Slowing Down in Utah

Last night, Brent made chocolate chip cookies from scratch and Evelyn and I watched "Mary Poppins" while Kailyn slept cuddled up on my chest. Halloween lights glowed over the mantle and the fireplace flickered below. I felt Brent looking over at us and met his eyes to find a smile written all over his face. There is such a simple happiness to be found in this-- sitting in our 6x10 ft living room and spending better time together than we had in our old life.

We're in St. George, Utah, parked in a huge and popular RV Park. We saw nothing of the town the first two days we were here. We spent the first day enjoying some simple amenities like running water and electricity and barely left our 400 square foot home. Brent washed and vacuumed the truck. I took pictures of Kailyn for her 2 month birthday and uploaded pictures to Shutterfly for our new webpage. Evelyn played in her play loft. Later in the afternoon, I put Kailyn's car seat in our collapsible wagon and walked with Evelyn to the pool. She played the afternoon away with other RVer kids and chatted it up with RVer retired couples. I browsed Amazon from my phone while Kailyn napped in the wagon next to me. We were in no rush to do anything or see anything, though we felt this pressing obligation to see Zion and Bryce while we're here. The thing is, when you're living an adventure, the down time is pretty amazing, too.

As you saw in my previous entry, I was getting a bit tired of the desert. Not to say Utah isn't still desert, but leaving the desert desert and driving into Utah was uplifting. The pressures the desert had left on my shoulders lifted the greener the landscape became. More green stretched out ahead of us. The white rock and cliffs turns to peach and red. The earthy red hills combined with green lacing of the foliage surrounding lifted my heart. I could once again appreciate the landscape outside the windows; in fact, I marveled at it. Utah, so far, was beautiful.

 
We found a quaint and friendly RV park, The Hitch n Post, in Kanab, Utah after the first RV park we had tried told us Evelyn could be seen but not heard.  The camp hosts at The Hitch n Post helped us back in, welcomed us personally, recommended the pizza place next door to eat, and loved Evelyn and the dogs. Using this as our base, we should have headed for Zion the next day. Instead, we went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which called to my heart much louder than did any national park.

So excited to be here!!

Evelyn at the Wishing Pond at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Our tour of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary was the best part of this trip for me. Its location, nestled in the heart of Angel Canyon, is absolutely breath-taking-- the most beautiful place we have seen yet. I could have spent days just hiking and exploring that canyon. 

The girls are ready for the tour!



 Our tour guide had a special history there: his grandfather owned the canyon and sold it to Best Friends. Our tour guide, Byron, had grown up in the canyon. The office and visiting area was once his grandfather's house. The largest cave near the office had been blown out there to house his grandfather's RV. We got to hear stories about the films that had been shot there. We saw "the pass", as in "Cut 'em off at the pass!" from old Westerns. Zorro and Lassie had been shot in this canyon. We also got to hear a story of nearly the entire town of Kanab being hired as extras in a film; all of them were Indians on horseback. They were offered an extra $20 (a lot then!) to fall off their horse when shot at. In the next shot, when a cowboy fired his gun, every Indian fell off his horse! Needless to say, they had to shoot that scene again. Haha!

The canyon had its own folklore and history, including Cortez being fabled to hide gold in a small lake with a cave and local people storing food and protecting animals in caves near the stream that runs the valley of the canyon. It was a destination in itself and Best Friends and its animal residents are lucky enough to call it home.

Us with our tour guide and a Best Friends canine resident.

We saw where horses, pigs, and cows have room to roam amongst the greenery and canyon walls. We saw where cats-- big, small, injured, disabled-- lounge and play their days away awaiting adoption. We saw the Octagons that house the dogs-- large, spacious, circular rooms that absorb sound and the dogs can see each other from the middle and then retire to their own fenced outdoor area.



 Best Friends is paving the way toward a no-kill future for animals. Their place is a haven, but their network runs far and wide. Their Society spans the country now, and their educational program is increasing awareness and adoption rates across the country. I was somewhere between glowing and crying all day. I felt at home-- to be around others who love animals as I do and are dedicating their lives to making the present and future better. Here, it was just common knowledge that the animals are that important. We were in good company.

 

Evelyn petting cats at the Sanctuary

Inside a Dogtown Octagon

She loved playing with the cats!

 
 

We also got to meet a Dogtown resident.
She was approved for patio dining in town!

Seeing some of the horse facilities on the tour.

We shopped the shop and left a donation after the tour and headed up to Angel Village for lunch. In Best Friends' own buffet style cafeteria, we paid $5 each for the best vegetarian meal (only vegetarian/vegan food is served on their entire property...awesome!). We had a large salad with all the fixings along with vegan pazole and chimichangas. We enjoyed our meal from the deck, which overlooked the horse area and canyon-- stunning!


Lunch at Angel Village

 Our stay in Kanab wasn't long, but not because we wouldn't have to liked to stay; there just wasn't a spot available for the next two nights in the small park we had found refuge. We had to move on, but not before learning that our next door neighbor is from Costa Mesa. She had sold everything and bought a fifth wheel to live in Kanab and work at Best Friends Sanctuary!

When we set out the next day, we had NO idea where we were headed. We hadn't made plans at all. We had a vague intent of primitive camping again if we simply saw an area we liked as we headed out of town. We had briefly explored some coral sand dunes near Best Friends Sanctuary the day before and knew there were other areas like it a little farther out of town. We figured we'd head toward St. George and find somewhere to park it for a couple of days so we could make our requisite visit to Zion.



