After a week in El Paso with Paul's mom we deemed her sufficiently recovered from Covid and an infection, for us to move on. Instead of going straight back up to Colorado, where we were before, we headed home. Our Router, and therefore our cameras etc stopped working and we didn't want to wait another 2 months to get home and get it fixed. We stopped on the way there and bought a new router and modem, just in case that was the issue.
Part of what made our decision to go there easier is that the weather forecast called for temps in the high 90s instead of 115-120. In fact- it rained every day we were there (3).
It worked out well that we went- our hitch for the Jeep is faulty, and the company is shipping us a new one, under warranty- but they were supposed to ship it to our friends in Colorado so we could get it sooner. Unbeknownst to us, they had erroneously shipped it to our house....and it was on the porch when we got there. It could have been annoying if we hadn't decided to come home at the last minute, but it actually worked out well- Paul was able to use his tools to weld some parts on to the new hitch.
I took advantage and used my elliptical and swam in the pool, and we also dropped off some stuff we don't need and picked up some stuff we could use.
From Havasu we headed north to St George, UT where we spent a couple of nights reconnoitering and deciding what to do.
With highs sitting at about 100*, we weren't interested in hanging out there too long. Instead, we drove "up the hill" highway 14, near Cedar Breaks National Monument. We found an awesome boondocking spot at 10,000 ft- which means the highs are in the 70s, lows in the 40s-much more comfortable. In fact, we like this area so much we quickly decided to stay as long as the tanks held out (a week).
This national monument is kind of a cross between Bryce and Zion National Parks and isn't too far from them, really. It sits, however, 2000 feet higher in elevation than Bryce, and about 5,000 feet higher than Zion-which makes it much cooler, but also means its pretty much closed in the winter.
Our first hike was a short one to Cascade Falls. This is a popular trail for families. The trail is cut into the side of a hill, and of course, ends at Cascade Falls.
One thing we discovered about this area- its home to a LOT of sheep.
Why did the sheep cross the road?
Sheep don’t know what a road is, people!
The following day we started with a little bit longer hike- 2.3 miles around Alpine Pond.
We were entertaining ourselves by using an app to identify plants- and this one is a Silver Spruce! That’s the color of our truck (we waited almost a year for it because we wanted that color).
We hiked this trail partly because it was on the way to our destination-the town of Brian Head. This town is known for its family friendly skiing and outdoor sports. Even the benches and swings are ski themed.
The tip that is called Brian Head sits at almost 11,000 ft- and you sure do feel like you are on top of the world up here.
The views go on for miles and miles.
There aren’t very many hikes actually IN Cedar Breaks National Monument, but the most popular one takes you past several spectacular viewpoints, and ends at a double arch.
Cedar Breaks is actually a natural amphitheater- I thought it was cool how visible it is on my hiking app.
The blue is the hike we took along the rim.
Another outing almost got a little too exciting. As we were driving around the back roads looking for a lava flow, the rain got very heavy, making the driving difficult in some spots. This puddle was so deep, the dirty water came very high up on the Jeep.
Of course, there are always housekeeping type things to do, in between exploring. We actually had ordered new glasses at Costco in El Paso, and had them shipped to the Costco in St. George, so one afternoon we traveled down the road to get them. We also discovered that since we are boondocking so much, it is a little challenging to keep our electronics charging (the 12v ports are all in the bed area), so Paul bought some parts at the store and installed a 12v inverter near the dinette. We are much happier now.
Our final day in this area we hiked 8 miles around Navajo Lake. The lake is pretty, but the weather was warm, so we were happy to be done.
Well, I know this has been a super long post, and I didn’t even mention everything we did, but I do have to add that August 10th was Paul’s mom’s 92 birthday. We understand she had a great day, and we are very happy to see her back to her usual self.
