Southern Utah 2014

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Of course, unless you LIVE in southern Utah, you have to get there. For us, towing our little travel trailer, it is mostly a two day drive. We stopped our first night at the Pony Express RV park NW of Salt Lake City. Yeah, there is highway noise, but the WiFi is good, and the bathrooms are great. It is right on the Jordan River Parkway, a very long greenway, so after setting up for the night, we headed out for a 45 minute walk

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Because the Squaw Flats campground in Canyonlands is so tough to get into, one needs to stage "nearby", get up early, and try to get one of the 26 campsites. We picked a small RV park in Monticello, Utah. Whew, what a night: low of 21, snow, sleet, etc. Glad we had a little electric heater in the trailer

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But good things come to those who plan, and "lurk" near campsites where the campers look like they are packing up and leaving. Also, it helps to be lucky. So we got a nice campsite in Squaw Flats campground, and now, it is time to put on hiking shoes and/or boots and get out on a trail.

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We picked the so-called Slickrock foot trail, for an easy afternoon warm up. No, we don't need to practice following rock cairns. Just looking for some exercise and good views. The fact that you can see that Susie is hiking in one of her "nanopuff" jackets tells you something about the temperature

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A nice view of fresh snow on the La Sal Mountains to the Northeast.

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Susie working on her composition. Note the needles in the far right of the photo.

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Some nice blooming Paintbrush

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Roger is dressed like he is snowshoeing in winter. Well..... The breeze was significant and hey, why be cold.

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There was a tiny arch, maybe 6 feet long, that Susie was working to photograph. It is tough to do so where you can tell it is an arch.

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Her photo

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One of the many nice views down into one of the many canyons around. Look at the pinnacle to the left of center.

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Did you see the little arch?

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After dinner, we climbed up behind our campsite and photographed some of the pothole pools. Lots of sleet and hail the previous evening.

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Susie working with her camera

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One of the gillion photos we took. Nice evening lighting.

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This was the night of the lunar eclipse. Here is the mood rising

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A butte with the moon.

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The moon just about at full eclipse. Tough to photograph when it was sub-freezing. We had gotten up at 11:45 and stayed out about an hour.

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Next morning, Susie took this photo across from our campsite. Good view of some of the Needles.

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Today, we decided to hike what is recommended to be one of the best loops in the Needles area: Big Spring canyon to Squaw canyon.

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Shortly after the start, one has to climb over a low canyon wall. Get used to crossing slickrock. There is a lot of it on this hike.

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After one crosses the low wall, more great views. BTW, despite what the author of the Wow Guide that covers this hike says, this is NOT a scamper. It is a demanding hike for most folks, with some exposure.

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OK, guess we are in Big Spring Canyon

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Nice blue sky and cool temps