WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Not An RV, Family Road Trip Sprint. Southern Utah!

monkeyswrench

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Well, last week was "fall break" for wife and one kid. Daughter had mid-terms, but was done Wednesday, other son did his work ahead of time...and ditched school Thursday and Friday. Wife wanted to do something, and I wanted to show the kids some of another state...before "show me your papers" is enacted. We rolled out Thursday morning, had a room in Kanab for three nights. Good spot, fairly close to Zion and Bryce Canyon, just seemed cool.

Drove through the Rez, and went 89A across Navajo Bridge and into Marble Canyon.
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Thought this was just a cool pic of the info center...
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89A meanders west from there, following the Vermillion Cliffs. Some cool postcard worthy stuff. Found some boulders, and the kids wanted to climb a bit. It was an open hiking area, but clean and probably not a trafficked area.
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This stretch meandered around, then up to Jacob Lake. Didn't get any pics up there. It was snow covered, and we were in a 2wd Avalanche...this comes into play the following day.
We continued on 89A into Fredonia, cool little place, doesn't look like much has changed there since 1940...I liked it. Just north of there was the state line. Had to get the tourist pic...
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Kanab itself is a beautiful town. Very busy with tourists of all types. Off readers, hikers and hippy types. People from near every state and country. The local folk were very nice, and the prices for stuff weren't horrible. The town sits with red bluffs across the north, and mostly plains of ranch and farmland to the south. It's not bad...it's very old school. Probably more churches than gas stations...maybe 2 stop lights...not a Walmart for 50 miles.
That was day one...
 

OCMerrill

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Taking a dirt road out of the Coral Pinks through the Kane Beds 20 years ago. That was interesting.

Very Scenic no doubt.
 

monkeyswrench

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Day two: let the ass kicking begin!
Peekaboo Slot Canyon.
Normal folk would pay someone to drive them out to the canyon if they don't have a 4x4. Some people rent SxS's... Nope, stubborn, and maybe a bit stupid...but worth it.
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Now, let's take a look at the little sign:
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Well, wife and I had spent a lot of youth running on sand. Hell, I've broken a ton of stuff at Glamis and had to hoof it back. We're both out of shape, but a bit stubborn...
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Most of the terrain was like this. Views were great. We packed in roughly a gallon of water each, and started off. No way in hell I'd have tried it in summer! It was low 60's in the morning, about 8am start time.
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Middle one goofing around...
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This was the area we stopped for lunch...was about 10:30, but the monkeys were going to turn on each other!
Brief historical note: These are called "Moqui Holes"...they were carved out by native people sometime around 1200ad. They used them as ladders to access the shelves within some canyons to store things or even to get to shelter.
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Before noon, we were back in the car, headed to Bryce Canyon...not so much for hiking, but to see what it was like..
Had no idea what was coming. I'll post those later...
So, this was day 2 and a half so far!
 

DILLIGAF

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Good job on the telling the story MW. Love that entire area but didnt make it this year.
 

monkeyswrench

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Ok, some more stuff. I didn't take pics of the drive up and over to Bryce...but I may be moving. Just cool, old homesteads and newer places, cattle ranches and American Flags. It was purdy!

On the way into Bryce, you drive through a red rock canyon that looks like a Coyote and a Roadrunner should be in. It's a surreal view out your windshield.
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...and then on to the really impressive stuff!

Bryce is breathtaking, no two ways about it. A mix of sci-fi and natural beauty, colors that seem not to fit...and snow on the ground!
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The sheer magnitude is awesome. Looking into the valley it takes a minute to grasp the concept!
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Post snowball action...

We left about sundown. Hit the best Subway I've ever had leaving Bryce. Back to the motel dead tired.
 

lenmann

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Awesome trip report, keep em coming.

That is truly spectacular country, literally takes your breath away.

Have (more) fun!
 

monkeyswrench

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As I look at these pics, for the first time not on my phone...smartass youngest monkey looking at the camera cross-eyed😖
Weird, looking at my two goofball boys, both stand a tad over 6ft now! Kyle, the bean pole, is going to be turning 15 this Wednesday, the other, Blake, is 13! It seems like yesterday they were learning to walk, or talk...each struggled with one of those. Damn, time marches on.
 

monkeyswrench

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Day two was a serious ass kicker, but still way cool. Day 3 was more driving, and investigating. Had breakfast and headed to Zion's east gate.

Saw this on the way, had to stop and take a pic
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Come on, a bison ranch! I want a couple of these on my property.

