Kanab, UT

SUN., OCT 23, 2022 thru SAT., OCT 29, 2022

We travelled a whopping 74 miles from Virgin, UT (Zion) to Grand Plateau RV Resort in Kanab, UT, traveling into Arizona briefly then back into Utah since Kanab is just this side of the Arizona border. As we were leaving the Zion area, we saw snow on the mountains. That was a first! Once again we are blessed with mountain views at this campground which is only half full. 

We are here for a week and finally had a chance to play some Cornhole one afternoon. It had been a few months so we were all a bit rusty… except for Joe who played just fine! A fun time, and we all improved as the afternoon wore on. We had the boards at regulation length of 27 ft., and we had a stool marking the halfway point. If a bag didn’t make it past that stool, it was a mulligan and you got a do over. lol. The girls had a few do overs. Not so much the guys. After cornhole that afternoon we enjoyed Happy Hour then headed to the hot tub for a pre-dinner soak.

Monday morning, Oct. 24th, we had a brief snow shower! Once the temps reached a more comfortable 50 degrees in the afternoon, the pod visited the Pipe Spring National Monument. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit! They have an excellent visitors center and an informative film about the relationship between the Mormons and the native Paiutes. The Mormons came to this area with their “plural” wives after being persecuted because of polygamy in other parts of the country. Pipe Spring also includes original buildings: Winsor Castle (a fort), 2 stone cabins, masonry ponds, original stone retaining walls, a garden that’s 1,000 years old (wow!) and a walking trail that overlooks the Grand Canyon North Rim in the far distance and the Vermillion Cliffs of Northern Arizona. There even was a sampling of the 995 miles of wire for the “Deseret Telegraph” system that connected Pipe Spring to other Mormon communities across the U.S. in the late 1870s.

Now the Paiute nation owns 188 square miles (just over 120,000 acres) with 5 small villages scattered across their reservation. A small but powerful and moving national monument that we were grateful for the opportunity to visit on a beautiful fall afternoon.

On Wednesday, Oct. 26th, the pod visited Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Kanab, UT. The “coral pink” color of the sand is a bit more of a “rusty orange” but hey still absolutely gorgeous! The color comes from Navajo sandstone beds with a high concentration of iron oxides that are prevalent all over this area. There are 1,200 acres of sand dunes at this park and 90 percent are open to OHV use. 

First we walked a half mile nature trail before we ventured off to walk to the top of one of the dunes. That was a workout! Cheryl and I took our shoes off and walked in bare feet. The sand was so soft and cool underfoot. Delightful experience! We also got a kick out of some of the vegetation in the area. What we thought were dried up sunflowers all over the dunes, were instead “rough mulesears.” Named for the shape of the leaves. They are fuzzy and the hairy leaves reduce water consumption.

Visiting this state park was the main reason for staying in Kanab. Totally worth it! Loved our day!

Gary put together a short video of our visit to Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP…

After visiting Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP, the pod headed to Moqui Cave on the way home. It’s an actual cave that was purchased in 1951 by Laura and Garth Chamberlain. (Yes, you could purchase a cave back then!) At the time this area was known as Little Hollywood. Lots of movies were filmed in the area. But the actors complained of no place to buy a beer and no place to cool off. It was hot! The Chamberlains bought the cave then opened a tavern and dance hall the following year. But over time there were too many bar fights, so they converted it to a museum. Garth Chamberlain was an archeologist among other things and collected a wide range of historical artifacts. Now the cave is operated by his grandson who collected our $6 entrance fee and gave us a lay of the land. The museum is in three “rooms” of the cave. $6 may have been a little high. But they did have a collection of fluorescent minerals which was the coolest thing in the cave. 

A glimpse of our RV Park in Kanab, Utah. Compliments of Gary.

Thursday we all did our own thing and got together later in the afternoon to play a game… SkipBo… I won but who’s counting. Friday, Oct. 28th, was my birthday! It was a fabulously relaxing day… hubby made pancakes for breakfast; I chatted on the phone half the morning with family and friends; we played a marathon session of Mexican Train in the afternoon with the Hannafords (Cheryl won by a landslide); and a terrific evening dining experience at a local restaurant in Kanab UT with our wonderful ‘pod’! A perfect way to spend my 64th birthday! On Saturday, Gary cleaned our tiny home, and I went for a 2-mile walk with Cheryl around the campground, and we did other chore-type stuff. A quiet day! 

After four weeks in Utah, we leave this beautiful state tomorrow. We’ve seen all five National Parks… known as the Mighty Five! Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion… all are magnificent in their own right. Zion was perhaps our least favorite but that could be because it was the most crowded and the last one that we saw. Jaded perhaps? We would go back to any of the others in a heartbeat. Bryce was Gary’s and my favorite with Arches a close second. We’ve visited 3 State Parks… Dead Horse Point, Kodachrome Basin, and Coral Pink Sand Dunes… again all absolutely gorgeous. We saw Red Canyon (part of Dixie National Forest) known as a mini-Bryce, Pipe Springs National Monument and even a ghost town! Just a fabulous time in this amazing state! No wonder the past three days we’ve been chillin’ at home and playing games with the Hannafords. We need to catch our breath and cleanse the palate to prepare for our month in Arizona which begins tomorrow!