Coral Pink Sand Dunes

We needed to get out yesterday, sitting watching and waiting for this Shingle fire's update.  So, we headed south on route 89 to the Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park.  We have seen other sand dunes - the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico was impressive - not sand, but gypsum.  These Coral Pink sand dunes are made out of Navajo sandstone from two different mountain ranges - with the wind blowing from Arizona north through these two passes, causes the sandstone to erode and tumble and become sand dunes.  Pink?  No, more like melon color.  Pretty, wonder how anything can survive here.  Saw/heard/felt lots of bugs, saw lizards, tracks of possible a gopher snake, tracks of small rodents.  People out ATVing around the dunes, people hiking the interpretive trail like we were. Have to say you really had to watch for the next sign to know where you were heading to.  Got a little lost at one point and Dave went up onto a dune and saw the next sign.  Very hot and very taxing on your legs to walk the dunes.  Amazing thing was the trail we followed around the dunes dropped drastically down and in order to continue on it, we had to slide down the dune.  Boy is that sand soft.  And got into our shoes, socks, I even fell to my knees at one point because of how soft and how deep I sunk into the sand.  Nice to see, glad we did, we can compare to other sand dunes - this definitely was melon/coral, not pink!

Day 3 - Zero Containment

We have changed our plans - again.  We were going to Bryce Canyon National Park but as of 15 minutes ago, the fire reports said that smoke has filled the canyon.  So we cross off Bryce to go see, no problem.  We watch this enormous fire from our campground, thanking God that we are south of the fire, but terrified for those in the destructive path of the Shingle Fire.  It has moved north and east and has grown to 5,440 acres as of 9am this morning.  And ZERO containment.  That means they can't get any headway in extinguishing this fire.  We, for now, are in no danger, so we wait and watch and get caught up here at the campground.  We may head south for the day back into Kanab, to go to the Coral Pink Sandunes. Maybe.  As of 9am no one has been hurt in this fire.  The owner's son, Jason, spends his day with his horse and 2 dogs, herding and rounding cattle around in the mountain above the fire.  The Sheriff wants Jason out and Jason's dad, Doug (owner of the campground) told the Sheriff to leave him alone - he grew up in those mountains and he knows the terrain and knows what he's doing - he'll stay out of the way, but if you send your people in to get him - they will be in trouble, not knowing the land.  Just leave him alone, which the Sheriff does.  This morning about 6am we heard Jason go out after coming back here to get supplies, etc.  He and his 2 dogs and his horse will be on the mountain all day.

View from the road in front of campground, looking north to fire

We watch the big tanker planes fly in and out of Kanab, reloading with fire retardant, fire helicopters dropping chemical on the fire, and the roads leading north to the fire - traffic bringing in equipment.  This fire has now been upgraded to bring in the national wildfire crews, they came on board yesterday morning.  Just terrible to watch.  Why don't we leave?  We are not in harms way, eventually we will head north, but when this is contained.

About 4am we have to close all windows because the wind has brought the stench of the fire down into our valley.  We wait until about 11am when the wind changes course and blows the smoke away.  Terrible for all.  And it has been confirmed, was started by humans.

Fire!

