This year for summer vacation we decided to go to Utah and get some use out of the trailer before we sell it. I don't remember how or why I decided on Capital Reef National Park, but that became the central focus of our vacation. All other plans revolved around Capital Reef.
This year I decided no 10 hour days of driving. I tried to keep all our driving days under 7 hours, with some days only being a couple hours. We spent just over 2 weeks on the road and covered about 2,000 miles. A much shorter trip than our other trips, but a lot of fun.
More details below under each stop.
North Rim Grand Canyon
Kanab, Utah
Capital Reef National Park
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Zion
Mt. Charleston
BYOB. Because last time we were in Utah the beer sucked. However this time we did get some good beer in Zion, since they removed that stupid 3.2% law. The funny thing is I went down to Scottsdale to get all these beers and they were all being sold at a gas station just outside of Grand Canyon NP
North Rim Grand Canyon
Our first stop was the Jacob Lake Campground. I really like this area but I've never stayed here with the family. I camped close by for my turkey hunt a few years back and wanted to see more of the area. When I was a kid we went to the Grand Canyon but I don't remember much. I don't even remember if it was the North or South Rim. A few years back, when Zach was a baby, we went to the South Rim. It wasn't very impressive. I thought the North Rim was so much better. The South Rim is mostly desert with just a tiny forest. The North Rim is much higher in elevation and has a huge forest around it. There are Douglas Firs and Spruce trees that you don't see anywhere else in the state. There is no tram at the North Rim but still, a lot better than South Rim.
At the Grand Canyon Adri was driving us crazy telling us she is afraid of heights. She goes on roller coasters but she is afraid to get within 100 feet of a cliff because a gust of wind might pick her up and throw her over. I can drive on the windy roads all around the mountain towing a trailer but she claims she is afraid to hike. So in most pictures and videos she is far away from us in the fetal position.
From Bright Angel Lookout. The snow capped peak is Mt. Humphrey.
Bright Angel Lookout
Even pretending to be afraid from in a building.
We were just glad he didn't piss in his pants.
That night back at the Jacob Lake Campground, the kids wanted to go on a "bear hike" right at sunset. We did not find any bears.
Saturday morning I taught the kids how to start a fire with a magnifying glass.
Adri was the first to get a flame.
Our first trip of the day was looking for a fire lookout tower by the North Rim. I had it on Google Maps. We had to off-road for 5-6 miles to get as close as we could to the place I had marked. However when we got there I couldn't see the tower, there was no parking lot, and there was no marked trail. I decided that were weren't going to lose half a day looking for this tower so we went back to the main road and did the scenic drive instead. The scenic drive is a long windy road. It's all paved but it's a very slow drive. I think it was well worth it though. Our first stop was Walhalla Overlook.
This was as close as we got to a Grand Canyon sunset.
Walhalla Overlook
Angel's Window, behind Natalie's head. The was at the end of our drive.
On the way back we stopped at the Jacob Lake fire lookout tower. The sign claims it is only 80 feet high. Seems a lot higher to me. Adri stayed in the car when the rest of us went up, of course. I'm not afraid of heights but even I didn't like being up there in a rickety old tower.
Looking south towards the rim.
Looking north towards Utah.
Another bear hike.
Kanab, Utah
Back in 2015 we stopped in Kanab on our way back home from vacation. I had wanted to see the Coral Pink Sand Dunes but back then I believe it was all off-roading to get there so we didn't go. So this time I decided we were going to see the sand dunes. While looking off-road vehicles to get to the dunes I found this place called Loop SXS. The owner runs a really good business and puts a lot of work into it. He called me up one night and we talked for about 40 minutes about what I was looking to see. He told me I can't take his vehicles to the sand dunes because it's very dangerous but the road is now paved and I could get there by car. He has a Garmin GPS that is connected to a big tablet mounted on the vehicle. He customizes everyone's trips. He mapped all the places I wanted to see and had all these color coated routes so I could get there. If you're ever in Utah check this place out. Cody runs a good business.
