Near Hurricane Utah

We are spending a few weeks near Hurricane just to the east of St George in Southern Utah just across the Arizona and Nevada state lines. This is sandstone desert country and the temperatures have been quite pleasant in the mid 70s most days.

Zion National Park is near here. Lots of massive sandstone cliffs including mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. This is huge mountain bike country as is much of southern Utah. There are also lots and lots of ATVs and quad tracks and various other off road vehicles as well.

This was taken in the town of Springdale which is the closest city to Zion. There are many hotels, B&Bs, and assorted eateries to be found here. The prices go up appreciably in the summer as that is the busiest tourist season. Much of the year access to the Zion main canyon is restricted to shuttle buses that run every 10 minutes. They are quite convenient.

This is just another example of the large and massive sandstone cliffs that are part of Zion. We did not go into the canyon part of the park as National Parks really restrict dogs. They are sometimes allowed on one trail but are really discouraged.

One day we took a ride up through part of Zion National Park and over to Bryce Canyon National Park. To Rainbow Point at the end of the drive in Bryce it is about 131 miles from where we are staying in Hurricane. Here is a tunnel that you encounter along the way carved in the sandstone.

Here is a view from Rainbow Point in Bryce back towards the entrance to the park. The elevation is about 9,115 feet. The main access road in Bryce, which is out and back about 18 miles in length, runs along a ridge with the majority of hoodoos and rock formations on the east side. The right hand side in this image is east and this provides a partial view of the enormity of Bryce.

Looking a little further east you can see more rocks. There are a lot of trails that lead down and through the various rock formations. Keep in mind that you typically start from the ridge line so the trails lead down to start your trek and back up to finish. It was a clear day and quite beautiful views.

This is in Bryce right along the drive out to Rainbow Point. It is called "Natural Bridge" but is really an arch, bridges are defined by water, this was wind created. It is located a short walk across a parking area. A really neat arch. Many of the formations and attractions in Bryce can be seen from various pull out points along the drive. Some really spectacular and up close views can be seen by hiking down and among the hoodoos.

Just to the right of the arch looking east is this rock formation. There are a diverse set of erosion factors at work here. You can find very fascinating examples of the power of erosion in every corner of this gorgeous sandstone country.

We are outside of Bryce now, heading back home. We had shown a highway tunnel earlier carved from the sandstone. Not far from that location, are these two formations. I am sure a geologist could explain why these two structures were left and the rest eroded away. Quite fascinating.

River Rock Roasting Company is a coffee house in the small town of La Verkin between Hurricane and Zion. We passed it several times on our travels and the parking lot was always packed. We stopped by there for lunch one day. Great place to eat and we can understand why it is always packed.

No we did not eat these though they did look tempting. They had a decent menu and lots of goodies such as you see here. They have wonderful pizza and salads and burgers. Great location right above one of the canyon rims for a nice view from the deck.

This was a sign on the wall at the Roastery. They did have a lot of great coffee varieties and lots of dishes so it appeared that if you violated their policies you understood the consequences.

We saw this RV as we looked around a different RV park for future reference. No it is not our new trailer. This one does seem to be lacking in aerodynamics and could exhibit a lot of lateral sway in heavy side winds. You see all kinds, shapes, and sizes of RV's when out traveling. Something for everyone.

It looks as if this fellow allows his human friends to come along for the ride while he enjoys the sites and sounds of the RV park. This unit was parked next to us for a couple of days and he certainly enjoyed the view and the warm sun.





We hope you enjoyed a brief tour around part of Southern Utah. We only wanted to show you enough images to pique your interest and not bore you to death with lots of rock pictures. Best Regards George & Deanna