Instead, we visited the nearby movie sets at the "Little Hollywood Museum". Many old westerns were shot in the Kanab area. We once again walked through Kanab to get groceries. After a deliberately slower morning, we headed to "Best Friends Animal Sanctuary" for the $5 vegan buffet lunch at "Angel Village Cafe". The property and operation were impressive and the meal was great. By the afternoon it was ten degrees with clear skies - nice while in the direct sun, until another bitter gust nipped you. We made our way to the Wire Pass Trailhead and hiked through three sections of slot canyon to reach the longest and biggest slot canyon in the world - Buckskin Gulch. Wire Pass was great all on its own! We then turned right, entered Buckskin Gulch, and continued our hike. Hiking the entire canyon requires camping overnight, but we really enjoyed the portion we were able to see. At one point I was brought to happy tears when I realized that for the first time in 25 months I was experiencing the unique joy that the best travel provides - enjoying something for the first time in a setting that is also completely new. It was awesome! This is one of the few great slot canyon hikes remaining that can be done independently without a 4X4, fee, or lottery. Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Buckskin Gulch is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest. We retraced our route back to the parking lot. We drove 190 kilometres today, 26 of which were on a bumpy dirt and gravel road. We also added another 15 kilometres on foot.
1 Comment
We are still not used to preparing for hiking on days with such extreme temperature swings. When we went to breakfast it was minus one, but we later reached a daily high of 23 degrees. We have had a difficult time seeing Zion National Park. When we came here in 2014, we experienced hot weather that didn't allow us to leave Vecsey unattended, combined with limitations due to driving an RV. This time around, we made it to the Canyon Overlook Trailhead, only to discover that the trail had been closed due to a rockslide. We proceeded to the Watchman area, driving through two tunnels, one of over a mile, but could not find a spot to park near the trail nor the Visitor Centre. Eventually we parked in the overflow parking lot for a completely different hike and did much of the Riverside Walk to get to the Watchman Trail before hiking up to stunning views. The Watchman Trail We tried driving to our next hike, but discovered that further restrictions are now in place limiting traffic in the canyon. We had to return to the Visitor Centre parking lot and circle it like vultures. We thought we had a spot, but lost it when I was unwilling to fight two women for it. Eventually we were able to catch a shuttle to Zion Lodge and walk to the Emerald Pools loop trail. After all that effort, we were disappointed in the quality of the crowded hike and the lackluster waterfalls. We drove 142 kilometres today, and it felt like half of that was in circles around the Zion Visitors Centre parking lot. Before returning to our hotel, we made two stops outside of Zion National Park, closer to Kanab. First we ventured into "The Belly of the Dragon"! Our final adventure of the day was scaling the cliffs to the Sand Caves just outside Kanab. While here, the winds picked up and we were sand-blasted while on the cliffside, but I really enjoyed being in the caves. Even after missing out on one of our planned hikes, we ended up walking more than 15 kilometres today, much of it with elevation gain. The winds continued throughout the night, rattling doors and scattering patio furniture. We were happy to hunker down in a comfy king bed!
We drove 594 kilometres today, visiting Beaver, hiking at Red Cliffs, and viewing "pink" sand dunes, before strolling Kanab. I loved Red Reef Trail in the Red Cliffs Recreation Area because it had so much in such a short hike. I liked what I saw as we passed Quail Creek State Park. Our next stop was the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. After checking into our wonderful room at the Best Western Red Hills in Kanab, where we will stay the next 3 nights, we checked out the town.
After experiencing a high of 29 degrees yesterday, it's strange to us to begin the morning in (literally) freezing weather. We drove 440 km today and reached a peak temperature of 18 degrees. On the way to Salt Lake City, we checked out the Great Salt Lake by visiting Antelope Island State Park. We began our exploration with the short Ladyfinger Point Trail, then continued to Buffalo Point Trail with views of both Bridger Bay and White Rock Bay. We spotted bison while driving parallel to Mountain View Trail on the east side of the island. Our disappointing motel (despite being "100% smoke-free" it reeked of smoke, the wifi didn't work, & one side of the bed sagged into a massive crater with broken springs) was filled with sketchy clientele, but at least it was conveniently located for walking around downtown Salt Lake City. We found a cool giant mural honoring the Utah Jazz. We walked past Pioneer Park, around City Creek, and to Temple Square. Before sunset, we hiked to "The Living Room" for the views over the city.
Day two involved 585 kilometres of driving, almost exclusively on Hwy 84 East to Jerome, Idaho. It reached 29 degrees, but we still visited the highlights of Twin Falls: Shoshone Falls Park, where we hiked around Dierkes Lake, and Centennial Waterfront Park with views of Perrine Memorial Bridge (and an under-performing Perrine Coulee Waterfall).
|
Archives
January 2024
Categories |