Brent and Emmy in the park

Evelyn being a kid!

Heritage Park in Hurricane, Utah

On our way out of town, we parked the home across the street from a small park in Hurricane, Utah. We'd seen the playground and kids playing and wanted to give Evelyn a chance to do kid stuff. We spent a good two hours or more there, watching Evelyn make new friends and taking turns shopping local shops while she played. I explored a small thrift store run by local animal welfare organizations and Dixie Nutrition, where I bought some frankincense essential oil. Brent explored a pawn shop where he considered a dirt-riding skateboard. After spending some time enjoying the park and surrounding shops, we hopped back in the truck.

We stopped in at Sand Hollow State Park, not far from Hurricane, where they had primitive camping available; we would just find a spot on the sand near the lake and make it our own for $18 a night. Though this option offered freedom for the dogs and Evelyn and opportunities for boat and ATV rental, we felt we really should find a place with hook-ups if possible. Our batteries had taken kind of a beating at Lake Powell because our solar panels were facing a bad direction for collection of light and we didn't want to take chances of losing the heater at night or further damaging our batteries. So, we made a few calls and landed a spot in St. George.

 Temple View RV Park is packed and popular. We're parked on pavement and gravel right up next to and behind other rigs, but that's ok! It's been nice to treat this as home and Evelyn has had a chance to ride her bike and scooter. It's actually kind of nice to be surrounded by other people and Evelyn is overjoyed at all the kids here. She's pet people's dogs as they're walking by and made new friends all over the park.

Evelyn hanging out with new friends at the pool.

Heading home from the pool-- that's how we roll!

Polygamy Porter-- it was really good!

 We ventured out late the first day and had lunch at George's, in the heart of Downtown St. George. We started learning about the history of the community and their pride in the "Dixie" nickname. I enjoyed a Polygamy Porter and browsed the local paper featuring Zion. In talking to locals and considering the visit to Zion more, we started to get the feeling it would be very, very crowded. Exploring the park seemed more difficult that we could wrap our heads around and it started to feel more an obligation than a desire. We made the decision right there and then at George's that we wouldn't visit Zion. We wanted to live the family life for a couple of days, and if that meant more time at the pool and riding bikes in the RV park, then that's what we'd be doing.

 I went to Target and Ross that evening and took my time browsing. I was impressed by the friendliness of the people and the cleanliness of the stores. I shook off my California protective layer because I could-- people smiled and held doors and said things like "Excuse me"! The energy around me was not a defensive or tense one as it is back home. People were happy and courteous. Running errands and browsing clothing racks was not a chore-- it was a pleasant way to spend the evening!

 The next day, we had a little trouble in that we wanted to extend our stay at Temple View RV Park but they were sold out. We opted to take up their offer of staying in what was basically their storage area behind the park, not ideal but at least was a place to park, and spent the morning packing to move. Packing to move takes a long time-- at least two hours, we've discovered-- and it was getting hot. I wasn't thrilled about our new place in the park and my back was aching from little sleep the night before. Afterall, we do still have an infant on an infant schedule in the house! My temper and lack of patience were creating a challenge for me that morning. To make matters worse, when we got all the slides in and the jacks lifted, Brent went to start the truck and nothing happened. He had drained the battery by listening to the radio without running it the night before. Park staff attempted to help jump start our truck to no avail. Brent finally finagled something on his own-- don't ask me what... he works magic like MacGyver sometimes!--and finally, the truck started up. We had hitched and were half way pulled out of our spot an hour after deadline when staff pulled up in a golf cart and told us there'd been a cancellation and we didn't have to move! Hallelujah!

 We backed right back in and made ourselves at home again for the weekend. We did some cleaning and vacuuming inside and I worked on some writing. Then, we spent an afternoon in the St. George Town Square.

 

 

We visited the Children's Museum, where for $11 entry for all of us we enjoyed an amazing, fun, and clean kind of paradise for kids! There were three levels of fun there. We spent our entire time on the lower level and still had more to explore there alone! I wished we had discovered the place sooner as Evelyn could have spent two entire days at the museum alone! There was a prehistoric room, where there were sand pits to dig and dust for fossils and an active volcano puffing smoke (which terrified Evelyn just the tiniest bit) with a roller coaster kind of slide ride where kids could roll down the lava flow on a log. There was a desert and mining room, which featured a pulley system where kids could load buckets with boulders and crank them over a pond and to a receiving area. There was also a large fish tank and mines to explore in this room. In another room, kids could attempt to play basketball in wheelchairs. In another, there were all kind of ways to make music from pan drums to organs to harps. In another room, the theme was castle life, a fairy tale made real with a dragon peering in overhead and princess and prince costumes to wear. In another room, kids could experiment with bubbles, watch a skeleton hand mirror their own motion turning a doorknob, or create a shadow on a phosphorous wall. In yet another room, kids could explore a simulated submarine, looking through a periscope or navigating through a pilot's seat and interactive monitor. There was more there can I can list in one paragraph alone, and it was hard to leave, but it was closing time.

