Magnus Goes to the Red Rock Country, Day 9

Wednesday, September 18

This time we did the 18-mile scenic drive through the canyon, again stopping at all the overlooks.  (The buses only go about halfway) The scenery was even more awesome. What I wouldn't give to be able to go back and hike the trails for a few days!  

 

A House Finch. Woo-hoo

My typical photo of chipmunks

Very excited to see this bird in Bryce Canyon...until he took off and hovered and it was clear he was a red-tailed hawk.

In the afternoon we took Molly for a walk at Kodachrome Basin State Park. We took a lovely little trail around some big boulders.  Not as scenic or beautiful as Arches, but at least they allowed dogs.  Sadly, it was too hot to do much walking.  Very little shade; mainly that cast by the boulders.

Magnus Goes to the Red Rock Country, Day 8

 Tuesday, September 17

The original plan for Bryce Canyon was to drive all the way into the park and then stop at the various overlooks on the way back. But after seeing the number of people in the area, and reading a few more reviews, I decided to take the bus in. It was a good decision.

The parking areas were crowded, and toward noontime parking lots were beginning to be closed.  The cheerful and friendly workers would set up cones and restrict entrances until some spots cleared out.

But we were able to hop on the bus right in front of the RV park, show our senior lifetime pass, and ride right on in. We stopped at all the overlooks and took thousands of pictures. It's a truly awesome place.

 

After a lunch break, we hopped on the bus again to see the visitor center, and then took it back into town to go to the "general store." It was within easy walking distance of the campground, so we just walked back.  The visitor center was a little too crowded to enjoy, but it was still nice.

Later Molly and I took a one-hour walk along the bike trail which followed the road, but spaced away from it far enough that the road noise was minimal (you could only hear the loudest of the tour buses).  We saw a herd of 11 pronghorn off in the distance; also several chipmunks, western bluebirds, and nuthatches. That's why I love walking--on the road the cars sped past; on the trail the bikes sped past. None of them saw what we saw.

Magnus Goes to the Red Rock Country, Day 7

Monday, September 16

Sights along the drive:

Ruby's Inn is a huge, crowded RV park and it's still very nice. Lots of trees, and while the sites are lined up in rows, they feel a little spacious.  Of course, ours is at the very end of a row with a driveway beside us and some tent/non-hookup sites past that. I might feel differently if I were crushed in the middle of a row.

We went for a walk up the hill and saw Jackrabbit--well, I saw it. Molly missed it--and a hummingbird or two fighting the wind to feed at the desert willows.  I also saw white-breasted nuthatches, pygmy nuthatches, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird.

It was very windy when we arrived, but the wind shifted to north during the evening. Pretty cold overnight--we had to put the heat on for a few minutes in the morning to take the chill off.  But of course it warmed up again.

Pictures from our walk:

The "multiuse" aka "bike" trail we took goes alongside the road for a mile to the Bryce Canyon National Park entrance.  The signage above is showing the road and the trail. That first night, we walked around the campgrounds for a long time, trying to see the birds in the little pond beside the adjacent motel.  But then we found the bike trail across the road and took it for about a mile, halfway to the park and back. Very nice!

Magnus Goes to the Red Rock Country, Day 6

Sunday, September 15

We drove way up in elevation--over 7000 as we passed the Cocono Mountains.

And ended up crossing the bridge over the Colorado, just above the cursed Lake Powell.  The RV Park and Marina was just a mile or so further on, on the hill overlooking the lake.

 

Our site had a little bit of a view, but there were other, back-in sites in the front row that had a better one. We should try for one of those next time. I don't remember if I chose this site or not, but I suspect it was assigned to me.

It was a little expensive, but very nice for an RV park. The sites were immaculate and well laid out so it didn't feel like an RV park. We weren't lined up in rows, but instead spaced out more like a State Park would be.  And there was a lot of vegetation--desert, of course--including Pinon Pine, Desert Willow, and other things I didn't know the name of. Loverly.

If I give it a review, note: concrete pad, full hookup. Starlink speedtest only gave us 29 mbps, but there were no obstructions so it was quite acceptable.

All in and around the campground were wide pink rock walking paths,  that weren't hot on the dogs' feet like asphalt would have been.  Very pretty and enjoyable walks.

And they've done a good job on keeping their outdoor lighting to a minimum.

I'd definitely come here again. Maybe in the summer, when we can go swimming in the lake.

 The park

The lake, very low

On our walk, Molly and I crossed from Arizona to Utah.

The poor, dammed Colorado

Monstrousity!

 

We ate dinner at Gone West Family Restaurant, a steak house with some vegetarian options. We had a family-sized salad to share, enough for four people. Ed asked for extra blue cheese dressing so they brought out two big bowls, of which we only ate one. Oops--I took the leftover salad home, but there was no point in taking all that dressing.  Ed had the rib-eye steak and I had a veggie wrap. It came with french fries, which were interestingly shaped but not all that great tasting. But I was able to take half of the wrap back for another meal.