After having mostly driven along the interstate highways when we headed up into Wyoming, we now decided that on our way down we're going to try some more scenic back roads to take in the rural beauty of this part of the country.
From the get go it turned out to be a great decision. Heading out of Jackson Hole we hit the 191 South which took us first through this amazing mountain pass, zigzagging all along the beautiful Hoback river...
Once we got through the pass we descended into the classic grassy plains of Wyoming, real cowboy country, with small rustic settlements and rodeo venues scattered all along the road.
We made a pit-stop at a relatively large mining town, called Rock Springs, because it was the only town in a 100 mile radius with a Walmart! We had to stock up for the last week of our trip...
After a quick run through the Walmart we headed South again, back into Utah, still keeping to the smaller rural roads. We passed through the very scenic Flaming Gorge valley with its massive lake nestled in between the arrid canyon cliffs.
It was then mostly downhill to our over night stop, a small town called Vernal, which is in the heart of dinosaur country.
It got given this title due to the mountain of dinosaur fossils that were discovered in the area. After the big fossil discovery it didn't take long for a posse of oil men and miners to follow suit which is probably the bigger reason for the settlements in the area and the elaborate dinosaur propaganda! Anyways we booked a spot for Harvey in the Dinoland KOA RV park...classic...and just chilled the evening. Kristi made us one of our new found favorites, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup - thank you Sam and Kelly!
The next morning we headed South East and actually cut through a section of Colorado, we only realized this when we saw the "you're now leaving Colorado" and the "Welcome to Utah" billboards.
It was again a small rural road but the change of scenery was crazy, we went from desert canyons to aspen forests to pine covered mountain slopes and back to desert canyons within a 150 miles!
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| One of the beautiful fir forest valleys we passed through... |
The final stretch of the drive revealed a glimpse into what lay ahead for the next couple of days of our adventure, massive red canyon walls stood stark against the barren landscape with the characteristic rock formations strewn almost purposefully atop the gigantic red cliffs...We've arrived at our next destination, the town of Moab and Arches National Park.
Arches National Park
The next morning we headed out early to try and get a campsite along the nearby Colorado River that runs adjacent to the National Park so the scenery is really impressive. The Bureau of Land Management has established a whole series of campsites along the river, all first come first served, so we drove to each one till we found a spot that was available and to our liking, at the Big Bend campground.
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| Our campsite next to the Colorado river |
It was still early so we clipped our reservation slip unto the site post, parked our two camping chairs and headed to the Park. Unlike Zion, Arches doesn't have a nifty shuttle service running into the park - something that they should definitely consider - so you have to drive to the different viewpoints and trail heads.
In the park you'll find the world's largest collection of natural stone arches as well as an amazing array of fins, pinnacles and natural rock bridges. The whole lot of them have been carved out, almost artistically, over the millennias by mother nature's patient hand...
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| Setting off the Broken Arch trail |
We decided to do the Broken Arch trail on our first outing, it was just a 3 mile return trip so a relatively easy stroll in relation to our usual hikes. The arch, unlike its name portends is actually fully intact and from up close you can really appreciate the natural wonder of the structure.
For these arches to form you need just the right ingredients of sandstone, annual rainfall and ground minerals - and a whole lot time - for the erosion process to do its thing!
The sandstone fins or narrow canyons are the bodies of rock from which the arches are made, and were formed from salt layers being squeezed up to the surface from the pressure weighing down on it. The rainwater then seeps into the porous sandstone and will collect above a harder stone level, breaking the mineral bonds that hold the rock together until the whole section just crumbles away, leaving an empty arch in its wake...We obviously only see the final result but it's insane to see what can be created by nature!
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| Classic rock formations in Arches National Park |
Now there's one arch in particular that has gained a lot of publicity and even made it unto the state of Utah's number plates...This is of course the delicate arch, and since it's a big crowd puller we decided to go see it at sunset. It's a short hike to the arch which is remarkably situated right on the rim of a canyon, with a natural amphitheater around it so the onlookers can enjoy a comfortable seat and a great view for the sunset showing. It was unfortunately an overcast evening so we couldn't get a glimpse of the arch lighting up with the last rays of sunlight but it was nevertheless a great spectacle to observe.
