Utah, May 15-17, 2013

Hi, We lucked out and found an available campsite within Zion National Park . This place has incredible scenery. We hiked a lot and rode the free shuttle all over the park.Because we have a motor home, we were required to get a special permit to go through the tunnel into the park. So, when we entered the park from the east we lead a line of vehicles by being able to drive down the middle of the tunnel. The weather was warm and sunny. Because of the recent warm weather, Utah is experiencing la big snow melt from the mountains. So,at our campsite we had a rapid stream running along the edge. After spending a day at Zion we left Thursday AM to drive toward Torrey, Utah. We decided to take the scenic route which is Utah state highway 12. It goes past Bryce and numerous state parks. We stopped at Kodachrome Basin State Park and hiked on what we thought was an easy/moderate trail. Maybe, a teenager thinks it is but we found that is was easy/moderate for about 100 feet. After that it was a bit exciting . The next mile and 1/2 were anything but easy/moderate. After getting back to the RV and not falling off a cliff we drove on. This "scenic" highway Utah 12, has many 8 to 10 percent grades. At one point on a ridge at the 8000 ft. level, the road was literally just 2 lanes wide with no shoulder and the sides dropping off to several feet down (on both sides). Of course there is no guard rail. We then continued on and camped in a beautiful national forest campground called "Singletree" in the Dixie National Forest at 8000 ft. elevation. Beth & I are still having problems walking around at that elevation.It was a lot cooler there than down at the 5000 ft. level. We then left Friday AM and drove to Cortez , Colorado where Mesa Verde National Park is located.

The first 3 are of  Zion. The flower and trail pictures were taken at Kodachrome Basin State Park and the last picture is of the drive on Highway 12, south of Hanksville, Utah.