A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
for a two week vacation in a truck camper.
August 2011: Road Trip, Second Day
When we left the site, Sasha set up the GPS so that we could see and tag cool sites along the route. So not too far from our site, there was a trailhead for the Arizona Trail with a pit toilet. Good for those who have problems going in the woods.
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It is like we are at the top of a ridge. Blue Sky and little puffy clouds. |
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Kaibab Plateau Trail When we left the site, Sasha set up the GPS so that we could see and tag cool sites along the route. So not too far from our site, there was a trailhead for the Arizona Trail with a pit toilet. Good for those who have problems going in the woods. |
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Not seeing the end of the road anytime soon... Jacob Lake Campground, in Kaibab National Forest: No Hookups, $17 a night, half price for Seniors with Senior Pass, Not at all full, but water was not good - particles in the water. |
Sasha filled up anyway, as there did not seem to be too many places to get water (for free.) The host site was pretty big, with the folks having a Jeep, ATV and a Rhino, full hookups. He sold firewood for $7 a bundle (and we got it for free in the National Forest!) There were some pull-through sites, but it looked as though it needed to be weed-wacked a bit, very high grasses around the sites and not too many trees for shade. Our site was much better. |
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We are going DOWN! |  |
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Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument - check out those cliffs! | |
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Views before we go completely down. |  |
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Flat road and much warmer temperatures now. We are in the desert! And very close to Fredonia. On the way to Fredonia, we called Will (a guy we knew from Cape Hatteras) to see if he would be available to have lunch with us today. |
But it was a no go, as he is going on a multi-day tour for his company, Dreamland Tours. Fredonia did not look too happening, especially on the southside. There were at least three motels that were out of business and lots of shuttered stores. |
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The clouds are looking a little interesting.... | |
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Back into Utah we go! At least for a little while that day. |
However, Kanab, UT was totally different from Fredonia, AZ. It also looked more green, I guess all of those Mormons really help out with the irrigation.
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We went to a tourist trap for lunch. Did not realize it but we did. It is called Calvin T's - whatever you do, do not go there. We just did not think it would be terrible, but the signs were there: Only two cars in the parking lot (at lunch time, this is not good!) and when we stated that we were going there at the visitor center, the guy was noncommittal, stating that the business just came into being about a year ago.
Anyway, just so you understand why we thought this was a crock, the ad said that they had a salad bar and vegetarian dishes, so when we went in, we looked, and there was just meat on the menu. I asked about the salad bar and they said they only do it during dinner. So I said what Vegetarian dishes do you have, they do not seem to be on the menu? And they pointed to the sides: Coleslaw, cucumbers and onions, and potato salad. She said that they also had corn muffins and I asked are they made with butter? And she said yes. (so that would not be vegetarian...right?) But these things are not vegetarian dishes, these are just sides. OK advertising aside, the nittygrity:
4 ribs, beans, and a drink: $10.95
1/3 lb of meat, two small sides, and a drink: $10.95 - WTF! That would be like getting meat for $33 a POUND!
Then I found out that the beans were included with the meal anyway, so pretty expensive for four ribs. I suppose we could have walked away, and gone somewhere else, but we did not. For a BBQ place, the employees did not seem like they would be the ones to make the BBQ. It might be tasty, but jacked up prices are not a good way to go.
Overall, high prices and small portions, no salad bar for lunch, and for dinner the salad bar was $8.95, all you can eat, add it to dinnner $3.45. Also this was almost like take out, you line up, order the food, get the food, and then pay. No waitservice. Dinner prices are $11.95 for turkey breast dinner (hopefully more than 1/3 a pound!) to $16.95 for a babyback rib dinner (again hopefully more than 4 ribs!)
While I am nicely full, I think it was from the beans and bread rather than the ribs.
Let's just say we will not be back. If you want to go to a touristy spot with hooky stuff and high prices, and bathrooms outside of the restaurant, then go there. It might be best to go there for the bar - more than half the size of the building, and a huge outdoor area as a patio, which might mean this is a better place to go for a beer than a dinner. So we left.
