Grand Circle Trip Report from a Lurker
Sep 24th, 2014 | 09:49 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 23
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Grand Circle Trip Report from a Lurker
Hi all,
DH and I just returned yesterday (9/23) from an 11 day/10 night fabulous trip around Las Vegas, Southern Utah and northern Arizona. There were so many threads about variations of our itinerary that I never posted one of my own but "stole" a bunch of ideas from all of you, so thanks so much everyone, and here is my report.
Sept. 13: 7 am flight from Oakland CA to Las Vegas NV, arrive 8:30 am. Picked up our AWD crossover from Hertz,at the airport location. Got a good deal from Southwest Airlines. Deal turned out to be slightly less good when we discovered that adding DH as driver would add $11.00/day. In California there is no charge for adding spouse as driver.; not so in NV, we were told. Some rates do include spouses (AAA. AARP). Southwest not one of them. Ya learn somethin' new every day. DH balked at charge so I got to do all the driving.
The major flooding that occurred the weekend before in the LV area had closed a portion of I-15 and a detour had been set up, which, as it happened, took us through our planned route through Valley of FIre State Park. We stopped in Las Vegas at a Mariana's Supermarket to buy a cooler, ice, water, beer, etc. Ended up having lunch at the in-store food service--terrific chicken in mole sauce with beans and rice for me, pozole for DH. One of the great pleasures of travel--great food in a totally unexpected place. Got some bemused/amused looks from the locals who were perhaps not expecting to see a couple of gringos eating lunch in their market at 11am on a Saturday in LV. Sorry, I don't remember which location; I gather it's a local chain. Well worth a stop. The pan dulces looked awesome too but DH was eager to be on our way to Valley of Fire so off we headed.
As it turned out, the Nevada DOT had managed to get one lane of I-15 North open to cars but not trucks--so most of the traffic went that way, meaning no backups for us into Valley of Fire. OTOH, the state had waived the entrance fee, so we scored a little freebie--though ended up making a donation anyway at the Visitor's Center. Go State Parks! Anyway, Valley of Fire turned out to be a great introduction to the wonders yet to come. I should mention here that DH has lived 55 years on this earth without ever visiting the southwest, and my one and only visit was 40 years ago when I was, um, like 13 years old, like, whatever. So we were both gawking, google-eyed tourists and I think VOF is the perfect introduction. Not sure if we would have been equally impressed if we had stoppped on our way back, but I would still be happy to return there. It was 98 degrees so we drove, gawked, took "ptchers' and drove some more.
Our destination that day was Kanab, UT. It was about 2:30 pm when we left VOF, and we headed up I-15 and turned onto Highway 59 in Hurricane, gaining an hour once we crossed into UT. Took 59 to 359 to 89A into Kanab---a gorgeous drive that we dawdled along, stopping to shoot many photos by the wayside. I should mention that DH had acquired a new I Phone two days before this trip started so he had a new toy to play with. Even with all the dawdling, stops for ice cream, etc. we still made it easily into Kanab in time to check into our excellent motel, Canyons Lodge, and get out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in time for sunset viewing. Spent an hour or so out there, drove back into Kanab and cleaned up to prepare for our 8:30 dinner reservation at Rockin' V, We were glad we'd reserved as the place was packed, even at 8:30. Lots of Europeans eating there, and they are accustomed to later dining times so we had plenty of company. Food was good but honestly nothing special by San Francisco standards. We ate there both nights we stayed in Kanab, and though the grilled pork chop was delicious, everything else was fine but nothing I would go back for except if I was in Kanab where Rockin' V seems pretty much the only game in town.. The service was uneven, with a good-natured but spacey waiter one night, and a spunky but overworked waitress the next. We overheard one of the other waiters speak rudely to a group of foreigners whose English was not fluent. "You don't even understand what I'm saying to you, do you?" he snapped at them-- within earshot of our, and presumably several other, tables. Hmmm.