Sun reflecting in smoke - about 5pm yesterday

12:30am last night 

7:30am this morning

Yesterday we just chilled (heated) - temp about 97 but very very windy.  I had driven into Kanab to do  some grocery shopping - but forgot that everything is closed on Sunday.  Got back and sitting in the RV doing some sewing and bam - the wind! Dust everywhere and we couldn't see to the next RV - that much.  Then.  We heard fire sirens, cars, trucks, engines racing north on the road.  Looking north - FIRE! Looked like the next valley was on fire.  Needless to say we were speechless and worried and scared.  With a number of the other RVers here - we did a watch - sitting in our chairs, watching, speculating, wondering, feeling sad for those folks north of us.  And of course for the owners of the campground we are staying at.  Just a few days ago Doug, his son and a number of other folks rounded up the cattle in the valley behind us, trucked them up to the higher elevations for the summer grazing.  Right near where the fire was.  They spent all afternoon until very late rounding the herd and moving it farther south.  Fortunately for them the fire was burning to the north and east - the wind was from the south pushing it farther north. Fire started about 10 miles north of us - that close!  Dave said we should prepare to move quickly if we had to during the night, so we dumped our waste tanks, put stuff away, and then did a fire watch during the night.  I went out about 11:30am, still an amazing glow.  Dave went out about 2:30am and said it looks like it is out - no glow.  We slept a bit then, but the smell is awful.  Most of the RVers are leaving today and so they were kinda washing their hands of it all knowing that they were moving on. Our plan if we had to go quickly, was head back south into Kanab, take the Mormon trail (route 389) into St. George, and then head up Interstate 15 - hopefully dodging all fires and get to Idaho as soon as possible.  Dave and I are staying for now - hopefully - until Sunday, or unless we are forced out.  Found out that it is called the Shingle Fire near the Swains Creek subdivision (not sure where - but about 8 miles north of us) suspect started by humans and as of 11pm last night - according to the new release - 0% contained - has burned about 500 acres. We are watching closely!  We are filled with smoke here in this little town, the wind from the north, and I took pictures a little bit ago and there is still a lot of smoke.  We were going to go to Bryce National Park today, decided not to to just hover here, and if it's all clear, tomorrow we will head there. Not fun being near wildfires - very scary, worrying about everyone involved, the cost of all the loss, just devastating.

Slot Canyon

Yesterday we got up early and drove into Kanab to pick up a 4X4 tour that would take us to a slot canyon and hike it.  We had the luck of the owner of the tour company as our guide and after we picked up 4 more people, off we went to Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon about 10 miles from our camp sight.  I read that the beginning of June 2 men had hiked into the canyon, got lost, and had to get rescued out, and also that this trail is not recommended for regular vehicles due to the depth of the sand.  So - we have never done this before - paid someone to take us where we wanted to go.  Well worth our money!  When we got to the entrance of the trail, Will (tour guide) got out and lowered the pressure of the tires - said that it provides better traction.  Wow did we slip and slide up and over  sand dunes.  Fun for me - I was in the very back of the vehicle.  After 5 miles in we got out and started on the trek into the canyon. And first thing off - a big rattle snake sitting at the entrance staring at us.  We quickly got around it and continued no the path, Will saying he was going to move it when we came back - didn't want anyone else coming through to meet up with that and possibly get bit. Was the canyon  AMAZING!!! Since it was early sunrise, the colors were so dramatic bouncing off the sides down into the slot. Dave was in his glory - where to take pictures.  And me too - I would come around a small curve and bam!  The colors, the light, and we came across a Sphynix Moth - rarely seen - and so pretty!  

Will believes this canyon was formed by the Kanab river way back thousands of years ago.  When there is lots of rain, this canyon fills with water and you better not be inside! At some points the canyon is 200 feet deep - look at the bottom right picture and you get a feel as to how big it is - see the man in there?  And so much cooler.  This canyon is made out of sandstone, hardened over time, and the water washes a little bit of it away each time. The colors were spectacular - oranges, melons, yellows, grays, brown, just gorgeous.  Very easy walk - about 1/2 mile in length one way into the canyon and at the end where we could not go further - you see Will shinnying up the wall - did you see the movie "127 Hours"? That guy was doing the same thing - shinnying up the wall to get over and threw over a line to help himself when the boulder moved and fell down, trapping his arm - well, you see the movie and find out what happens.  Anyhow - we told Will to get down - we got the picture (dah).  After returning back to the beginning, Will got a long stick and got the rattler out of the way - walked it out of the canyon and Dave and Will put the rattler in a pouch and they strapped it on the top of the vehicle.  About 2 miles coming out of the canyon, Will stopped and Dave and Will took it to a sand dune and released it.