We were headed towards Big Water, there was a slightly rainy situation as we headed on Rt 89 South (east). We got to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument at 1:46 pm (Arizona Time - we were not changing the clocks, as we're at the outskirts of either time). We have been driving through this thrilling lightening storm - such big sky here. There is no way that I can get a shot of lightening. You blink, that is how fast the lightening comes down.
Stopped at Route 700 House Rock Valley Road (pictures below)
and Paria Contact Station. The ranger there is really like a VUA - Visitor Use Assistant, who does not do programs but is at the same level as me. She works 10 hour days, 4 days a week. But it is a very lonely spot except when they do the lottery for the Wave, a permit system to go to this very fragile area that is constantly photographed. But they might change the location of the lottery to Kanab next year. This is still in discussions, I guess. BLM pays for her commute out of Kanab to here, but probably not mileage. She also did not have much of a uniform, just a shirt showing BLM. I guess that is what is so different than the NPS, people recognize the flat hat and it is an important part of our uniform.
Also the campground near there is not good for our rig of 37 feet, she said that there are several large dips, not really good for anyone with a trailer. So most would not have that option.
So we stopped at Big Wave - excellent visitor center! Run by the BLM, cool exhibits, interesting pictures are coming, but not too many rangers work there. Used to be 90 rangers in the late 1990's but because of cutbacks, only 50 for all of Grand Staircase! That includes maintenance, law, administrative, and interpretation. WOW, but they are way less than NPS. I think Grand Canyon has something like 2,000 workers in the NPS, plus countless others that are for the different partners and sub-contractors. OK, so BLM might not be in the cards for me, at least not there. But the geology is fascinating, the paleontology outstanding, and I would bet, the night sky is quite good. Oh well. See below for some cool pictures of the visitor center.
I could have stayed here for a long time, but we had to head over to Glen Canyon sooner or later, so we headed to the next visitor center.
We went to the Glen Canyon NRA Visitor Center which also houses Bureau of Reclamation's Dam tours. They had the newly discovered dinorsaur there (pictures below), a huge exhibit, great views of the dam, and a bookstore. The place was as big if not bigger than the Hoover Dam site and the Lake Mead Visitor Center combined. They also seemed to have a better working relationship than Hoover and Lake Mead as there is one visitor center rather than two. Beautiful on the outside, LEED on the inside, Lots of pictures taken by both of us.
But Page was a dissappointment. Extremely expensive (not like Lake Mead) with most of the rooms booked and selling for over $100- $250 a night (for a queen two person room!) And then we tried a place around 17 miles away from Page, and while they were $95 a night, we asked if they had internet and they said...are you ready for this???....Cowboys don't need internet. I was flabbergasted. While Cowboys don't need or use internet, I certainly do, and if you are going to charge me $95 plus taxes for a night, I am going to have internet. And not only that, it better be fast!
The prices for boats were also quite crazed: $400 for a small boat with shade a day, $45 per kayak a day, and $175 for two people on a tour that takes all day and starts at 7 am! NO Thank you. So we cut our weekend short and headed back home after having a hamburger dinner at RD's Driving In. They had great burgers, good prices and tasty ice cream. At least it made the Page disappointment not such a bad thing. I suppose if we could get another couple to split the cost, then it would not be so bad.
However, the weekend was great. We loved being up in Kaibab Forest area, as well as checking out the different visitor centers to see the cool maps and displays. I could spend tons of time in a museum, checking out all of the neat fossils, but that is just me. Hiking is also great, but only if it is in a cool climate, this hot stuff down in the desert is just not as fun. Just being on the sidewalk at the dam was hot, and that was in the late afternoon. I could only imagine what it is like during the day as well as down at the lake.
This last picture is when we were coming down the hill in the Navajo Nation on Rt 89. Clicking on the picture will take you to the page about the picture (like our Info buttons.)
Obviously there is more to August, so I am putting in another page. It is called The Rest of August.
Check out Next Month: September for Pictures and Expenses for September.