Outside the Children's Museum was the Town Square, where we had seen the large splash pad the day before and come prepared with bathing suit and towel. We hadn't seen, however, the rest of the park! Behind the tower where we'd seen the splash pad was a water play area, where kids could wade through a red river adorned with natural looking red rocks on which to climb. Upstream from the river was a larger pond-like area that received its water from small waterfalls and more rocks on which kids could climb and explore. Some very clean and aesthetic restroom building separated the water play area from the rest of the park, a large green area and a shaded foliage area featuring a carousel! The entire park was in use: people lounged, played, and picnicked all around.

It was clean, beautiful, and friendly.

 If this was what this community invested in its public space, I was interested to know what else it had to offer! As always, in considering a possible move from California through our journey, each town offers a "what if". It's hot here and it is still desert, but it's a world away from what we've always known. Friendly people, family-friendly fun, and a sense of history exist here in an overall real possibility as a place to raise our kids. It's only about five hours from home, as it turns out, so it's not impossible to get back to California when we'd like. In fact, at the pool Brent met a man living here in the park while his house is being built here in St. George. He's from Riverside! We're not the only Californians seeking transplant elsewhere!

Utah has been easy to treat as home. We've enjoyed our down time and even made a Halloween craft while we've been here. This lifestyle is one of constant movement, so it's been nice to stay put for a bit and enjoy the luxuries of family life and community. So we didn't see Zion. What we did see, though, is the beauty of family time together. Thank you, St. George!

Making home a little homier in Utah

 

High and Low Places (and wow, what a view!)

Our best view from home, yet!

We hadn't planned to spend so much time in the desert. When we were still dreaming of traveling a whole month ago from Ontario, we planned on heading for greener pastures, literally. We wanted out of the heat of home and we couldn't wait to don some warmer weather clothing. Thank goodness we kept a few pairs of shorts when we made our last stop at storage. We've spent the better portion of this month in warm weather, to say the least. The past week and a half have found us in Canyon Country: lots of high places and deep ridges. At this point, I'm ready to desert the desert, but not before bidding a farewell to some of the stunning places we've visited and memories we've made.




Evelyn pointing at our house from the river level

A week ago, we left Flagstaff for Lee's Ferry. Brent had found the campground on a campsite app while looking for something near Lake Powell. Lee's Ferry is a historical site where a man named Lee (first or last name, I'm not sure) made a small living for himself ferrying people and their horse-drawn wagons, even, across the Colorado River at its last passable point before it reached deep canyons, riffle, and rapids. His rock cabin remains as do cliff-hugging trails his passengers once took that you can see if you look closely enough from across the river.

 

Campsites are first-come-first-served for $20 a night and are all primitive. The campground sits on a hill overlooking the river and is nestled within the canyon itself. Campers are cradled by the face of the red canyon wall on the east side of the water and the rocky canyon walls to the west. The dam that holds back the waters of Lake Powell is about five miles up-river. Motor boaters can launch at Lee's Ferry and head north toward Horseshoe Bend and the dam, but no motorboats would dare venture downstream, as Lee's Ferry is where the Paria River drains into the Colorado and deposits its loose sediment, creating "riffle" which leads to more dangerous rapids further downstream. Those seeking adventure park their cars at Lee's Ferry for up to 14 days, riding the rapids in a raft for week or two-week long epic adventures. Those like us, though, enjoy the scenery and play in the river. The road in to Lee's Ferry is a dead-end road. Explorers by road can't drive any farther up the river from that point.

 

At Lee's Ferry, we enjoyed spectacular sunsets and I enjoyed a local wine, Arizona Angel. Evelyn serenaded us after dinner. In the site we chose, site 37, we backed right up to a drop off. The bikes on the rack  at the back of our trailer hanged ten feet over the nearest ground and it sloped down from there.  We had a view of the river where the riffle began and could hear the river at night, amplified by the towering rock face on its other side. It was a comfortable 80-85 degrees (I have yet to abandon my So Cal girl flip-flops!), so we spent one day down at the beach of the river. 

Enjoying the weather and view from our picnic table

Heidi hightailing it back to me

Brent waded out into the water and Evelyn followed, barely cringing at the 40 degree water. I stayed with a sleeping Kailyn and all of the dogs on shore while Brent and Evelyn walked a distance down the beach where the river widened and there was a generous expanse of shallow, calm water. I watched Brent walk a good 20 feet out into the water still only mid-shin deep. Evelyn followed him. They were far enough away I couldn't make out their facial expressions anymore and couldn't hear their voices unless they yelled. On the leash next to me, Heidi whined and shook-- Evelyn was too far away and Heidi's eyes were begging me to let her go to her girl. I unhooked her leash from her collar and she bolted down the beach with a huge smile on her face. Without hesitation, she ran full speed toward Evelyn, who was knee deep in water where Brent was. Heidi didn't stop. She hit the water and kept on running. She got deep enough her body was half emerged. Evelyn's squeal of delight was audible where I was! Then, Heidi realized how cold it really was. She did a gazelle-hop kind of dance toward the shore, then ran full speed back toward me. 

Brent and Evelyn played in the water until their legs turned white and then red from the cold. All the dogs got to take a swim while we were there, though Heidi's was the only voluntary dip! The dogs made the call to end the fun by walking back up the sandy path toward the truck. They wouldn't come back when we called. Though they didn't run all the way back, they kept a good 15 foot distance between us and them, so each step we made toward them, they backed toward the car a step. They were making it clear-- we want to obey you but we're not going near the water again.

 

Aaaaaagh!