In any case, we weren't in Kanab for the food. At 10 am next morning, Don from Dreamland Safari Tours picked us up at Canyons Lodge (which incidentally is right across the street) and off we went for a full-day jaunt to a magical place called White Pocket.
I would attach pictures here but I dropped my camera/phone in the Virgin River at the end of the trip (more on that later) so you will just have to google White Pocket and peruse the images that come up. The place is stunningly, gobstoppingly, ridiiculously beautiful. Seriously, it looks like something out of a computer-generated movie set, but..IT'S REAL! Furthermore, because it's difficult to get to, ( involving about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive, the last half of which is over a deep sand road that eats hapless drivers for lunch, ) there are few visitors there. In fact, the day we went, Sunday Sept 14th, we were the ONLY ones there. We had the whole gol'durned place to ourselves. White Pocket is in the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area and there is a condor-viewing site along the way (and yes, we did see an actual condor, something we have never managed to accomplish even though we live in California and have gone out looking to see see them several times). You need good binoculars to see them, which Don, our guide, obligingly provided. White Pocket turned out to be one of the top, if not the very top, highlight of an all-highlight trip, I would not advise driving to White Pocket alone unless you have a great deal of experience driving in deep (and I mean deep--like, many feet deep--) sand. Dreamland Safari was easy to work with, provided a bountiful lunch and lots and lots of water. There are no facilities, water, bathrooms, etc at White Pocket though there is a bathroom at the condor site. But the walking is done up, done, across, and over the slick rock and it would be a fabulous place to take kids, especially older ones. Even grouchy teenagers are likely to be impressed. There are not yet permit requirements for White Pocket, probably because it's so remote that it doesn't attract hordes of tourists, but given what has happened at the Wave, it's likely that a similar sort of permitting system will eventually be implemented. So if you are thinking about going there, go now, is my advice.
We returned to Kanab about 7:30pm, happy to be back to Canyons Lodge which is a very comfortable, hospitable place, clean and pretty, with green lawns, hammocks, a small but very inviting pool area, and breakfast buffet served next door in the Victorian Inn, a sister property We stayed in #17, which is upstairs in one of the main buildings, two queen beds that were comfortable and the room spacious enough to suit. If you stay there, be aware that rooms 1 and 2 are in a separate small building that opens right onto the sidewalk/street, which is a little different. The interior of room 2 looked the same as ours (we walked by on the sidewalk and could see inside because the maid was cleaning the room) so I 'm sure it's equally comfortable, just more exposed.
Monday Sept.16th we said goodbye to Kanab and headed up 89. We stopped at The Rock Stop in Orderville for espresso and rock gawking (we are rock hounds) and found some nice specimens that seemed to need a home. Also we are big fans of hokey tourist attractions and The Rock Shop fits the bill with its, um, unusual architecture, Also there are goats, Also a dinosaur. And a weather predicting stone. And a Flintstone-mobile (I am dating myself here, aren't I?) Anyway, the very friendly proprietor sells rocks, ice cream, gits, and espresso. We bought $30.00 worth of rocks and he comped us our cofffee drinks. Good show.
After coffee refreshment, we drove on, stopped briefly at Red Valley, which was pleasant, then went on to Bryce Canyon. The weather was mildly showery but had mostly cleared by the time we arrived, which was about lunchtime. We had had a big breakfast so skipped lunch in favor of Cliff Bars and hiking in the hoodoos, which we did, walking partway down the Sunrise Point trail and back and then along the Rim Trail just as far as Sunset Point. We really shortchanged Bryce I think but DH was satisfied with what he saw and has the 200 pictures to prove it. We finished up our hike around 4 and headed back to Highway 12 toward our evening's destination, which was Boulder Mountain Resort, with a 7:30 dinner reservation at Hell's Backbone Grill. The restaurant is everything Fodorites say it is, hands' down the best food of our trip, both for dinner and for breakfast the next morning. We didn't stop to hike at all the myriad options along HIghway 12 but next time we will return and focus more on Escalante-Grand Staircase as the scenery along 12 is as spectacular as advertised. Though I think the hoopla about driving on the Hogsback section of 12 is a leetle exaggerated. I mean, it's lovely but it's not scary. I didn't even realize I had driven it until I got to Boulder as I mistakenly thought it was between Boulder and Torrey, not between Escalante and Boulder. Anyhoo.
