Utah Adventure 2013

[Jack L]

Spent 3 1/2 weeks in Utah and had a wonderful time. Thought we would share some photos.



These are petroglyphs as well as what the road looked like a day after the flash flood in Nine Mile Canyon.

Here is our Bigfoot in our camping site in Arches, as well as one of the many arches in the Park.

We stopped at Goblin Valley State Park. Very interesting formations!

Bryce Canyon is an amazing place! Can you find Snoopy on top of a rock spire? On September 26, it was 24 degrees in the morning!!

Our last National Park we visited was Zion. We stayed in The Watchman Campground in the park.

We stayed in Kanab for two nights. Many Westerns were filmed here. This is a set from "The Outlaw Josey Wales." It looks like adobe, but it is made out of fiberglass!

Our last destination, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, was closed on Oct. 1 - the morning we planned to visit!

We had a GREAT time and I am willing to answer any questions! Everyone should do this trip!

[Raz]

Great pictures. What an interesting place. We've been there twice and will go back I'm sure. Thanks for sharing. Raz

[MyronL]

Nice stuff! Must visit. Are all these parks open for trailer camping year round? No hook-ups, I presume?

[Chillywilly]

Nice pics! We had planned on going to the North Rim also, but I guess the gov't had a different idea. Utah is just plain beautiful, though. Thanks for sharing.

[Donna D.]

THANKS for sharing!

[Jack L]

Originally Posted by Myron Leski

Nice stuff! Must visit. Are all these parks open for trailer camping year round? No hook-ups, I presume?

We stayed in 3 Natioal parks and 4 private campgrounds. Arches has no hookups. Running water in rest rooms only. Capitol Reef has no hookups but water spigots to fill your tank are available. Zion has electricity at some (maybe all) campsights. The parks are open all year but snow and ice complicate things.

When I started planning this trip I tried to have access to electricity every few days to keep the battery charged. I added solar before leaving home so power was not real important except at Brice. It was in the low 20's at night on 9-26 & 9-27.

I made reservations at Arches and Zion almost 6 months in advance. Capitol Reef in first come, first served and wheen we got there at 3 PM it was filled. We boondocked just outside the park (very nice spot) and found a spot in the park early the next morning.

Another trip to this area is on my "to do" list and I would try to stay at more national parks and fewer private campgrounds. My wife is not a big fan of showering in the trailer so for sure some private campgrounds will be necessary.

I highly reccomend this trip !

[Steve and Rosemary]

Jack, if I had known you were in the neighborhood, I'd have invited you over! It looks like you had a great time and hit all of the major sights. One thing about Utah that may be different from what folks are used to is the fact that most of the lands are BLm. This means they belong to US! Boon docking is the way to go if you can live without hookups as it vastly increases the wonderful and peaceful places you can drop anchor. Anyways, it is always nice to see folks visit this beautiful state... Maybe next year I'll get it together and plan a rally. Thanks for posting your lovely photos!

[Jack L]

Originally Posted by Steve and Rosemary

Jack, if I had known you were in the neighborhood, I'd have invited you over! It looks like you had a great time and hit all of the major sights. One thing about Utah that may be different from what folks are used to is the fact that most of the lands are BLm. This means they belong to US! Boon docking is the way to go if you can live without hookups as it vastly increases the wonderful and peaceful places you can drop anchor. Anyways, it is always nice to see folks visit this beautiful state... Maybe next year I'll get it together and plan a rally. Thanks for posting your lovely photos!

We will definitely be returning to Utah and hopefully soon. If you host a rally I'll do my best to attend and pitch in and help if you want help.

I was aware of the fact you can camp on BLM land and had researched some places as "back up" options. We only used one at Capitol Reef. When I started planning this trip I was concerned about keeping the battery charged and when I made reservations I had no generator or solar. Before leaving I added a 100 W solar so being off grid for several days or longer would be fine with me.

I'm much more comfortable now with the idea of boondocking now that I have seen some of the wonderful opportunitys available.

Hope we can get together next year.

