Kanab is a great place to explore southern Utah and northern Arizona
Signpost at Grand Plateau RV Park outside of Kanab
Central to most of the major sights in the area and has everything a happy camper and his pupper need to help make it an excellent adventure! There is a great store that sells natural rock art and some great places to eat including the Rocking V Cafe where I had a killer Bison tenderloin.
Jake on a walk at the Grand Plateau RV Park outside of Kanab
The RV park where we stayed was (so far) the nicest park Jake and I have stayed at. There is some great places to take Jake for a walk and a killer hot tub with strong jets like mine back home. The views from the park were most excellent!
View from Grand Plateau RV Park outside of Kanab
One of the close by places to explore were the Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park. It is a favorite of many that come to the area to ride dune buggies. These have evolved from the homemade VW powered buggies to newer ones built by the same companies that build snowmobiles. I also saw some cool Porsche 911 Rally cars in the area.
We ended up going there twice – the first time to see the dunes and the second time in a nearby area to see to Petroglyphs. Unfortunately both were too damn hot for Jake’s paws so we chilled in the shade and enjoyed the views!
Toroweap Overlook is a rustic North Rim scenic area, reached by dirt road, perched 3,000 ft. above the Colorado River
We left later in the day to be there for the late day sun. The access closes at sunset so we left about one hour ahead of time.
The dirt road was very long – the round trip was over 6 hours but well worth it for the stunning views.
Toroweap Selfie
The cliffs were not for the faint of heart and I made sure I had Jake on the lead whenever we were close to the edge on any of the hikes we take.
We spent several hours there, had dinner and admired the views as the sun sunk ever lower in the west. Towards the end the sun came out in all it’s glory to give us some beautiful views.
We ended getting back close to midnight. Thanks to Dan for the driving! A fantastic day for the excellent adventures of Jake & Eddie 😎🐶!
The forces of Mother Nature on display for us mere mortals to look at in wonder
When I took my trips to the southwest in the 1990s I never made it to Zion. It too was high on my bucket list of places to visit along with the North Rim and Glacier.
Zion National Park
As with the North Rim – I was not disappointed! The forces of Mother Nature on display for us mere mortals to look at in wonder. I tried to imagine the pressure and changes over the millennia that formed the landscape. Amazing!
Zion Panorama
It was very crowded which forced us to park away from the visitors center at the campground. On the way over Jake got in the stream for a quick cool-down. Bad move on my part as the streams were known to contain a neurotoxin from a type of algae. Dogs were particularly susceptible!
A Ranger at the visitor center alerted me and two of them helped me rinse Jake off. I was scared but when I read about it I was not too concerned that he was exposed. However, I truly thanked those Rangers for helping me out.
Zion Panorama
Because the crowds we so large we did not get to take the tour. Never the less, we enjoyed the views and took our time driving and getting a closer look at the fantastic scenery!
Zion Panorama
John had visited the park in the Winter and talked about how it looked with snow added to the mix. Sounds like I just might have to come back and see for myself one day and take in more of this magical place!
One of the first places to visit on my bucket list
I first visited the south rim of the Grand Canyon in the 90s while living in Colorado. I had always heard the North Rim was quite a bit different than the South and wanted to visit. It was one of the first pins I dropped on my bucket list of places to visit.
Brite Angel Point – North Rim Grand Canyon
It has been over 25 years now and I was not disappointed! Given that the region is in a serious drought I found it to be very green and more in your face than I remember the south rim. We visited the main Visitor Center and hiked the trail out to Bright Angel Point.
North Rim – Grand Canyon National Park
Bright Angel Point Panorama
Grand Canyon National Park Panorama
We thoroughly enjoyed the visit – Jake did great given he heat and the crowds!
We drove two days from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Kanab, Utah.
The trip started with a good ‘Oh Fuck’ early as we climbed a summit in New Mexico. As I reached the summit I saw a pickup come over the rise pulling a single axle trailer swinging wildly back and forth in a classic case of Terminal Trailer Fuckery. Obviously the trailer was loaded and equipped improperly (or the driver was just a giant sack of shit). Anyway – as soon as I saw it (in slow motion dis-belief) it was gone. Hope the SOB didn’t take someone less fortunate than I out 😖.
Valley of Fires
Back to reality. We first saw this aberration in the landscape on the navigation display. Curious as to what a giant, irregular, black shape could be we soon discovered it was the Valley of Fires (Carrizozo Malpais) outside Carrizozo, New Mexico.
Valley of Fires ~ Nogal, New Mexico
The black rock seen everywhere is a lava flow. The flow is estimated to be around 5,000 years old. The site is 20 miles northwest of the Trinity site and White Sands.
Valley of Fires ~ Nogal, New Mexico
Valley of Fires ~ Nogal, New Mexico
Very Large Array
This was a pleasant surprise for a SciFi nut like me 😎. I saw the road signs calling out the ‘VLA’ and had a pretty good idea what it was. I was not at all surprised when I saw it as I have seen it many times before in various SciFi movies.
Very Large Array – Socorro, New Mexico
Greer, Arizona
We stopped on the overnight right over the border in Greer, Arizona. Situated in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in the White Mountains of Arizona. A beautiful if not a bit out of the way campground.
Heaslett’s Circle B Cabins & RV Park
We were treated the next morning to temperatures in the 40s and a killer sunrise at 5AM (Arizona never adopted daylight savings time so the sunrises very early indeed!).
Greer AZ
Flagstaff AZ
We drove out of the mountains the next morning to Flagstaff. We stayed that night at a large KOA and explored famous Route 66!
Famous Route 66 in Flagstaff
Horseshoe Bend – Paige, Arizona
The next morning we did our final leg through Arizona on our way to Kanab. Just outside of Paige is the well known Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. Jake and I did the hike with throngs of other people to see the views. Breathtaking!
We arrived later that afternoon in Kanab, met up with our friends Dan, Maggie and John and began our week exploring southern Utah!
It’s all happening in Kanab! Seriously – this place is home to so much incredible scenery and adventure it’s mind boggling!
Grand Platea RV Park
The Jakester and I arrived on Monday as did our old friends Dan & Maggie Matheson and Dan’s brother John. He’s a summary of the activities so far:
North Rim Grand Canyon
Brite Angel Point – North rim Grand Canyon
More intimate than the more majestic South Rim
Zion
Zion National Park
Simply stunning – beyond belief. Glad I finally made it here and glad it was worth the wait (and then some!)
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park – Kanab, Utah,
The ‘other side’ meaning adventure. Like White Sands you can ‘sandboard’ the dunes. Unlike White Sands you can also explore by dune buggy or ATV. Looked like a lot of fun. The Jakester could not take the heat the sand!
Toroweap Overlook
Toroweap Overlook
A long drive along a dirt and rocky road (thanks Dan!) reveals fantastic views of the canyon. We went late in the afternoon to catch the sunset – incredible!
Indian Canyon Pictograph Trail
Indian Canyon Pictograph Trail
Near Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Dan drove a soft sand road to a trail head for photos of thousand year old pictographs. Unfortunately, the Jakester’s paws could not take the 90º+ temperatures and we had to stay at the trail head.
Today we start our continuing excellent adventure heading for Dinosaur. We had a great time with Dan, Maggie and John and really fell in love with the Kanab area. We will be back I am sure!