Boulder Mountain Resort is comfortable without being stylish. I mean this in a good way--it's not trendy or frou-frou la la, just a place that pays attention to what makes folks comfortable and sees to it that those things are available. Nice, comfortable porch chairs for settin' in. Glass water glasses and heavy ceramic coffee mugs in the room, not plastic or styrofoam disposable cups. Everything is spotless. Just lots of little touches. I wish we'd had more than one night there.
Next morning, we got up and headed down the Burr Trail. We stopped at the little mini-slot canyon, and drove about the first 20 miles of the road, until we reached the overlook. What a fabulous drive! Another 200 pictures found their way into DH's camera. Backtracked back up and took 12 to 24, lunched in Torrey at Cafe Diable--meh, again not bad but I'm not sure lunch is the time to eat there, Dinner or dessert would seem to be better choices. Drove on to Capitol Reef where we only road-sighted, no hiking. Another beautiful spot for future exploration. DH wanted to pick apples in the orchard but the harvest was about over. Bought pie at Gifford Homestead to have for dessert later on that evening. Destination that night was Best Western Canyonlands in Moab.
The drive from Capitol Reef to Moab was stunning, then eerie, and then just when we were really tired of sitting in the car, Arches loomed up and we drove up just to Park Avenue for the sunset and preview of coming attractions. Magnificent.
Long enough post for now. More tomorrow.
DH and I just returned yesterday (9/23) from an 11 day/10 night fabulous trip around Las Vegas, Southern Utah and northern Arizona. There were so many threads about variations of our itinerary that I never posted one of my own but "stole" a bunch of ideas from all of you, so thanks so much everyone, and here is my report.
Sept. 13: 7 am flight from Oakland CA to Las Vegas NV, arrive 8:30 am. Picked up our AWD crossover from Hertz,at the airport location. Got a good deal from Southwest Airlines. Deal turned out to be slightly less good when we discovered that adding DH as driver would add $11.00/day. In California there is no charge for adding spouse as driver.; not so in NV, we were told. Some rates do include spouses (AAA. AARP). Southwest not one of them. Ya learn somethin' new every day. DH balked at charge so I got to do all the driving.
The major flooding that occurred the weekend before in the LV area had closed a portion of I-15 and a detour had been set up, which, as it happened, took us through our planned route through Valley of FIre State Park. We stopped in Las Vegas at a Mariana's Supermarket to buy a cooler, ice, water, beer, etc. Ended up having lunch at the in-store food service--terrific chicken in mole sauce with beans and rice for me, pozole for DH. One of the great pleasures of travel--great food in a totally unexpected place. Got some bemused/amused looks from the locals who were perhaps not expecting to see a couple of gringos eating lunch in their market at 11am on a Saturday in LV. Sorry, I don't remember which location; I gather it's a local chain. Well worth a stop. The pan dulces looked awesome too but DH was eager to be on our way to Valley of Fire so off we headed.
As it turned out, the Nevada DOT had managed to get one lane of I-15 North open to cars but not trucks--so most of the traffic went that way, meaning no backups for us into Valley of Fire. OTOH, the state had waived the entrance fee, so we scored a little freebie--though ended up making a donation anyway at the Visitor's Center. Go State Parks! Anyway, Valley of Fire turned out to be a great introduction to the wonders yet to come. I should mention here that DH has lived 55 years on this earth without ever visiting the southwest, and my one and only visit was 40 years ago when I was, um, like 13 years old, like, whatever. So we were both gawking, google-eyed tourists and I think VOF is the perfect introduction. Not sure if we would have been equally impressed if we had stoppped on our way back, but I would still be happy to return there. It was 98 degrees so we drove, gawked, took "ptchers' and drove some more.
