Snow Canyon State Park

We had planned to hike nearby Elephant Arch. However construction at the road to the trailhead entrance thwarted our plans. Quite a few folks had recommended Snow Canyon State Park to us. So, off we went to Snow Canyon. 

Clambering on the slickrocks (petrified sand dunes) trail, we met a volunteer trail steward. He said that he only lived a couple of miles from the park and that he hadn't been to Bryce or Zion in over five years, primarily because of the crowds. Well, with the stunning Snow Canyon State Park in in backyard, we could see why. 

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Zion National Park

Zion National Park is a beautiful park and gets lots of visitors. The main road (Route 9) through the park is one lane each direction. Just before entering the park, you go through the town of Springdale. It too is one lane each direction with pay parking spots paralleling the road. 

Quite frankly, I'm not sure I'd care to go to Zion during peak tourist times. I think traffic and trying to find parking would be an absolute nightmare. That said, the town and Zion offer a free shuttle service. In fact, the scenic drive to Zion Lodge and the ever-so-popular Angel's Landing Trail (permit needed) and The Narrows is accessible by shuttle only during much of the year. No personal vehicles allowed. 

Cyndy, a friend of Harold's from high school and a local, joined us for the day. This time we took the road that is closed to personal vehicles much of the year - an advantage to off-season visits. At the end of the road, we walked the paved Riverwalk trail to the start of the Narrows. We had not rented waders and waterproof shoes and so we didn't venture into the river waters. 

Even though we didn't hit the most popular trails, we were still impressed with what we did see. If you just drive Route 9 without stopping, you'll see amazing beauty. 

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Bryce Canyon National Park

It was our third national park within a week! It was another longish day. Bryce Canyon National Park is every bit of a two hour drive from the St. George, UT, area, especially if you go through Zion National Park at reduced park drive speeds. So technically, it was four national parks within a week. Thankfully, the roads were not crowded, even through Zion. You could easily imagine hordes of people though. 

This time, we had the tour guide assistance of a local. Cyndy, a friend of Harold's from high school, was along to show us her favorite stops in Bryce. Not biased at all, she thinks Bryce is better than Grand Canyon. Bryce may not be as grand in scale, but it's features are closer, making the views amazing. Despite the wind and colder than expected temperatures, we had a wonderful day. Thanks Cyndy!

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Capitol Reef National Park

Our second long day trip from Beaver, UT, was to Capitol Reef National Park. Again, it was another trip just over two hours, as long as you took the interstates as opposed to the highways around the mountains. 

When we were trying to decide whether to squeeze two national parks in our schedule between Heber City and the St. George area, a couple of people said that Capitol Reef would be the one to skip. It wasn't all that great. Plus, it would be the easier of the two parks, between Great Basin and Capitol Reef, to catch on another trip through the area. 

We were awed by the beauty of the park. Perhaps it was because we had lowered our expectations based on what people had told us. At any rate, it's definitely on our radar for a return trip where we can spend a little more time exploring and hiking. Picking the time will be key. We'd hate to be there in the heat of summer. Plus, if you time it right, you can pick fruit from the orchards.

If you get an opportunity to go, go. At the very least include Route 24 as a little detour from your interstate travels. To be fair though, even I-70 has some beautiful scenery.

Scenic Drive Road

The Tanks

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Great Basin National Park

Originally Great Basin National Park wasn't on my radar for this trip through Utah. The park is in Nevada. However, somewhere along the way, I realized that we'd only be a couple of hours away and who knew when we'd be back through the area. Since we had a couple of days to burn between Heber and our next month long stop near St. George, why not fit it in our schedule?

As noted in our previous post, we were based out of Beaver, UT. We drove over to Great Basin National Park, a little over two hours away. We took Route 21, which I think could vie for one of the top spots in loneliest highways. There are no services for over 80 miles and that pretty much means cell service too. 

At the park, we were in plenty of time for the Lehman Cave tour. Yours truly had not paid attention enough to realize that Nevada is on pacific time. So we killed time taking a walk near the Gray Cliffs and driving up Wheeler Scenic Drive as far as the road was open. Maybe someday we will make it when the road isn't closed for the season. 

Oh, and if night skies are your thing, Great Basin is a destination for you.

Marmot Crossing...a first for us

Along Baker Creek

Gray Cliffs

Lehman Cave

 Where Are We Going Next?

Beaver Canyon

We left Heber City a day early. Hmm...we did the same thing three years ago and for the same reason...snow in the forecast. Provo Canyon is beautiful and the road is good, but we'd still rather not travel when snow is falling. 

Our next stop was Beaver, UT. We opted for five nights there and long day trips as opposed to moving the bus twice. With our extra day and possible snow forecasted, we drove up the Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway. We drove 17 miles to the mountain top, turning around at the Eagle Point ski resort. The ski resort wasn't open yet, but it didn't look like it would be long before they opened. 

Snow had fallen and the scenery was beautiful. We noted more pine trees in the area as opposed to what we had seen in Heber. We were a bit intrigued by the prescribed burn going on that snowy day. We were close enough to see flames in several points. It did make it a bit challenging to get photos that didn't have gray smoke. Oh well, it was still a great drive.

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Family Fun

One of the nice things about spending a month near family is the opportunity to join in on some activities:

We toured the Eric Dowdle puzzle manufacturing facility.

Laminated puzzles waiting for the press

Inventory

Retired diecut

We checked out a gingerbread house competition. The winner got $1500.00.

Incredible detail

White Christmas movie sets

Winner - front

Winner - back

Then there was lots of family time.

Making potato chips

Playing games

Thanksgiving preparation

Choir concerts

Even a bit of snow added to the holiday spirit. 

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