Then, Zion.
Big ass rocks! Drove in a little, and then into a tunnel...a long tunnel! Followed a brand new Lamborghini, paper plates from Texas...had to roll the windows down! That was my youngest's highlight. But on with the show.
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From there, we rolled out the south gate. We did some hiking, but nothing major. My take is Zion was too crowded, and the south gate has it's own little hippy town, much like Sedona. We drove out and down towards St. George (thought a lot about Mark, T&B, now I know why he would live up this way) We cut south east, through Colorado City, and up through the "Kane Fields". Wanted to see where Coral Pink dunes were. Took this pic, still AZ, but not the AZ I'd seen...
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Cut back to 89, and headed back down to Kanab. Stopped at the "Sand Caves", which are actually old silica mines. The slope to climb to get to them is sandstone, and well used. Pretty slick, and steep. Helped a couple of people that were scared at one area. Luckily, working on roofs has given me some good balance in my work boots.
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Didn't think to get a pic from the ground level, but this is the view looking out.
We headed back into town, and went th "Big Al's Burgers". Good greasy spoon kind of place...ran into one of the groups who I helped out at the caves, the father thanked me again...was kind of cool.

That was day 3. Went back to the room and we all got cleaned up and ready for bed...lights out by 10...
One day left.
 

monkeyswrench

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Sunday morning, get dressed, pack up and head out. Two easy little touristy things planned. Headed out 89 south this time, towards Powell. Drove through ranch land, and hit the "Toadstool Hoodoos"
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In the background, you can see the concave arches. The acoustics were really cool. Here's a pic for scale..
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We headed out of there by about 9...parking lot was getting crowded. We pretty much had it to ourselves!
On with the road show...
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Never been to Powell, but I know this doesn't look good. Huge lake though, even now. That's Waheep in the pic.

Continued south, Horseshoe Bend overlook. Crowded, way too many people, but a hell of a view!
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Weird, seeing a campsite set up way down there! Kayaks and tents...saw two deck/pontoon boats. Just weird to think that is the same river I play on down stream. Lakes, dams and state lines away!

The rest of the trip was pretty basic, cruised through the rez, Flagstaff and then home.

I highly recommend the Comfort Inn in Kanab. Had trailer parking if you took a SxS, breakfast was included, and a "suite" has a small fridge, microwave 2 queens and a sleeper sofa...3 nights on a weekend for under 500$ in a tourist town. Not bad I thought.

Not a whole lot of anything modern. I didn't even go online...only used my phone as a camera.

4 days, 270 miles home, but the way up was a more scenic route...closer to 300.

A little over 35 miles were also covered on foot, and carrying a pack. My ass was beat to hell, and my neck is deciding if it wants to kill me.

Yes, the pain is worth it. Wife and kids don't need to know what I feel like. They all liked it. Maybe in spring, possibly plan a camping trip to the bottom of Bryce. We'll see what the future holds. If nothing else, the family got to see a new view on this country.
 

monkeyswrench

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Looks like a pretty amazing trip!
We got more done than we expected. It was really good weather, and timing just really worked out. I'm not real optimistic about the coming year or two, so this was a leap of faith trip. I don't want to look back and wish I would have. If it's within my means, I want to try. We made the decision to go the Sunday prior.
 

hman442

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Thanks for the tour. It'll be a little longer trip for me, from Oregon, but those pics convinced me to definitely see those places. Looked like a great time.
 

angiebaby

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Looks like a great trip! :)
We've been all over Utah it seems, but never to Bryce. Someday.
 

monkeyswrench

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Looks like a great trip! :)
We've been all over Utah it seems, but never to Bryce. Someday.
I'd never "been" to Utah. Driven though, and a midnight run to SLC once, but never looked around.
If you two are headed anywhere near in your travels, it's worth the detour. Mind you, I am far from a leaf licker, granola hippy. To me, it was more impressive than anything I've seen.
 

t&y

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Awesome. Southern Utah is definitely on our to do list in the near future. The more and more I think about it, it will probably be where I retire too as long as my kids don't keep me in SoCal. I figure buy something out there, then just visit and annoy the hell out of them like most parents do. 👍
 

mesquito_creek

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You got to see it just in time... They closed everything from Kanab to Page last night...
 

boatdoc55

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Very Very cool MW!! The wife and I have talked about doing this kind of travel now that she retired. Just the two of us and thanks for the tips on where to stay, wrote it down on a sticky and plastered it on my desk. 👍
 
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