Our destination that day was Kanab, UT. It was about 2:30 pm when we left VOF, and we headed up I-15 and turned onto Highway 59 in Hurricane, gaining an hour once we crossed into UT. Took 59 to 359 to 89A into Kanab---a gorgeous drive that we dawdled along, stopping to shoot many photos by the wayside. I should mention that DH had acquired a new I Phone two days before this trip started so he had a new toy to play with. Even with all the dawdling, stops for ice cream, etc. we still made it easily into Kanab in time to check into our excellent motel, Canyons Lodge, and get out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in time for sunset viewing. Spent an hour or so out there, drove back into Kanab and cleaned up to prepare for our 8:30 dinner reservation at Rockin' V, We were glad we'd reserved as the place was packed, even at 8:30. Lots of Europeans eating there, and they are accustomed to later dining times so we had plenty of company. Food was good but honestly nothing special by San Francisco standards. We ate there both nights we stayed in Kanab, and though the grilled pork chop was delicious, everything else was fine but nothing I would go back for except if I was in Kanab where Rockin' V seems pretty much the only game in town.. The service was uneven, with a good-natured but spacey waiter one night, and a spunky but overworked waitress the next. We overheard one of the other waiters speak rudely to a group of foreigners whose English was not fluent. "You don't even understand what I'm saying to you, do you?" he snapped at them-- within earshot of our, and presumably several other, tables. Hmmm.
In any case, we weren't in Kanab for the food. At 10 am next morning, Don from Dreamland Safari Tours picked us up at Canyons Lodge (which incidentally is right across the street) and off we went for a full-day jaunt to a magical place called White Pocket.
I would attach pictures here but I dropped my camera/phone in the Virgin River at the end of the trip (more on that later) so you will just have to google White Pocket and peruse the images that come up. The place is stunningly, gobstoppingly, ridiiculously beautiful. Seriously, it looks like something out of a computer-generated movie set, but..IT'S REAL! Furthermore, because it's difficult to get to, ( involving about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive, the last half of which is over a deep sand road that eats hapless drivers for lunch, ) there are few visitors there. In fact, the day we went, Sunday Sept 14th, we were the ONLY ones there. We had the whole gol'durned place to ourselves. White Pocket is in the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area and there is a condor-viewing site along the way (and yes, we did see an actual condor, something we have never managed to accomplish even though we live in California and have gone out looking to see see them several times). You need good binoculars to see them, which Don, our guide, obligingly provided. White Pocket turned out to be one of the top, if not the very top, highlight of an all-highlight trip, I would not advise driving to White Pocket alone unless you have a great deal of experience driving in deep (and I mean deep--like, many feet deep--) sand. Dreamland Safari was easy to work with, provided a bountiful lunch and lots and lots of water. There are no facilities, water, bathrooms, etc at White Pocket though there is a bathroom at the condor site. But the walking is done up, done, across, and over the slick rock and it would be a fabulous place to take kids, especially older ones. Even grouchy teenagers are likely to be impressed. There are not yet permit requirements for White Pocket, probably because it's so remote that it doesn't attract hordes of tourists, but given what has happened at the Wave, it's likely that a similar sort of permitting system will eventually be implemented. So if you are thinking about going there, go now, is my advice.
We returned to Kanab about 7:30pm, happy to be back to Canyons Lodge which is a very comfortable, hospitable place, clean and pretty, with green lawns, hammocks, a small but very inviting pool area, and breakfast buffet served next door in the Victorian Inn, a sister property We stayed in #17, which is upstairs in one of the main buildings, two queen beds that were comfortable and the room spacious enough to suit. If you stay there, be aware that rooms 1 and 2 are in a separate small building that opens right onto the sidewalk/street, which is a little different. The interior of room 2 looked the same as ours (we walked by on the sidewalk and could see inside because the maid was cleaning the room) so I 'm sure it's equally comfortable, just more exposed.
