November Camping Trip - Utah and Arizona

 We decided to go "Chasing 75"again!  That's 75 degrees.  We left after a big snow and drove right through New Mexico to spend 4 weeks in Arizona and Utah.  We spent just one night in NM because they are closed to visitors due to high Covid numbers.  

We followed the weather, with our first stop at Petrified Forest Nat'l Park, then going to Phoenix, AZ area and Lake Pleasant (loved it, kayaked a lot and rode on mtn. bike trails) for one week, and got to visit my friend Madeline for election night and the next day at her beautiful home in Sun City. We hiked at Cave Creek area, rode bikes on a river trail, explored.

Then went north to Sedona area, including camping at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (with good bike trails) and a visit to Tuzigoot National Monument. Weather got better so we headed to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, to Zion and Bryce Nat'l Parks in Utah, to Lake Powell at Page, AZ, and amazing slot canyons.

Then we went south again to Roosevelt Lake, east of Phoenix to hike and kayak (chilly).  And from there, due to cold weather, headed back through NM to get home.  What a great trip!  We got to bike, hike, kayak, and see amazing scenery.  We loved southern Utah.

Again we learned SO MUCH about our camper.  We realize we need more battery power since we like to be off the grid more than in a campground with power.  Scott and I are good about putting our heads together to figure out the issues that arise.  A good time was had by all!

Antelope Canyon on Lake Powell, near Paige AZ

Access by land with a Navajo guide was closed due to Covid, so we blew up our kayaks and paddled 1.5 miles to get to the canyon, then hiked.  Colors and formations were spectacular!

Our favorite campsite was Beehive, above Lake Powell, with no services.  Here we hiked on the "New Wave" rock formation with beautiful lines and colors and no other people.  We tried 5 times but never got chosen for The Wave lottery from Kanab. 

At Bryce National Park, UT.  It's so beautiful there but we saw plenty of other people on the Queen's Garden trail.  I love love love Bryce.

Angel's Landing hike up up up at Zion National Park.  We did not do the steep top section with chain to hang on to.  It was slick and I'm a wimp about heights.  What a beautiful hike!

a mule train in the Grand Canyon on Kaibab trail.

We did a good amount of biking and most of it was difficult for us.  These trails

These Arizona trails with so many cactus were mostly fun and somewhat challenging.  The trails around Lake Pleasant were tough but we saw few people on them.  

Tuzigoot National Monument, built by early people of stones, near Sedona, AZ.

A view in Sedona, AZ.  We hiked at the Bell/Rock Courthouse area, spent Scott's birthday in Jerome, and enjoyed incredible scenery and outdoor activities.  Sedona itself is crowded but worth hanging out in its outdoor areas.

At Lake Powell area, short and crowded hike to Horseshoe bend.  

We camped at Carefree Manor (months long residents there) on the weekend because we couldn't find any campsites (near Phoenix).  We laugh about it but it was clean, cheap, with a good laundry and great showers.

Did a good amount of kayaking on Lake Pleasant and loved it there.

We loved the cactus.  These are teddy bear and there were huge sugauro and prickly pear and others we couldn't name.  Loved them from a distance.

Petrified Forest National Park.  We tried to go there two years but it closed because Trump let the government shut down.  So we finally got there and it was very interesting!