Bryce Canyon, UT - Apr. 15 - 17, 2005
April 15th
Tax Day! Today we left Zion. But not before we met some very nice folks, Eileen and Chet and Jim and Chris. When we read about this lifestyle before starting, we heard that you meet the nicest people along the way and make great friendships. This was one of those days.
Eileen and Chet are teachers who have traveled the U.S. for over 30 years. They travel during the months school is not in session, so they have had time for some serious sightseeing. They are very interesting people with whom we have remained in (email) contact since we left. One of their homes is in the Star Valley Ranch area of Wyoming (just south of Jackson Hole) and they invited us to stop by during our travels. We will certainly try to do that!
Jim and Chris are full-timers like us and on the 16th they celebrated their one-year anniversary in this lifestyle. Jim stopped by as we were breaking down our site since he saw that we have the Direcway Internet dish. He and Chris have the same service, but their dish is mounted on the roof of their rig and is called "Datastorm". They have a website that talks about their travels. Stop by it to meet them and see what they do.
Our next stop was the Bryce Canyon area. The trip along the "Scenic Byway" State Route 12 was uneventful and beautiful. Our destination was Kodachrome Basin State Park where we stayed while in the Bryce Canyon area. As one local told us, it is a gem undiscovered by most who come to the area.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
We drove to Bryce Canyon, the focal point of this leg of the trip. It is spectacular with the snow (it's at over 9,000 ft.) and glorious sun. To get the kinks out, we went on an 8-mile hike along the ridge of the canyon from Inspiration Point to Sunrise Point and then down into the canyon on the Queen's Garden Trail to experience the hoodoos up close and personal.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
We camped three days at Kodachrome Basin State Park while visiting the Bryce Canyon area. The park got its name (with permission from Kodak) from the leaders of a National Geographic expedition in 1948 who were using the then new brand of Kodak film. Geologists believe the park was once similar to Yellowstone National Park with hot springs and geysers, which eventually filled up with sediment and solidified.
Today we hiked the Panorama Trail. We started out in the early (cold) morning to catch the first rays of sun on the park features. Wow!
Note: Kodachrome Basin State Park is very well maintained and in a beautiful setting. We would recommend it for tenters and RVers alike.
