*Birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove, Gamble’s quail, western tanager, roadrunner, violet-green swallow, California condor, great blue heron, mountain bluebird, wild turkey, black-chinned hummingbird
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 13
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 2
*Total number of Jr. Ranger badges so far: 13
[Click on any picture to enlarge…then arrow back to the blog]
You’ll notice tha
t there are many similarities between this year’s summer tour and last year’s as our plan was to visit several of the same national parks again, but instead of starting up north and then heading south, we reversed it hoping it would be cooler down south and warmer up north by the time we got to each this year. However, we’ve already hit temps in the low 100s in NV and we read that it’s still chilly in WY. In fact on our drive to Bryce Canyon National Park in UT (www.nps.gov/brca), we still saw evidence of snow. Our route took us through Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, and two tunnels. (If you’d like to view last year’s trip, click on August2009Bryce.) 
This year instead of staying at the campground just outside the park, we made reservations at one of the campgrounds inside the park. There are 99 campsites but only 13 can be reserved in advance, all the rest are first-come, first-served, and with our size RV, we could only stay in the A or B loop, meaning our choice of sites was more limited than the 99. None of the sites have hook-ups (meaning no water, sewer, or electric), but we can be quite self-sufficient for several days. Back in Feb. Russ had made a reservation for 1 night in June in the A loop, but a couple weeks ago we decided we’d like to try to stay 3 or 4 nights. Of course, there were no more reservations available so we were going to have to take our chances and hopefully get lucky.
Shortly after we arrived at North Campground, the camp host came by and confirmed that this particular site was already reserved for the rest of the week but gave us some pointers on possibly getting one of those first-come, first-served spots. A little while later we drove through the campground looking to see what sites might work in terms of size and satellite reception, and for indications of who might be leaving the next morning (tags with the departure date are on each site but some folks wait till the next morning to pay for the next day). We spotted a couple sitting outside at a spot we thought would work in the B loop so Russ decided to ask them if they were indeed leaving the next morning. They confirmed that they would be leaving at 6 AM, so we made a plan to be there by 6:30 to put our tag on that spot and leave the car till we could move the RV. The plan worked! For the next 3 nights we had another great spot with a view of the trees and shade in the morning since Russ pulled into the s
ite instead of backing in. How lucky we were since the campgrounds here fill up quickly this time of year!Bryce Canyon is one of the best locations in the U.S. for viewing the night sky because of the lack of light pollution, and Tues. night there was an astronomy program at the Visitor Center. Since we had attended the lecture part last year, we decided to skip it this time around and just head over about 9:45 for the telescope viewing. Around 100 people arrived after the lecture, and the rangers had 4 large telescopes of varying sizes set up with 3 of them tracking Saturn…how I wish we could include a picture of what we saw! It is truly an amazing sight, and this time 6 of Saturn’s moons were also in view. Of course, they look like small dots on either side of the planet and the ranger even rattled off their names. By the way, did you know that Saturn actually has 62 moons?? While waiting in line for another view, a meteor was spotted blazing across the night sky (though the ranger said it was probably a piece of space junk). The fourth telescope was trained on the sliver of the moon…a viewing that still never ceases to amaze!
Thurs. we loaded the dogs in the car since they are allowed on paved trails. We parked at the Lodge, and took the path out back to the Rim Trail. This trail can take you from 1 mile to 11 miles roundtrip, and we walked about 1.5 miles roundtrip, past Sunset Point to Inspiration Point and back. Wh
at incredible views! One of the other trails will lead you down into the canyon but that was a little too ambitious for us. Besides we couldn’t take the dogs…that’s our story and we’re sticking to it! After getting back in the car, we drove to Bryce Point at an elevation of 8300 ft. for more spectacular views.
The next day we left Bryce Canyon heading for Torrey, UT. This 113-mile drive once again took us along Hwy. 12, one of the great scenic byways in the country. As you may recall from last year, Hwy. 12 is quite a winding road, and for a number of miles at the top of the ridge there are straight drop-offs on both sides and minimal shoulders. The picture on the right simply does not do justice to the experience of driving along that n
arrow ridge. Though the view is spectacular, Russ doesn't get to enjoy it much since he's concentrating on staying on the road! The highway rises to a summit of 9600 ft., weaving in and out of Dixie National Forest, and at one point we pulled over to stretch our legs and enjoy the view.
We arrived at Sandcreek RV Park (http://www.sandcreekrv.com/) in Torrey mid-afternoon, ending up in the same site as last year. Place hasn’t improved any but the lady who runs it is nice. The whole purpose of this night’s stay was to once again have dinner across the street at Café Diablo (http://www.cafediablo.net/), a treat we had put in the budget way back but debated a couple of times about skipping. In the end we decided we really don’t eat out very much, we’d ski
p the pricey margaritas this time, and would consider it as a celebration of our 3 year anniversary on the road. The inside is nothing fancy, a fairly casual place in fact, but the food is incredible. Café Diablo has won many awards and is listed in The New York Times Bestseller 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before Your Die. All desserts, ice cream, and breads are homemade on the premises and a patio-side garden supplies fresh herbs an
d vegetables. Each table receives a small plate of tapas to start…fresh roasted veggies, cheese, and bread. Like last year, we split the Rattlesnake Cakes appetizer served with two yummy dipping sauces and a red cabbage slaw. It is actually free-range rattlesnake, and no it doesn’t taste like chicken. With the southwest spices added, it actually tastes like Taco Bell meat! For our entrée we both decided to try something different even though last year’s were scrumptious and still on the menu. Russ chose the Crown Rack of Glazed Ribs that are slow roasted in a chipotle, molasses, and rum glaze, and I chose the Beef Fla
nk Steak Carbon with a potato straw column in the middle. The restaurant is known for its fancy presentations as you can see in the photo above right. The ribs were actually rolled and standing on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes to hold them up. At first Russ didn’t think there was much meat, but it was rolled so tight that it turns out there was quite a bit. Of course, no matter how full you are, they bring over the pewter dessert tray with all their homemade pastries and each comes with a scoop of their homemade ice cream. We decide to share the layered chocolate cake with a scoop of raspberry truffle ice cream…yummm!! Another fantastic meal at Café Diablo, and this time under $100 including tip.
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