This was by far my favorite day on vacation. Not only do I like off-roading but the sight seeing was amazing. Most people go to Zion or Antelope Canyon or whatever, but Kanab is so underrated and unexplored. Cody has over 4,000 miles mapped out for his customers and found us some amazing sites. The only complaint I have is that he needs a 5 or 6 seater. We have 5 of us and he only has 4 seaters in Kanab. His 6 seater is in Silverton because it doesn't get rented a lot in Kanab. So I had to rent two vehicles, which was still well worth the money for such an awesome day. Next time we're in Silverton we'll be renting his 6 seater and checking out the Rockies! Our vacation actually started earlier this year because this was the last day Cody was running ORVs out of Kanab before going to Silverton.
Peek-a-boo slot canyon AKA Red Slot Canyon. This was the #1 thing I told Cody I wanted to see. I have never been in a slot canyon. I've wanted to go to Antelope Canyon but it's on the reservation and they rape people to go there. This is just a couple miles from the staging area and there is no fee to enter.
Zach presents, the gun show.
This is where it ends. Zach was starting to climb up there but found that black bug on the wall. Some sort of spider, maybe a wind scorpion.
I just wanted to make everyone uncomfortable with this photo.
We got lucky that day. Instead of full sun we got clouds and a little bit of drizzle to cool us off. We thought we were going to get caught in a thunder storm but missed it.
White Tower. 
White Tower. I wanted to get closer but the hike looked to long and we had other things to see.
I find it amazing when something can grow in this sand. In this area it's not even just the cactus. Even the pine and juniper can grow in the sand.
Adri found this deer antler at White Tower
White Wave. Not quite as cool as The Wave in Arizona but still pretty cool and no hiking to get there. We parked less than a football field away. Driving up the sandy hill was a little nerve racking. I knew if we stopped we weren't getting out without using sandboards or going back down so I floored it. I was a little nervous that Natalie might slow down or stop but she floored it too and we made it up just fine.
Dean trying to smell the flowers.
This is when Adri forgets she is allegedly is afraid of heights and wanted to hike down steep rocks that made me nervous. I'm fine with doing it myself. Her on her own, no way. 
I really enjoyed this view.
Kanab Creek. Looks to me like a slot canyon in the making.
After switching vehicles. Adri never did ride in the Yamaha. She liked bouncing around in the Kawasaki.
Best Friend's Pet Cemetery. This place is huge. We drove a couple miles around this place. Some people that were renting ORVs from Loop SXS were talking about how awesome this place is and how peaceful all the windchimes were . I found them just a little creepy. This area appears to be a bunch of horses. They got the small graves while others had some pretty elaborate gravesites for a pet.
Someone loved their goldfish more than those horses. This is just mind boggling to me.
After the ORVs we went back into town and got Subway for dinner. Then we turned it back around and drove 25 minutes to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. This place was so amazing. There are forest all around and in some parts even in the middle of the dunes. We parked by the state park in a small parking lot and climbed up a 50 foot dune to a crazy view of the rest of the dunes.The kids loved the dunes. In one of the videos below they were racing rolling down the hill, then racing down on their bellies. Dean is in the video pushing his head through the sand crawling around like he's a lawn mower. I wanted to stay later but Cody told us the deer were really bad at night and we had a good hour or so drive back to the Jacob Lake Campground in Arizona.
Needless to say we had a mess in the trailer when we got back. I had to take apart all the heater vents to clean out the ducts when we got home. We thought the kids got tanned that day. They were just dirty. Once they showered the water ran red.
Watching a tiger beetle crawl through the sand. Adult Tiger Beetles only came out of the sand from April-Mid June.
Dean
Dean doing my job for me
Dean thinks he is a lawn mower.
It's amazing that anything can grow in this sand.
Capital Reef National Park
This is where we ended up camping for the night. I was so stressed trying to figure out what had happened but he sent us out here and the kids couldn't have been happier about it. After setting up camp we were getting dinner and I got a phone call. It was the campground we were supposed to be at checking in on me. We liked where we were and wanted to stay but we also wanted full hookups. So we decided to stay the night and then move the trailer in the morning so we could have the AC running all day.Since there was no one around I slept with the blinds open. At first the sky wasn't all that impressive. But then around 02:00 it got really dark and we could see the Milky Way.
