22 May 2023 Jacobs Lake AZ to Kanab UT

 As we were packing up to head out, a Thunderstorm started building nearby adding impetuous to our efforts! After getting hitched up, we headed up to the Jacob’s Lake Inn for an early lunch. Once again the food was delicious and we stopped by the bakery to pick up a few snacks for the coming days. It was only a 38 mile drive down to Kanab, with a few steep downhill sections. We are staying at the J&J RV Park ($52 per night with GSC) in Kanab. Bill and Pam are parked just a couple of sites down from us. We have a lot on our Itinerary for Kanab!

J&J RV Site

21 May 2023 Lee’s Ferry and Navajo Bridge

 Bill and Pam had not been to Lee’s Ferry before, so we drove down to Lee’s Ferry and took a bit more time to look around. Leslie’s ankle was feeling better so she walked around to some things she had not seen during our last visit. The Paria Canyon had been under a flash flood warning all day yesterday and Paria River was flowing fast spilling a lot of sediment into the Colorado River. We talked to some folks down by the river and learned that we could hire someone to take us up river to Horseshoe Bend with out Kayaks and then drift back down. We will need to add that to our bucket list. As we were leaving Lee’s Ferry, we tried to stop at the big rocks but the rangers waved us on. They were in the middle of a rescue effort and expected to have a helicopter coming in at any moment. We then drove over to the Navajo Bridge interpretive center. We walked out on the old Navajo bridge (now just pedestrians) which was built in 1928. We had some great shots of the Colorado far below. The new bridge was built in 1996 using the same technics and design as the old bridge. We then stopped at the trading post before heading back up to Jacobs Lake. We stopped at the Jacob’s Lake Inn and had a wonderful dinner. The inn has been run by the same family for five generations. The food was delicious!

Bill and Pam by the Colorado River

Colorado from Navajo bridge

New and old Navajo Bridge. When built in 1928, it was the only way across the Colorado River for 600 miles

18 May 2023 Bill and Pam Arrive

 Our friends Pam and Bill (and their Dog Lacy) arrived today in Jacobs Lake. We will be traveling together until late June. They got their Class A all set up and joined us for dinner and lots of catching up about what we all have been doing. They just got back from a trip to Australia, se we were picking their brains about their experiences to help us plan our trip for next year. It is great to see them again and we are looking forward to many adventures in the coming weeks together. 

19 May 2023 White Pocket

 With rain showers in the forecast for the afternoon, we decided to get up early and head out to the White Pocket in Vermillion Cliffs NM. From US89A, we drove a couple of improved dirt roads 12.5 miles until we got to Pine Pocket Ranch, from there it was dirt and sand ruts for 9.7 miles to the formation. We did have to drop into four wheel (high) drive as there was a lot of deep sand. We got close to getting stuck a couple of times but the Behemoth powered us on through. Poor Lacy was not sure she liked this form of travel with the bouncing they got in the back seat. We were surprised at how many vehicles were in the parking lot when we pulled up. There were several tour groups along with some independent types like us. The walk to the rock formation is sandy and maybe a half mile. Then you are on rock and can wander around and take in the beauty. It is amazingly gorgeous! Pam chose to stay back at the truck with Lacy because her knee was not up to hiking in the sand. The rest of us went in and wandered around the White Pocket and shot hundreds of pictures. You just could not take a bad shot. It is breathtaking. As we were wrapping up, we could see storms clouds building to the south, so we reluctantly headed back to the truck. We pulled out our chairs and ate a leisurely lunch before heading back. Fortunately, we did not run into any heavy rain on the way out as these roads can become impassible when wet. We were all happy to hit pavement! We were back in Jacobs Lake by 2:30, so everyone took some time to rest and then we joined Bill and Pam for a wonderful dinner in their RV. It was wonderful day!

17 May 2023 Pipe Springs NM

 We needed to make a run into St. George and Pipe Springs NM was on the way. It is really a beautiful drive down from Jacobs lake into Fredonia with views of the mountains and canyons. Pipe Spring NM was created in 1923. It’s a very small NM. Pipe Spring is a natural spring coming out of the base of an escarpment that has used as a watering hole for centuries. In 1868, the Morman’s took possession of the lands around the spring from the native Paiute Indians and built a small fort around the spring to control the water. They started a large cattle herd in the area that was used to feed the workers building the Tabernacle in St. George. In the 1870s, the federal government came in and took control of the land and spring from the Morman’s and partitioned the water with 1/3 to the Paiute tribe in the area, 1/3 to the Morman cattle ranch and 1/3 to the Federal Government. The site became both a clashing of cultures and a mixing of cultures. The NM is now on the Paiute Indian Reservation. After our tour of the spring, we headed on to St. George. While Leslie was getting her hair done, David ran around to pick up supplies and information. David stopped at the Public Lands Office in town and talked with the rangers about the roads and places to see in Grand Canyon Parchment NM. Following his discussion with the ranger he decided that the roads were passible by the Behemoth and that there are three really nice lookout points into the Grand Canyon we could visit as a day trip from Kanab. On our trip back we decided to run up into Kanab to get dinner before climbing back up to Jacobs Lake. We dined at the Wild Thyme Café and it was very good. We will have to go back when we are staying there in town. We drove over and scoped out the RV Park in town we will be staying at next week and decided it will work fine for our needs for a few weeks. The trip back up to Jacobs Lake was wet off and on due to showers in the area and having to watch for wild life.

Entrance Sign

Mormon Fort

Inside the Mormon Fort

Kitchen

Dining Hall

Meeting Room

Bedroom

Bedroom

Telegraph Line

Pipe Spring exit from the basement of the fort

Wagon

Irrigation Pond

15 May 2023 Page to Jacobs Lake AZ.

 The short drive (only 87 miles) was a bit of a nail biter. About 20 miles outside Page there is a 8% grade downhill that is a bit narrow and has some sweeping turns with no guard rails. From Page to the top of this hill is a gradual climb and with the warm temperatures, the transmission oil started heating up. Going down the hill, we dropped it into a lower manual gear, kicked in the engine brake and took our time going down. We only had to hit the brakes a couple of times in the steeper sections. Once we hit Lee’s Ferry, we started a 4500 foot up hill climb. Again, the transmission oil started heating up, but as we climbed, the outside air temperature dropped so it never went over 238F. Once again, the Behemoth did a superb job getting us to our next campground safely. We are staying at Kaibab Camper Village ($55 per night) which is located off a forest service road near where AZ67 and US89A meeting. They do not have WiFi, OTA or cable TV, but we are able to get a good DTV satellite signal even with all the trees. We have good cell service and our Verizon Hot Spot is working great. Our primary reason to be here is to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. But since the NP received over 25 feet of snow this winter, they have delayed the opening until 2 June. So, we are figuring out other things to do in the area. 

Stopped on the Climb up from Lee's Ferry to eat lunch and let the truck cool off. Vermilion Cliffs in the Background

Our site in Kaibab RV Peak

9-14 May 2023 Weather Woes

 Seems the Arizona monsoon season has started a month early. Rain has been hitting the higher elevations of Vermillion Cliffs NM and Grand Staircase Escalante NM so we have not taken a chance on getting stuck on muddy roads. So we spent the time working on next years New Zealand and Australia itineraries, making reservations and researching point of interest to hit. Its coming together bit by bit. Biggest success was getting a nice RV reserved for 21 days in New Zealand. We were a bit surprised to find out we would lose an entire Day on the flight down which will limit our time in Auckland. But the cruise ship stops there as well, so we figured out what we would do when we arrived and picked a tour off the cruise ship that was different. It’s going to be a great adventure down under!