Zion National Park - Day 1

Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, UT

We had first row seats to a beautiful sunrise over Lake Powell this morning.  I was actually expecting it to be colder this morning, but instead it was a brisk 55 degrees. Perfect weather to grab a sweater, have a cup of coffee and watch the sun slowly peek over the mountains. 

Next destination was Zion National Park.  This time we entered from the Eastern side. We’ve visited this park about 10 times in the last 15 years.  It never disappoints and is still our second favorite National Park. (Top of the list still remains Acadia. We love those carriage trails with epic views). 

The Eastern side entices you with checkerboard mountains and miles of pink and white sandstone.  Then you go thru a tunnel,that was quite the engineering feat, to have the valley spread before you.  

We’ll be camped here for the next three days, basically just hiking, riding bikes and enjoying the enormity of the mountains surrounding us.  

First thing we did after getting set up was to (mask up and) ride our bikes to the Outfitter store in town to make use of their showers.  We barely recognized this place!  The town and visitor center is swarming with people.  Dang, this place has changed so much over the years.  We used to ride our bike out of the park on a single track dirt trail. There is now a full fledged Park Service Entrance and gate there - along with Rangers checking each and every bike and walker that comes thru. Even with the limited services in the park, the line for the bus was hours long!  Guess who is NOT taking the bus tomorrow. Instead we’ll ride our bikes up to the Narrows - well at least that’s my plan for now. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.  

Enjoying just chilling out in the campground.  We’re amazed at this weather.  We expected it to be a lot colder, but it’s been in the high 80’s!  We’ve been so lucky on this trip with the warm days and cool evenings.  

Beaching it on the Arizona/Utah Border

Lone Rock Beach, Glen Canyon Recreation Area, Utah

We got up super early this morning.  We wanted to reach Horseshoe Bend before noon supposedly for the best lighting.  I was here last year with Sylvia (one of my fave road trips!) and wanted to share the experience of seeing Horseshoe Bend with Ned.  It didn’t disappoint.  It’s crazy how popular this spot has become.  There is now a designated paved pathway with a couple of shade structures leading to the overlook.  It’s no longer the primitive dirt path up and over dunes.  

The other reason for getting up before dawn was to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. What a beautiful experience. 

It was fun watching the canyon come to life from dark shadows to layers of red. 

We also stopped at Glen Canyon Dam, walked across the bridge and admired the engineering of the dam. Years ago we took a tour of the visitor’s center.  This year we just masked up and walked around.  Still fun. 

Tonight we are camped on a beach.  Literally.  We drove down a sand road and parked close to Lake Powell. There are no designated campsites, just park anywhere and do your thing.  This beach is part of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. As we are camped in the sand, looking out at a really surreal landscape, Ned isn’t too sure what I’ve got us into. 

There are porta-potties dotted up and down the beach and flush toilets and cold showers are up the road about half a mile.  Yes, I’ve made the half mile trek a couple times today. 

Wolfgang is holding up well tho. (Even if he is getting blasted with fine sand).

We had a great time swimming in Lake Powell, watching the boats go by, drinking Margaritas and chilling out.  Ned has now warmed up to our little beach shack.

It’s about 82 degrees, the water was a bit chilly, but it felt great. (Swimming in the lake means I don’t have to take a cold shower right?). Ned pointed out that this was supposed to be the hot springs tour so a cold dip in a lake was an added bonus. 

The vibe tonight is super chill.  There are a couple of fires on the beach, some good music playing in the distance and everyone just relaxing and having a good time. Really glad I went out of comfort zone and took a chance on camping here.  We’ll be back, can’t wait to take Maddy and Theo. 

Grand Canyon Biking the Rim

Mather Campground, Grand Canyon, AZ

We’re camping one night at the Grand Canyon.  We’ve been here many times before so we weren’t interested in visiting the village or riding the bus to the tourist spots.  Instead we had one goal in mind - biking the rim trail from our campground to Hermit’s Rest.  It was an epic 20 mile bike ride with a lot of UP. 

I had just conquered the hill up to Maricopa Point. Once I caught my breath I appreciated the breathtaking views. 

I keep yelling at Ned to stop moving!  I’m terrified of heights and poor Ned got the full mom treatment.  He kept saying, “I’m 8 ft from the edge, I’m not going anywhere!”. (Megan and Josh can you relate?). 

This is the best bike ride in the western U.S.  Epic views for 10 miles.  We had the road to ourselves and were surprised by how few people were riding the bus and doing the rim road.  Even our campground is empty.  I booked our campsite in July.  As you arrive it says the campground is full.  There are probably 5 people in our entire loop - and this campground has hundreds of sites!  I think they capped all the sites due to covid.  I ain’t complaining, lucky us. 

Finally reaching Hermit’s Rest.  We took a few minutes to go into the park service store...

...and heck ya bought an ice cream! Felt like we kinda deserved it after that ride and can you think of anything better than eating an ice cream looking at this view?  

We finally made it back to the campsite. I’m so tired!! Margaritas at the campsite tonight. Ned kept it together to make us bbq chicken, broccoli and brown rice. My contribution???   

uh....writing this blog? 

Thanks Ned! 

We have no cell service at the campsite. If you’re reading this blog it means we were able to saddle up once more and ride to the village in search of cell.  Guess who’s sleeping well tonight?

