South on Hwy 89 from Page, Arizona

I wanted to stop in Page for a few days and visit Antelope Canyon, but when I called the only two campgrounds in the area, they were both full. So, I am putting this on next year's itinerary. In the meantime, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend, which I have heard about and seen pictures of, and wanted to see for myself. We pulled into the parking lot and it was jam packed with cars, tourist buses and RVs. Since we were pulling the trailer, we could not find a parking space and were going to just leave, but as we pulled out, found a place to park along the side of Hwy 89. I took this picture from the top of the hill, and if you look close, you can see our truck & trailer parked along the road.

Grand Canyon, North Rim, Arizona

The Grand Canyon North Rim was not on my original itinerary, but I adjusted it to make a side trip there.  It is 80 miles from Kanab, and took us 1-1/2 hours to drive there, but I am glad we did. The day we were there it was so windy it blew hats right off of heads, and also had a chill in the air. It was also kind of hazy, but still beautiful. The drive into the North Rim area was via Hwy 67 and ended at the Grand Lodge. We stopped there for a while to view Bright Angel Point, have lunch at the Lodge and sit on the patio with a view of the canyon. There are a few places that they allow dogs, which includes the Lodge, Saloon, the patio, and the path that runs next to the parking lot.  They could not go on the Bright Angel Point trail; as you can see from these pictures, it was a very narrow trail.

Paria Mountains, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

The geology of southern Utah and northern Arizona covers an area from the Grand Canyon to Bryce Canyon and includes the million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We drove into the southern part of the National Monument and headed to the Paria Mountains.  There is also an entrance just east of Bryce.  

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon is called Poetry in Stone. To get there, we drove through Red Canyon National Forest before heading into Bryce.  Red Canyon is amazing in itself with its red canyon walls and hoodoos.

Zion National Park, Utah

The drive into Zion National Park is via Hwy 9, which starts at Hwy 89 in Mt. Carmel, Utah, and runs west to Hurricane, Utah on the west side of the state. Hwy 9 is actually a main route and part of the highway just happens to go through Zion National Park. We drove in and got to Springdale, which is the first city south of the park, near the south entrance; stopped in the city to have lunch and visit the Visitor's Center, and then headed back into the park. The road into the heart of the park is called Zion Canyon Scenic Drive and can only be accessed by shuttle. The park has free parking and to ride the shuttle is also free. We did not do this as it was really crowded, so we opted to just drive in and back out, taking pictures along the way. 

Pipe Spring National Monument, Arizona

Pipe Spring National Monument was a ranch and refuge for the Mormon people. It is also a reminder of the plight of the Paiute Indians who were starved and displaced from their homeland when Morman Leader Brigham Young made Pipe Spring part of his vision for expansion. He built a ranch, which included a fortified ranch house which they named Winsor Castle. 

CCC Salina Creek POW Camp, Salina, Utah

POW's in America. The war was over ... the enemy surrendered. 371,000 Italian and German prisoners were to be housed in special camps in the United States. And so they came ... hundreds of ships and thousands of men who had fought under a different flag. 150 main camps and 500 branch camps were set up and administered under the U.S. Army. With few exceptions, the POWs were content. "I could be happy here. The food is excellent, the clothing adequate, and no one is shooting at me." This blog highlights the CCC Salina Creek POW camp.

Golden Spike National Monument, Promontory Point, Utah

The Golden Spike National Monument is dedicated to the completion of the railway system consisting of the Central Pacific Railroad beginning in Sacramento, California heading east and the Union Pacific Railroad beginning in New York heading west, to their meeting place at Promontory Point in Utah.

Southern Idaho Travels ~ Hagerman Fossil Beds NM; Balanced Rock; Malard Gorge; Ritter Island; Shoshone Falls

It's been hot, hot hot - in the high 90's to 100; low humidity, and the air conditioner is not keeping the trailer cool. It's about the same temperature inside and it is outside.  So, we have been traveling around the area to see the sights. Our first trip was to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. There was nothing to see at the actual monument as they are just excavating the fossils. There were fossils at the Visitor Center that I took pictures of.

Mastadon head & tusks