We got back home last week from an extraordinary 17 day tour of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. We know the way we travel we can be at least as social distanced as we are when we're staying home and maybe more so. 16 nights out and only 4 in campgrounds. Thought I'd share some pics of what we saw and did.
We headed southwest to hit 395 S at Lakeview Or. This is Summer lake.
Just north of Alturas we took the road east over Cedar Pass to Cedarville Ca. We'd only done this route once before and it is spectacular. Headed South to Gerlach and past Pyramid Lake to intersect with Hywy 50 west of Fallon. We love traveling through Nevada. It's incredibly beautiful, The roads are good, speed limit 70 mph and there's nobody out there. We boondocked up north of Gerlach where there had been a large brush fire recently and a sprinkle of rain... prob first in 200 days. The combined scent of fresh rain and the sweet oily smell of recently charred scrub land was amazing.
Our first target was Great Basin NP. We'd driven past many times but this was our first visit. There's a reason it's a NP and we spent two days hiking both the peaks and the canyons. Aspens were gorgeous and the Bristlecone Pines... wow. we'd seen them in the White Mountains but these somehow made a bigger impression. 3,300 years old and still growing.
Bryce Canyon was our next stop... one of our favorite places to hike. We knew it would be jugged with people so we boondocked in the NF a couple miles outside the park first night then got up early and got a camp spot in the North CG for the next two. Again... perfect weather for hiking 65 deg days and 30 deg nights.
From Bryce on to Escalante and Boulder to hit the Burr Trail. It had been a few years and it was more gorgeous than we remembered. Spent a couple days camped along Big Gulch hiking the cottonwood filled canyons.
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Joe
2003 EB50 7.3L PSD Q4X4
2000 Chevy Express 3500 High Top EB37 - Sold
2003 EB30 - Sold
Just toured your report...with ENVY! Looks like a great trip.
Bryce & Zion remain my two favorite destinations... Really want to go back again some day, especially now after viewing the pic of Bryce you included.
Cedar Mesa was our next target. deserteagle had suggested checking out Fry Canyon and we ended up on top looking South at Grand Gulch. Tons of 4x4 roads to roam around up there and we saw no one the day and night we were up there. This is the kind of boondocking we're looking for in the Southwest. Wow
We then spent some time at Natural Bridges before heading out to hike The Citadel and 7 Kivas. The Citadel is now on some maps and an amazing small Anasazi ruin built at the very top of a butte accessed by a narrow land bridge.
The trail is fairly well marked with cairns now and there is some exposed rock that needs to be crossed but well worth it. We camped for a few days at the trailhead. Picked up 4 mice that kept us up in a pitched night battle... and we prevailed.
The lesser known hike from there goes down into the canyon to a ruin called 7 Kivas. Beautiful down there as well.
deserteagle also pointed us towards Muley Point which is at the southern edge of Cedar Mesa and overlooks Valley of the Gods, Navajo Mt. and Monument Valley. Just when you think you'll never see anything more beautiful - there it is. Plenty of boondocking when we were there.
__________________
Joe
2003 EB50 7.3L PSD Q4X4
2000 Chevy Express 3500 High Top EB37 - Sold
2003 EB30 - Sold
Swung around south and west from there to the North Rim Grand Canyon. very few people around and sweet camping among the Aspens in the Nat'l Forrest. Got really cold with a front coming in so we headed NW the next day.
Drove through Zion on the way home. Although an epic drive, it was basically bumper to bumper from the east entrance all the way west through Springdale. Crazy busy. We boondocked West of the park and were home 3 days later. The rig ran flawlessly, the new Sienna driver's seat was da bomb and the Vantage Optics headlights a massive improvement over stock. 13 deg our final night near Summer Lake in Oregon and the Espar D2 made all the diff.
Thanks for reading!
__________________
Joe
2003 EB50 7.3L PSD Q4X4
2000 Chevy Express 3500 High Top EB37 - Sold
2003 EB30 - Sold
Looks like you had a nice trip! I just got done spending some time running around Utah, Colorado, and other destinations. Utah has a lot to offer in scenery and remoteness.
Spectacular trip and great report! Thank you sharing some new spots.
30+ years ago, while on a college course trip, we went deep into Natural Bridges to explore the myriad ruins...never been back, and this has inspired me to put it on the short list.
We visited the North Rim in September, I need to put a trip report together...