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| Delicate Arch |
It was already dark when we got back to our camp, we grilled some German (walmart) sausages for dinner and just enjoyed the tranquil desert night sky with the soothing sound of the Colorado River in the background.
The next morning we wanted to do a longer hike so headed into the park just before 07:00 to get a bit of a jump on the masses and the chance to walk in the crisp, clear morning air.
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| An Angel in devil's garden...;) |
We headed to the Devils Garden trail head, which is located in the north eastern part of the park. The trail took us along varying sections of rock formations, with loads of climbing so we got some amazing views of the valley around us.
It was about a 14 km round trip but not too strenuous and we got to see the popular double O arch on the way as well!
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| Double O Arch |
It was a great morning outing and we were for the most part walking by ourselves which is a feat in itself in this notoriously busy park!
Afterwards we headed into the town of Moab for brunch at the Moab diner, done in the classic style of the popularized American diners. We have been hoping to stop at these type of joints on our road trip but the sad truth is that most of them have been forced into extinction by the mainstream fast food chains. So unlike in the movies you're pretty lucky if you find one still operating in the small American towns!
Anyways our diner fit the bill for the most part, our waiter Joy had that homely charm but with the telling signs of long shifts and the faded dreams of making it in Hollywood if it wasn't for Jim with his Harley and reckless charm - I'm stereotyping here but hey when in Rome!
After a bit of chill time by the river we headed to a nearby trail head, outside of the park, called Negro Bill's Canyon. Negro Bill, or William Grantstaff, was a half-black, half native American (really the short end of the discriminatory gene pool) cowboy, who grew up in Alabama but then like so many people at that time decided to move West in hope of a better life...So he landed up in South East Utah, in Moab where he teamed up with a Canadian trapper named Frenchie and the two of them acquired some property near town and kept their cattle in the canyon where the trail lies today. The significance was that he was actually one of the first non-native land settlers in the area but eventually was busted for bootlegging alcohol to the Indians and was driven off to Colorado...and there's no account of what happened to poor Frenchie...
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| Negro Bill Canyon |
Anyhow it's a really cool 4,5 mile hike that ends at a big natural rock bridge, hanging a good 50 meters in the sky! There's also a steady river running all along the sheer canyon walls, which has allowed for some vegetation to grow along the banks and thus gives the walk a bit of a different edge to the far more barren landscapes in the park.
Afterwards we headed back to our campsite to light the fire, the sun was just setting and the tips of the canyon behind us were clasping desperately to the last bit of sunlight...
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| Vier bietjie Nasionale Braai dag! |
We might be 15000km from home but we could still celebrate our heritage day in the best way we know how, with a braai! Okay so we braai'ed hamburger patties which is a bit of a 'faux pas' but like I said earlier, when in Rome!
The next morning we were to continue down south into even more desolate and barren landscapes, or Arizona as its also known ;)
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| Where's Harvey |
Monument Valley
It didn't take long for the surrounding canyons and brush to give way almost completely to the red sandy escarpments and rocky plains...We knew by the characteristic and idle mesas drifting lonely on the horizon, that we've entered Monument Valley, home of the Navajo Indians...
Anyone who's watched a Western movie in his life would probably have, at some point, seen this classic desert landscape that has come to personify the West...
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| Monument Valley |
This valley was once a massive sandstone dome but centuries of harsh flooding and relentless winds have eroded most of the rock, leaving dry empty plains, rusty river beds and of course the iconic Mesas, Buttes and Spirals - the last surviving remnants of sandstone rock, that now stand like Monuments in the clear desert sky...
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| Classic sandstone Mesa |
I actually didn't know we could drive this way until I scanned through one of the pamphlets that we got at a RV park in Moab. We were set on driving down via Bryce Canyon which would have been a big detour and would have deprived us of the unique scenery attributed to this small stretch of country!
We booked a spot in one of the Indian Reservations in the area, called the View, and boy did it's name do it justice! The campsite sits right on top of an escarpment looking over Monument Valley with an undeterred view of the lonesome red mesas and buttes standing proudly in the otherwise barren desert landscape...
