7000 feet in
Flagstaff AZ a National Forest campground in Coconino Forest called Pine Crest
We got on
the road again and made Page AZ where we stopped at the ELKS Lodge for 3 nights
and explored Page, The Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell and Zion NP.
It was our
first experience of ELKS camping, we were welcomed with open arms. They had a pot
luck dinner going our first night there but because we didn’t know, we hadn’t
prepared a dish. They made us go get plates and join in regardless.
Lake Powell Dam
The road up
to Zion was nice but the park itself was superb. Beware though that there’s a
tunnel that if your vehicle is wider than 11’ and taller than 11’-6” it requires
the tunnel be closed while you drive down the centerline. They charge you $15
each way for that. If you are planning on camping in the park in an RV you need
reservations well in advance and plan to come in from the west (Springdale)
side
On, On - got
to enjoy ourselves more!
One of 2 tunnels in Zion NP
Zion NP
Next was
Panguitch UT and the Hitch N Post campground on Main Street. A nice little park
about 27 miles from the entrance to Bryce NP. They charge $35 a night for an RV
in summer but they give discounts for Good Sam’s Club and Escapees (and
Escapees get 5% more discount than GS!!) Full hookups, laundry, small club room
and walking distance from the pretty little town of Panguitch (Native American
for Big Fish). We walked down to the “Gem” movie theater and tried their hand
made ice cream. YUMMY!
Gem theater Panguitch with Ice Cream Parlor
Old Fire House Panguitch
We liked
this park and town very much. Extremely friendly lady at the desk.
One scary
moment was when we came to unhitch the car and found that one of the new locks
for the tow hitch had fallen off and the car was only attached by a hair!! I’ll
be double checking those locks in future. Luckily we have a spare.
Hitch pin nearly gone!
We booked in
for 2 days. We did Bryce Canyon NP on the full day but we did a few things
wrong. We didn’t get up and out early enough and stopped for ice along the way.
Then we decided to get the shuttle bus rather than drive as the literature said
there was limited parking at the scenic outlooks. We found that the first
shuttle only went a little way into the park and that the other shuttle that
went all the way in only ran twice a day and you had to make reservation for
it. We missed that second shuttle, basically wasted more time on the short
shuttle and by the time we got back to the car and on our way the park was
packed with people. Live and learn!!
Bryce Canyon NP
It was a nice park with wonderful scenery
but we are about burned out on masses of people in National Parks.
From
Panguitch we decided to do our longest leg so far. We drove 250 miles to Moab
staying at Arch View RV “Resort”. My guess they call it a resort because
charging $60 a night for a dirt campground with a small swimming pool would be
embarrassing even for them. The slowest check-in I’ve ever seen too. They were
so embarrassed by it they gave me a free cup of coffee. Why it takes 4 pages
and 2 signatures to give you a campsite is beyond me.
Of course I
might have been a little stressed out as Barbara has stumbled and fallen in a Loves
truck stop during a break we took. Luckily it appears that she’s only twisted
her knee, sprained her ankle and bruised her hip. ONLY!
We had a day
off for Barbara to recover and did a little shopping in Moab. We accidentally
found ourselves in the Moab Brewery.
One thing
you need to know about Utah is that they have weird laws about alcohol. Up until
recently you could not buy alcohol except with a meal. There were no bars. If
you wanted a drink you had to go to a “Club” which was a bar but you had to buy
a membership. Recent changes mean there are now bars. The Moab Brewery has a
restaurant and also a tavern. The tavern lets you sit at the bar and drink a
beer. WHOOO-HOOO!
They call this park "Arches NP" for some reason??
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