Category: Status

We departed from Demotte National Forest Service (NFS) Campground at 11:00AM MDT and headed Northwest to Zion River Resort in Virgin, UT (120 miles). We stopped for fuel on the Kaibab Indian Reservation (where there are no fuel taxes).

We arrived at Zion River Resort at 1:30PM MDT. They had a propane station right beside the area where you pull off to check-in, so we topped off our propane tank while we checked-in (we were down to 40%). We also reserved two seats ($15/each) on the 8:30AM MDT campground shuttle to the entrance at Zion National Park.

After boondocking (or dry camping) 5 out of the last 6 nights, we are both enjoying a VERY NICE RV Resort. Before I could finish connecting the camper to power, water, and sewer Beth had bolted out the door with TONS of laundry. After moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer she hit the campground showers where each private shower room includes a large bamboo bench, a large vanity with sink, a toilet, and a very large shower with incredible water pressure. Boondocking is fun and the privacy and views are spectacular, but sometimes it’s nice to relax and not deal with battery, water, and sewer anxiety.

The day after we arrived we took the 8:30AM MDT shuttle from the campground to the pedestrian entrance of Zion National Park along with a family of four. After making a quick stop at the Visitor Center we hopped on a NPS shuttle and took it out to the ninth and final stop. From there we walked the River Walk out to it’s end which is also where The Narrows hike begins. The Narrows hike requires walking through the river, which we had no intention of attempting. Unfortunately for those who did want to traverse The Narrows, they were stopped by a ranger by the time we got there. There was rain in the area and they were concerned about flash floods. The family that road the campground shuttle with us got there before they stopped hikers from going up river and had a good time going about 1.5 miles further.

We took the NPS shuttle back to the sixth stop, The Grotto, and ate our packed lunch in the picnic area. After lunch we hopped back on the NPS shuttle and got off at the fifth stop at The Lodge. We sat on a bench there and enjoyed the view and people watching. Beth went inside and bought a soda and convinced me to come inside and sit in a nice leather chair where I almost lost consciousness. Eventually we took the NPS shuttle back to the entrance and hung out around the Visitor Center until our campground shuttle picked us up.

We departed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campsite at 9:00AM MDT and continued Northwest on US-550 towards Bloomfield, NM. From there we headed West on US-64 until it ended. Along the way we stopped at a huge Ace Hardware in Farmington, NM to see if we could purchase a short white potable water hose (we’ve needed one at a couple campgrounds with water connections underground). Unfortunately, they only had a 50′ version and we don’t need to store another one of those. The Ace Hardware was not that far off of US-64, but on our way to and from there we were reminded to never trust Google Maps in anything other than a four wheel drive Jeep. The roads it sent us down were ridiculous. We even got to a round-a-bout that had all kinds of flashing lights leading up to it saying no vehicles more than 46′ in length. When we got to the round-a-bout there was a tractor trailer (minimum 46′) stuck in the circle (he was probably following Google Maps). We had to take an alternate route which had Google Maps sending us through back alleys, etc. We also stopped in Farmington at an Allsup’s Convenience Store to purchase fuel. I picked Allsup’s because they were in our discount program, but our discount was only $1.68, so I got burned on that one. I’ll have to research better in the future.

Our route to Goosenecks State Park near Mexican Hat, UT took us past the East entrance to Valley of Gods. We didn’t enter because we weren’t sure about the back road terrain, but the view from the road was incredible.

We arrived at our campsite at 2:30PM MDT. This campground has no hookups, so you’re basically boondocking, but the view of the canyon that the San Juan river has carved out is incredible. It’s a little warm at 89 degrees (but it’s a “dry heat”). It is supposed to cool down to the mid to upper 50’s overnight. While we were grilling our dinner outside a decent wind stirred up (enough to cause our awning to automatically retract) and then shortly afterward we were amazed to watch a Dust Devil spin up no more than 5′ past our picnic table. It zigged and zagged out there for a few seconds and then started heading our way. I told Beth, “duck your head, put your hands over your head, and close your eyes”. It went right over us. We didn’t end up in a scene from the Wizard of Oz, but we were covered in Utah dirt when it was over. Very freaky! Fortunately our Toto (Phoebe) was inside (she came out later to check out the damage). We ended up with some dirt inside the camper too, even though all the screens were closed.

We were planning to stay two days at Goosenecks State Park, but after our morning walk we decided it would be nice to spend the night in a campground with full hookups in order to dump our waste tanks and fill our fresh water tank since we will be dry camping the next two nights near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. An additional factor in the decision was that the temperature was expected to reach 96 degrees. That’s more “roughing it” than we care for with no air conditioning. There is a little (12 sites) no frills campground in Mexican Hat, UT and we were able to get a site for $45 (total including taxes).

We checked into Valle’s RV Park in the town of Mexican Hat, UT at 12:30PM MDT. The campground is basically a gravel parking lot with fairly wide sites and full hookups. For those curious about the name of the town, there is a rock formation just outside of town that looks like a Mexican Sombrero from the road.