2021 Spring Tour of the Southwest, 3.31.21 - 4.14.21, Part 4 of 11, Red Canyon/Kodachrome Basin

The state of Utah is so rich in amazing splendor they could have just simply made the whole state Utah National Park. Particularly, the southern portion of the state is a land that superlatives do not even come close to describing. In addition to what is known as “The Big Five National Parks" - Zion, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Arches and Canyonlands, areas of incomparable beauty are scattered all over the landscape. Some have protection while others are simply on public lands. It is a landscape that stirs the soul like no other place on earth. It can be vast and it can be intimate. The colors are more vivid and the light is purer. If there is such a thing as God’s Country, it is southern Utah.

I have barely even scratched the surface of this amazing place, I spent an incredible week in Arches and the Needles District of Canyonlands in 1989 and another epic trip to the San Rafael Swell and the Maze District of Canyonlands in 1990. I have not been back since. Bridgit had never set foot in the state. We were long overdue. Cathedral Gorge was incredible but we felt an overwhelming excitement as we drove out of there and aimed the Navibahn east on 319. In twenty short miles we crossed the state line from Nevada to Utah and made our way to Cedar City and the beginning of non-stop scenery. Red rock began to appear and the flats became canyons rich in layered strata. Snows still covered Cedar Breaks National Monument which sits at ten thousand feet. Connecting to Utah Highway 12, we marveled at all that laid before us. Coming around a corner, we were assaulted with a stunning display of reddish orange rock and a pullout was necessary to soak in what we were seeing. This was Red Canyon, a system of trails that permeate an area that is truly national park caliber but Utah is filled with places like this. We parked and walked around, following a short loop trail up and into the rocks. The sky was a brilliant azure which added incredible contrast to the scene and adding in the perfect temperatures in the upper seventies with a gentle breeze and I could have died and gone to heaven right then and there.

Red Canyon is very close to the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park and we passed that entrance on our way to the KOA in Cannonville, Utah. I’m not a big fan of RV campgrounds but our site had an incredible view of a huge mesa across the valley from us that just lit up as the sun was sinking. We arrived with plenty of time to set up and get a relaxing break before our next adventure. Hopping into the Corolla, we drove for about twenty minutes to Kodachrome Basin State Park. In my research for this trip I had looked the place up and wanted to take a late afternoon hike there which is exactly what we did. The ten dollar entrance fee was a bargain as far as I was concerned and we parked at the Oasis Group Camp lot to hike the Angel’s Palace Trail. This is a relatively short hike with several mini loops combined into a roughly two mile hike. Bridgit and I agreed that this was one of the most enjoyable hikes of our entire trip.