Sunday & Monday, May 20 & 21, 2018
Pongo and I headed out for a week-long road trip on Sunday. Our destination was the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park to meet some friends and reflect on the life of our friend Malcolm who passed away a year ago.
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| Las Vegas, Nevada |
We started our trip with a drive to Las Vegas. We took I-5 South to Buttonwillow then cut over to Bakersfield, then through the Mojave Desert. I love driving through that desert. I think it's beautiful. I've never been successful with photos of the place, though.
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| Las Vegas, NV |
As is usual when I have Pongo with me, we stayed at the Motel 6 on Dean Martin Drive. No trips to the casino or anything like that. We go for a walk once the lights go down and that's about all of the excitement for the day there. Well, except on this trip there was an EDM festival going on so the motel parking lot was full of young women walking around in lingerie. I guess that's what folks wear to these things. I wasn't complaining. The motel has thick walls and loud air conditioning so we always sleep well there.
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| Zion National Park, UT |
The next morning we headed East with the intent to camp someplace in Southwest Utah, with a handful of potential destinations in mind. I figured we'd drive until it felt right. I wasn't even sure which route we'd take.
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| Zion National Park, UT |
As is obvious from the pictures, we took Highway 89 through Zion National Park. That narrowed our cmping choices down nicely. It also made for a nice scenic detour through the crowded national park.
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| Zion National Park, UT |
It's funny, I don't have a favorable impression of Zion. I've driven through it twice now, once in Spring and once in Fall, and both times it seemed insufferably crowded. However, everyone I know that has visited the park absolutely loved it. So, I guess at some point I'll need to join the throng and see what this park is all about. It certainly has amazing scenery.
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| Pongo Wants to Drive, Zion National Park, UT |
After driving through Zion, our camping choice was obvious. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, which was about an hour East. The state parks in Utah are great for the way we travel. Camp sites are usually available if we get there early enough and they allow dogs on leash everywhere that people can hike.
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT |
The sand definitely is an interesting color. After a while my eyes got used to it and it just looked like sand. This place is big with dune buggy folks. Most of the dunes are open for riding on off-road vehicles, so it was a little noisy. It was fun to watch them driving around. Pongo and I had a nice nap on the dunes.
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT |
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| Pongo, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT |
Nice to see you're getting out. I recommend Zion during winter when not crowded and can often drive your own vehicle up the Virgin River canyon road. I am glad not all of Coral Pink is open to OHV.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gaelyn. Yeah, it's been a while. I've been working on some projects at home so less time for travel. Hopefully I can find a nice balance.
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