Driving West of Tropic, Utah Hwy 12 goes uphill on to the Paunsaugunt Plateau crossing Bryce Canyon National Park. (The East side of the P. Plateau is Bryce Canyon NP where the natural erosion exposes the colorful soft rock.) I turned South in the Dixie National Forest on Forest Service road 087. There are so many free legal camps there for individuals and groups. I drove by Tropic Reservoir and Tropic Springs. I turned West on Forest Service road 105 going up the Kanab Creek canyon. I picked out a large group site for my camp that would hold about twenty trucks, and lots of people. I fixed some dinner and did the all important "goof off" while enjoying the sunset. I saw no traffic there on FS 105. The next morning I had my normal ... read more

It was late in the afternoon when I got to Torrey, Utah. I turned South on Utah Scenic Hwy 12 for my legal camp in the Boulder Mountains. I could see that the Boulder Mountains were getting heavy rain. About ten miles South of Torrey I entered the Dixie National Forest and uphill to the Boulder Mountains. I drove up to where the Ponderosa Pines were tall and made camp in the dryness of the leeward side of the Boulder Mountains. I have camped at this spot before, and I call this "Pine Camp". I had some trail mix for my dinner and got into the back of of my truck for needed sleep. Within an hour I could hear heavy rain on my camper shell, but I was warm and dry. (In 2017 I camped ... read more

This blog is about crossing Utah Hwy 95 through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, part of the USA National Parks. The park crosses the lower White Canyon draining into the Colorado River (and the smaller Dirty Devil River) then up to a great scenic overlook; then up the lower North Wash (draining down into the Colorado River) where the park ends and the BLM land takes you to Hanksville, Utah. Now that park used to have free dispersed camping, but times have changed and camping is not legal. I drove across White Canyon then over the White Canyon bridge. Then I drove across several other small canyons (including the canyon with the de-funked Hite Marina with its now dry boat launch). Then I drove over the Colorado River and the Dirty Devil River. Then the highway ... read more

Now this blog is from my 2017 travel camping adventure, but relevant to my current blogs. According to Wikipedia, Comb Ridge is a geologic monocline fault running North-South about 80 miles from the Abajo Mountains in Southern Utah to near Kayenta, Arizona. There is a number of very old Puebloan cliff dwellings and other ruins along that fault. There is also a number of Tritylodont fossils there. Going Westbound on Utah Hwy 95 from Blanding, the East Side of Comb Ridge has white sandstone rising upward above the surrounding area. When they built Utah Hwy 95 they used explosives to blast open that top sandstone to make the highway route possible. The land sunk over 600 feet down (West side) with a switchback going down through the reddish rock. (Note: there are strict "no parking" signs ... read more

It would take less then an hour to drive the highway from Monticello to Blanding. That is an interesting drive but the Forest Service dirt road is a wonderful experience. Free backcountry camping is legal, with one possible exception with a no camping sign. (Fair deal.) I went Westbound on Abajo Drive that Quickly turned into FS road 079. Then FS turned left and turned into a narrow dirt road where my driving fun began. As I drove uphill the ecology changes due to more rain and snow then the desert below. I love driving the switchbacks going up the mountains. The Aspen and Fir trees get very nice as I gain altitude. I wanted to camp at the mountain pass as there is a very neat rough road driving up a ridge for more privacy. ... read more