The next morning, May 2, we headed north from Arches on route
191 for route I-70 West and then 24 South to Hanksville, UT. The I-70 part is
indicated as scenic and if we haven’t had so much of it yet, perhaps we could
have been more appreciative. However, Fickie had not lost his keen sense of
observation and remained active with his camera, pointing out the differing
uniqueness of the area, which upon closer examination proved to be true. But by
the time we swung south, we had something else to wonder about. Some 20 miles
down the road the turnoff for Goblin Valley was going to show up. This is where
we had planned to spend one night but by the time we were looking to make a
reservation, no spot was available in the State Park. Hence, Hanksville further
south. But the road to Goblin Valley looked good and we decided to go take a
look. Not much mentionable along the way getting there but something absolutely
different from anything else so far at the end made the detour more than worthwhile.
A scene right from fantasy land and kids large and small scooting between the
‘mushrooms’ made for a glad-we-came experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Valley_State_Park .
Back on route 24, which had not meanwhile acquired a ‘scenic’
designation, we proceeded non-climactic southward. But 10 miles further we
suddenly perked up just short of Hanksville. The Fremont River was a brisk
stream of water headed east and spawned a green belt to accompany it. A good
bit of it was appreciated by cattle and horses benefitting from irrigated
fields and the surge of life from the earth. That was Hanksville, where we had
a charming camp site at Red Rock Steak House and Campground http://www.hanksvilleinn.com/campground.htm . This place had the promise of an
oasis, enhanced by the fresh smell of cattle. The restrooms were fine; the
showers real great after the lack of such at camp grounds for many days. We had
phone and internet connections and decided to treat ourselves to dining out on
site. Willem ordered Texas Cyclone, a brisket affair, which was so huge he
couldn’t finish it off, while Fickie and Stella were more in control of their
halibut steak dishes. It was refreshing to sit down at a table not of our own
for a change and we leisurely whiled the evening away, absorbing the fine
atmosphere, as did other patrons.
Twenty miles west on route 24 is Fruita Campground in the
Capitol Reef National Park http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/fruitacampground.htm , http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ut-fruita.html . This is a first come first serve deal for
which we placed ourselves close the night before and made an early break
Saturday morning, hoping weekend pressure would not already have worked against
us. We pulled into the campground, had a choice of 3 sites and were dumfounded
about the beauty and uniqueness of the place in the heart of the desert, thanks
to the Fremont River. Learning that the day before, all camp sites had been
taken an hour earlier, we couldn’t believe our luck. Within half an hour, the
same applied that Saturday morning.
If the National Park Service impressed us before, this time
we were virtually speechless. Driving to the campground, it looked more like a
fruit farming enterprise than a National Park. Our camp site was under huge
cottonwood trees bordering one of many fruit orchards that appeared
meticulously maintained. The fruit trees were really old and wherever necessary
newly planted replacements were seen. The fertile valley was inhabited by
Mormon settlers around 1880 and by 1941 the last of the ten families that once
comprised the population had left. During those 60 years the settlement was
industrious and made very good use of the Fremont River, establishing the
durable fruit orchards that the National Park Service inherited when the region
was taken over. The decision to maintain the orchards was a bold one and the
prevailing spirit is even more admirable. Fruit in season are available to
campers; on an individual pick and eat basis it is free but when gathered, it
can be purchased.
This entire approach so much intrigued Willem that he
attempted to see what we were missing out on, being there in late spring,
rather than summer. The vast apricot orchard stretching from our campsite told
a sad story. Crinkled dried blossoms indicated frost at a sensitive time. But
even more sad were tiny half inch size apricots dead and wrinkled, indicating a
subsequent deep freeze that got the escapees of the first chill. No apricots
this year for campers, it would seem. The situation in the apple and pear
orchards appeared more inspiring with a promising harvest coming.
The Mormons were not the first inhabitants. Evidence suggests that the
pleasant spot had been inhabited by Indians for centuries prior to their
departure about 700 years ago, for not yet understood reasons. The remarkable
thing is that the Indian irrigation canals were still in place and usable by
the Europeans when they showed up 6 centuries later!
We hiked the Capitol Gorge, noting petroglyphs attributed to
Indians that occupied the area between the years 500 and 1300 as well as a
register on the rock cliffs, of some
early European settlers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M93G9PPUjrc . Late afternoon the day before we
left, we checked out a fine display of petroglyphs along route 12. The Park
Service constructed a boardwalk along the road very close to the rock edge that
carries quite a number of these over a distance of perhaps 200 yards. These
things tell a story, poorly understood by experts. So, when a dignified couple
from California marveling at the display asked Willem what he thought it meant,
and figuring that his opinion was totally irrelevant, he said it seems the Utah
Education Department failed them Injuns (a la John Wayne) badly; their spelling
was atrocious.
