Mission

Tour Zion, Bryce and cram as much fun into the time as possible.

We departed on March 10, and returned on March 20. We drove through Valley of Fire State Park. The 1966 western, The Professionals, was filmed there over the course of 9 weeks. Kanab was a surprise despite being in the plan. During the 50’s and 60’s, Kanab was a popular location for filming westerns. Everyone we encountered endeavored to be friendly. I spoke a bit with the owner of a local camera store. On display were old film cameras, only old film cameras. The owner said he intended to specialize in only film cameras. A guy walked in and asked about SD cards for his digital camera—none were available.

Everywhere the Earth was red; iron oxide, a.k.a “rust.” Peekaboo Canyon was our first slot canyon.

At Horseshoe Bend, and the Bryce Canyon overlooks, there was little room to place a tripod as people were shoulder-to-shoulder. Kids were running off-leash.

I asked a Park Ranger if there are times with less attendance, “no, it’s really busy all year.”

Zion has a Scenic Canyon Drive that was in our plan; but it’s closed to personal cars from March to November. We entered the park at the East entrance and a few cars were in the small lot. The South entrance was another matter: hundreds of parking spots—all occupied.

Zion was crowded, Bryce not so much.

We brought our dog on this adventure. Both Zion and Bryce are dog-unfriendly. Drones are not allowed in either park.

Now, with time to reflect, in this trip we covered nearly two thousand miles in ten days with only a few as “rest and recharge” times.

High Points

• Peekaboo Canyon, Utah and the quad ride to it

• the River Rock Roasting Company in La Verkin, Utah—we ate three meals there in two days; great salads!

• Horseshoe Bend

• Sunset Point in Bryce (at an elevation of 8,000’

• The Zion drive from the East entrance to the South Entrance

• Lots of red dirt

Surprises

• the Zionic Scenic Drive is open for personal cars only from December to February. Zion is one of most visited of the National Parks; millions per year.

• Very friendly people in the Utah outdoorsy spots

• The view of the “Amphitheater” at Bryce was captivating. The walk/hike down from the viewpoint was covered in ice; some were prepared with strap-on crampon spikes to navigate the ice, many were not.

• Highway 15 on the California portion is in terrible condition.

A recommended pre-read prior to detailed planning: