The best summer in forever seemed to keep on going in Seattle but had a feeling it would end by early October and we wanted to do something to get a few more weeks out of it.  So, we decided to hit the road again and head south for a few weeks to find sunshine and warmer weather plus get in some great hiking, finally visit the Grand Canyon, and celebrate our anniversary at the Sundance Resort.

Day 1 – Redmond to Bruneau Dunes State Park, ID

The first day is pretty much always about logging some miles.  We had originally planned a 3-day trip to got to the North Rim and split them up pretty evenly with 7 hour driving days.   We got a pretty early start since we packed the van up the day before and were in Pendleton by noon so decided not to stop at 3:30 in Farewell Bend but to continue onward until we hit a campground in Idaho with Bruneau Dunes being the farthest we’d drive and we did end up driving that far.

We arrived back at the Dunes right about sunset, got the van set up quickly, ate a few chips and took off on a walk toward the dunes as the sun was shining its last night on them and going below the rocks to the west.   Once we got to the dunes and decided to see where the road actually would go we got to witness the moonrise which was more beautiful than the sunset as the big orangish Harvest Moon rose over the dunes.   What a great way to end the day.

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We got back to the van, threw together a quick Thai Chickpea/Sweet Potato curry and had the latest dinner we’ve had in a while.    Day one done, tomorrow’s goal is to end up somewhere south of SLC, preferably someplace with a trout stream.

Day 2 – Bruneau Dunes State Park, ID to Salt Creek, UT

I awoke just at dusk as the horizon was turning orange, Venus and Jupiter were shining brightly in the sky and the moon was setting to the west.   We made oatmeal for breakfast, got the van packed up and hit the road by 8:30 a.m. heading back to I-84 and through the rest of Idaho.   The drive through Idaho went pretty smooth, swapping every few hours and we hit Utah just after noon.  Catherine did the drive from just before the border to Chipotle in Bountiful where we had a big burrito for lunch.   We’d done most of the drive for the day already and only had another 100 miles to go to get to the first choice of camp spots on Salt Creek outside of Nephi on the Nebo Loop Road.

We arrived at the camp around 3:00, got set up quickly and while Catherine did yoga I went to check out the creek which was pretty much a trickle with a few deeper spots – I was not feeling too confident that I’d catch trout.   At the first small ‘hole’ though I spooked two fish and then got very stealthy.  For the next hour and a half I caught fat, feisty browns on a #16 Parachute Adams and a #18 BWO Comparadun as a BWO hatch began on the creek and I could actually see fish rising to naturals as well as to my fly.   Pretty amazing afternoon of fishing on such small water and I saw fish that were easly 14” in size though the biggest I caught was about 12”.

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Day 3 – Salt Creek, UT at Grand Canyon North Rim 

We awoke at daybreak to fairly cold temperatures, at 6000’ things cool down quickly at night even after warm days.   I got on coffee and oatmeal duty just to warm up the van and us.   We broke camp pretty quickly and were on the road shortly after 8:30 local time (7:30 Seattle time, we never changed our watches).   We saw quite a few wild turkeys on our drive back into Nephi from the canyon and just outside of town Catherine saw a red fox.

We were on I-15 quickly and heading towards Arizona at 75-80 mph.  We broke up driving every 90 minutes or so and stopped in Cedar City for a few supplies and a lunch at Cafe Rio.  We then continued to just outside Zion where we went through Hurricane which seemed like a mini-Moab.   Getting just a bit lost Siri and the iOS6 maps app got us back on track heading out of Utah into Arizona and into Colorado City continuing to Freedonia.  At Freedonia we gassed up, Catherine took the wheel and we began the long drive up, and up, and up in the Kaibab National Forest before topping out at around 8800’ and descending a bit through beautiful meadows into Grand Canyon National Park.

The drive though the park to the North Rim was nice and we got to the end of the road at the lodge and visitors center.  I went and checked in for our cabin for the night (yeah, showers!!!) and we unpacked what we needed from the van and then immediately headed out.   We decided to do a picnic dinner on the rim so grabbed food from the van and went and sat on the rim with a few hundred people watching the sunset.

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Catherine and I then took the food back, got our jackets on and decided to walk up the Bridle trail to the campground in the dark with a headlamp.  On the way back we noticed the time was 7:25 and the moon was set to rise around 7:30 so we stopped at the Roaring Springs Canyon overlook and watched one of the best moonrises we’d ever experienced and we’d just had two pretty good moonrises.