Jack

[Steve and Rosemary]

Well, I'm glad to hear you'll be back soon. If you ever want a few ideas for boondock sites, just say the word. I've been to MANY and have even MORE that I have yet to visit. I'll keep you posted about a rally but I'm thinking either in the spring or the fall to miss the heat and the kids. What do you think?

Very jealous of your solar, by the way, although we don't use much power. Probably has something to do with the fact that we don't HAVE much.

Also, can anyone confirm -- the standard seems to be that rallies have hook ups. Is that always the case?

[Gilda]

Hi Jack!
Thanks for posting your photos of your trip to Utah. We were there from May 8-21 of this year. We, too, boondocked for our first time outside of Capital Reef (see photo). We liked it so much we didn't bother going to the park campground. Utah is indeed a spectacularly beautiful state. One leaves with a new appreciation for red rock! We'll definitely be going back!

[Janb313]

Had my first visit to Utah in september and I will be back for sure - hopefully next year. Camped at Red Canyon -- a very nice FS campground - well cared for - nice people - nice hiking and very close to Bryce but much nicer sites. I too have discovered this year how nice Forest Service camping can be. It's kinda of like the National Parks used to be before they became so (over) crowded. I mostly camp alone and haven't gotten brave enough to go too far off the beaten path yet but I'm working on it. Those roads into the forest keep calling my name.... So does Utah. Awe inspiring.

[John & BJ S.]

Originally Posted by Steve and Rosemary

...
Also, can anyone confirm -- the standard seems to be that rallies have hook ups. Is that always the case?

The Quartzsite Gathering has attracted about 85 trailers the last few years. It's held on BLM land - pure boondocking (and great fun)!

[Steve and Rosemary]

Originally Posted by Janb313

Those roads into the forest keep calling my name.... So does Utah. Awe inspiring.

I'm glad to hear you might return! Maybe to a rally next year...? Red Canyon is a wonderful choice and very stunning.

[Steve and Rosemary]

Originally Posted by John & BJ S.

The Quartzsite Gathering has attracted about 85 trailers the last few years. It's held on BLM land - pure boondocking (and great fun)!

That's a very good point! Especially given that it's one that caught my eye as a potential option for us to participate in! Okay, with that, I think I'll try to put something together next year. Anyone interested in helping?

[Jack L]

Gilda, we stayed in exactly the same spot in September and really liked it. Our dog really liked it because it was her chance to really run and play. The Nationl Parks and private campgrounds required her to be on leash. If I visit Capitol Reef again I will stay there instead of going into the park.

Jandb 313, those roads off the beaten path offre some spectacular opportunitys but do challenge my confidence levels. We were in Kanab and planning a trip to the Grand Canyon but it was October 1, the first day of the park closure. Instead, we left the trailer at the campground and decided to visit the Paria movie set. We did see some boondockers part way down the road to Paria . It looked like a nice place to stay and if I had brought the trailer I probably would have stayed there. We went to the end of the road down by the river and I never would have made it with the Bigfoot. There were several wash outs that a passenger car or a low clearance 4 WD would have had problems. I found getting accurate information from locals was not always reliable. If I can't get reliable information I would check out the area without the trailer first.

Steve and Rosemary, I have not attended a rally yet. I have reservations at Champoege next April and Bullards Beach in July. The Oregon people are very active and I am anxious to meet them. Bullards Beach which is 9 monthe away already has 50+ paid reservations with some people coming a long way. It looks like it's going to be a large one.
As far as a return trip to Utah, spring or fall (cooler weather) would be fine with us. Boondocking or full hookup's work for us. We would incorperate this event into a trip of several weeks or longer and I'm thinking other people attending would be doing the same thing.

[Steve and Rosemary]

Originally Posted by Jack L

As far as a return trip to Utah, spring or fall (cooler weather) would be fine with us. Boondocking or full hookup's work for us. We would incorperate this event into a trip of several weeks or longer and I'm thinking other people attending would be doing the same thing.

Thanks for the feedback. Watch for a Utah rally some time next year!