The next morning, after moving the trailer, we hiked to Hickman bridge. A lot of websites say this is the best hike in the area. I thought it was good, but not the best. I've seen better arches and our hike the next day would have much better views the entire hike. Still it was a fun hike. However, it was hot AF. It was probably pushing 90 degrees but at 5,500 feet above sea level and with no shade. Oddly the hottest part of the day was around 10-11. By 13:00, when we left the Mexican restaurant, the clouds came in and it was cooling down.
These guys on the trail told me they liked my shirt. Then 20 minutes later they offered to take this picture for us. That's when one of them told me he just noticed it's SL, UT. He said he didn't notice the comma and just thought I was advertising. Under SL, UT in small letters it says Salt Lake, Utah.
After our hike we needed a Mexican fix. As already stated, it was legit. Dessert was so good.
I was feeling over confident when I wrote up the itinerary thinking we could do multiple trails in a day. After Hickman we took the rest of the day off. The next day we did Cohab Canyon. I liked this one a lot more than Hickman. It was just over a mile to the hoodoo and a small hidden stagnant pool. I had to bribe the kids with ice cream and a promise to swim in the Fremont River after this hike if, and only if, they don't ruin my day with complaining.
Dean hiking like a champ. This kid has some muscular calves.
From the Cohab trail. This is the Fruita Campground. Kinda wishing I just stayed there.
That view!
The first 15 minutes of the hike were hell. Then we started getting shade and things got much better.
The hoodoo.
This was on the other side of the trail from the hoodoo. It was so stinky. The kids wanted to go down there with me but it was too dangerous. Instead I took them up above the pool and let them throw rocks in . It really brought out the stench.
Back at the parking lot is the old Fruita barn. There were a bunch of marmots in the grass before the hike so we went looking for them. We got over by the river and there was some scrub oak. Natalie said to watch for poison oak. I thought for sure it didn't grow that high but she made me second guess myself. It had leaves of three and looked like poison oak. I looked up pictures once we got signal and it looked like just like poison oak. My memory wasn't fading. I was freaking out because I react very badly to that stuff and ended up in urgent care a couple years ago from scorpion weed (the same oil). I was ready to burn my clothes and shower like a madman but then I asked some locals and found out it's just scrub oak.
Having ice cream. The girl talked me into cinnamon ice cream with the peace cobbler. I should have stuck to vanilla. My gut feeling was right. Too much cinnamon, too heavy.
On the way back to camp we made one last stop at the Gooseneck Lookout. It's a mile of off-roading to a canyon and overlook. I thought it was a pretty cool view. The canyon is something like 1,200 feet deep.
This is the view the call The Castle. A lot of the park can actually been seen with very little hiking.
Right in the middle of the picture is where the waterfall is. We hiked up the canyon and were surrounded on all but once narrow side by cliffs.
Looking for dinosaur tracks. This was about a 16 mile dirt road drive from the highway. This is something else I should have researched. We had no idea what these tracks looked like until we got back to camp. We got some pictures of what might be tracks and some pictures that are without a doubt dino tracks. It was hotter than hell when we got there but by the time we got to the truck 90 minutes or so later it cooled off a bit.
This was way back in the rocks. Again, amazing to me where cactus can grow.
We thought we found a really big dino track. I don't think that is what it is.
I found all these drill holes but didn't know why they were there. Then when we got back I watched a youtube video of the a guy following the tracks and this was in it. 
This is where a lot of the tracks were. Right up on this ledge.
Zach wanted to be super cool with two hats.
Natalie is up there hiking alone.
Devil's Garden. This is the reason we went to Grand Staircase-Escalante. I really liked this place. Lots of cool hoodoos and arches. We hiked less than a mile but we couldn't have hiked there all day.
