Lake Mead National Recreation Area--Echo Bay

Zion was enjoyable as always...next time we will do 'The Narrows! As we left Zion we drove south through Hurricane and St. George, then down through the Virgin River Gorge which took us through southwest Utah and northwest Arizona. Bob was glad that we were going down hill, not up, as it was a long, steep grade. At the bottom of the gorge we entered Mesquite, Nevada, where we stopped for gas at the wonderful price of $3.54 a gallon. After a quick trip to the Nevada Visitor Center we were back on the road and on our way to Echo Bay, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.

As we drove into the Echo Bay area, we were afraid the campground was closed...none of the sites we saw were occupied! Once we got to the entrance to the campground we found that 3/4 of the campground was closed. The open loop had one RV--a couple from Germany, and a trailer that looked to be a host, but was not occupied! We found a great site where we would get lots of solar charging and made it our home for the next 5 days.

 After our first night at Echo Bay we realized there were wild burros in the area. They went through our campsite that night and left us presents everywhere. We spotted them in the valley later that day.

 We explored the campground and Echo Bay. The water in the lake is extremely low. The hotel and restaurant have been closed for over a year.

The next day we drove north out of the recreation area and spent some time at Valley of the Fire State Park, Nevada.

We drove the scenic drive to the end and hiked White Dome Trail. We hiked the trail to the remains of a movie set, The Professionals. The remaining structure was the Mexican hacienda in the movie. The main hacienda was where the parking lot is now.

It was a loop trail and we had to walk through a slot canyon to complete the loop.

Then  it was on to another trail in a box canyon.

 There were several geocaches hidden at Valley of the Fire State Park. This was a virtual cache where we had to have a photo with one of us and the GPS to e-mail to the cache owner.

 The next day we did some geocaching near some old mines. The local gem clubs allow people to search for gems. Bob and I didn't know what to look for except geocaches!

 Another cache was up a narrow dirt road at an abandoned mining area. This is a view of the road from the top where we found the cache.

 Geocaching was on the agenda the day of the Florida/Georgia game. We cached until time for the game since we couldn't get good television reception at the campground.  We drove to Callville Bay, also on Lake Mead and found a place for Bob to watch the game. This was the view out the window of the restaurant at Callville Bay.

 We enjoyed our stay at Echo Bay and Lake Mead so when it was time to move on, we didn't move very far. We drove to Las Vegas Bay Campground also in LMNRA.

Zion National Park--Part 2

We made Zion our home for 5 nights. Saturday we decided to hike to the Emerald Pools. It was a hike we enjoyed the last time we were here and we hoped it would be too much for those visiting for the day---WRONG! We hiked the trail with at least 200 other people. It was a miserable hike as it is a narrow, winding trail and some people just don't know trail etiquette!

Here I am at the middle Emerald Pool--it doesn't own up to its name on this day.

Once we made it to the Upper Emerald Pool, it was time to head down again. There were just too many people!

When we got back to the rv we decided to lay low until Sunday afternoon when the crowds would thin out--we hoped. Our site was huge, the only drawback was that it was next to the dumpster and recycling bins.

Later in the afternoon we took a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Virgin River.

Sunday, we stayed close to the rv, also. Late in the day we rode our bicycles on the Pa'rus Trail to Canyon Junction and back.

It was the first time we had ridden our bicycles in quite some time.

The crowds started thinning out on Sunday and by Monday the campsites didn't fill until late in the day and most of those were taken by Europeans traveling in rented rvs.

Monday we rode the shuttle bus to the end of the line and hiked River Trail to The Narrows. Last time we were here, the water was high The Narrows was closed. On our way to The Narrows we got credit for an earthcache.

This time the water was down and people were hiking the slot canyon that makes up The Narrows.

We got back on the shuttle and got off at the stop for Hanging Gardens.

Then it was back to the rv for lunch and a rest. That afternoon we walked to the visitor center and through Watchman Campground.


On our last day at Zion I wanted to try Angel's Landing again. Last time we were at Zion it was so windy that the final hike to Angel's Landing was impossible to see. This time the weather was much nicer--very little wind.

The hike was good and there were not too many people making the trek to the top.

This time I made it to the chains going to the top of Angel's Landing, but I saw the drop-off and decided it wasn't for me.

Bob went a little further, but then decided it wasn't for him, either.

As we went back down, we got a picture of Walter's Wiggles from the top! The Wiggles is a switchback to get you to Scout's Landing just before Angel's Landing.

