallup, New Mexico until August 16th…

Why is that Policeman pulling us over???

Our stay in Utah ended and this morning we began our journey over to the CasaBlanca Resort & Casino in Mesquite Nevada. The trip started out grand as we made our way through a very beautiful canyon but we hit some construction and the traffic came to a halt.

We continued to crawl out of the construction and were about 20 miles from our destination in Mesquite Nevada when I noticed a police officer with his lights on right behind me. I couldn’t figure out what we had done but pulled over anyhow just before getting to a gas station where I was going to stop at to check on tire on the CRV I was a bit worried about.

The officer explained that he was driving behind me when my rear tire on our SUV blew out so he pulled us over. I apparently had good reason to worry about that tire and we had planned to have it checked out while in Mesquite Nevada.

We drove very slowly over to the same gas station I had intended to stop at  less than 1/4 mile down the road to change out the blown tire. As I was using our dinky tire jack and tools a fellow named Dale pulled up beside us saying he had a hydraulic jack and better tools than I was using. He then proceeded to take over my tire changing task.

With the doughnut tire in place and the blown tire tossed in the back of the CRV we thanked Dale for his help and drove on to Mesquite. Once set up at the Casablanca Resort we drove back over to Washington Utah to the nearest Costco since the tire was still under warranty.

Of course our warrantied tire was discontinued but with Costco generous warranty program we were able to replace all four tires for under $400 so we now have four new tires!

Not the best start to our stay in Mesquite Nevada but it is part of this lifestyle! It didn’t stop us from enjoying our stay in Mesquite …

NOTE: We are leaving Yuma AZ this morning and moving over to El Centro CA for a few nights… DONE

Assorted Red Cliffs Recreation Area Hikes…

Our last set of hikes while in Utah was at the at Red Cliffs Recreation Area. One short hike we took was over to the Silver Reef Trailhead where we embarked on a short trail to find some dinosaur tracks!

Sure enough we spotted them and we paused to take some pictures to show our grandson Cameron! Successfully capturing the photo we headed back so we could take another short hike. This area was a great place to hike and we marveled that it was such a short distance outside of St George Utah.

We didn't do any hikes in Snow Canyon State Park this time around as there were plenty of other excursions to partake in that didn’t charge an entry fee. Since we were hiking near the Red Reef Trail we decided to check out a dry waterfall hike and after returning to the car we found what we thought was the trailhead.

After a short jaunt up through a stream bed mostly in sand we made our way up over  a small hill thinking we were very close to the “waterfall” but alas we were not. As we made our way up the wash the canyon began to narrow we thought we were getting close. Looking for the rope that would take us up over a rock to the next level we continued on.

We continued on for about a mile but never found the particular feature we were looking for. Admitting we were likely on the wrong trail so we headed back still enjoying the colorful rocks and scenery. We missed out on the sights we planned to see but did not feel cheated since the hike we took was just grand…

The day wasn’t over as I had one more hike in the Red Cliffs in mind. This one had a small arch on an off the beaten track I wanted to check out. So off we went to a small tract of land south of where most of the Red Cliffs Recreation Area lies. Our destination was to hike to the Babylon Arch.

Said to be a very sandy but very gratifying trail we drove a long way on a dirt and sand road that maybe we shouldn't have taken in our “low clearance” Honda CRV. After about a half hour on the dirt road we found the turn to the Sand Cove Trailhead. This was where the trail began…

As we started the trail we were walking down an old ATV road and were sinking our boots in many of the patches of deep sand. A short while later we were at the Sand Cove Trailhead where we walked among some shear rock walls. The trail then took us through a narrow passage that led us through some beautiful Navajo Sandstone rock formations which were out of this world!

We continued on through the sand as we descended down the hill. I read that the arch would be hard to see on the way down but even as we got near the Virgin River we saw no sign of the arch. The river however was stunning all by itself. We kept looking for the arch yet we never saw any sign of an arch anywhere!

After looking for a good while we gave up and headed back hoping to stumble upon it. No such luck! Later I found out the arch is only about 8 ft. tall and 10 ft. wide so that explains why we didn't see it as I was looking for something a bit more grand. Nevertheless it was a great hike except for the hike back…

It seemed like every time we climbed a deep sand hill we found another dead end to the trail… but alas after several failed attempts to climb back up out of the Virgin River valley in the deep sand we finally landed on the main trial back to our car. Walking back through the rock formations and back up the old road we finally saw our car and were sure happy to see it.

We emptied our shoes of sand and got back into the car…We might have missed seeing the sights we planned to see but it was still a great day

Maybe next time we pass through we might finally find  Babylon Arch! 

NOTE: We are leaving Lake Havasu City this morning and moving over to Yuma AZ for a few nights…