Our long days of driving are over for a while.  We stay at the cabin tonight then campground here two nights before moving on to Zion.  The plan is to hike to Bright Angel point in the morning, then do the Widforss trail after breakfast.   Thursday we will hike down into the canyon and back up as far as we can in a day.

Day 4 – North Rim Grand Canyon

We awoke right at dawn and I caught the sunrise while heading up to the van to grab a few things.   We got up and walked out the Bright Angel Trail first thing in the morning as the sun was coming up, beautiful colors in the canyon as the first rays of sun hit the sandstone walls.   We headed back to the lodge thinking we’d have breakfast there but it was packed so we grabbed tea and lattes at the Saloon/Espresso Stand and went to the van and had our own breakfast, prepared trail lunches and got our packs ready.

After eating we packed up and checked out of the lodge then drove up the road to the trailhead for the Widforss Trail, our hike for the day.   This turned out to be a great trail that only had 1200’ of elevation gain in the 5 mile length and would roam along the canyon rim then into an aspen grove, then into a pondorosa pine forest and then back onto the rim for a while.  We took our time, enjoying the trail and stopped several times on the way out to meditate for 10 minutes when we found a good log with a good view.  We made it to Widforss Point in just under three hours where we sat in the shade and had lunch with only a few others that were on the trail.   On the way back out we followed the same basic format, hike a while, sit a while, hike some more.   All in all, a vey enjoyable six hours of hiking instead of driving finally.

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We then got back in the van and headed to the campground where we set up camp and I fought with the frig.   We’d had no problems that last few nights but at almost 8000’ the thing just does not want to operate properly so for now it is a glorified ice box and hopefully will work again by the time we get to lower elevation at Zion.  We made a mexi feast for dinner and chowed down, pretty hungry after a day outside.   After dinner and cleanup we walked over to the store then up the Transept Trail to the Bridle Trail and finally to the Kaibab Trailhead just as it was getting dark.   We wanted to see how far the hike to start the hike would be in the morning, luckily it was only about .7 miles.   We hiked back to camp by headlamp and settled in for the night.  Tomorrow – more hiking at the North Rim.

Day 5 – North Rim Grand Canyon

Today was our last full day of hiking at the Grand Canyon so we decided we had to go down into the canyon, well at least a little way.  We got up at dawn, had breakfast and then took off from camp on the Transept Trail to the Bridle Trail and then to the start of the Kaibab Trail which is the Rim to Rim route.   We figured we’d go down to the first overlook or the Sepai Tunnel depending on how the steepness felt.  We got to the overlook pretty quickly and decided to keep descending for a while.  We got sidetracked by a few mule trains and found a great meditation rock then continued down to the tunnel which was a pretty amazing spot to stop for a rest.    We’d gone down 1.7 miles and 1400’ at this point so now we had to go back up.

The trail up in steep, no doubt about it.  In fact, this is the steepest stretch of the trail when you look at the profile view of the canyon.  We did manage to get back up in about the same time we got down though, 2 hours each way.   Going to Roaring Springs and back would have been exhausting and we both felt we’d made a good choice of a turn-around spot,  we still have a solid week of hiking ahead of us.

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Once back at the top we continued on the Ken Patrick trail to the Uncle Bob’s loop which was a great 5-mile loop that gave views of the Bright Angel Canyon and old trail as well as the Kaibab Trail from the rim.

We were pretty beat when we got back to the parking lot but still had .7 miles to the campground.  It felt really good to get off the shoes and back into Lunas after spending 7+ hours on the trail today.

Day 6 – North Rim to Zion

Today we got up and packed up the van to head back into Utah and Zion National Park so it was pretty much a travel day.   The drive out of the park was beautiful in the morning light and soon we were in the Kaibab National Forest climbing up to the 8850’ summit before starting the descent to Freedonia at 5000’.   We stopped at the overlook for a few minutes then continued down the steep drop to the plateau.  After Freedonia we stopped by Pipe Springs National Monument which is a natural spring that was used by the native peoples and the Mormons as they settled the region.