After our hike, we walked The Grotto Trail to the lodge where we enjoyed lunch before heading back to the rv.

We enjoyed our stay at Zion, but it was time to move on to a new area--Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada.

Zion National Park

As we were leaving the city campground, a local told us why Zion was so crowded so late in the season--the schools were closed for Fall Break! Everyone was taking the chance to spend on last long weekend at Zion. Thursday and Friday were school holidays (we arrived Thursday evening).

Once set up in South Campground at Zion, we drove around the area getting some geocaches as we knew the park would be too crowded. We found some 4 years ago, but more have been hidden!

Our first cache was at a small city park in Springdale. There is a picnic area on one side of the bridge and a dog park on the other side.

Then it was on to Grafton, the ghost town made famous by the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You'll have to look at our old blog for pictures as the place was crowded this time! Then it was on to the graveyard to find the Butch and Sundance Cache behind the fence. Bob went to the upper trail looking and I climbed the hill below. The cache was in the rocks just above my head. Only we don't get credit for finding it because as we were looking we kept saying this looked familiar---we found it the last time we were there!

After finding a few more caches, we returned to the park and had to wait in line to get through the gate! We stayed in the rv until late in the afternoon then we decided to hike Watchman Trail. Maybe it wouldn't be crowded late in the day. The trail starts across from the campground and goes to a lookout area just below the ridge. This is a look back down the trail as we were going to the top.

 We stopped for a rest at this retaining wall.

Did I mention that it was warm at Zion? Well, since we had come down in elevation, the temperatures were higher. This day it hit the low 80's. We were used to hiking in cooler temperatures! This corner of the trail offered cool temps. It was in the shade and there was a small stream coming down in the corner.

 We made it to the top and had a great view of Zion!

 After we hiked down, we looked back to the overlook, the rocks jutting off the side and saw the moon just overhead.

 We enjoyed our day, but not the crowds. Hmmmm, what to do on Saturday when you know it will be crowded again?

From the North Rim to Zion National Park

We only  spent three nights at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Knowing what we know now (hindsight and all) we would have stayed a few more days. As we left the Rim and drove to lower elevations, we enjoyed the views of Vermillion Cliffs and the surrounding Kaibab National Forest.

At Fredonia, Arizona, we turned off the highway we were on (89A) and took 389 toward Hurricane, Utah. On our way  we stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument. Pipe Spring is now a ranch, but was originally built as a fort. When it was completed, the fort was no longer needed. This is Winsor Castle, the one time fort, then a stopover for Mormons on their way to Hurricane to have their marriages sanctified by the church. The road from Pipe Spring to Hurricane was known as 'Honeymoon Trail.'

 Inside the 'fort' are two buildings. This also was the first telegraph office in Arizona. The building you see, housed the telegraph office while the building we are standing in was the living quarters.

 This room is under the telegraph office. It was the refrigerator room. Pipe Spring runs through the trough at the bottom of the wall, keeping the room a cool 55 degrees year round. The only windows are the small rectangles over the trough which were slots for rifles in the original plan.

 This a view of another side of Winsor Castle. The green is algae on a holding pool where the spring runs out of the building and into two pools.

After touring Winsor Castle we walked around the ranch and up to the ridge overlooking the area.

Then it was time to get back on the road. Our next stop would be Wally World in Hurricane to get a few things before entering Zion National Park.

Well, that was our plan, but all good plans don't always pan out like you want. Once we arrived at Zion, we found out the campground was full! On our last visit, 4 years ago, there were three campgrounds in town plus BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campsites near the Virgin River outside the park. Not so this trip. There is only one campground in town and the BLM sites have been closed due to abuse of the area! We were able to get into the one campground in town and we hated everything about it! First the price, $43--that's what we pay in the off season at Disney! The sites were crammed next to each other, worse than KOA's where we've stayed. The campground was a gravel parking lot behind a motel! Early the next morning Bob and I went back to Zion and found a couple leaving--we put a tag on the site and went back for the rv. Yippee! We were in the park! Our budget was not ruined! Since we had been on the road for over a month, the city campground only added $1 a day to our average--we were up to $63 a day. Keep in mind that $75 is what we like to average. Also know that the rv hasn't needed gas for quite some time since we aren't traveling far between stops.

Going to the Rim!

