Day 30: and how we took an accidental detour

Ogden, UT to Bryce Canyon, UT

Total Miles: 300

Total Distance: 4,440

Our Route:

We drove on I-15 through all sorts of construction work in Salt Lake City, where I took the RV for a joy ride in Orem, UT. (Accidentally.) 

The lane I was driving in exited me onto W. University Drive and after a brief delay, we figured out how to get back on the the Interstate and our journey continued. 

Not knowing where the next gas station would be, we took frequent opportunities to gas up. 

The mountains were constantly beside us.

But the trees are now more juniper and cedar. 

You can tell the sky is much more clear south of SLC. There are no wildfires blowing smoke here.

Finally, we exited I-15 for good and took hwy 20, which is a cut through road to take us over to hwy 89.

It felt like an endless road stretching out before us. Adam said every few hours,

"Are we there yet?" 

or 

"Mom, show me on your GPS, how much further?"

Hwy 20 took us over a scenic mountain climb. Our little RV strained,

"I think I can,... I think I can,...

I think I can."

Here, we are nearing the top.

Rounding the curve, and you can see for miles in the distance.

Here's another look

When we reached hwy 89, we turned south toward the town of Panguitch. Then we looked for hwy 12 to take us to Bryce. 

We didn't know about Red Canyon, but stumbled across it just before Bryce. We decided to stop at a road side rest stop, and take a stroll on their .3mile Hoodoo loop. 

We know what hoodoos are by now.

We really needed to get out and run around a bit after 5 hours of driving. 

We tried to imagine what this hoodoo (above my head) reminded us of. 

Natalie said those statues on Easter Island. 

I said Indians back to back with their arms crossed.

What do you see?

The trees we noticed on the trail are called Bristlecone Pine, but there are Pinyon pines, Ponderosa pines, juniper, spruce and fir as well in this Dixie National Forest.

They told us the Red Canyon is one of the most photographed places in Utah. It has brilliant red soil with vibrant green trees.

Most of the trees were twisted around, due to the wind.

These natural tunnels were really neat to do through.

The view from our RV campground.

We're getting really good at setting up and breaking down our campsites now. I guess we should be, we've had 4 weeks to practice. 

Our campground is called Canyon Pines. It advertised a heated pool and hot tub, but they failed to mention it was a 3 minute walk down the road to the Canyon Pines Motel. 

We decided to drive down there. 

The hot tub was not very hot, but we soaked in it anyway.

Tonight's menu was grilled cheese and soup. We had a choice of chicken noodle or tomato. Oh, it hit the spot. 

Thanks, Nana. You're a great cook.