Some visitors inside the recreated kiva at Aztec NM
When I left the campground at Bloomfield (Desert Rose) I decided to drive up to Aztec and see another Chacoan ruin. I'm glad I did. Aztec is a pretty little town. Much more inviting than it's neighbors, Farmington and Bloomfield, with quint little downtown area and lots of trees. The Aztec National Monument is unique as it has a rebuilt Kiva, or at least what the park superintendent thought a Kiva would be like. It was quite something.
The exterior of the kiva
From Aztec I headed west to Shiprock. I had lunch at the Shiprock McDonalds. I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of Shiprock itself. I'm sure you can see where the name originated.
Shiprock
Glen Canyon Dam
Camped on the beach at Lone Rock
I made it to Glen Canyon Dam that night and found a great little beach area to camp on. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing hard and it was very dusty. So much so that my Olympus camera wasn't working properly the next morning. I stopped at the Page Walmart to see about buying another camera. The fellow at the camera area told me to try some canned air so I did. That seemed to help but it was still was a little iffy. I still had my Christmas money from Don and Helen so I decided to buy an inexpensive backup camera just in case. I decided on a Canon Power Shot A470. It took me awhile to get use to the different functions but I do like it. I sure wouldn't want to get caught out here in the canyon areas and have no way to record the scenery.
Loading up at Lee's Ferry, the beginning of the Grand Canyon River Run
From Glen Canyon and Page I headed on over to Lee's Ferry and camped there that evening and the next morning I hiked up into Paria Canyon about 4 miles (8 miles roundtrip). It is well known among hikers due to it's slot canyons up at the head of the canyon. I was at the bottom of the canyon so I didn't get to see the slot canyons. I had to cross the Paria River about 4 times in order to get as far as I did. That is somewhat of a pain because you have to change from your hiking boots to wading shoes and back again each time you cross the river. After 4 crossings I decided that was as far as I was going to go. It was a pretty area with gorgeous red rocks. I didn't see another soul on the hike so it is not an overly used trail. The Paria River is very muddy. Like one settler said, "It's too wet to plow and to dry to drink."
Part of Lonely Dell Ranch, a Morman homestead at Lee's Ferry
Crossing point at the Paria River at Lee's Ferry
I decided to head out after the hike and start toward Zion National Park. Another cold front was moving in and it turned cold on me. I had planned on spending a night up in the mountains around Jacob Lake where one would turn off to go to the north rim of the Grand Canyon if it were open but it is still closed due to snow. I found some great boondocking places but the temperature was hovering around 40 degrees and I figured it would get pretty cold this evening so I headed on. My next stop was Pipe Springs National Monument. This is a historic Morman settlement and I got an interesting tour there. I had thought I might stay here but it wasn't very inviting so I headed on toward Zion and arrived there around 6:00. They still had a couple of electric sites left so I grabbed one of those and plugged in since the cold front was hanging around. I would have electricity to run my furnace.
First campsite at Zion
The gate to the narrows at Zion, as far as you can go up canyon without getting wet
Me at the mouth of Hidden Canyon, well above the canyon floor
Hiking up Hidden Canyon
As far as I could get up Hidden Canyon (I couldn't figure a way over this rock fall)
The next morning I got up and had to find another campsite in the non-electric area due to the fact that all the electric sites were full for that night. It was pretty simple to find a good site close to the visitor center so I didn't have far to walk to catch a shuttle. One cannot drive private vehicles up into Zion canyon, you must take a shuttle . Zion is mainly a long canyon with a road that runs along the Virgin River at the bottom of the canyon. It is beautiful with huge towering bluffs and mountains all around. I took the shuttle about 11:30 after I got all settled and ended up hiking a lot more than I thought I would. I took the Riverwalk first, which is pretty level and reasonably short, about 2 miles roundtrip. Next I wanted to go up to see Hidden Canyon. That is about a thousand foot climb and about 4 miles roundtrip. It was great with some great rock falls to climb over and a narrow canyon. I finally came to a place where I just couldn't figure out how to get up and over it so I turned around and headed back.
The south end of Zion Canyon from Observation Point
Looking toward the north end of Zion from Observation Point
About a mile from the trailhead there is a junction and you can head on up to Observation Point so I decided since I was already that far I might as well go on up. What a chore, 3 miles and 2000 feet higher I finally got to Observation Point. I reminded me a lot of coming out of the Grand Canyon. I got some shots of the Zion Canyon in both directions from here. I rested and ate a snack bar and headed back down. I got back to the camper at 7:30, made a small pizza had some salad and a couple of beers and hit the sack around 9:00. I did sleep good.
A bouquet of Flox and Indian Paintbrush on the trail to Observation Point
Today is Monday, March 27. I've been on the road about two weeks now and am at my farthest west point in this trip. I plan on exploring some more trails here in Zion and then heading back east from here. When I got up this morning I decided on a hearty breakfast. I figured I walked off plenty of calories yesterday, I could afford it. I had bacon, eggs, and toast, mm mm good. I did some more trails in Zion today and then I rode the shuttle into town last and had fish tacos at Oscar's. They were really good.
Zion Lodge
At Upper Emerald Pool in Zion
Zion Valley from the Grotto Trail
Oscar's
I left Zion today, Tuesday, March 28, and headed back east. It is hard to head east, but since I'm heading into southern Utah I guess it is okay. At least I'm not heading into Kansas yet. I made it as far as Cannonville and headed to Kodachrome State Park. I got a campsite there and quickly dropped the camper and headed down Stukumpah Road. I wanted to check out Lick Wash and Willis Creek. What a road. It really shouldn't be classified as such. I sure wouldn't bring the camper down here. The truck did okay but I did have to use 4 wheel in a couple of places.
The narrows at Lick Wash
Me at Lick Wash after it opened up
Ponderosa pines growing in Lick Wash
Lick Wash was okay but kind of a disappointment for that long a drive. I guess I walked back into this canyon about 2 miles and it just opened up not really much of a narrows to it.
Willis Creek narrows
Me in one of the narrows at Willis Creek
Campsite at Kodachrome Basin SP
Willis Creek was just the opposite. I got there kind of late but the sun seemed to be cooperating and I got some good photos with neat shadows. In slot canyons I guess you have to take what you can get. This truly was a great hike though, the little creek that washes through the canyon almost sounded like it was talking to me. There wasn't another soul in the canyon and it was great. Here are a few photos from that hike.
Grosvenor Arch off of Cottonwood Road
At Grosvenor Arch
Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument scenery
This morning, Wednesday, March 29, I decided to hit a couple of trails here in the state park. They really weren't that good, so I headed down to Grosvenor Arch about 6 miles south on Cottonwood road. That as impressive. There weren't hardly any people there and it was awesome. I did manage to find someone to take my photo.
On the road to Escalante
Route from Farmington to Zion
Route from Zion to Escalante
Click the links above to see a map of this posting.
From there I drove to Escalante and picked up a few groceries and then found an RV park with a wifi system so I could bring this blog up to date. Guess that catches me up.
Life is good.