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We then drove into St. George which was a bit out of the way to visit Ultraspire, to get lunch and to get a few more groceries and gas.  After that we drove back up Hwy 9 to Hurricane, Laverkin, Virgin, Springdale and finally the park.  We had a night at the Zion Lodge and it was great to pull in and find a big room with a good bed and a hot shower.   We were both pretty wiped out from yesterday’s hike at altitude and the air sure seemed much easier to breathe at 4000’ than it did at 8200’.

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Day 7 – Zion 

Today we awoke at the lodge and decided to actually go eat breakfast at the lodge instead of our usual oatmeal.    After breakfast we packed up our stuff and cleared the room into the van and got ready go hike.   We started at the lodge and did the Lower Emerald Pool trail which took us to the first poll and under a small waterfall.  There were, however, lots of people on the trail so we opted to bypass the Upper Pool and hit the Kayenta Trail to the Grotto.  At the Grotto we took the trail to Angel’s Landing/West Rim which was also very crowded, and very steep.   Up 700’ we went on the lower switchbacks then we got a break in Refrigerator Canyon until we hit the next 700’ climb up the Wiggles.

At Scout Camp we opted to keep heading out on the West Rim Trail instead of fighting the crowds at Angel’s Landing.  This trail gave us what we wanted, solitude and hiking on slickrock and sand trails on the top of the canyon.   We took it back about 3 miles, stopping along the way to meditate three times and stopping for lunch at our turn-around point.

The only thing that could have been better was a loop, we had to backtrack to get back down to the river but the light had changed and thus views looked different on the way back than on the way up.  Back at the Grotto we did take the Grotto trail back to the Lodge to finish the day with about 11.5 miles of hiking.

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We left the Lodge and drove to the Zion Canyon Campground, a private camp just outside the park because we couldn’t get a park spot.  We set up camp quickly and headed to the Virgin River to soak our feet in cold water and then decided to go into The Bit n’ Spur for dinner, a place we ate at 11 years ago when in Zion.   The dinner was great and we added 2 more miles for the day walking there and back.   We also met a couple that used to be Westfalia owners and upgraded to a RoadTrek SS Agile van which we have been eyeing.  We finally got a tour of the thing and now I’m really jonesing for one, the thought of a real bed and a refrigerator that always works  is pretty tempting.

Day 8 – East Zion & Bryce Canyon

Our night at the Zion Canyon Campground was a rough one.  When we got back from the Bit n Spur the campground was completely filled with smoke from the hundreds of campfires burning, it was hard to breath.  Then we had a group of young people who were sitting outside about three sites away drinking and building a fire pretty much all night long.  At around 2:00 a.m. a loud truck came in and added to the party.  Needless to say, we did not sleep much and got a few hours from around 3:30-7:30.  We had had it and weren’t really wanting to deal with the campground another night or the crowds at Zion another day.

So, we decided to split.  First we needed to figure out where to go.  We thought of going back to the Kolob Canyon part of the park since no one was there last time we went there but then we weren’t sure where to camp for the night.  We looked at Cedar Breaks but there was a road closure and again, unsure camping.   On a whim I checked the Bryce Canyon Lodge to see if they had any openings and they had one cabin left so I grabbed it.   Off we headed to Bryce.

To get there we took Hwy 9 through the east side of Zion which turned out to be an amazing drive along big walls and even through a big wall in a 1.1 mile tunnel at one point.  We stopped just past the tunnel to do the Canyon Overlook trail and it was pretty spectacular though only a mile long.  The view of the East Canyon were amazing.  Further up the road we saw lots of people taking photos so we stopped.  There we saw bighorn sheep pretty close to the road including a ram which I rarely ever get to see.   So, like everyone else we illegally parked and took photos of the sheep.    We decided that our next trip to Zion will involve camping just out of the park at the east entrance and doing the East Rim trail, figuring it will offer solitude like the West Rim trail did.

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We continued to Hwy 89 and north to Hwy 12 and the turn for Bryce Canyon National Park.  We got to the park around lunch time and headed to the cabin where we had our sandwiches then got our packs ready for a hike.   We opted for a moderate loop hike down and through the canyon connecting the Navajo Loop trail and the Peek-A-Boo loop trail for a 5-mile, 1500‘ figure 8 hike through the hoodoos.   We’d done both of these trails the last time we were here and enjoyed it even more this time around.  The afternoon light was perfect for photos and there was a photo opp about every other step, pretty amazing.