Monday Sept.16th we said goodbye to Kanab and headed up 89. We stopped at The Rock Stop in Orderville for espresso and rock gawking (we are rock hounds) and found some nice specimens that seemed to need a home. Also we are big fans of hokey tourist attractions and The Rock Shop fits the bill with its, um, unusual architecture, Also there are goats, Also a dinosaur. And a weather predicting stone. And a Flintstone-mobile (I am dating myself here, aren't I?) Anyway, the very friendly proprietor sells rocks, ice cream, gits, and espresso. We bought $30.00 worth of rocks and he comped us our cofffee drinks. Good show.
After coffee refreshment, we drove on, stopped briefly at Red Valley, which was pleasant, then went on to Bryce Canyon. The weather was mildly showery but had mostly cleared by the time we arrived, which was about lunchtime. We had had a big breakfast so skipped lunch in favor of Cliff Bars and hiking in the hoodoos, which we did, walking partway down the Sunrise Point trail and back and then along the Rim Trail just as far as Sunset Point. We really shortchanged Bryce I think but DH was satisfied with what he saw and has the 200 pictures to prove it. We finished up our hike around 4 and headed back to Highway 12 toward our evening's destination, which was Boulder Mountain Resort, with a 7:30 dinner reservation at Hell's Backbone Grill. The restaurant is everything Fodorites say it is, hands' down the best food of our trip, both for dinner and for breakfast the next morning. We didn't stop to hike at all the myriad options along HIghway 12 but next time we will return and focus more on Escalante-Grand Staircase as the scenery along 12 is as spectacular as advertised. Though I think the hoopla about driving on the Hogsback section of 12 is a leetle exaggerated. I mean, it's lovely but it's not scary. I didn't even realize I had driven it until I got to Boulder as I mistakenly thought it was between Boulder and Torrey, not between Escalante and Boulder. Anyhoo.
Boulder Mountain Resort is comfortable without being stylish. I mean this in a good way--it's not trendy or frou-frou la la, just a place that pays attention to what makes folks comfortable and sees to it that those things are available. Nice, comfortable porch chairs for settin' in. Glass water glasses and heavy ceramic coffee mugs in the room, not plastic or styrofoam disposable cups. Everything is spotless. Just lots of little touches. I wish we'd had more than one night there.
Next morning, we got up and headed down the Burr Trail. We stopped at the little mini-slot canyon, and drove about the first 20 miles of the road, until we reached the overlook. What a fabulous drive! Another 200 pictures found their way into DH's camera. Backtracked back up and took 12 to 24, lunched in Torrey at Cafe Diable--meh, again not bad but I'm not sure lunch is the time to eat there, Dinner or dessert would seem to be better choices. Drove on to Capitol Reef where we only road-sighted, no hiking. Another beautiful spot for future exploration. DH wanted to pick apples in the orchard but the harvest was about over. Bought pie at Gifford Homestead to have for dessert later on that evening. Destination that night was Best Western Canyonlands in Moab.
The drive from Capitol Reef to Moab was stunning, then eerie, and then just when we were really tired of sitting in the car, Arches loomed up and we drove up just to Park Avenue for the sunset and preview of coming attractions. Magnificent.
Long enough post for now. More tomorrow.
Sep 25th, 2014 | 06:23 AM
#5
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 391
Likes: 41
The White Pocket and The Wave are on my list for my next visit in the area. It would be nice if you still have some pictures of White Pocket. Thanks for the report and indeed that area is magical. Looking forward for the rest of your report.
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Sep 26th, 2014 | 09:28 AM
#8
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,598
Likes: 0
Great trip report! I am taking the kids to Kanab in a few weeks and I think I will have to make a stop at the rock store. I have driven by many times but never stopped. White Pocket also sounds amazing and not having to mess with the lottery would be great. Glad you didn't get too caught in the flooding.
