Blogs from Utah, United States, North America - page 5

Data wycieczki: 25 - 28 maj 2019. Wzdłuż południowej granicy Utah z Arizoną rozciąga się jeden z największych chronionych obszarów w Stanach: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. „National monument”, czyli literalnie „pomnik narodowy”, to coś w rodzaju naszych obszarów Natura 2000. Podobnie jak parki narodowe, są to tereny należące do rządu federalnego, ale stopień ochrony jest niższy. Nie orientuję się dokładnie co i w jakim zakresie jest chronione w takich obszarach, ale, przykładowo, zasady rozbijania namiotów są dużo mniej restrykcyjne niż w parkach narodowych. Szczegóły zależą od parku i obszaru: w każdym konkretnym przypadku warto zaznajomić się z zasadami i - być może - opłacić odpowiedni permit. Ale z reguły kemping jest dozwolony w bardziej dzikich i oddalonych obszarach. Pomnik Grand Staircase-Escalante został powołany do życia w 1996 roku przez prezydenta ... read more

Green River and Hanksville are two small towns on the verge of turning into ghost towns, while simultaneously being perfect starting points for the exploration of the nearby areas. Green River is located at the intersection of the Green River (i.e., the actual river), a major tributary of the Colorado River, and the I-70 interstate from Los Angeles to Denver. The main source of income for the inhabitants of Green River is tending to the travelers on the interstate, a few cheap hotels and campsites for people who (like us) cannot afford staying in Moab and… melons production. For more than 100 years Green River is a host for the annual Melon Days . And a giant, wooden watermelon with a diesel engine is safely parked under the roof in a parking lot close to the ... read more

Date of the trip: 15 - 18 May 2019 This was my third visit to the Canyonlands National Park and, I hope, not the last. The park is situated in the middle of a great desert, but it’s naturally divided into three distinct parts by the Colorado River and the Green River. The north-eastern part, called Island in the Sky, is the most accessible one. It so happens I haven’t been there yet. The south-eastern part is the Needles, I had visited it twice already and it was breathtaking. Now the time came for the wildest and the most remote part: the Maze. It’s the inaccessibility of the Maze that makes the trip so special. This part of Canyonlands is actually one of the most remote place in the entire USA. The entrance point is a ... read more

Like everyone, all major trips have been put on hold due to Covid. But we decided to take a car camping/road trip to explore some of the areas nearby. And we confirmed what we had heard. Campgrounds were crowded! On one hand, it was great to see so many families enjoying the parks, but it did make just showing up at a campground fairly difficult, even in the 1st week of Oct! Most everyone were wearing masks on the trails and the outhouses almost all had hand sanitizer dispensers inside. They were also incredibly clean and well stocked! I am not sure how they were able to manage this, especially in the day use and porta potties. Our first stop was City of Rocks about 4 hours SE of Boise, known for its rock formations, rock ... read more

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