Trail Horse riding at Dead Horse Ranch

Dead Horse Ranch State Park, AZ

It’s been 50 years since I’ve been on a horse.  I’ve been terrified of horses ever since I took a horseback riding class in high school. (It didn’t go well, but that’s another story).  So, today I decided to put on my big girl pants and go for a ride. 

We had so much fun!!  My favorite part was crossing the Verde river. The second trip across it was a bit deeper. 

Dead Horse Ranch State Park has a riding stable so it was so easy to just get on our bikes and ride on over to the stable.  My horse’s name was Kat and she was a sweetheart.  I told the trail guide that I was terrified so she put me at the front of the ride. I immediately felt comfortable on this horse. We got a mini lesson on how to steer, and how to sit when we trotted up hill and downhill.  Kat was incredibly responsive and I just settled in and enjoyed the ride.

Ned loves horses and you could tell right away how comfortable he was in the saddle.  (Okay, full disclosure - both of our hips were killing us at the end of the ride. It felt like we did a deep yoga hip opener stretch for an hour or so). 

Ned rode behind me for the trail ride.  His horse, Ghost, would occasionally nip my horse in the butt.  Kinda got Kat moving along a bit more than I was expecting.  I think Ned rather enjoyed prodding me along for a change rather than the other way around!  Fair game, Mr. Ned, fair game. 

Right before I got on the horse, pretending like I knew what I was doing. I was so terrified!!!  Who knew it would be such a fun adventure. 

The scenery on this ride was incredible, turtles sunning on rocks, a black hawk hanging near its nest, wide open vistas and beautiful mountain ranges.  So glad we were finally able to enjoy the many trails this park has to offer. 

After a morning 6 mile bike ride and an afternoon horseback ride, Ned settling in for a late afternoon nap.  Perfect vacation day. 

Sedona...kinda

Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ

This is our third time camping at this state park.  It’s a great location, close to Sedona, but far enough away to get away from all the tourists. We love biking around the 3 big lagoons in the park. There’s lots of hiking trails too.

Sedona is known for its numerous mountain biking trails, there really aren’t any of the paved biking paths that we like.  We started out on a rather easy looking dirt path, but it got rocky, narrow and too steep for me.  Neither our touring bikes (nor my 62 yr old body) are well equipped for this terrain.

Yes, this is much more my speed.  

We stopped by the trail ride hut and toyed with the idea of going on a horse back ride. No one was there so this was as close as we got. 

We’re camped here for a couple of days.  We’ve been socially distancing and staying away from the tourist spots so the idea of visiting downtown Sedona isn’t on our radar. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. There are so many wonderful activities here, I’m sure we’ll come up with something.  It’s 90 degrees so and blazing hot so we’ll definitely have to factor that in.

Arizona High Country

Fool Hollow Campground, Show Low, AZ

OMG - the stars while soaking at Faywood Hot Springs last night were the best of the trip. The milky way was front and center and there were so many stars we had a hard time picking out constellations. We even saw several shooting stars.  I felt like I was at the Chicago Planetarium on a school field trip.  We reluctantly left New Mexico and headed for Arizona high country.  

Our campsite is pretty sweet overlooking a lake.  The temps are in the mid 80’s. Okay, I’m adjusting to Arizona just fine. 

We had about a 4 hour drive to Show Low and I couldn’t wait to stretch my legs when we arrived.  Uh-oh flat tire.  Thanks so much Josh for the bike pump to get me in action again. And thank you Molly for the pump on Papa’s bike. I felt like we could go for a ride without getting stranded. 

We also did a hike along the lake. The volcanic rock here is pretty awesome. Can hardly wait til Maddy and Theo are along on these trips with us and are climbing all over these rocks. 

We’ve had such great weather this trip that we haven’t wanted to eat inside the van.  We decided tonight to make a event out of it and had grilled cheese sandwiches and roasted pepper tomato soup at the “table..” Even did a little mood lighting for the perfect restaurant experience.  

Faywood Hot Springs, Faywood, NM

Faywood Hot Springs, Faywood, NM

Another day, another hot spring...lol.  It took us a good hour and a half to get from Gila Hot Springs to Silver City.  Gila Springs really is a destination place. I’d plan on at least a 2 night minimum if you visit just cuz the small, windy country lane getting there is a commitment. This hot spring, Faywood where we are staying tonight, is about 45 minutes south of Silver City off of a main highway. It’s in the desert and feels remote, but is much more accessible than it looks.  We love it here! 

Our camping spot is awesome!  Most of the sites are in the sun or out in the open, but as luck would have it I guessed at booking the best spot. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone but site #48 is the bomb).  We’re in a secluded little grove with the picnic table tucked away in the trees and has nice shade.  Extra bonus water spout at our campsite.  For those of you pulling a trailer #46 would be perfect for you, it’s still shaded and is a pull-thru. We are just a short distance away from the pools.

This hot spring has both clothing optional and clothing required areas.  There are several pools or tubs at each of the areas.  This particular area has three tubs, very hot, cool (95 degrees) and medium hot (about 102).  

This place is super chill on a weekday.  I heard that weekends it is quite the party scene, so it you’re looking for a nice relaxing clothing optional place during the weekday, for sure check this place out.  Ironically, as we were just chilling at this pool there was only one other person here.  Turns out she’s from Nevada City!!  Small world indeed.  

Just love the road runners, peacocks, meandering paths and hot tubs located in this desert environment. We get 24 hour access to all the hot tubs. Looking forward to a star gazing soak this evening. We are definitely putting this one on our list to come back and visit.