We followed their lead and went back to the car, but instead of going back to camp we drove the road back out of Lee's Ferry toward the Navajo Bridge we had crossed to come in over the river. The bridge arches over the river, some 400 feet below. The walls on either side of the river at this point are sheer drops from the surface. We walked over the bridge and my stomach did flips. I hate heights! Brent is quite comfortable with heights if not exhilarated by them, and Evelyn has no fear or understanding of the cautions to take at this point. I explained to her to stay near the middle but Brent's ease seemed to rub off on her. I was forced to peer over the sides because she wanted to. I wasn't about to leave her out of my reach, so that's what a mama has to do-- keep a death grip on the kid's shirt while swallowing her own knot of fear in her throat.  

 



Peering over the edge at the condors

All fear aside and taking the spectacle for what it is, the river and bridge were awe inspiring. Another bridge-goer informed us that there was a pair of condors sitting on the arches of the bridge underneath us. We looked in the direction she was pointing to find an amateur photographer leaning himself as far over the railing as he could to snap some pictures. We were soon part of a small crowd of people braving the heights to see these rare, bare-headed creatures under bridge. I leaned over far enough, myself, to see the flapping of a massive black wing as one of them repositioned itself. I held Evelyn's shirt with white knuckles so she could lean out of one of the diamond shaped openings in the metal to catch a peek for herself.

 

We survived the bridge ordeal and took home a yellow beaded necklace and bracelet set we bought from a Navajo pan-handler with sad eyes and a sad story who sat on the bridge to make a few bucks off of tourists like us. Then, we drove the stretch of road back toward Lee's Ferry, stopping to marvel at the boulders of granite that had tumbled from the tops of the hillsides when the soft lava rock had eroded underneath them. Some huge anvils of granite at ground level still rest on tiny stumps of supporting lava. It's like some kind of moonscape... and impressive, to say the least.


 

Back at the campground that evening, an elderly couple (mid 70s) approached looking to borrow an ax for their firewood. After some chatting, we learned they'd been coming to Lee's Ferry for 39 years! Jenny and Terry had started coming here together two years before they were married and have hiked and explored everything this area of the canyon has to offer. They were staying in a tent in one of the best sites in the park, where they had a full  panoramic view of the river. Jenny had been there a week on her own before Terry came to join her for the second week-- all in a tent!! Jenny asked how we had discovered Lee's Ferry and when I told her about the campground app, her response was an impressed "Holy Hell!" followed immediately by a soft spoken apology and a hand to her mouth. My eyebrows went up and I laughed. She told me, "My kids all give me a hard time because I cuss, but what can I say? I'm a cussing granny!"


 


Jenny noticed Evelyn's rock collection and admired them with her. The morning we left, Jenny came over to say goodbye and brought Evelyn a piece of petrified wood to add to her rock collection along with a rock that sparkled in the sun. She told Evelyn that when she came back to Lee's Ferry (and she hoped that she would) she could hike the hills behind the campground and find more petrified wood pieces for her collection. Evelyn picked out a red, smooth rock from her own collection to give Jenny in return.


 


We considered heading up toward Utah after our two nights at Lee's Ferry. Time flies when you're having fun and our window of time for this leg of our adventure is closing before Thanksgiving and Christmas. We hadn't planned to visit Arizona at all on our way out because we knew we wanted to use whatever decent weather remained for the year to explore north and then east, but here we'd spent all our time in the desert, so far. Still, we'd talked about visiting Lake Powell for years. We couldn't get this close and not go. We'd spend one night there, we decided, just to see it.


 

The path cut through the flatlands by the river

The trek to Lake Powell wasn't a long one, but the drive was impressive. We traveled the flat valley between two sets of cliffs.  We saw herds of wild horses grazing in the plains and slight hills of the valley. We passed the vermillion cliffs to our right and headed toward the red cliffs to our left. The highway on the flats where we'd been traveling turns left and climbs up into the red rock cliffs on the east side of the valley. The grade is an unforgiving one; I kept apologizing to our truck, though Brent insisted the truck was happier than it had ever been. We stopped at a vista point about 2/3 of the way up the grade, where one can observe the canyons walls the river has cut through the flatlands like a gaping scar expanding from right to left. At surface level, this spectacle is virtually invisible. From this height, the gaping gash through the earth is impossible to miss. After taking some pictures, we climbed back into the truck, which roared and crawled its way to moving again on the steep grade. Before long, we were passing through a V shaped pathway at the top of the rock mountain and then found ourselves on flat land again. We looked back at the hills behind us but they appeared small, tree-covered mounds. One would never guess that a towering rock face plummets down from the other side. We were in completely different landscape now.







We hadn't really planned where we would stay, but we knew that Wahweap RV Park had no openings. We'd be seeking primitive camping again. That had worked out well outside of Sedona, so why not? We had seen from a Google satellite image an area next to the lake where several RVs were parked in an open sandy area. We simply headed down that stretch of highway to see what we could find. We crossed over a bridge that spans over the dam and river. Another high bridge!





Before long, we saw the lake itself and followed the highway along its edge until we noticed a turn off for Lone Rock Beach. We could see a towering monolith from the highway but didn't see the water surrounding it until we had entered the park. After passing the kiosk, we could see what this National Park had to offer: beachside camping, lots and lots of open flat dirt to park in, and a sandy, hilly, ATV area. This was like the river and Glamis combined! If this were closer to home, our families would love this!