The tent sites are absolutely phenomenal so if anyone is ever looking for a campsite in the area, look no further!
We found a spot for Harvey, prepared some lunch, opened a couple of budwisers and parked our camping chairs on a nearby ridge. No 5 star restaurant in the world could have offered a view like that!
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| What a lunch spot! |
Later that afternoon we headed out for a short hike along a trail that runs down into the valley and around some of the big stone 'monuments'. The sun was just getting ready to make its final descent over the western horizon, and thus a long shadow crept over the valley with just the tall mesas and buttes catching the last rays of sunlight. The contrasts were striking!
When the sun finally set, the afterglow painted the whole valley with soft hues of red and blue, making for some great pics - Kristi didn't miss the opportunity and joined a group of avid photographers in capturing the beautiful setting!
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| A classic Teepee with a great view |
That evening Kristi made us our tried and trusted tomato & salami pasta and the realisation hit us that our time with Harvey was running to an end!
The next day's drive to Flagstaff wasn't a long one, and we were winning an hour heading West, so we took it easy in the morning, made some flapjacks, got some coffees at the restaurant and just enjoyed the fleeting cool of the early desert hours...
We received a welcomed tip from one of the couchsurfers who we were going to stay with in Phoenix, that there's a very quaint and picturesque little mountain town only 30 miles from Flagstaff called Sedona. We called the Rancho Sedona RV park and managed to reserve one of the last two open spots in the campground. It was still quite early when we drove through Flagstaff so we headed to the nearest Walmart, again (it's really not so bad), to get some things that we still needed for our Grand Canyon camping trip.
It's a beautiful drive down to Sedona, the town lies at the bottom of a canyon and is surrounded by these massive red mountain cliffs, covered in dark green junipers and pines.
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| Sedona Valley |
Our RV campgrounds was just on the other side of town, right next to the Oak Creek river with troves of Cottonwoods and Sycamores lining its banks.
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| Rancho Sedona RV park |
It really seemed like a great little town to spend a weekend, with an arty feel, laid back presence and such spectacular surroundings...
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| Sedona |
We cooked up the last few hamburger patties and topped them with all we had left in the fridge and cupboards! It was a very tasty last meal at our small dining table in Harvey. Afterwards we reluctantly started to pack all our things and cleared out most of what had to go with us at the end.
It's only a 2 hour drive to Phoenix from Sedona so we had some time in the morning to get cleaned up, make some breakfast and prepare Harvey for delivery!
I ran the numbers and saw we did nearly 3000 miles on our trip! Not too shabby! Thank goodness petrol is really cheap here! You get charged, by the RV rental agency, 35 cents for every mile you go over the first 1000 free ones so we were facing something like a 700 Dollar surcharge. We managed to talk our way out of it, thankfully, because of the toilet valve issues and other little ailments that Harvey presented during the trip! So after signing the last few papers and waving a heartfelt goodbye to old Harvey, we had to make some arrangements for our Grand Canyon trip the next day.
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| The route of our 15 day RV trip...we really covered some real estate... |
Fortunately the place had wifi so we just parked off in the lobby for a couple of hours before getting an uber to our Couchsurfer, Nicholas' place.
While chilling at the Cruise America we also got to meet our first Apache Indian - and lived to tell the tale! He heard us speaking Afrikaans and came over to ask us where we're from. It was quite funny, so after we told him we're from South Africa, he pondered it over for a minute and then asked us "so which tribe are you from?" Haha...that was a first! I hesitantly answered, Afrikaner...which is probably true, right?! Anyway he told us a bit about the native American history in the area and some of the local words...like for water which is 'minne' - appropriate for the desert I suppose - and lots of water is 'minne' 'sota' - which as we can attest from experience is a pretty accurate for the state with ten thousand lakes!
It was really a great couple of weeks and a truly memorable adventure. The one thing that we've never really been afforded on our trip was the ability to explore a place on our own, with our own wheels and agenda.
The RV experience allowed us to revel in the freedom of the open road, to venture off into the vast unknown of the distant horizon and to witness on our own accord the natural beauty of the world we live in!
And for that very reason, it will always be remembered as one of the highlights of our travels!
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| A great way to explore this vast and beautiful country! |
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