Spring 2022 Utah Adventure, 4.23.22 - 5.12.22, Part 1 of 12
It all began just over a year ago. Bridgit and I were driving the Navibahn across southern Utah on our way to meet up with our friends Mike and Sandy in Canyonlands National Park. It was the first time either one of us had driven the route along Utah’s Scenic Byway following UT-12 from Panguitch east to where it merges with UT-24 in Torrey and then on up to I-70 and over to the Island In The Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Some would argue that this stretch of road is perhaps the most scenic road in America. I’m not here to debate personal choices but I will tell you that this route is a non-stop assault on the senses with incredible ever-changing scenery along the entire route.
On that trip in the spring of 2021 we had briefly stopped in Red Canyon, watched the sun rise in Bryce Canyon with an added bonus hike through the Queen’s Garden/Navajo Loop and hiked the Angel’s Palace Trail in Kodachrome Basin as the sun set. From there we drove straight through to our meetup spot in Canyonlands. I was overwhelmed by how much gorgeous country we passed by along the way. By the time we dropped down and drove right through the stunning red rock of Capitol Reef I told Bridgit we had to come back and see more of this amazing state.
I think it was three days after returning from that trip that we traded in the Corolla we had been towing and bought a 2 door Jeep Wrangler. That decision opened up an entire world of possibility and I immediately began researching for a return to Utah. For this trip, Dana and Bob hopped on board and as plans evolved, others would meet up with us along the way. Planning a trip of this magnitude involves an amazing amount of research. Some of you might think that too much planning spoils the spontaneity but I would totally disagree. You can always deviate from a plan at a moments notice but research provides the greatest opportunity to see the best your time has to offer and for a photographer I can tailor my itinerary around when the light is best in all the places I plan to visit. However, there is much more involved than that in planning an itinerary that works for everyone involved. I wanted to balance the hikes so that there was a good mix of hikes we could all do, hikes that perhaps just Bridgit and I would enjoy and even allow for a couple of hikes that would be too hard for the others that I could either do alone or with Mike during the time we would rendezvous. Man does not live on hiking alone so I also looked into exploring with the Jeep. I suppose I could be accused of not planning enough down time but that is always a choice for anyone to make on any given day. The bottom line is I wanted an itinerary that had something for everyone, yet was packed with things to do and see. After a year of planning, I think that mission was a success.
Road Warriors
Just before our departure date, Bob and Dana bought a side by side so this would be its maiden voyage. It turned out to be a great source of fun and added many options to our trip plan. We left the dreary, rainy northwest on Saturday, April 23rd. With no need to push it too hard we stopped near the Oregon/Idaho border the first night which was about an eight hour drive. The next day we crossed into Idaho, turned south near Twin Falls and made our way down the east side of Nevada on US-93. A quick stop in Jackpot, Nevada allowed enough time for Bridgit and Dana to each lose a twenty spot before moving on to our next camp spot.
They say every time you slip a twenty into a slot machine an angel gets its wings!
Two things I was interested in doing on this trip was to reduce our camping costs and to opt for more scenic camping. RV parks are convenient, oftentimes geographically closer to the action and there is no denying that full hookups can be a nice perk. The downside is that many RV parks line you up like sardines in a tin leaving barely enough room between each RV for a picnic table. Ambience is thrown out the window so they can fit as many paying customers as possible in the campground, not to mention that RV parks are typically more expensive than other forms of camping.
Our RVs are designed to last several days without water or electrical hookups and even longer if we recharge with our generators. Acting on a tip I picked up from a great Navion/View Facebook group, I skipped the KOA in Ely, Nevada. We drove a bit further south and then took a fairly smooth gravel county road to Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park. It is seven miles off the highway. The road climbs up to Willow Creek Campground, a lovely little campground with only one loop nestled in a forest of sage and pinyon pine at 7,150’. Being fairly out of the way, I felt confident that we would have no trouble finding sites in the first come, first serve campground. As expected, there were only a few other sites spoken for and we settled into our camp for the night. Across the valley we had an excellent view of 13,065’ Wheeler Peak, the crown of Great Basin National Park which is another park I’m dying to visit.
After setting up camp we hopped in the Jeep and drove a very short way to Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park. This was a really cool place and I’m so glad we checked it out. Here we found some of the finest examples of charcoal ovens in the state of Nevada and reading the plaques about what they were, how they operated and the history of the area was quite interesting.
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park
Charcoal Ovens (Wheeler Peak in the background)
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park