RVs camped at Lone Rock Beach

It was busy at Lone Rock Beach. It was a Friday, so it was to be expected. RVs and cars were pulled up to the shoreline in whatever angle they could edge themselves in to the fray. They toted ATVs, Razors, kayaks, paddleboards, motorboats, and more. This was a recreational vehicle dreamland! We rocked and rolled through the dirt and sand. Evelyn, who had a touch of cabin fever from traveling and had crossed over into nap-avoidance territory, ran alongside the truck with Heidi by request.  Though there were acres of clear real estate in the dirt middle ground of the park, we chose a small opening near the water between two parked cars we gambled were probably not staying for the night and a motor home who certainly was. While we backed our rear end into the tight spot, the owner of the car nearest us came up to grab something. I asked if we were plopping ourselves right on top of them for the night and he cheerfully replied, "Heck no! This park belongs to everyone! Enjoy!"









What a view from inside!

We got ourselves set up and I went inside the trailer to open the slides. If the view outside was impressive, there was something about seeing it out our back window that made it even more impressive. Because the beach was about six feet down a small sandy slope right behind our trailer, it appeared the water came right up to the trailer from the view inside.

Probably our best parking spot for home yet!

 It was in the high 80s if not low 90s. Boy, was I getting sick of the desert and the heat! But, this was pretty darn neat. Evelyn and I put on our bathing suits and walked down to the water. Evelyn swam  in the brisk water while I stood knee deep. Paddle boarders glided along the surface, an occasional boat sped by, and plenty of others swam at the water's edge like Evelyn was doing. Nearby, a couple threw balls far out into the water for their Standard Poodles to fetch.




We made dinner and the sun set, setting the monolith, Lone Rock, aflame with a soft pinkish orange. It grew dark and we set a table out behind our trailer with some chairs to have dinner with a view. Before long, the moon rose over the hills and glowed over the landscape, leaving a sparkling moonlit path over the reflection in the water. The entire place was lit up. We truly did have dinner by the moonlight, and our shadows were cast behind us to show for it.




The moon over Lake Powell

 


The next day we hiked to Horseshoe Bend, where the River takes nearly a 360 degree circular turn. It was a truly beaten path. We were in the company of hundreds of other tourists, most of whom were not American. In my mind, the desert is not a tourist destination. Though we'd been exploring the desert for two weeks now, I'd never had any desire to visit the places we'd been, particularly. Even as Brent has been pointing out colors of rocks and cliffs and landscape along the way, I've been a bit jaded. It is impressive, but it's the desert. I have to admit, I don't find it appealing, and though I'd be pretty blind to say some isn't awe-inspiring, I don't like it. I can't wait until we are literally exploring greener pastures. So, when it is evident that scores of foreign tourists make a point to come to places like Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend, I'm baffled. Anyway...


 


It was hot. The hike to Horseshoe Bend was only about a three quarter mile each way, but it was a hilly, sandy hike. I had Kailyn in the carrier on my chest and for once I regretted the flip flops as footwear. At the end of the trail, Horseshoe Bend sat 600-700 feet down, a drop unsecured by any type of railing. One wrong step or slip would easily spell doom. My heart went from pounding of cardio exercise to outright fear. Evelyn's nonchalant attitude on the bridge the day before rang of foreshadowing to me.


 

I had to sit on a sloping bench of lava rock to nurse Kailyn when we got near the path's end. Twenty feet away, hundreds of people lined the edges of the drop like ants, looking over the edge and snapping pictures. As I finished and snuggled Kailyn back in the carrier, I watched Brent and Evelyn, hand in hand, approach the edge. My heart pounded so loud I could hear it in my forehead. I walked closer only to see Brent sit Evelyn on a ledge and tell her to stay there so he could get a picture. I had to work hard to refrain from screeching my reaction-- I didn't want to scare Evelyn. What came out was a surprisingly calm, "Are you kidding me? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? No, no, no!" I'm sure the fire in my expression spoke louder than the words themselves. Brent wasn't about to argue with my greatest fear aside from some utterance of there being a five foot ledge about six feet down below her before the drop. Like that was supposed to make it safe? Needless to say, we are all safe and the only fatality we witnessed was a nearby girl's phone, which fell into the abyss when her selfie stick broke while held out over the edge.

 

 

Oh...my...GAWD!!

 


The entire time we were there from that point, my knees were shaking and my eyes cried incessantly though I wasn't sobbing or crying in any other way. This is fear, folks. I was already feeling very DONE with the desert, but I think this sealed it. I'm done with cliffs and dirt, done with heat and sweat, done with dry breezes and chapped lips. Done. There is no spectacle in this region of Earth that I'd be willing to face my fears to see. Done.


 


We stayed another windy night at Lake Powell and packed up a very windy day the next day to leave.


Lake Powell was stunning... really the entire desert is, but I'm so ready for some greenery!!


Utah, here we come!


(For more pictures, please visit our new page for photos, "Happy Trails, Happy Tales and More!")


 

FR 525: Our Great Escape

Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself.

Our plans for the day-- park, plug in, run some errands-- had evaporated.

           

It was past 2:00pm, we had pulled in and immediately back out of the only RV park with a space available in Flagstaff for the weekend (had a "gross factor" off the charts), and we were hungry and getting grumpy. Our only plan was to go to Target, where we could have lunch in the trailer and get our groceries and other necessities as planned, though we had no idea where we'd be settling in for the night, yet.

