June 16 Tuesday – Bryce Valley UT to Kanab UT

Ahhh, there is a reason we don’t stay in KOA’s… not too much choice out here, and the KOA was quite clean, but very full and noisy. There were two older couples that came in a Class A and were a couple of sites down and across from us. Either this was their maiden voyage or ??? Aside from leaving the coach running for a while, and having trouble getting it level, they were rowdy past quiet hour. And, this morning when they woke up, the noise started again!!

We at least had breakfast and were ready to leave at that point!! View from our campsite, above.... old bell, below...

Water "lizard" examples and explanation....

This old gas pump said "Too pooped to pump".......

Once we arrived at Kodachrome Basin State Park, we had a good time driving through the park and stopping to take small hikes and take LOTS of photos.






Interior of Clark's and yard art for sale...

Rather than become too hungry, we stopped in Tropic at Clark’s Restaurant for lunch. Surprisingly, our meal was REALLY good and reasonable. We were anticipating an expensive meal due to the fact the restaurant is highly decorated and in a new building, but no!! Service was very good, and we had enough to bring ½ our sandwiches back to Blue for dinner.

From lunch we headed into Bryce Canyon National Park, and the pass Steve bought in the Tetons got us in FREE!! And wouldn’t you know it, it started to sprinkle! At first we thought we would have to take a shuttle through the park, but today it is optional… I drove all the way to the end of the park while Steve napped, and then we started stopping at each parking area or pull out to take photo after photo on the way back.


Class B and C party..... quite a variety in size!!




Natural Bridge, below....

Near Red Canyon....

There are lots of people here, but traffic isn’t too bad. I think this string of rainy weather is keeping folks home. I have also noticed the price of gas is getting higher the further west we go. Anyway, no problem finding parking and not so many folks that the views are obstructed and one can’t read the posted educational info.
Old "Motor Home" .... or beer barrel on wheels!!


Bird Condo, above....

We are now in Kanab, Utah. We passed the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which is north of town in a beautiful canyon. I noticed a sign for an RV park in town, and here we are. This is a tiny park, and the neatest and cleanest of all of the parks we’ve (I’ve) been in this trip.

After walking the dogs (there is even a fenced dog park), taking showers and having our leftovers for dinner, we are ready to call it a night.

June 15 Monday – Springville UT to Bryce Valley UT

HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY, ANJANINE!! Haha….called and sang Happy Birthday.. HBD to U, HBD to U, HBD dear Neener, you’re no longer 32!! She hates it when I rub in her age!!

Walked the dogs, and took a nice shower and had breakfast. Can you find the Golden Retriever???? Can you find "Big" Blue????
We stopped for gas at Flying J and looked for a new CB antenna. No luck… so I will probably just get the entire kit at Radio Shack and have a spare mounting bracket.

I didn’t drive too far south when I traded drivers with Steve and went in back to take a nap. Something about windy roads and wind and rain can make one really, really tired!! Even though I slept well last night, I was still tired.

We switched drivers again in Sigurd, and proceeded southeast on highway 24 through Koosharem (gave me a chuckle seeing we are in Utah!) and stopped in Loa for lunch at the Country Café. Had an okay sandwich and a good piece of boysenberry pie a la mode!! Love the modern USG plant (hey, we were drywallers!!!) and the cow!
Old gas station.... not sure if they are fixing or demolishing.... bunch of old Chevies...

Orange kitty at the Country Cafe.....
Love this "Round" house!!


This geologic feature reminded me of an Indian profile....
We turned off onto highway 12 in Torrey and ran into road construction and were stopped for a while by the flagmen.
Smudge is saying... I'm bored, are we there yet???
Cattle drive down the road.... we were stopped about 10 minutes... cowboys, dogs and CATTLE!

But past that, we saw the most wonderful scenery along the road as we were going through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Too bad I didn’t have my ‘ole geology professor, Angus, along!! We had to keep pulling over and stopping for photo opportunities, both of the geology of the region and the old barns and houses. We have only encountered a little bit of rain today, there are clouds, but mostly puffy whites.










Yep..... this is the (im)famous photo that is on MSN!!
We are now camped in Bryce Valley, in anticipation of visiting Kodachrome Basin State Park and Bryce Canyon National Park tomorrow. Oh…. Went over a bunch of mountain passes today… highest was 9200’, steepest grade 14%. Blue doesn’t mind high, but doesn’t like steep. We pull over when we have a “parade”!!