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We got back to Sunset point just before sunset and hung out a bit watching tour groups go by and crowds amass.  Then we got to go to our cabin and shower after two days of pretty sweaty hiking.   We cooked dinner in the van and ate in our room since we still have plenty of food along and needed to use some more of the fresh food in the frig.

Our bad night turned into a pretty amazing day where we got to discover a new part of Zion National Park and got to revisit a great hike at Bryce Canyon.  Tomorrow we begin the multi-day drive north towards home.  There was a part of me today that just thought – let’s just get up and drive to Capital Reef in the morning and on to Arches and Canyonlands and keep this fall trip going but the month long trip will have to wait until next season.

Day 9 – Bryce Canyon to Sundance

This morning we got up just after dawn, had breakfast and hit the trail at Bryce to Sunrise Point.   There we decided to hike the Queen’s Garden/Navajo Loop combination which is rated as one of the best 3-mile hikes in the world.  At sunrise it was perfect for the light coming in from the rising sun.  The descent via Queen’s Garden is definitely the easiest way to get down the canyon, that is the first time we’d done that route.  Of course, we decided to connect to Navajo and still had to climb the 550’ switchbacks back to Sunset Point but it was worth it.

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After the hike we packed up the van and started on our journey north.  We drove through Red Canyon and then up Hwy 89 for a stretch to I-70.   This was a pretty good stretch of highway going through some small towns and following the Sevier River most of the way.  We even got to see some antelope along the way.

Once we hit I-70 we headed west over the pass and down to I-15 and the traffic again.  We made it up to Provo and then headed north and east on Hwy 189 to Sundance.  We arrived at Sundance right around 4 p.m., got checked in and got to our cabin just over the creek overlooking the mountain.    After getting unpacked we took a walk through the property which is simply amazing.  When we got back to our cabin we were greeted by a flock of wild turkeys almost at the front door, this has been a trip for turkey sightings.   This is definitely one of the best places that we’ve ever stayed at which is why we opted for an extra day here to hike and enjoy the resort.

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Day 10 – Sundance

We awoke to our coldest morning of the trip, temps were probably in the upper 30’s or low 40’s.  I put on my wool sweater and took a walk down to the lodge deli for a latte and then we had breakfast and prepared lunch while waiting for things to warm up a bit.  At 10:00 we decided it was warm enough and we headed out to hike much of the hiking trail on the property aside from the Arrowhead Summit trail.

We started at our cabin and walked over to the start of the trail system and the Stewart Falls trail.   This trail climbed up and took us to the falls in about 1.5 miles and about 700’ of elevation gain, we even saw some grouse on the way.  We took some photos at the falls and then continued up to connect to the Dry Lakes Trail.  Out in the open the wind was blowing pretty steady so we took the Dry Lakes Trail through the aspens instead of continuing up in the open.   We found a nice picnic table to sit and meditate a bit before starting down.  This was our peak elevation at about 7100’ and we could see the Arrowhead Summit at 8250’ and decided to forgo that one for the day.

After Dry Lakes we took the Black Forest trail down to a point where it went under the lift where we sat and had lunch watching people go overhead.   We then had to continue down the upper parking lot road to get back to the lodge then hike up the switchbacks to our cabin again to finish.

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We relaxed in the afternoon, reading on the deck and then cleaned up for dinner at the Foundry Grill to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary and 14 years together.  We had an amazing dinner sitting at the table in front of the fireplace, it couldn’t have been more perfect and romantic.

Day 11 – Sundance to Farewell Bend, OR 

This morning we awoke knowing that the trip was really over, now it was just a matter of getting from Sundance back home and it would take a few days.   We had breakfast, packed up the van and had to leave the resort.   We decided to avoid the SLC traffic snarl and go east to go west, heading to Heber City, up past Park Ctiy, east on I-80 and finally connecting to I-84 towards Ogden and our road home until Ellensburg.

It was a long day of driving involving three states and we finally pulled into Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon at about 4:30 p.m.   We set up camp and headed down to the river to sit for a while as the sun sank down below the hills.  We returned to the van and cooked dinner and settled in for a night in the camper that began at 6:30 p.m.

Day 12 – Farewell Bend, OR to Home

Pretty much a long drive home with a burrito stop in Ellensburg, the last day of a road trip is always kind of a sad day.