RV Adventure: Arches National Park and Monument Valley

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!

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

On our first night we camped out at the usual last resort venue, the local KOA. Autumn is a particularly busy time of the year for Southern Utah, because it's not that hot, so the campgrounds are mostly filled up by noon, and we arrived in the afternoon...The KOA's at least offer great facilities (and wifi) so we could enjoy some luxuries before we found a more scenic, no frills, campsite...

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.

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...

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!

Classic rock formations in Arches National Park

After completing our trail we drove around the park for a while but by that time there were so many cars on the roads that we decided to head back to our riverside camp to make some lunch - the best times to be in these parks is definitely early morning before 10:00 and late afternoon, after 16:00 so we decided to head back later for a sunset hike.

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.

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. 

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!

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...

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...

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 ;)

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...

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...

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!

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!

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.

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. 

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...

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. 

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!

A great way to explore this vast and beautiful country!

A little taste of LA and the start of our RV adventure: Zion National Park

While we initially planned to do our RV trip from Chicago to LA, a sobering reality check hit home when we reviewed the quotes for such an endeavor! The drop off fees and mileage alone made up our initial budget for the trip! So we went back to the drawing board and reviewed our options...Traveling with an RV is still an expensive means of travel for a backpacking trip so we found the only way to still incorporate it was to find a good deal, which is usually when the rental company needs a motorhome to be taken from one place to another. Fortunately we found such a deal within our time frame, where the RV had to be picked up in LA, California and dropped off in Phoenix, Arizona 15 days later. We looked at a map and saw that we could fit in most of what we wanted to see and do on our initial trip within the alloted time so wasted no time in securing the booking!

And since we were planning on going to LA anyway, Kristi's cousin Braam and his family stay there, we could head to their place for our a couple of days, plan our trip, leave some stuff at their place and then head to the rental center to pick up our RV...

We arrived in LA on Sunday, September 11th, yes flights were cheap that day, and had to pick up the RV on the Tuesday... Braam's home is fortunately quite close to the airport so it was only a short uber drive to their place - LA as those who have been there will know, is huge!

It was great to see Braam, Kelly and the girls again. It was also the first time Kristi and I got to meet little Rosilee, who's just the sweetest little blue-eyed girl!

On our first afternoon we got to go over to Kelly's folks for a Sunday afternoon barbecue, which was really great, Dave, Kelly's dad comes from Utah so he gave us some valuable tips for our trip and then of course the BBQ ribs were amazing!

Sunday family meal in LA

The following day Kristi and I headed to the Manhattan Beach County Library to crunch in some research for our upcoming RV trip, we found a nice quiet room with wifi, laid out a bunch of maps and travel guides, grabbed some Starbucks and got to work...

Crunching in some last minute planning!

At the end we managed to work out a viable route: first heading into South West Utah via Las Vegas (maybe try and give our budget a boost!) and then up to Montana to the Western entrance of Yellowstone, after a couple of days in America's first National Park we will head down to the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, which is a short drive south from Yellowstone. After a few days there we will head down to Eastern Utah where we will explore some of the crazy parks out there before finding our way down to Phoenix, Arizona which we will then use as a base to visit the Grand Canyon National Park... I know it's a mouthful but we ran the numbers and it looked doable! Guess we'll just have to wait and see if we were right or absolutely bonkers!

After a short drive to the RV rental center, Cruise America, in Carson, LA we signed some papers and got started with a instructional video while our RV was being prepped. We booked a 19ft unit, which is quite compact but advisable for anyone rving for their first time, unless you're more than 3 people of course... After waiting for about an hour we finally got shown our RV, who shall be known as Harvey the RV from henceforth, and received a brief overview of the vehicle...Then we got given a map of the area, the keys and off we went!

Getting out of LA was no laughing matter, there may be 9 million bicycles in Beijing but it felt like there were 9 million cars in LA that day - and it was only like 11:30! Anyway we eventually found our way to interstate 15, cranked up some country music and watched the buildings give way to dry cactus covered cliffs as we headed into the Mojave desert towards Nevada...

We reached Las Vegas around 17:00 and briefly gazed around at the unbelievable extravagance of this desert oasis. While the glitz and glamour of the casinos were luring us in like a moth to a flame, our GPS kept us on route to our destination...the nearest Walmart super-center...just let just me explain...I know it sounds absurd but the Walmart offered two things we needed - low cost, bulk purchasing and free overnight parking in their parking lot! Moerse classy!

Our overnight parking/camping spot at the Las Vegas Walmart

Zion National Park

The next morning we hit the road early and headed north east to Utah and our first National Park, Zion! It was a four hour drive so we arrived in Springdale, which the town situated at the base of the park, at around lunch time. We booked a spot in a RV park in town but since the park literally surrounds the town we had a nice setting with the massive red canyons towering all around us. 

Zion and Springdale have put in place a great shuttle system that takes you from town into the park and then to also to most of the hiking trails in the park. 

Zion and Springdale shuttle system

We decided to do a late afternoon hike and hopped on the shuttle that took us to our trail, hidden canyon. It was a relatively short hike up to the canyon but with the afternoon light we really got some great views of the mountains and the spectacular colours that emerge at that time of day...

Enjoying one of the many viewpoints on the Hidden Canyon trail

It was a great introduction to our Zion adventure and we couldn't wait for the hikes we had planned the next day.

Great to be out on the trails again!

That evening we got a fire going, poured some wine and enjoyed our first campside braai on our trip - camp fires were not allowed in South America...

It's something we love from back home and thus were quite in our element sitting there in our camping chairs near the warm glow of the fire under a clear desert sky...

Diep gelukkig!