           

Brent managed to find a corner of the busy lot to park our truck and behemoth trailer and he rounded up Evelyn to walk with him to Chipotle a couple of blocks away while I checked the campground apps on the tablet and chilled out. In Brent's words: "Just hang out here with Kailyn and have a glass of wine". So I did. Kailyn slept on the couch and I sipped wine and tried to ignore the frustrated knot in my stomach made worse by my hunger and the uncertainty that comes with not having a plan.

           

By the time Brent and Evelyn returned with lunch (she rode her scooter the entire mile and a half round trip!), I felt more relaxed but not better about our situation. He was calm and collected. That's the beauty of our relationship. We always manage to balance each other out. When he's steaming, I keep the calm and humor and when I'm about to blow, he turns the heat down with his confidence and patience. After lunch, I left the family behind me in the Target parking lot, Evelyn riding her scooter around our trailer, dogs tied to the steps laying on their huge comfy bed, and Brent checking under the truck's hood just because.

           

It's strange how a Target trip can be something to look forward to-- something familiar in light of all unknown. I felt my nerves calming a bit as I shopped Halloween decorations (I couldn't wait to cozy up our home with a more festive flair!) and I momentarily forgot about our current situation as I filled our cart.

Evelyn says the Halloween decorations make her happy. :)

           

When I returned, Brent said he had a plan. He figured we could head toward Cottonwood, which would mean we travel south past Sedona and then up north again in the upward stroke of a "v" on the map. He had found a single night's reservation in an RV park in Cottonwood. It wouldn't help us the next night but gave us somewhere to go that night, so it was the best we had. We would be traveling about 50 miles from our current location but it would get us close to Sedona all the same, and that was where I wanted to visit, so there it was.

          

As the sun began to set, we'd been back on the road for some time. Evelyn finally closed her eyes and started in on a late nap. Brent pulled over at a scenic vista and he and I got out and breathed in the cool air of dusk, snapping pictures of purple mountains and distant rocky hilltops and deep canyons of Sedona. Our journey continued and darkness set upon us.

A panoramic inspiration to keep on truckin'

It was well after 8:00PM when we arrived at the RV park in Cottonwood where we had a spot waiting for us for one night. It was dark. Brent eyed the low hanging mature trees that hung over the narrow driveway and road of the little trailer park. We rolled slowly in past 12 or so RVs, all of which were obviously permanent fixtures of the park. They had likely been there since before the trees were so mature as I couldn't imagine how some of them would even pull out now. We arrived at a tight left turn with even lower trees and not enough room to make the turn without causing some damage or running something over. This wasn't going to work. Brent announced we couldn't stay here, but our biggest problem now was getting out. There was no moon and there were no street lights in the tiny park. We were nearly blind but had no option but to back out the way we'd come in. I walked behind with a lantern and Brent did his best to avoid swiping low hanging trees and get us back out of the park, which he did without incident.

           

We were out, but we still had nowhere to go and it was now after 9:00PM.

           

We were parked in a dirt lot near the entrance of the RV park where a food truck retiring for the evening had been parked when we arrived an hour earlier. Brent went back into the trailer to get us some snacks. I dove into the tablet again while Evelyn chattered away, asking where we were going to park and when we'd get there. I opened an app my dad had told us about: Ultimate Campgrounds. Though we'd used it a bit to this point, most of its listings are "dispersed" camping-- free but primitive and on Forestry Service or BLM land. I started tapping on those nearest us and after some exploring and further research through the old reliable, Google Images, I showed Brent some pictures of people camping off of FR 525 (Fire Road 525), also known as Loy Butte Rd. Brent was on board. It was about 5 miles up the highway on which we were currently sitting motionless.

           

This was our best choice at this point. We hung a left off the dark highway and found ourselves on a washboard gravel road in total darkness. After about 100 feet, our headlights illuminated a slumbering motor home on the right side of the dirt road: "Well, other people are staying here too, right?" We continued on at a rattling crawl, Brent navigating the washboard as best he could without vibrating everything off their hinges in the home trailing behind us. We began to glimpse the glittering of campfires off to our left and Brent consulted the satellite image of Google Earth to concur that there was a circle of a dirt clearing on the other side of a gateway through the brush to our left. Brent got out with the lantern and checked it out only to return with eyes aglow. He was thrilled! This was his thing!

           

We pulled in to the large dirt clearing where two other parties were already camped for the night: an older model Class C motor home and a car with tent pitched behind some bushes. Theirs was the campfire we had seen. It wasn't hard to find somewhere to park. We had plenty of room. We had found home for the night.

Our camp off of FR 525

Running free outside our camp

           

While we were setting up, a Ranger truck pulled up next to Brent outside. I heard the Ranger ask Brent, "What's up?" My stomach sank. In California, when a Ranger pulls up to the campsite, it is never good news. My ears went into eavesdrop mode. Inside, I continued to unpack and get a late dinner together but had a sinking feeling we would not be allowed to stay here for the night. Brent's tone of voice revealed he felt the same way I did at the Ranger's presence-- unsure. It didn't take long, though, for me to hear that his tone had changed and there was pleasant chat coming from outside the windows.

