Day 116 - Thursday - into our 10th State - Utah

Day 116 - Thursday - Into our 10th State of the Trip

We're currently at 8000 feet and headed for Cedar Breaks National Monument which is at 10,500 feet - a 2,500ft rise, right?  Wrong!  We have to pass through the small towns of Fredonia AZ and Kanab UT which are at less than 5,000ft, so it's up and down again.

After the scare on Monday we're a little apprehensive so I take the first 30 miles to Fredonia carefully.  Fortunately it's a more gentle slope than Monday's and the RV has no problems getting us through Fredonia and into Utah, out 10th State on this trip.  We stop at Kanab to add some gas to the tank - it's expensive here and we're in no danger of running out, but the heater in the RV, which we figure we'll need at 10,500ft, runs off gas and cuts out if you have less than a quarter of a tank.  We also stock up at the grocery store and head out of town.

We've descended from the Ponderosa Pine forest at Jacob Lake into spectacular red rock country - not only brilliant colored mountains but fantastic shapes.  We're now on US89 which would take us all the way to Canada but we only have about 30 miles to go.  For 10 miles of this the orad is under construction so it's the usual job of balancing the RV between the dropoff at the side of the road and the cones in the middle.  We do this successfully, even negotiating a short one way section, and then I discover we're back in Ponderosa Pine country and ready to turn onto UT14.

This is a road we know and love - it's 40 miles from where we turn off US89 to Cedar City, where we'll be next week.  This takes you up into Engelman Spruce and Pinon Pine country, and back down again to 5,000ft.  For today we're staying at the peak and again I'm worried after what happened when we were climbing to Jacob Lake, but today the RV gives us no problems and we arrive at the turnoff to UT148 which goes into Cedar Breaks and beyond.  For the last mile or so there is what appears to be snow at the side of the road, and eventually even some on the road.  We pass a car that has skidded off the orad and is being attended to, and make to safely to the turnoff.  We unhitch the car and leave the RV in a large lot, and head up towards the Monument.  I'm surprised at the snow since the daytiime temperatures are in the 60's!

There's a campground there but we've decided to check out a place in the nearby BLM land where we can "boondock".  We identified a great spot last year and want to see if it's available before we drive the RV a mile or more down a cinder road.  We find 2 men - deer hunters - camped there in a tent with 4 vehicles, right where we'd hoped to stay and drive further up the road.  There's really nothing suitable without driving for miles, but there are large flat open spaces on either side of the spot where the hunters are camped.

We stop and talk to them and they point out that they'll be away all day and only want to sleep at night, plus there's plenty of space for us, so we decide to bring the RV up - but not before they relate the story of how lucky we are that we didn't arrive earlier.  The "snow" we saw was not, in fact, snow but the remains of a severe hailstorm that came through a half hour before we arrived.  The hunters had also skidded in their 4 wheel drive, so God has certainly taken care of us again.

The skies are looking ominously black but we get the RV parked, leveled and set up before the rain comes.  It doesn't last too long.  We find, curiously, that we have internet service here but very sketchy phone service, and I go online and check out ranger programs at Cedar Breaks, which is now only 2 miles away.

There are geology talks at 10am and 2pm every day, but we're lucky to have arrived at the time of the full moon.  Tomorrow Friday and Saturday evenings there will be ranger led hikes departing at sunset.  I call and reserve us spaces on tomorrow's hike, and we enjoy dinner and our first night at 10,500ft, glad that the heater is working since the low is in the 40's.  The forecast is clear for the next few days so we're looking forward to spending time in one of our favorite places.