Well, I made a mistake. I told Kim that I was getting tired of the same old thing… hiking in the desert. I was longing for trees, water, mountains, and I suppose some new and exciting activities like we experienced on the Oregon coast.
We woke up on drive day in Panquitch Utah (near Bryce), and there was an inch of snow on the ground. The roads reportedly were OK heading north to I-70 (our planned route). Getting ready was unique, in that for the first time I had to climb on top of the RV to scrape ice/snow off the slide toppers (rolling tarps that prevent debris from settling on the slides).
The road north to I-70, was tricky in spots, but not too bad. I-70, was a breeze, totally clean. We were 30 miles from our destination and feeling great. We went south toward Arches/Canyonlands 10 miles. Then we went West, up the slope of the plateau on Utah 313 toward Dead Horse State Park (our camping destination). We started up the windy hill, and immediately became surrounded by huge snowflakes. Wow, this was pretty and unexpected, thankfully we’re less than 20 miles from setting up camp. We got to the top of the hill and noticed it had been snowing for a bit, and there was an inch of fresh powder on the road. By this time, we were a bit concerned, but thankful that we were going uphill, and the road was straightening out. Kim said “well, you said you wanted some new experiences!”
5 more miles down the road, and now it’s a blizzard, we’ve got 2 inches on the road and no tracks to follow. I’m hoping hard that we’re heading in the right direction and the park is still open. There is no place to turn around, we have to press on. By the time we get to the park, there’s 3 inches on the ground, and it’s coming down fast. Finally, we reach the visitor center, and Kim goes in to check in. They acted like it was no big deal. We unhooked the jeep in the deserted parking lot at the visitor center. I followed Kim to our campsite, a pull through space on the loop of 21 campsites. Our spot was a semi-circular pull through, that kind of dips in the middle. When Kim pulled through the spot in the jeep, we had to put it in 4WD for her to be able to pull back up the other side! We got parked and setup with no incident. It was a wonderland!
By the next morning, we had 8 inches on the ground, and it was still snowing. We had a really nice time playing in the snow, messing around in the RV, playing games, doing school etc. I cleaned off the jeep and took Kane up to the visitors center to let them know that our electricity was off. The only folks at the center were the other campers, and they confirmed that their power was out too. The sign on the door said, they would be back “after the plow comes”.
Well our power was out most of the day Saturday, and then it finally came back on. We were in good shape, with plenty of Gas to run the generator, and LP to heat/cook with(we filled up both in Panquitch). It was a welcome “change” from our routine, and very energizing. Dead Horse State Park was wonderful, and the campground is amazing. Each site has a private covered patio with huge table, and some lockable storage.
We drove out to the end of Dead Horse Point, and it was complete fog! We could not see anything. The next day, we drove over to the Canyonlands NP, the kids got their Jr Ranger badges, and we did a couple of short hikes. We were able to see a bit more, but not too much.
The next morning, Kane and Kim got up early and drove back out to the point. This time they were able to see the canyon, it was spectacular. Kat and I went out after they got back, but it was fogged in already. Leaving this place, took an extra hour, for me to clean the snow off the top of the RV, but it was really peaceful up there looking out over the park.
I’d like to see Canyonlands again someday, I know there are tons of trails for hiking and Jeeping. It really is a huge and beautiful place!
