Friday, November 6, 2015

Warmer? Not so, but so much Canyon beauty!

This morning Tessa and I stayed in our bed, covered under the blankets, while Tod drove us out of our dry camp spot covered in light snow. The road was unpaved, we were 12 miles from Bryce Canyon in Utah, and during the night our house battery got discharged enough that we couldn't use our heater any more. Outside it was well below freezing. No need to feel sorry for us -- well OK, you can feel sorry for Tod, as he got up, while we were cozy in bed. He drove for 20 min, while we had the heater blasting again getting Betsy cozy inside, and 30 minutes later we ate pancakes while enjoying a great view.

Since we left Montana, we have seen temperatures of 70 degrees (21 C) in Provo, Utah (unusually warm we heard), to 15 degrees (-9 C) at night near Bryce. But weather doesn't matter that much when you are surrounded by the incredible beauty of Utah. We visited Capital Reef National Park, and did a great hike with Tessa. Unfortunately our camera stopped working....We drove on to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, and stayed at a simple camp ground right inside the canyon (Calf Creek).  At one point Betsy was really struggling going up the hills. No wonder, as we got to summit of 9,850 feet (3,000 m) on Boulder Mountain, the tallest summit we passed with our RV.  The drive along Highway 12 from Capitol Reef to Bryce was quite wonderful, with multiple different breathtaking landscapes.  In Bryce it was cold enough that Jolanda & Tessa stayed close to Betsy while Tod did a quick hike/run into the canyon (and played with taking pictures in "Vivid Color" mode... you can tell which photos those are!)

We are now in Zion National Park, and unlike other places, it's busy here ( I don't want to think what high season looks here)! The campgrounds in park is full, so we are staying 1 mile outside the park in a RV park . Warmer weather (55F), and a long holiday weekend must be some of the reasons, plus the fact that it's the last weekend for the trolley here that takes you on roads that no regular traffic can go. Another great hike for us three today, and it's really fun to see Tessa hiking up and down, and enjoying it.

beautiful Bryce Canyon NP on a sunny day 



The snow in Bryce made the colors stand out even more

up, up, up hill in Zion

At the top of hike in Zion - Upper Emerald Pool

Betsy just outside park at Capitol Reef NP

The drive between the parks on SR-12 Scenic Byway is stunning too

Messing around on rocks at our campsite in Escalante NM
Tod & Tessa climbing up rocks  at our campsite in Escalante NM... can you find them?  You will need to zoom!

panoramic view along Highway 12


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