           

The Ranger, Mike, was super nice! He praised our choice for place to camp and told us we could stay up to 14 days totally free. He gave us a heads up that with the holiday weekend came the beginning of riding season. He told us we'd have company and that it wouldn't exactly be quiet here on FR 525 with so many people likely to come out with their ATVs to ride for the day. He looked over Brent's truck and told him that he had a great truck for exploring the dirt roads in the area. He told Brent to avoid the highway going into Sedona. He said we'd have amazing views if we took the dirt roads into Sedona from where we were. He also recommended a few casual restaurants in Sedona to go to and wished us well on our Big Adventure (Brent had filled him in on what we were up to and Mike the Ranger was terribly envious).

           

When the sun rose the next morning, we let the dogs out to play in the open area and threw tennis balls for them to fetch. Evelyn played in the dirt. A few locals arrived with their trucks and trailers toting ATVs. Brent made jovial small talk with them before they set off and when they returned, wishing more than ever that he had brought his own dirt bike with us. We ate and enjoyed the morning and grew giddy over rumbling thunder approaching. The skies were darkening and a moisture was in the air, a wonderful reprieve and a symbolic rejuvenation for us all. We were awestruck by lightening flashing through the clouds of the approaching storm and breathed in the unmistakable smell of oncoming rain. We could see the storm and then the light beyond it-- this was not lasting or threatening weather-- so we prepared ourselves for our dirt road expedition.

           

We had seen and heard hobby airplanes flying overhead about a half mile in from our campsite, so we followed the dirt roads in toward where we'd seen them, finding a fenced area cleared out with a flat and well-groomed red clay runway and a couple dozen enthusiasts inside. A few large RVs and a few cars and trucks were parked near the runway. We found a place to park, ourselves, and we could see some of the planes now, all grounded from the light rain while their pilots made small talk in clusters around them.

 

Brent carried Evelyn in toward the planes (she didn't feel like putting shoes on) and they were warmly welcomed. Evelyn was admiring the largest of the planes, a yellow and red one with a little pilot figure seated in the cockpit. The plane was a good ten feet tall when stood on its nose and was impressively sporty-looking to say the least. The owner explained that they had been waiting for the runway to dry from the brief rain, but asked if Evelyn would like to see it fly. After a resounding "Yea!!" in response, the owner navigated the plane in reverse from its resting position and taxied it out to the runway.

 

It took off! We marveled as it climbed high into the sky, spiraled back down toward earth, recovered itself into a swift flight above the runway and back into the sky. It soared, barrel-rolled, and rocketed upside down, leaving jet streams behind in an impressive show for Evelyn.

 

The owner of a second plane offered to take off next for us and his blue plane did just as many tricks, leaving us all smiling like kids. A man sitting next to us explained that this plane belonged to his brother and that he had built it from scratch. It had a chainsaw motor in it. Besides this, everything on the plane was made by hand-- even the screws holding it together!

Watching hobby planes fly off FR525

Meeting the planes and doggie host, Gemini, up close.

Everyone was so welcoming!

We watched scaled down planes play in the sky above us for quite some time, enjoying the company of a friendly old dog, Gemini, who clearly knew the company and the routine here well. Dark clouds continued to move over the sky and all the while we enjoyed the flickering of lightening, the rumbling of thunder, and the occasional large raindrop touching down around us. A competition was about to begin, which we were told included fun events like releasing balloons and competing to see which plane could pop the most. We were invited to stay; a man nearby called out that we were all welcome to hot coffee and that burgers and hot dogs were on the grill for everyone. We were tempted to stay, but there were still lots of dirt roads awaiting us with Sedona at the end of the trail. We thanked everyone and climbed back in the car where the dogs sat patiently waiting.

 

Back out on the dirt roads, we marveled at local vegetation and the stickiness of the red clay. We could see impressive red hills in the distance and headed in their direction. Each time we crested a hill, the red hills before us were even more striking and we just smiled all the while. At one crest, we stopped to take pictures and Evelyn asked about the fruits growing on the cacti nearby. Brent picked a prickly pear and took a bite. Why not make this a multi-sensory experience? Any guesses at how it tasted? Sweet, he says! I wouldn't go as far as to sink my teeth into this experience in a literal sense, so I took his word on its flavor!

Brent getting a taste of the glory

 We weren't alone on the road. We waved at several other travelers in everything from ATVs to pink Jeep tours to Honda Accords.

 

We discovered even better places to stop and camp along the road, but there was no way our RV could have made it the 8-10 miles in to these optimal locations.  Still, others had hauled their rigs in and what views they had! The red hills were simply radiant against the darkened skies. They appeared massive and stood up over the desert greenery in soft pillows that reached for the heavens.

Someone else's camp deep into the dirt roads. Totally cute and what great views!

Brent offering up a little something for Aunt Patty's rock collection.

The view that emerged and grew more impressive with each mile we crept near.

 

At a fork in the dirt road, we kept left, heading for Palatki Ruins, a cliff dwelling spectacle to be explored in the red rock mountains ahead. We neared the base of the mountains and enjoyed what this rainy day provided-- waterfalls cascading over the slick red rock of the massive rounded cliffs towering above us. We parked with a dozen other cars at this discovered destination while the storm finally blanketed over from above. We waited in the truck with the dogs while rain pounded down on the metal roof and we gaped at the elevated red formations before us hoping the rain would stop so we could explore. The rain did let up, but a fellow explorer returning to his car warned us that they were considering closing the trail to the ruins. We hoped for the best and walked the short walk to the visitor's center, where the attendant confirmed they were worried about lightening and didn't want to send anyone up. We were happy all the same-- this had been a wonderful voyage and it's not like we had planned or counted on anything! We took pictures outside at the base of the hills and agreed we were ready for lunch, anyway. Sedona, here we come!