Metate Arch
The next morning we took the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail to the waterfall I failed to get us to the day before. It's 8 miles round-trip and about 6.5 of that is in the sun. We got to the parking lot at 9:15 and got the last parking spot. I wished I hadn't forgot my water filter because I had to haul up water for all 5 of us along with floating and life jackets, which ended up not being necessary.
The beaver pond. About 2/3 of the way up.
Theses flowers grow on the rock walls.
Because some people have to be told.
Zion Ponderosa Ranch also had a decent pool and lots of activities for the kids. My only problem was that whoever is taking care of that pool doesn't know what they are doing and put way too much chlorine in it. Even without putting my head under water my nose was burning after leaving the pool the third night.
Rock climbing didn't work out too well for the kids. Natalie owned everyone. After ringing the bell the first time it wasn't enough for her. She climbed up over the bell.
She's been climbing coconut trees since she was in diapers. Climbing an angled wall, no problemo.
That's about as far as my fat ass goes.
This was probably the kid's favorite thing to do. Bungee trampoline.
Someone forgot they are afraid of heights.
After some bungee trampoline and rock climbing we went to Pine Creek pools and waterfall. This is a little known spot a mile or two from the tunnel. We parked on one of the pullouts and hiked in. The waterfall is only 500-700 yards from where we parked so I didn't put sunblock on my shoulders because I was going to trade the tank top for the rash guard at the waterfall. Big mistake! I never know what to think when I read about a trail because it's all that person's perspective. I raed there is some scrambling but didn't think much of it. Well it was quite a bit of scrambling and we didn't know which side of the creek to hike up so it took us a good 45 minutes or so to get up to the pools and the falls. That and the time I was watching the kids rock climb and bungee jump led to quite a burn.
The next morning, after moving the trailer, we hiked to Hickman bridge. A lot of websites say this is the best hike in the area. I thought it was good, but not the best. I've seen better arches and our hike the next day would have much better views the entire hike. Still it was a fun hike. However, it was hot AF. It was probably pushing 90 degrees but at 5,500 feet above sea level and with no shade. Oddly the hottest part of the day was around 10-11. By 13:00, when we left the Mexican restaurant, the clouds came in and it was cooling down. |
These guys on the trail told me they liked my shirt. Then 20 minutes later they offered to take this picture for us. That's when one of them told me he just noticed it's SL, UT. He said he didn't notice the comma and just thought I was advertising. Under SL, UT in small letters it says Salt Lake, Utah.
After our hike we needed a Mexican fix. As already stated, it was legit. Dessert was so good.
Dean hiking like a champ. This kid has some muscular calves.
From the Cohab trail. This is the Fruita Campground. Kinda wishing I just stayed there.
That view!
The first 15 minutes of the hike were hell. Then we started getting shade and things got much better.
The hoodoo.
This was on the other side of the trail from the hoodoo. It was so stinky. The kids wanted to go down there with me but it was too dangerous. Instead I took them up above the pool and let them throw rocks in . It really brought out the stench.
Back at the parking lot is the old Fruita barn. There were a bunch of marmots in the grass before the hike so we went looking for them. We got over by the river and there was some scrub oak. Natalie said to watch for poison oak. I thought for sure it didn't grow that high but she made me second guess myself. It had leaves of three and looked like poison oak. I looked up pictures once we got signal and it looked like just like poison oak. My memory wasn't fading. I was freaking out because I react very badly to that stuff and ended up in urgent care a couple years ago from scorpion weed (the same oil). I was ready to burn my clothes and shower like a madman but then I asked some locals and found out it's just scrub oak.
Having ice cream. The girl talked me into cinnamon ice cream with the peace cobbler. I should have stuck to vanilla. My gut feeling was right. Too much cinnamon, too heavy.
After ice cream in Torrey we went back to Fruita, 15 minutes away, to the Fremont River. We hiked a couple hundred yards through the river to this spot to swim. We passed a beaver den in the river.
On the way back to camp we made one last stop at the Gooseneck Lookout. It's a mile of off-roading to a canyon and overlook. I thought it was a pretty cool view. The canyon is something like 1,200 feet deep.
