Roving Reports by Doug P: 2020-12 Kanab Utah, part 2

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

3 miles of paved bike/walking path around the reservoir

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.

that was quite the climb to the top of this plateau

but so worth the effort

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 3^rd generation running the place added a bit of good local history. Though the displays could have used a bit more information and context.

the bar, which was so popular with all the movie stars
and workers, inside the natural cave

this was where the dance hall used to be

Pink Sand Dune’s State park.

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.

Inside Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Johnson Canyon, part 2

near the end of the paved section of Johnson Canyon

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.