Since we had a little bit if time left in the tour, Will took us on two little side trips.  One stop was an Anasazi's grain storage area - seems these people were related to the ancient people of the 4 corners area - Mesa Verde is one large settlement.  He said lots of these sights can be found all through the canyons from Kanab to Mesa Verde. He also took us to Angel's Canyon where there are petroglyphs on rocks that he pointed out.  This is also where Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is - the largest no-kill shelter for animals.  This place is enormous!   Great day for us - would do this again in a heartbeat!

Concerned

We are camping about 30 miles east of one wildfire that is on the edge of Zion National Park.  Yesterday they evacuated the north and east portion of Zion, and when we drove into Kanab yesterday to do some shopping, we could see the smoke.  Also, when we do leave here to go north, we will drive right through where another fire just happened.  Just awful and sad for those loosing everything to these fires.  The owner of the campground who grew up in Glendale said this is the driest he's ever seen it.  Haven't had rain in 72 days now.  And it's in the mid to high 90's which is normal but too dry.  The evenings are wonderful - drops to the high 50's.  Fun thing happened two evenings ago - the owners put on a chuck wagon for us campers.  Was done by Dutch Ovens - had the most juicy chicken, potatoes, cowboy beans, salad, roll, and wonderful apple cobbler.  Doug (owner) said that they used to put on 2 dinners a week for guests and also for the seniors in the area but it got too hard.  Was a delicious meal! He said he was concerned about his campfire - and watched it closely all day.

While in Kanab yesterday we stopped by the Hollywood movie set that was used in the filming the series of Gunsmoke and also used for movies.  Will have to rent some DVDs so Dave will recognize the sets he saw.  This same place has also a chuck wagon lunch and dinner available for bus tours and they put on a show after the meal.  We got in and out right before the first bus arrived.  Besides all the actors and support for the series of Gunsmoke, the Rat Pack of the 60's - Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Frank Sinatra  spent lots of time in Kanab filming various movies.  Clint Eastwood was another familiar face.  Throughout the town there are bronze pictures of actors and descriptions of what and who they played.  Seems no rhyme or reason to where the plaques are, I suppose if I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce there would be a pamphlet.  We went into the Heritage Center which is jam packed full of history, starting back when John Wesley Powell, the first man to traverse the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, came into Kanab and then through the years of the Mormon church and it's folks, to present day.  From there we went over to the Chamberlain house, a beautiful Victorian home that was built in 1887 to house the 3rd president of the Mormon church. This is Arizona's 100th year anniversary and lots of celebrations are going on all over the state - but.  With the wildfires, no fireworks, no campfires, total fire restriction.

Tomorrow we booked a safari - the company is taking us in a 4 X 4 wheeler back into the slot canyons above Kanab to hike to and take pictures (that's the shooting).  Still lots more to do.

North Rim Grand Canyon

We drove back south to Arizona yesterday - about a 2 hour drive - to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  What an amazing day!  We have been to the South Rim 3 times and I feel that if you don't want to deal with lots of people, want to feel nature and be peaceful and serene - the North Rim is what you want to see. Of the many things we have done in the last 2 weeks - the North Rim is by far the #1 - to me.  The South Rim has an average of 5 million people a year visit it whereas the North Rim has a MAX 500,000 people.  But - the North Rim is only open from May 15th to October 15th.  They get about 15 to 18 feet of snow in the winter which is why you can't visit it.

Pristine, relaxing, very lovely day.  We first had to drive south into the Rim which took us through the Kaibab National Forest.  The fires from last year as well as 6 years ago - wow, the devastation!  I really feel for the folks in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona that have to deal with wildfires every year.  Awful!  We drove next through a meadow and low and behold - tatanka! No, I guess not buffalo but beefalo.  In the early 1900's they brought in buffalo and they cross bread with the cattle.  You can see the difference - they are smaller, less hairy, the heads aren't as big, the horns ARE bigger.  Regardless, we didn't get out and try to pet them.  When I talked with the Ranger and asked her about the beefalo - she said they have to figure out what to do about their over population - supposed to be only 75 to 100 head but now it's over 400.  And who owns them?  Once we entered the National Park, we went to the visitor's center, looked see, then walked around the perimeter of the rim to get a feel.  We walked the Bright Angel Point trail on the rim, this trail if you went down into the canyon and crossed the Colorado, you could then come back up on the South Rim - about a 4 day hike.  The ranger said that the best viewing of the Colorado River is from a Cape Royal - to the east and about a 40 minute drive from the visitor's center.  Narrow road, Dave had to fold the mirrors into the truck - so they wouldn't get wiped off by a passing car.   But so worth it.  We drove to the eastern most spot - Angels Window and Cape Royal - and walked the trails to see over the canyon.  Absolutely beautiful!  We saw the Colorado River from a wonderful vantage point - they say the best in the National Park - and we could have stayed there all day. At Angels Window we could see the Colorado through the whole but once we walked the trail to get on top of the window (see above photo), truly breathtaking.  Glorious day!  Watched rain on the South Rim and we stayed in sunshine the whole time.