The only exception to your report would be your review of the Rocking V. I love, love, love that place. Of course it isn't anything special by San Francisco standards. San Francisco isn't in the middle of BF no where!! I have never had bad or rude service there--and I have eaten many meals there over many years. You also have to realize that the labor pool is very small--not like there are lots of people around to choose good wait staff. It isn't Boulder Mountain Lodge but it has awesome food with a great wine list for the area. It beats anything else in town by a mile. And I love listening to all the languages spoken and talking to people at other tables about their time spend volunteering at Best Friends. I almost always eat there by myself because I am coming home from a backpacking trip so I usually sit at the tables against the wall and end up chatting with the table next to me. It's not a place where giant tour buses go and the owner is a great guy.
I agree on not going to Cafe Diablo for lunch. Dinner is the meal. For lunch--Slackers Burgers is to DIE for. It always has a long line. It is worth the wait!! I trust your Gifford House pie was yummy.
The only exception to your report would be your review of the Rocking V. I love, love, love that place. Of course it isn't anything special by San Francisco standards. San Francisco isn't in the middle of BF no where!! I have never had bad or rude service there--and I have eaten many meals there over many years. You also have to realize that the labor pool is very small--not like there are lots of people around to choose good wait staff. It isn't Boulder Mountain Lodge but it has awesome food with a great wine list for the area. It beats anything else in town by a mile. And I love listening to all the languages spoken and talking to people at other tables about their time spend volunteering at Best Friends. I almost always eat there by myself because I am coming home from a backpacking trip so I usually sit at the tables against the wall and end up chatting with the table next to me. It's not a place where giant tour buses go and the owner is a great guy.
I agree on not going to Cafe Diablo for lunch. Dinner is the meal. For lunch--Slackers Burgers is to DIE for. It always has a long line. It is worth the wait!! I trust your Gifford House pie was yummy.
Sep 27th, 2014 | 05:04 AM
#9
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 861
Likes: 0
Thank you for the great report, beeper. Looking forward to more! My husband and I just returned from yet another excellent adventure in southern Utah, and your report has inspired me to write up a quick report.
So glad you enjoyed Hells Backbone Grill at Boulder Mtn Lodge. We always enjoy a meal or two there on every trip, and had a fabulous dinner and breakfast during our overnight stay at the lodge.
We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Rocking V Café in Kanab 2 yrs ago - great service and conversation with the owner. Its hard to compare dining experiences in San Francisco to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, but we understand the challenge of finding good food out there. Sounds like you really did your homework prior to the trip and found the good dining options along the way. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your wonderful trip!
So glad you enjoyed Hells Backbone Grill at Boulder Mtn Lodge. We always enjoy a meal or two there on every trip, and had a fabulous dinner and breakfast during our overnight stay at the lodge.
We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Rocking V Café in Kanab 2 yrs ago - great service and conversation with the owner. Its hard to compare dining experiences in San Francisco to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, but we understand the challenge of finding good food out there. Sounds like you really did your homework prior to the trip and found the good dining options along the way. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your wonderful trip!
Sep 27th, 2014 | 11:38 AM
#10
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 25,597
Likes: 0
We were in Kanab the night of the 14th also! Sounds like the boys from Canyon Lodge are taking over the entire lodging market in Kanab. They do a good job.
We decided to give Rocking V a miss, since our cottage at Best Friends had a little kitchen. Stanton Hyde, If you haven't been to Best Friends (in Angel Canyon aka Kanab Canyon) it is worth visiting to drive though, have lunch or to tour. It is also a great place to stay, especially if you can get one of the cottages.
I was just reading about White Pocket in the guidebook "Photographing the Southwest". If you haven't seen this series, I think it is worth picking up. They are often in the parks system bookstores.
We saw a juvenile condor that has been roosting under the Navajo Bridge, he made a splashy arrival and landing just as we arrived in the late afternoon.
Looking forward to more reporting, this is one of my favorite parts of the US to tour. From Los Angeles, we don't even bother to fly, since it is 5 hours to Las Vegas and not that difficult to reach Mesquite or Springdale if you leave early in the day.