This is the view the call The Castle. A lot of the park can actually been seen with very little hiking.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Our plan on the way to the campground in Grand Staircase-Escalante, was to stop at this pullout and walk to the waterfall. I was lazy when I made these plans and didn't check elevation. I could hear all the screaming down at the water but couldn't even see it. Needless to say we had to change our plans that day. Decided to setup camp and rest a couple hours then check out Metate Arch and the dinosaur tracks that afternoon then try to find the waterfall the next day. We would have to hike up that canyon to get to it.
Right in the middle of the picture is where the waterfall is. We hiked up the canyon and were surrounded on all but once narrow side by cliffs.
Looking for dinosaur tracks. This was about a 16 mile dirt road drive from the highway. This is something else I should have researched. We had no idea what these tracks looked like until we got back to camp. We got some pictures of what might be tracks and some pictures that are without a doubt dino tracks. It was hotter than hell when we got there but by the time we got to the truck 90 minutes or so later it cooled off a bit.
This was way back in the rocks. Again, amazing to me where cactus can grow.
We thought we found a really big dino track. I don't think that is what it is.
I found all these drill holes but didn't know why they were there. Then when we got back I watched a youtube video of the a guy following the tracks and this was in it. 
This is where a lot of the tracks were. Right up on this ledge.
Zach wanted to be super cool with two hats.
Natalie is up there hiking alone.
Devil's Garden. This is the reason we went to Grand Staircase-Escalante. I really liked this place. Lots of cool hoodoos and arches. We hiked less than a mile but we couldn't have hiked there all day.
Metate Arch
The next morning we took the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail to the waterfall I failed to get us to the day before. It's 8 miles round-trip and about 6.5 of that is in the sun. We got to the parking lot at 9:15 and got the last parking spot. I wished I hadn't forgot my water filter because I had to haul up water for all 5 of us along with floating and life jackets, which ended up not being necessary.The hike started out really hot. It peaked around 93-95 that day and there was very little shade until the end. Once we got close to the falls everything got shady and there were reeds growing everywhere. It looked like we went from Utah to South China. There are canyon walls all around the falls so all the mist gets trapped and it's 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the hike up. The falls are 126 feet high and the water is frigid. It was a really nice place to hang out. We stayed 3 hours at the falls before hiking back.
On the way back the kids weren't drinking enough water. We learned we have to force it down them. Zach got really tired and I was walking holding my hat over his head. These two women were coming up and asked if we had plenty of water. Told them I'm fine on water. Well they insisted we take a pack of their electrolyte gummies. In five minutes Zach went from literally throwing himself on the ground ready to quit to running like a crazy kid. Note to self, always carry electrolyte gummies with kids.
The beaver pond. About 2/3 of the way up.
Theses flowers grow on the rock walls.
Because some people have to be told.
Zion
I was trying to book a spot right in Zion but even in January everything always already full. So I ended up getting a spot at Zion Ponderosa Ranch, about 40 minutes away. The first night we had to dry camp but after that we got a spot with full hookups when everyone cleared out. I actually worked out really well that the campgrounds closer to the park were full. This place was nicer, quieter, 4,000 feet higher, cooler, and it was something different than what we had done in the past.They are still being stupid about masks on the trams so we didn't take the tram up to any trails this trip. Instead we decided to stick to the areas where there are no mask holes and we can do our thing. I ended up finding a trail only 2.5 miles from camp and it has what I think are the best views of the park. Even though it's a 40 minute drive into the park from there we could see most of the park and the trams coming up from 6,500+ feet above sea level.
Zion Ponderosa Ranch also had a decent pool and lots of activities for the kids. My only problem was that whoever is taking care of that pool doesn't know what they are doing and put way too much chlorine in it. Even without putting my head under water my nose was burning after leaving the pool the third night.
The pool at Zion Ponderosa Ranch.
Rock climbing didn't work out too well for the kids. Natalie owned everyone. After ringing the bell the first time it wasn't enough for her. She climbed up over the bell.
She's been climbing coconut trees since she was in diapers. Climbing an angled wall, no problemo.
