12 Oakdale

No more snow driving from Bryce to Zion, just desert scrub. I’m still enjoying the heated seat and steering wheel. We saw a cattle drive off in the distance with cowboys on horses. A while later we passed another one right beside the road. Ten cowboys, 3 sheriff’s cars with flashing lights, many, many cows. I slowed down to a crawl, assuming that was the accepted protocol. From the cow poop in the road for the next 5 miles, it seemed if we had been a little earlier, we could have actually been in the midst of the herd as they headed east.  I’d come from Zion to Bryce when I traveled here with Peg and Bob maybe 10 years ago. But I was in the back of their camper and had limited views. This time, seeing the checkerboard cliffs from the front of the car, I was staggered by their beauty. Because traffic backed up, I ducked into the bathroom parking lot right before the tunnel. A chance to pee and to have a look around. The park was absolutely packed. Only shuttle buses allowed up canyo...

I have 7 layers on and am still cold here at Bryce Canyon National Park, but it is worth it. This morning we got up at 3:45 and saw the Milky Way at Sunrise Point. 22°. We were the only people there. Just as we got out of the car, I saw a meteorite. We walked out to the overlook and sat for a while on the bench. Then, throughly frozen, we drove to Farpoint to see the sunrise. Thank goodness for the heated seats and steering wheel in the Jeep Compass we rented. And thank goodness I made Grant buy a park sweatshirt since then he could give me his red windbreaker. Even with tights under my pants and 2 pairs of socks, my legs and feet are cold. Yes, we could have packed bulky warm clothes but we are only here overnight to see the dark skies. We started our trip flying into Salt Lake City 4 days ago to see new granddaughter Hazel Maeve and to attend the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival. 2 birds… Hazel is absolutely darling. I know, I know, a doting grandmother would say that, but she is. And s...

We must have the shadiest campsite in the park, A10. Normally good; bad for using our solar panels to charge our Jackery battery. I said, after dealing with ice at Yellowstone last year, I was buying a Dometic camping fridge. Which we did, using an Amazon card for a 5% rebate and having a 20% off coupon. Still about $1500 for the setup. Not having soggy cold food: priceless. Fortunately, the Tacoma has an AC outlet in the bed, so we plug either the fridge or the battery in when we drive. We can also charge phones, iPads, and Grant’s hearing aides from either battery or car. Not exactly camping like my parents did. We have cell service at our site. I suspect this is more a bleed over from all the nearby towns rather than the National Park Service having added towers. This means I can read downloaded library books on my iPad while lying on my cot. Yes, we’ve added cots to our baggage, thank goodness, (even though I find mine pretty uncomfortable), because there is no way I could get up f...