Our next stop was Canyons of Escalante, http://www.canyonsofescalantervpark.com/ on Route 12. This was foremost a staging stop for us to have a short hop to
Bryce Canyon’s first come first serve campsites ; also to regroup a bit with
administrative and blog stuff. The campground was fine for the purpose with
exemplary restroom and laundry facilities, of which we took advantage. But by far
the most memorable of Escalante for us, was the noteworthy way of getting there
via scenic route 12, along which we changed elevation from 5,400 to 9,300 ft
and back to some 5,800, traversing the Grand Staircase of Escalante, by the time we reached the campground. Fickie once again
had a field day with his camera and Willem did his level best to negotiate road
challenges while still trying to satisfy photographer’s needs with a 9,500
pound trailer on his heels.
Having set out early, the 50 miles of real estate from
Escalante to Bryce Canyon was traversed in some 100 minutes, reflecting the
scenic distractions we encountered. The first come first serve campground had
plenty of sites and having circled somewhat, we were soon firmly ensconced in a
fine site, http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/northcampground.htm . Dry camping was on the order of the day and
with generator running permitted between 8 am and 8 pm, this was the most
liberal so far. However, the weather turned south on us, so we were hunkered
down and even before dinner time, it was snowing quite heavily. At some time
Willem realized that the awning was out, pointing to how good the weather was
when we set up camp, but by then snow had weighed down heavily on it. Fearing
it could be damaged, it took some doing to get the snow off and the awning
retracted. We were surely hoping for
better weather ahead and with surprisingly good AT&T and hotspot
connections, Wunderground supported our optimism. We cranked up the catalytic
gas heater, enjoyed a cozy evening and turned in early, after having turned off
the heat. But at about 4 am Willem sensed it was getting chilly and did
something about it.
As has happened regularly on our trip and particularly in the
four corner area -- specifically Utah, whenever we thought we’ve seen it all,
surprises like nothing before turned up. Bryce Canyon was another one of these places
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park . Needless to say, the place is
truly spectacular. Fickie’s photographs are supplemented here, showing Bryce in
all seasons: https://www.google.com/search?q=Bryce+Canyon&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=m3VxU_nlGNKBogTWtYLQBg&ved=0CEQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=622 . As hoped for, we had a very nice
next day and the snow had melted by mid morning, so we got to see the very
early spring version of Bryce. What an experience!
And then we were off to St George, Utah. We set out on scenic
route 12 west, then 89 south, which the GPS wanted us to hold to until route 9,
which was to take us through Zion Canyon again. Willem thought differently and
turned west on route 14 to Cedar City. This happened to lead to one of the greatest surprises of
the entire trip. Really warm when we left Bryce, so our warm clothing was
tucked away in the trailer; by the time we approached Navajo Lake, the sky had
just cleared after snowing and it was biting cold. This was mid-winter in the
mountains and at altitude 9,042 feet the lake water contrasted beautifully with
the all white surroundings. Great photo opportunity, exploited in record time
for Fickie! The close-up images completed the entire seasonal spectrum in the
US for Fickie and Stella. But this certainly is not what we saw: http://www.scenicsouthernutah.com/navajo-lake
Thereafter we lost altitude in a hurry and gained warmth
correspondingly. By the time we reached I-15 in Cedar City, we had 50 miles
left to St George, where Willem had scheduled the truck tires to be replaced
that afternoon. We quickly unhooked in a nice campsite and Willem took off,
leaving Fickie and Stella with setting up camp http://stgeorgervpark.yolasite.com/ . Unfortunately the tires weren’t in
yet but would be at 8:00 am the next morning, so some items, including bar-b-q meat
were picked up at Walmart on the way back and dodging the heat, kept us busy
till dusk.
St George http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George,_Utah
has quite a bit of significance because it is one of the areas targeted
for possible relocating. In the absence of Susan, who had been in contact with
a realtor over there for years, Willem had to meet with Lance. He had furnished
a listing of properties in various neighborhoods that Willem requested to
familiarize him with the area and the market. After the tire project was
completed early the next morning, the three of us took off for sightseeing and
driving by some listed properties. We appreciated Snow Canyon and the odd
property we got to see in that area, in addition to a few others and headed
back to camp. After lunch Willem took off to see another ten homes before
meeting with the realtor the next day. Having gained a feel for the place and
what may or may not work for him and Susan, the meeting was thus constructive
and they will be receiving info more commensurate with their ideas. St George
is an interesting place and if it is to be retained as a candidate venue, both
Willem and Susan will have to return there and spend some time through a couple
of different seasons. By late afternoon the wind that raged for two days had
calmed down enough so one could get a fire going for bar-b-q.
We also needed replacing a couple of tires on the RV and
returned to the place in Hurricane, UT, which impressed us favorably before. An
early start Monday morning had that taken care of before noon, so we headed out
in the direction of Las Vegas, where Susan was to fly into the next morning. We
had a spot reserved in Las Vegas for the next night but there was no way we
could pass by the arrival section of the airport with RV en tow. Hence getting
closer than St George the night before would enable us to unhook in our next camp
site and for Willem to meet the 10:15 am arrival. But before all of this, we
were looking forward to another as yet untested event.
No comments:
Post a Comment