Grand Canyon photos

   We arrived at Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ (near Sedona) at noon today. We will stay here for 2-3 nights before venturing further south to Mesa.
   We had a wonderful time at the Grand Canyon. They have no internet access at the campgrounds there, so I haven't been able to update our blog until now. I will post a few pictures of Grand Canyon and will post more details as soon as I have more time.
 

 

 

 

Driving to Grand Canyon Village (South Rim) tomorrow!

   We had a wonderful time at Bryce Canyon on Friday. We drove to Angel Point at the far end of the canyon and hiked a very scenic trail. From there we stopped at several other astounding viewing areas and took many pictures.
    Today we road our bikes along the scenic drive through Zion National Park. I wish I could find the right words to describe what a pleasant experience this was.
   We did not get to hike the Narrows and several other trails in Zion that we would like to as well as several hiking trails in Bryce Canyon. These are two of the most beautiful national parks that we've seen so far and we intend to visit them again someday. I will post more pictures when possible.
   Tomorrow we leave for Grand Canyon Village where we'll stay at the Trailer Village campground for seven nights!

Zion National Park

   Monday we transplanted from Kanab to Willow Wind RV Park in Hurricane, Utah. It's about 10 degrees warmer here. We had a wonderful time in Zion on Tuesday. They have a free shuttle from the visitor center through the park. It stops at 8 different trailhead and viewing areas and you may get off and on all day until ~8:30pm. We road to the end where we hiked a couple of miles along the Virgin River to the gateway to The Narrows. We hope to go back to complete the entire trail, but will need our water shoes as you have to cross the river several times. The Narrows trail continues for 2.2 miles round trip where the canyon walls are about 20ft apart and over 1000ft high. We also stopped to hike and take pictures at 2 other locations. I've attached a few pictures.
   Tomorrow we'll drive to Bryce Canyon which is approximately a 4 hour drive roundtrip. We'd like to see this before we leave the area as it could be years, if ever, that we're in this area again.

Gateway to The Narrows.

 

Hiking at Weeping Rock Trail, Zion Nat'l Park.

 

 

Grand Canyon North Rim, Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, Red Toadstool Trail

   On Saturday October 12th we drove to Grand Canyon, North Rims visitor center. We then hiked from there to Bright Angel Point plus another 3+ mile hike partially along the rim to the campground. I've attached a picture overlooking Angel Canyon, which is a feeder canyon into the Grand Canyon. The access road to the main Grand Canyon viewing area was closed for construction so we're hoping to get a better view from the south rim next week. I've also attached pictures from Red Toadstool trail, Glen Canyon Damn and Lake Powell.

 

 

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon

   We drove into Arizona today to see Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. When we arrived there, we were so thankful to find out the Government is allowing many national parks in Utah and Arizona to open and they let us in! On the way there we hiked the Red Toadstool Trail for a couple miles. There were many red rock formations shaped like toadstools. I will post pictures soon.
   We're planning to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow! We confirmed that they will, in fact, be open at 8AM in the morning.
  Keeping you posted while we actually have internet access today.
   
   

Kanab, Utah

  We're enjoying the town of Kanab. It's known for over 100 old western movies made in the area years ago. It's often referred to as "Little Hollywood" or "The Heart of the Parks". Thanks to the visitor center and our neighbors, we've found a few fascinating State Parks to visit while we're waiting patiently for the National Parks to reopen. Also, we took a tour of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary which is the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals. www.bestfriends.org 
   Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park was quite beautiful with its coral pink sand. We had another fascinating day at the Kodachrome Basin State Park which is near Bryce Canyon National Park. There is over 67 sand pipes (see pics below) interesting rock formations. We took a short-cut home down a 35 mile mostly two track dirt road where we were able to view Bryce Canyon from a distance. 
   It sounds like the Federal Gov't may allow the State of Utah to open up 8 different National Parks possibly by Saturday morning. We are very hopeful, but more hopeful for a federal budget.
   I will attach pictures of Kanab area along with a couple pictures from the Jackson Hole, WY area as soon as possible.

Teton Mountains

 

Linda, Bill & Sharon Hiking

 

Coral Sands State Park

 

Kodachrome State Park

                                                                   

Kodachrome State Park

 

43 Mile scenic dirt road between Kodachrome State Park and Kanab

 

View of Bryce Canyon from a distance

 

He asked to be part of the movie. TEHE ;)