It was still dark when we packed the rv and headed out of Bryce Canyon NP. We emptied our black and grey tanks, filled the freshwater tank and stopped at the gas station to check our tire pressure. By the time we were headed south on UT 89, the sun was coming up above the mountains. We still knew we wouldn't make it to Kanab for the 'Wave' lottery that morning. We did arrive by 9:30 and were able to find out more about the lottery to walk the 'Wave.' The ranger told us that there were 59 entries for the lottery that morning---whew! That means 59, but more likely 118 people were vying for the 10 spots available in the lottery. She also told us that on most days there are more entries than 59! Bob and I decided that we would rather take our chances another time and on we drove---North Rim of the Grand Canyon, here we come!

We had everything we needed for a trip to the North Rim. On our way we stopped at Jacob Lake to look at the Kaibab National Forest Visitor Center. The lady running the center was not very helpful. She told us everything at North Rim was closing at noon that day. She didn't want to answer questions about dispersed camping in the area. She was just unfriendly.

We continued our drive to North Rim--it is 41 miles from Jacob Lake, the closest village. At the gate, we asked the ranger about closures and he told us everything was still open for the day. So on we went to North Rim Campground. When we registered we could only register for one night as it was the last day for  work kampers.

After setting up in a great site for solar, we realized that we were back in Arizona and they don't honor daylight savings time so we could still make it to the lodge for lunch! This is the front entrance to the lodge. Looks pretty simple, but once you enter, you see the Grand Canyon through all the back windows.

We had a good lunch at the lodge and found out they would remain open through breakfast the following morning. After lunch we walked through the sitting area and out onto the back porch/balcony. What a view!

That evening we drove to Cape Royal Point to view the sunset. The road to Cape Royal is very narrow and winding. The views along the way are awesome! We took the trail out to the point to watch the sunset. Along the way we stopped at Angel's Window. The window in the rock is in the lower right corner. There is a trail that goes on top the rock.

Bob and I both felt a little shaky looking over the edge above Angel's Window. It was definitely a narrow rock far above the canyon floor. Did I mention that it was far above the canyon floor? Well, it was!

We continued on the trail looking at all the overlooks--some had railings, some didn't!

We enjoyed our evening walk to the point.

Bob has stopped carrying the tripod with us, so most of the pictures you see of us both were taken with the camera resting on something flat--in this case a rock.

 The sunset was gorgeous! We took lots of pictures, but this is the one I chose to publish.

 The drive back to the rv on the narrow, winding road was a little hairy. We made it back in one piece and didn't see any deer along the way, thank goodness!

The next day we hiked Transept Trail from the campground to the lodge. This is the view as you get on the trail just across from our campsite.

The trail wanders through the woods until it gets near the lodge.

At the corner of the lodge there is a walkout to get a better view of the canyon. It is a long way down from this point!

We continued on past the lodge to get to Bright Angel Point Trail. It goes out from the side of the canyon about .25 mile. It seems like much farther than it is.

Once at Bright Angel Point the views are spectacular. You can see the roofs of the buildings at South Rim Village, eight miles across the canyon, shimmering in the sunlight.

 

From Bright Angel Trail took Bridle Path Trail back to the campground. Bob and I were both amazed at how well we did hiking (and breathing) at over 8000 feet elevation.


That afternoon we rode out of the park and did a little geocaching. One of the forest service roads we took led us to Saddle Mountain Wilderness.

The view was good from this area, too.

On our way back to the park we stopped at the only gas station around to fill the car. I went in to pay and the lady asked where I was from in Florida,. Turns out she and her husband were work-kamping at the gas station and they were originally from Sebring, Florida and that her husband's aunt lives in DeLand! What a small world. By the way, we would not fill the rv at that station because the price was $3.99 a gallon!

For our last day at North Rim we decided to do a long hike--Point Imperial Trail. Once again we took that narrow, winding road, but only a little over 7 miles, not almost 20 like we did to get to Cape Royal. The trail was also at higher elevation than we were accustomed to hiking.

 This is the sight most people drive to Point Imperial to see. Not many were hiking the trail.

We set off on the trail. Most of the trail took us through an area that burned in 2000. The aspens are taking over from the pines and the firs. About halfway down the trail you can see Saddleback Mountain.

We stopped for a rest where there were a lot of downed trees.

Our starting point was on the ridge behind me where the trees are growing!

It was a great hike! We did a little over 6 miles. At the end of our hike we stopped and talked with 2 rangers who were just setting out to hike to the Colorado River. They told us that in addition to the fire, many trees were felled by strong winds several years ago.

We enjoyed our time at North Rim, Grand Canyon, but it was time to move on to a new area. Our next stop would be back in Utah--Zion National Park.