2020-12
Kanab Utah
Campground: Crazy
Horse Rv Park. Kanab Ut. $475 per month (30 amp site). $50 deposit
for electric. 3 Blocks from the main street in town. Good Verizon
signal, Good over-the-air TV. Owners of this park also own Rv parks
in Show-Lo and Yuma and I’m told 300 other Rv parks! Some issues
with weak electric and clogged sewers. I see them working on various
sections of water/sewer lines throughout the park.
Kanab, Exploring the
area
Jackson Flat Reservoir
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| 3 miles of paved bike/walking path around the reservoir |
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| cattle on the loose, but not for long |
It’s been a good
start to exploring the area, even with many things closed, both
stores and many of the attractions. There are still enough places to
drive too, bike or walk too. One of the things I did over the
holiday weekend was to drive over to Jackson Flat Reservoir, where
they have a three mile paved walking/biking path. With lots of good
fresh air, excellent scenery blue water which I don’t always get to
see out here in rocky desert type regions.
I arrived early
before the crowds arrived, had a quick lunch in the camper and then
took the bike out for a spin. The paved trail had a couple good dips
and climbs along the way, so it wasn’t all flat. And of course
with the e-bike, it was all a breeze. Well until I came across a
heard of cattle that had gotten out of they pen and were grazing
along the bike path. Some were really large and I decided to stop
and check out what was going on. Is this normal for the area? Then
I saw the handlers walking behind shooing the cattle back to where
they belonged. Only took two people on foot with the right
“encouragement” they were herded across the street into their own
pasture. The grass is always greener…..
Now keeping with my
normal traveling mode, after doing an activity one day, I usually
take the next day off, staying closer to the camper, maybe doing a
few minor chores or laundry. But usually it’s just a day to relax,
read a book, take an afternoon siesta…. You get the idea.
Dinosaur Tracks Hike
The following day
and it was time for a small adventure. The visitor center has
awesome fliers showing all the local attractions. My first one was
the Dinosaur Tracks Hike. Supposedly a short one mile hike with
Difficulty listed as “Steep and Rocky”. No kidding. The first
leg of the journey was along a path bordered by tons of sage brush.
The new sage growth is as soft as velvet, buy the older growth is as
stiff and scratchy as can be. My bare legs will attest to that.
Then the climb begins, following a gradually inclined ridge before
heading straight up to the top of the plateau. That last bit of hike
was really strenuous and I appreciated the chance to rest on top for
a while. This site doesn’t have a ton of dinosaur tracks but there
are a few that are very well defined and easy to spot.
After enjoying the
scenery from so high up, looking down at the highway and my camper
which barely looked like a spec below, it was time to scramble down
the mountain. Now keep in mind, true hikers might not even call it a
mountain,, but to me, it was quite the adventure.
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| that was quite the climb to the top of this plateau |
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| but so worth the effort |
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| how often do you get, being able to walk next to dinosaur tracks |
MOQUI Cave
The entrance to the Cave, once was a
concrete/mesh dinosaur before being
transformed into this very nice Indian style ruin
Just a bit further
up the road, is one of those touristy roadside attractions, MOQUI
Cave. It has quite the local history. During the early film/movie
era, it was a bar and dance hall. Since Kanab didn’t have any
bars, all the actors and film crew made for a popular hangout for
them. The bar being more popular than the dance hall. The original
owners had always wanted it to become a museum, but the bar/dance
hall worked out well in the early years. Now under the third
generation it has become a museum with Dinosaur tracks, Indian
pottery and artifacts as well as an extensive collection of
Fluorescent minerals. For $5 (senior rate) entry, it was a fun
roadside attraction with a b it of history. Talking to the 3rd
generation running the place added a bit of good local history.
Though the displays could have used a bit more information and
context.
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| the bar, which was so popular with all the movie stars and workers, inside the natural cave |
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| this was where the dance hall used to be |
Pink Sand Dune’s State park.
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| you don't need to go into the state park to see and experience the pink sand dunes |
This was a morning
tour, only being about 20 miles from Kanab Utah. Unfortunately, it
was already hot by the time I got out to the State Park. The drive
there was pretty awesome, as the surrounding mountains and rock
outcrops along the highway (two lane) were pretty spectacular. Words
like that are used a lot out here in Utah. Along the way I saw quite
a few good boondocking spots. Just before arriving at the State
Park, I noticed some BLM land used as a stageing area for 4 wheelers
as well as dry camping. (free of course) So I would think twice
about paying the $10 enter the State Park, just to use their parking
lot and walk along a half mile dune trail to one of the prettiest
pink sand dunes out here. There are a number of casual, ie dirt pull
offs just before getting to the state park that could easily be used
for viewing the dunes, or even pulling into the BLM staging area.
I should mention
that I did not go on any hikes out onto the dunes, except just a
short distance as the day was really heating up. The sand is very
fine and squeaks when walking across it. All in all a pretty drive
out and back.
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| Inside Pink Sand Dunes State Park |
Johnson Canyon, part 2
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| near the end of the paved section of Johnson Canyon |
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| private ranch property with petroglyphs and cowboy signs |
Sometimes it’s
worth going back to a location, especially since it’s easy to miss
something or to take additional photos. I had a better guide this
time around, with a pamphlet from the visitors center that had
detailed locations with mile marker data to easily find them. Giving
me a chance to see arches, historic farms and grave yards as well as
returning to the Hollywood stage set as I had one more building I
wanted to take pictures of that I’d missed previously.
Turned out to be a
fun day and traveling much further into the canyon brought some
stunning views, Petroglyphs and cowboy advertising, and well, just a
fun days adventure.
Back in town a few
days later I road my “mini-Zippy” e-bike to the local library and
the Hollywood museum and gift shop. It had been about 10 years since
I had visited the museum and it had just recently reopened during the
Covid epidemic. I and the sales gal were the only ones there. Out
back is where they have a number of the movie sets that were moved
from movie shoot locations in the area back into town. Lots of good
information as to what movies they were a part of and some local
history.
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| Kanab, a western town |
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| little Hollywood sets, this one made of fiberglass |
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| only a shell as photo shoots were exterior only |
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