We decided to give Rocking V a miss, since our cottage at Best Friends had a little kitchen. Stanton Hyde, If you haven't been to Best Friends (in Angel Canyon aka Kanab Canyon) it is worth visiting to drive though, have lunch or to tour. It is also a great place to stay, especially if you can get one of the cottages.
I was just reading about White Pocket in the guidebook "Photographing the Southwest". If you haven't seen this series, I think it is worth picking up. They are often in the parks system bookstores.
We saw a juvenile condor that has been roosting under the Navajo Bridge, he made a splashy arrival and landing just as we arrived in the late afternoon.
Looking forward to more reporting, this is one of my favorite parts of the US to tour. From Los Angeles, we don't even bother to fly, since it is 5 hours to Las Vegas and not that difficult to reach Mesquite or Springdale if you leave early in the day.
Sep 28th, 2014 | 03:15 PM
#12
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Trip Report: Part Two: Moab to Grand Canyon South Rim
Hi all,
Thanks for your replies and encouragement. I will post the report and then comment on specific replies at the end.
But first a quick back-up to the Burr Trail road drive: along the drive, we played leapfrog with a pair of young cyclists who were in the midst of a coast-to-coast (San Francisco to Washington DC) ride and were enjoying the ride down Long Canyon with their evening's planned destination Lake Powell. DH, who is also a cyclist, got into a nice conversation with them and they gave us a link to the blog they are keeping. Sounds like the end of the day was more adventurous for them than for us. If you are interested in cycling, adventure travel, or looking for a way to get your twenty-something son away from the video screen and out of the house, feel free to check out their blog: http://www.nkhcoast2coast.com/blog/d...ts-death-march.
So. Moab. When I originally made reservations I had us staying at the Aarchway Inn, which would have been fine from what I can tell. But I did want to be within walking distance of eats, drinks, and shops as our trip involved SO much driving--well, whattaya expect on a ROAD trip, right?
--so when a room opened up at Best Western Canyonlands Inn, I snagged it and was SO glad I did. It's literally right in the center of town and within walking distance of many dining, drinking, and shopping options. It's a very comfortable place with a pool that was being well-used, a good laundry area in the basement that is blessedly open 24/7, and a pleasant breakfast area that is upstairs with a nice covered patio option if you prefer to eat outside. Dinner that first night was at Moab Diner. I recommend any of the dishes that have their specialty Chili Verde as part of the ingredient list-very tasty. Service was cheerful and efficient. A large group of foreigners walked in right in front of us and they were seated and served as easily as the two of us were. This place is one step above fast food so we aren't talking anything fancy but it was perfect for what we wanted that night.
We had two nights in Moab, with the full day in between designated as an "I do my thing, you do your thing" day. By then we were in day 5 of our trip and had seen so many fantastic rock formations and new landscapes that we were both on a bit of a red rock overload, and were ready for something more than just a walk-and-gawk. In my husband's case, that meant mountain biking, since we were, after all, in Mountain-Bike Mecca. For me it meant a morning hanging out on the patio at Moab Coffee Roasters with my colored pencils, my poetry journal, and my caffeine addiction which sorely needed feeding, followed by a little shopping. First stop was Gallery Moab, which is a local artists' co-op on Main Street, right across the street from Moab Coffee Roasters. You get a great feel for what the local artists are about in this shop, and I scored a nice little oil of the Three Gossips for under $100.00, which is my idea of a great travel souvenir. Next stop was Back of Beyond Books, which was more or less right next door to the art gallery. Thoroughly enjoyed this well-curated bookshop that stocked a nice mix of new and used books with a good section of local authors. An extra prize was a small bin on the floor by the poetry section, filled with vintage chapbooks and published talks to dig through. Big ups to Back of Beyond Books.
