WELCOME TO UTAH – LIFE ELEVATED

April – May, 2019

We were well ready to leave Las Vegas.  Daytime temperatures began rising into the mid- to upper 80s/lower 90s without much cool-off overnight – clearly a sign that the need for places to winter was over.  It was time to get back on track with our dream of America’s National Parks being the destination and guide for our aimless wanderings.

Our next stop on this journey started so long ago was Kanab.  Kanab is right on the Utah/Arizona border, and it is the central location for visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks; Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend National Monument; the North Rim of The Grand Canyon, and maybe we’d be lucky enough to win the lottery to obtain a permit to hike Coyote Buttes and experience The Wave.

Getting from Las Vegas to Kanab seemed like it should be an easy trip…make our way on the Interstate through Las Vegas onto Interstate 15 North for about 120 miles then wiggle around a bit near St. George, Utah, and then take Utah Highway 9 East for about 60 miles to Utah Highway 89 South for 17 miles and into Kanab.  There was a major problem with our travel plans.

The severe winter and pounding rainstorms of early Spring forced the closing of Utah Highway 9 east of the Zion-Mt Carmel tunnel.  Repairs were expected to be completed in a couple of days, but the road remained closed on our travel day.  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise since Utah Highway 9 is an east/west road that cuts directly through Zion National Park (yup – pay a National Park fee of $35 to enter the park – even if just driving through).  Coming from the West, and once in the park, drive 5 miles on a pretty level roadway on the bottom of the canyon and then 6 miles or so on a switchback-laden narrow road up a steep grade with only occasional retaining walls to go through the Zion-Mt. Carmel 1.1- mile tunnel with a height of 13’1″ in the center/11’4″ on the sides.  It took 3 years to build the tunnel beginning in 1927, and it requires an additional $15 RV fee and mandatory Park Service escort through the tunnel.  Traffic is stopped in the opposite direction while you drive straight down the middle of the tunnel – that is, if you’ll fit and don’t have to somehow turn around before entering the tunnel in the first place.  From the East, the process is reversed; escort through the tunnel before the narrow road down to reach the bottom of the canyon.

A day or so after setting up camp in Kanab we went through the tunnel with our Jeep. Brian was very glad to have taken the we-didn’t-have-a-choice, alternative route to Kanab…no climbing up from a canyon floor, no tunnel.   The specs on Aimee say she’s 12’6″ tall, but does that include the TV antenna or satellite dish or ac/heat pumps on the roof?  And along the alternate route we got to see wonderful vistas which excited us even more to explore this part of the country.

We knew our friends from Tucson, Doug and Ruth, were already in Kanab, and they were scheduled to head north on their journey to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks the day after we arrived.  We made plans to have dinner.  It was terrific to catch up with Doug and Ruth’s adventures, and to hear about their favorite activities while in this neighborhood.

While checking in at the campsite office, the door opened, and Susie (of Susie and Bill from the Mesa cartel) walked in and gave Brian a big hug.  What an unexpected surprise!  Bill and Susie had just checked into the very same campground for a week.  They had come up from Mesa via the South Rim of The Grand Canyon and Page, Arizona (Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend National Monument), and, like us, they were excited to visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.  We had solid plans for the next day, but after that we became the 4 Amigos for the duration of their stay in Kanab.

I guess the cliché is true…when it rains it pours.  Friends from Pennsylvania, Roma and Jim, had planned on vacationing in Utah – flying into Salt Lake City, heading to Moab to hike around Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, then heading over and down to Kanab.  4 Amigos – Part 2, including a 9pm-midnight dark sky telescope exploration of space with a lecture.  AND Graham and Leigh had planned on a long weekend at Zion National Park which just happened to coincide with our time in Kanab, and, yes, we did hike about in the Park (and have an early dinner) with them as well.

So did we end up getting bored with Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, seeing the beauty of southwest Utah, or discovering it’s hidden gems…hell, no.  It is truly the greatest earth on show!

Barbara and Brian