That's about as far as my fat ass goes.
This was probably the kid's favorite thing to do. Bungee trampoline.
Someone forgot they are afraid of heights. 
After some bungee trampoline and rock climbing we went to Pine Creek pools and waterfall. This is a little known spot a mile or two from the tunnel. We parked on one of the pullouts and hiked in. The waterfall is only 500-700 yards from where we parked so I didn't put sunblock on my shoulders because I was going to trade the tank top for the rash guard at the waterfall. Big mistake! I never know what to think when I read about a trail because it's all that person's perspective. I raed there is some scrambling but didn't think much of it. Well it was quite a bit of scrambling and we didn't know which side of the creek to hike up so it took us a good 45 minutes or so to get up to the pools and the falls. That and the time I was watching the kids rock climb and bungee jump led to quite a burn.These falls obviously weren't as impressive as the Lower Calf Creek Falls but it was still a nice stop. It was quite and the kids got to slide down he rocks. I advised them against it but they don't listen to me. Zach kept telling everyone that it doesn't hurt but then later that evening he said his butt hurt. No thanks, I'll stick to slides at the water park.
I had to climb through that hole in the rocks, carrying Dean, to get to the falls.
We ran into people from our campground there. This happened quite a few times on this trip. We ran into people at Hickman and then in Escalante. After these falls we ran into people at dinner from camp. Well these people were from MO and they were really nice. There son is up there on the rocks helping Zach out so he doesn't get hurt.
When we were leaving camp that morning a guy had a chain saw out and was trimming the trees. Here is Dean pretending he has a chain saw. He was even making the noises.
The lower pool. This one was stagnant and only a few ignorant people were playing in it.
Well all that trash I talked about Utah beer. The Squatters Amber Ale was one of the best I've had.
Dean was keeping himself entertained playing with the condiments and the pizza racks.
The next day before our hiking adventure everyone, except Dean, hit the zipline.
We went to the Canyon Overlook trail this time. Again, we decided no trams, no masks. It was a bit of a pain to park here. We had to go through the tunnel, halfway down the hill, make a u-turn, back through the tunnel, and then we got lucky and someone was leaving at the closer of the two lots. Perfect timing. This was a good trail, Natalie's favorite, but I still liked Cable Mountain better. This hike was a mile round trip. Nothing big, except the view.
Canyon Overlook Trail
The right side of the road is where we were yesterday.
Two of the openings in the tunnel.
Zaching looking strong.
Cable Mountain. By far my favorite hike in Zion. I didn't do enough research on this one either. I looked at the map and it didn't look like more than a mile or two. Turns out it's 3.6 miles each way, so 7.2 total. Of course the kids were being a pain so I told them lets just hike and we probably won't finish but we'll see how far we can go. It was part shade 1/3 of the way and it wasn't too hot so I kept pushing them further and further. The further we went the harder it was to quit. The trail isn't exactly correct on Google Maps. It shows the trail ending about a half mile from the end and the marker for Cable Mountain was a mile from the end. So I thought we were moving faster than we actually were but we had plenty of time so we kept going.
This is around where the marker is that I had for Cable Mountain, about a mile from the end.
This is where they dropped lumber down the cliff with a cable. Took 2 minutes to drop it 2,000 feet and saved them a week traveling around the canyon.
And there it is. The pictures don't do it justice. It's something you have to see in person.
Hard to tell from here but I think that might be the narrows in the canyon on the right.
M Resort, pre-gaming #11.
Before going back up the mountain we were at my sister in law's house and they had Pabst Blue Ribbon. I made some redneck jokes and told them to leave their "camping beer" aka piss at home. I brought a good mix of local beers and my flight glasses so we weren't going to drink piss. The favorites were Grand Canyon Sunset and 48 State Mexican Lager.
Lee Canyon Meadow
He was showing off. I think he was actually warning us to back up. Dropped his junk down to his knees and stomped his back right leg. I'm gonna remember that move for when people get to close.
Our last full day there we drove a mile to the Lee Canyon Ski Resort. We took a short ride up the mountain and got a view of the valley below.
