Sept 5-9 Orderville UT

After a short drive we arrived at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort (in Orderville UT) and set up camp. If you look hard, you'll see Ray in the photo below.

Jay and Sheana joined us at the ranch and the next morning we were off to Zion National Park.

The rock formations were totally different from those at Bryce.

We hiked two trails. The Emerald Pool trail was the most interesting. We hiked up to and behind the waterfall.

We saw some wildlife on the way--butterflies, a snake (hidden in the grass), a lizard and a squirrel. Note the jowls on the squirrel.

The next morning we went horseback riding (except for J who went muleback riding). Oh my, our bottoms were sore.

After lunch we watched Jay and Sheana skeet shoot.

Our time together was great fun--even cleaning spilled candle wax. (Then again, maybe we could have done without the wax.) 

Aug 31-Sept 5 Bryce Canyon City UT

We arrived at Ruby’s Inn and Campground and were directed to a huge dirt parking lot, as those were the only sites available for 5 nights. We picked the site with the least traffic and the best view.

The next morning we toured Bryce Canyon National Park. The houdous and Natural Bridge were amazing.

I  also liked the sweeping views at Inspiration Point.

At each overlook Ray searched for wildlife (unsuccessfully).

The next day we drove to Red Canyon, stopped at the visitor center and did a short walk.

Next up was Kodachrome State Park. I got a great photo of the truck next to Chimney Rock.

On Sunday morning we drove to Mossy Point and hiked a fairly steep ½ mile path to both a cave and a waterfall. It was really nice to walk along water.

August 28-31 Torrey UT

We drove through interesting terrain on our way to Torrey UT.

We set up camp at Thousand Lakes RV Park-a very nicely maintained campground with a beautiful view.

The next day we went to the Capital Reef National Park visitor center where we learned that the park’s main scenic drive was being resurfaced and was therefore closed.

We decided to drive down nearby Rte 12, an American scenic by-way. It was a beautiful drive with lots of scenic overlooks and an added bonus of free range cattle (easy to see) and deer (more difficult to spot). 

The next day we returned to Capitol Reef and saw what there was to see from the open roads--Chimney Rock and Panorama Point.

We visited a little schoolhouse and picked apples and pears at an orchard. We weren’t the only ones harvesting fruit.

On the way back to the campground, we drove via the town of Teasdale to see the scenery there.

Utah is a gorgeous state and we’re looking forward to seeing lots more of it.

Aug 23-28 Moab, UT

Our next campground was the OK RV Park in Moab UT.

It was nicely situated between a mountain range to the east and a rock formation to the west.

Our first excursion was to Arches National Park. We drove through scenic areas displaying “fins”, “spires” and “arches” and got closer looks at Park Avenue and Balancing Rock. 

Our second outing brought us to Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky), a short distance from Arches, but widely different.

On the way back, we stopped at Dead Horse State Park and saw more fabulous scenery.

On our final full day in Moab we drove down two scenic by-ways. On the first we saw stone walls and petroglyphs.

On the second we stopped to admire the view at Red Cliffs Lodge and visited their Movie History Museum. (Many movies were filmed in this area, quite a few featuring John Wayne.)

We’d recommend Moab to anyone who enjoys natural beauty.