Talk about sunburnt!  We were 2880 feet above where we were on the South Rim, the temp was 72, and the sun was bearing down on us and we forgot about it.  I got scorched on my arms, face, ears, and neck.  Ouch.  But so worth it.  Very very long day - we left at 8am and pulled back in about 8pm.  Some observations:  very few foreigners on the North Rim - probably because it is not easy to get to, less trails to follow and but seems like more opportunity to be with nature here.  Drive into the North is much more lovely, the lodge blended into nature better, and definitely a lot cooler.  The South Rim has all the advantages - interpret center, more services for people and more opportunity to do things - like mule rides down, camping is more abundant on the South, and it's open all year.  You pick.

RV Fixed, Now Let's Play

Yesterday we waited, and waited, and waited until Bryce showed up - about 3pm, the technician we called on Tuesday when we got to the campground, to come look and see if he could fix the RV boo-boo.  Not realizing he had to travel from the western side of Zion National Park to us, if there were no traffic (sight seer's) he could make it in about 1 1/2 hours.  Instead - took him 3.  We felt bad he had to go back the same way - another 3 hours - once he got done.  But - Dave was very impressed with what Bryce did.  He told Dave that this repair is something he's done in the past, in fact - he has repaired this same thing 3 times in one RV - telling the man what he's doing wrong but Bryce said - goes in one ear and out the other.  Said the man over fills his fresh water tank, the water falls into the pan, the pan drops from the weight.  If we ignored getting this fixed, Dave would have to have gotten under the belly each time we move, close the slides the rope it back and forth, drive and hope it doesn't break through the rope, then get to the new spot, untie the rope so we could open the slides, then tie it back up while sitting.  Don't want critters to get it!  And - since no support on the fresh water tank - that would fall too!

To give you an idea what happened:  we traveled on some pretty rough road through the Navajo reservation area of north east Arizona on our way to here in Utah.  There is a pan that covers the fresh water tank, think of it as a large plastic wash tub, and that is secured by bolts to the underbelly of the RV.  Since we were jostling around so much, and we were NOT carrying any water in the fresh water tank which therefore didn't have the weight in it, the jostling just broke loose the bolts and the pan dropped down.  Fortunately, when Dave stopped for diesel fuel in Page, AZ, did his walk around, saw insulation draped outside and on the support of the jacks that drop down to support the RV once it is in a resting position, looked closer and saw that the pan was down.  He was able to tie it back up, weaving the rope back and forth between each side and tied it off - enough to hold until we got here.  We were lucky - this thing could have broken and fallen on the ground - and there would have been so much more to fix.  After an hour of retying it up, supporting it with different materials, then rescrewing all back up, we are good to go.  And Bryce said - bad design.  Well, now we have good design!

Tomorrow we are off the the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  About 2 hour drive one way.  Will be long day, but worth it.  Still more to do here - we were hoping for a thunderstorm today, cloudy and windy, but no rain.  Shoot.  We also want to go to see a slot canyon - Utah has the most slot canyons in the world.  Oh - and a little tib-bit newsy thing:  Remember Pipe Spring Monument we went to?  Well, the campground that we are staying at - the owner's grandfather bought the ranch from the Church way back when.  Talk about a small world!