Zach, Jasmine, and Adri.
Mt. Charleston. There were actually still patches of snow up there.
I thought this was interesting. Coming down the mountain. Right in the middle of the picture the mountain slopes are all smooth with an island of rugged hills in the middle.
We ran into people from our campground there. This happened quite a few times on this trip. We ran into people at Hickman and then in Escalante. After these falls we ran into people at dinner from camp. Well these people were from MO and they were really nice. There son is up there on the rocks helping Zach out so he doesn't get hurt.
When we were leaving camp that morning a guy had a chain saw out and was trimming the trees. Here is Dean pretending he has a chain saw. He was even making the noises.
The lower pool. This one was stagnant and only a few ignorant people were playing in it.
I was feeling too lazy to cook after an hour long drive back. So instead of going back right away we went to Springdale. We had to check this place out. Taking a completely useless building and putting it to good use.
Yeah I look like a redneck. That is what happens when you have to hike in clothes for swimming.
Well all that trash I talked about Utah beer. The Squatters Amber Ale was one of the best I've had.
Dean was keeping himself entertained playing with the condiments and the pizza racks.
The next day before our hiking adventure everyone, except Dean, hit the zipline.
We went to the Canyon Overlook trail this time. Again, we decided no trams, no masks. It was a bit of a pain to park here. We had to go through the tunnel, halfway down the hill, make a u-turn, back through the tunnel, and then we got lucky and someone was leaving at the closer of the two lots. Perfect timing. This was a good trail, Natalie's favorite, but I still liked Cable Mountain better. This hike was a mile round trip. Nothing big, except the view.
Canyon Overlook Trail
The right side of the road is where we were yesterday.
Two of the openings in the tunnel.
Zaching looking strong.
Cable Mountain. By far my favorite hike in Zion. I didn't do enough research on this one either. I looked at the map and it didn't look like more than a mile or two. Turns out it's 3.6 miles each way, so 7.2 total. Of course the kids were being a pain so I told them lets just hike and we probably won't finish but we'll see how far we can go. It was part shade 1/3 of the way and it wasn't too hot so I kept pushing them further and further. The further we went the harder it was to quit. The trail isn't exactly correct on Google Maps. It shows the trail ending about a half mile from the end and the marker for Cable Mountain was a mile from the end. So I thought we were moving faster than we actually were but we had plenty of time so we kept going.The thing about this lookout is that even from 100 feet away you just don't have a clue what the view is like from the edge. Move 100 feet to the edge and the view is insane. We could see the trams 2,000 feet below coming up the road but couldn't hear a thing. We could see cars but not people. I really liked this hike.
On the way back Zach got his wish and we ran into a rattlesnake. Natalie was leading the way and the snake crossed the trail 10-15 feet in front of her.
This is around where the marker is that I had for Cable Mountain, about a mile from the end.
This is where they dropped lumber down the cliff with a cable. Took 2 minutes to drop it 2,000 feet and saved them a week traveling around the canyon.
And there it is. The pictures don't do it justice. It's something you have to see in person.
Hard to tell from here but I think that might be the narrows in the canyon on the right.
On the way back we ran into this rattlesnake.
M Resort, pre-gaming #11.
Before going back up the mountain we were at my sister in law's house and they had Pabst Blue Ribbon. I made some redneck jokes and told them to leave their "camping beer" aka piss at home. I brought a good mix of local beers and my flight glasses so we weren't going to drink piss. The favorites were Grand Canyon Sunset and 48 State Mexican Lager.
Lee Canyon Meadow
He was showing off. I think he was actually warning us to back up. Dropped his junk down to his knees and stomped his back right leg. I'm gonna remember that move for when people get to close.
Our last full day there we drove a mile to the Lee Canyon Ski Resort. We took a short ride up the mountain and got a view of the valley below.
Zach, Jasmine, and Adri.
Mt. Charleston. There were actually still patches of snow up there.
I thought this was interesting. Coming down the mountain. Right in the middle of the picture the mountain slopes are all smooth with an island of rugged hills in the middle.
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