There are two must do hikes when you get the chance to visit Zion. Angels landing, which is a great monolithic rock sitting right in the heart of Zion Canyon and the Narrows which is a river that runs through a narrow canyon. We did both in one day, and it's very doable...

Since the desert temperatures can run up to the 30s even in autumn, we opted to do Angels landing first in the early morning hours and then hit the Narrows in the afternoon.

We again jumped on the very convenient shuttles and headed to the starting point for our hike up to Angels landing...The hike up has been made much easier with the construction of a series of switchbacks that lessen the gradient of your ascent. The sun was just climbing over the eastern mountains so the valley was slowly lighting up as we made our ascent...It was really awesome.

Initial switchback section of the Angel's Landing trail in Zion

Then when you get to the top of the switchback section to a place called scouts lookout, you get this insane view of the valley below and the last climb up to Angels landing. The last section of the climb is not recommended for those with any fears of heights since the trail is narrow with big vertical drops on both sides...For those who like the thrill, it's a really cool trail with great views all around!

Last section leading up to Angel's Landing - looming proudly in the background

They called it Angels landing because the natives believed that the rock was so high that only angels could land there... Once at the top we just parked on one of the borders overlooking the valley, basked in the morning sum and enjoyed the unbelievable views...

It's really worth doing if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods!

Great viewpoint of Zion Valley from the top of Angel's Landing

The walk down was relatively quick and all together the hike took us about 3 hours and unless you have some vertigo problems I wouldn't say it's too strenuous...

After the hike we took the shuttle back to Harvey and headed to our next campsite, Watchman, which is actually located in Zion Park. 

Now as I'm sure most people will know, living in an RV demands some basic tasks that come with the house on wheels adventure. Being our first time all these came with somewhat of a learning curve and none more so than the RV dumping procedure. It's actually a straight forward task of parking at the dumpsite, pulling out the dumping hose (a big plastic pipe), connecting it to the sewage outlet on the RV and placing the other end in the sewage hole. Then you just open the valves to the toilet and runoff water tanks (in that order) and voila, you let Harvey do his numbers 1 and 2...Simple right...Ja not for our first time! 

Being first timers we asked the people from the RV at the other dump site if we could watch them do it first, which they agreed to somewhat reluctantly - the Swiss guy gave a "that's kinda gross look" when I asked...None the less we watched the whole procedure and it looked relatively easy especially with that Swiss precision! 

Then came our turn and the whole Swiss family and a German family who now joined the party got out to watch - probably to help but we felt like they were just watching, the one German even had his camera out...

I did everything according to the book, got out the plastic pipe, and got ready to attach it when the Swiss guy shouted, "nay nay! You have to put on some protective gloves". We didn't have any so a little Swiss kid brought me an extra pair, and after thanking them, I put on the gloves like an old practiced surgeon, took the pipe again and reached down to open the sewage outlet. Then came the shenanigans...The minute I screwed opened the cap a massive stream of excrement (thank the heavens only urine) came rushing out, flowing all over my arm and the pavement! I then tried to screw the cap back on to stem the flow but that just made the stuff spew out more violently! This obviously caused much commotion from the onlookers (and entertainment for the kids), the German guy with the camera even starting taking pictures! 

I eventually secured the cap back on and the torture stopped, turns out the valve for the toilet tank wasn't sealing properly or at all which meant there was no way to stop the stuff from spewing out when opening the sewage cap...This created a bit of a predicament, but thankfully one of the Germans came forward and with that characteristic blunt German perspective told me to park the RV so that the sewage outlet is right above the dumping hole and then to just pull open the cap again and let the waste pour straight into the hole...

The whole party of onlookers helped me get the parking right and then I had to perform the sanitary task again of opening the cap and letting all the stuff flow out but this time it at least hit its target and I was somewhat more prepared...The valve for the other tank worked fine so theoretically you could attach the pipe and pull the valve out to let the runoff water pour down the drain, but we already had the RV parked over the dumping hole so we just let the grey tank run empty like we did the black tank...After the show the Swiss and German families took to their vehicles and wished the two us of lots of luck for the next dumping endeavor! Never a dull moment with us South Africans hey!

"Lug dai been Harvey, ek het 'n Walmart sakkie oor my hand so jy kan maar laat loop..."

After a thorough scrubbing down, we headed to our spot, made some lunch and had a short snooze before we had to go out again.

For the Narrows hike we headed out around mid-afternoon, so it was still hot but we reckoned if your going to be hiking by a river in a canyon there will be enough reprieve via the shade and the water.

We first had to walk all along the river till we reached the mouth of the canyon but we thought you just continued walking along the river bank, instead we found out that you actually walk in the river the entire way! So we tossed our shoes and hit the river old school style, barefoot. The water was surprisingly cold, like Clifton cold, so I first had to do the flamingo walk to acclimatize my feet...I'm sure the Americans must have thought I'm from some aboriginal tribe, practicing a river walking ritual!

The Narrows of Zion!

The walk was really cool, the canyon walls rise directly from the waters edge which made for some dramatic scenery as you ploughed on through the river! Our feet could only handle a couple of miles up the river - my memories of running up the vineyard rows over thorns and rocks seemed all but a distant dream and offered no muscle memory for my now well softened feet!

Kristi venturing deeper into the maze...

It was another great outing and also a must do when visiting Zion... 

Afterwards we headed back to our camp for one of our favorite times of the day, sunset around the fire!

Zion offered a great way to start our RV adventure with amazing scenery, great hikes and lovely campsites...

What a way to start!

The next day was a long drive up through Utah, via Idaho and into Montana, to the Western entrance of Yellowstone National Park!