Waiting for the rain to stop.

Evelyn was soaking up some raindrops.

The Palatki Red Rock Hills

Emmy wasn't nearly as impressed as we were with our dirt road adventure.

Waterfalls off the red rock from the rain.

 

The dirt road into Sedona was more of a dirt thoroughfare-- lots of Pink Jeep Tours and off-roaders. We waved and smiled at everyone.

 

The dirt finally turned to asphalt and the personality of Sedona presented itself. Houses were built to blend into the landscape, their colors the colors of the hills and dirt around them, and roofs were barely visible below the tree lines of the neighborhoods-- beauty preserved and respected. The town, its commerce and its retail, was all built with the same respect for the beauty of the landscape in mind. This was a bustling city surrounded by majestic red, yellow, and orange rockscape, a hilly orange paradise frosted in green forestry.

 

Mike the Ranger's recommendation for lunch was a great one. We ate at Gerardo's, a casual but luxurious Italian restaurant with a patio and bar where dogs were more than welcome. We enjoyed the best pizza we've ever had (yes, really) and even splurged on dessert-- cinnamon donut holes for Evelyn and lemon tiramisu for me (delightful!).

 

We took a scenic loop through Red Rock country after dinner and again stopped to marvel at the poetry of nature. Honestly, The Grand Canyon didn't compare to the beauty of what we had seen throughout our day of adventure this day. Simply amazing...

Red Rock Country

 

We returned via highway to our home in the dirt lot off of a fire road. Brent started a campfire with some free lumber he had cajoled from an employee at Cottonwood's Home Depot. We star-gazed and played with praying mantises that were drawn to the fire and giggled while Evelyn danced to Weird Al songs.

We had our first campfire since being out on the road.

 

The next morning, we had plans to meet up with Brock, a friend attending school at Embry Riddle in Prescott. He suggested we meet in Jerome, which he fondly described as his favorite place. We knew nothing of Jerome. Signs on the way suggested it was a place of history, that much we gathered. It wasn't until we started hugging hillsides on our way to the town that we began to see what Brock was so impressed with. Jerome was once a copper mining town. It is built into the hillside as if someone had thrown the entire community at the hill from a distance and it just kind of stuck there in its own perfection. From a distance, the town appears a painting of a community that someone hung on the side of the mountain.

We visited an old mining rig. At the monument, visitors can stand on a piece of glass and look straight down into the 1900 foot deep elevator shaft that plunges down to the mines below. Can you imagine being a worker there who spent his days nearly 2000 feet below the surface? My fears of heights and enclosed spaces combined, I felt woozy just standing near the glass-covered hole in the ground.

We met Brock for lunch at The Mine Shaft, where I had a jackfruit and veggie fajita burrito-- awesome! We explored the town together after lunch, spending time on a playground, enjoying baked goodies, and discussing the history and quirkiness of the town. The views were amazing! Homes and shops were built on top of each other, clinging to the hillsides however they could. Plenty of local arts and trades were to be found and a character survived on this hillside the likes of which I could have never imagined. It was a real joy to visit Brock, who is tolerating Arizona another two months (63 days!) before he graduates. We've missed him back in California, so visiting him on his temporary turf was pretty special. Evelyn made him play with her on everything there was in the playground.

Lunch at The Mine Shaft

Cookies and Brownies!

Brock and Evelyn at the playground

 

A view of part of the town and playground



I would have loved to hang out here with a glass of wine!

This quirky place was my favorite

We hugged Brock goodbye and went home for another campfire, aiming our sights the next day on Slide Rock Park. The drive there the next day was gorgeous. Every hillside we scaled as we weaved through the forest and mountain highway there was simply stunning. The park was also a sight to be seen with towering red rock covered in pine trees soaring up in a spectacular backdrop. The slides in the canyon were fun, but it was a popular place and crawling with people. Evelyn had fun, though, and I even got in a little hike down an easy trail with the baby and the dogs to snap some pictures of the canyon from above.

In the canyon at Slide Rock Park

This is how you roll (and hike) with a baby and three dogs when you've backed over your stroller at a previous stop!

The backdrop at Slide Rock Park

We wound up spending four nights off of Fire Road 525. It was, so far, the highlight of our trip, and staying off the beaten path saved us close to $200 in camping fees! We woke the final morning there to hot air balloons rising up over the very dirt roads we had explored a few days prior. It was quite a finale.

We gave each other high fives as we buckled up and pointed ourselves once again in the direction of Flagstaff. This time, we had a night reserved at a reputable RV park and we were looking forward to a few luxuries for a change. Though primitive camping had brought with it some priceless memories, we all needed a good shower without worrying about emptying the tanks and were looking forward to NOT going anywhere for a day or two.

We enjoyed those two days in Flagstaff not exploring the town at all. A trip to Michael's and Sprouts felt a welcome routine. This time we visited the Flagstaff Target in much better spirits. We rested two days and were ready for more.

On to the next!

Evelyn enjoying some down time in Flagstaff.