DH, as I mentioned earlier, is a cyclist, primarily a road cyclist but also a mountain biker--the latter being taken up more in support of our younger son, who is the real thrill seeker. As a mountain biker, DH is more about the lovely scenery to be viewed from a trail, as opposed to the technical aspects of single-track riding down narrow trails with nasty drop-offs. In any case, the mountain biking he is used to in the Bay Area is mostly dirt, sand, mud, with only the occasional short rock crossing. So he was looking forward to the slickrock at Moab as a new experience, but also a little dubious about how his skills would match up. Chili Peppers Bike Shop in Moab got him set up with a great rental, and gave him some good suggestions for trails that were in his beginner-intermediate comfort zone. He ended up choosing the Dead Horse State Park ride, which was about a 10-mile ride, not long distance-wise but plenty challenging for him, in a good way. Chili Peppers not only rented him the bike (with all the related safety/emergency repair gear) but also provided a bike rack that they installed on the back of our rental car so he could haul the bike to the trailhead. Overall they were terrific and I strongly recommend them if you are a mountain biker looking to rent. DH brought his own helmet from home but they will provide helmets if needed, of course.
I lunched at Peace Tree Juice Cafe, which is adjacent to Canyonlands Inn. The name is a bit of a misnomer as the place is a regular restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with cocktails etc, as well as juices and smoothies. I had an interesting-sounding dish of grilled slices of cheese, served with a jalapeno sauce that turned out to be sweet as well as spicy, and a side salad. Very tasty.
DH and I met up at 4 pm at the motel, and headed back up to Arches for sunset walk. We stopped at various viewpoints for photo ops, wandered around Balanced Rock, then headed up to the Windows section and walked there, ending up at Double Arch where we climbed up onto the boulders under the arches and watched the light shift and change along the walls underneath. A bunch of teenagers were scattered across various rocks, sketching and drawing--clearly a class assignment, and fun to watch them concentrating as they lay or sat or squatted in various ways as they tried to capture just the right angle. It made an interesting contrast to all the photographers with their rapid-fire shoot-and-move-on approach.
As the light died, we headed back to Moab Brewery for dinner. DH was ready for beer. Also beer. And maybe a beer, too. Moab Brewery was very busy and there was not great communication about how the whole beer/food/beer-and-food thing works here. We put our name in at the hostess desk for a table for dinner, were given a beeper and told to expect a wait of 20-25 minutes, so we took ourselves into the bar area
to sample the wares. DH pronounced his IPA adequate and let's face it, you don't go to Utah to drink beer. We waited quite awhile at the bar, and noticed that people were eating real food at the bar tables, and finally went to inquire--only to discover that we could have bypassed the dinner-table wait and and eaten in the bar area right way, if we had known the tables there were first-come, first served rather than being used as dinner seating. Oh well. Dinner--standard pub grub (burgers, fries, wings, etc.) was tasty if heavy, and our heavily overworked waitress was a doll. THe other waitress was busy chatting up one table with a couple of good-looking young men, and was quite happy to let our waitress tend to all the rest of the tables. DH had a perplexing encounter with the bartender who was occupied with texting on her cellphone and was quite annoyed with him for interrupting her to ask for another beer. Um. OK.
Next morning we headed back to Arches for more hiking. I can see why this place is such a favorite with photographers, and the trails are really fun to hike. We didn't attempt Fiery Furnace as I have some back problems that make shimmying up boulders problematic. Maybe next time.
After Arches we lunched at Milt's Stop-N-Eat. THIS is the place for burgers, fries, and shakes. Old-fashioned, NOT fancy, and delicious.
Our destination that evening was Monument Valley; staying in one of the new cabins, so we stopped at a grocery store in Moab to get dinner fixins. More on that later.
Waved goodbye to Moab, headed down 191. Hole 'N The Rock is. just. silly. Shot to the top of the list of hokey tourist attractions. Another stop at Wilson Arch. We did not turn into any of the Canyonlands districts or Natural Bridges, though we would have liked to. But did do the quick detour to Goosenecks State Park, where DH took snaps while I fought off vertigo when he insisted on standing what I considered to be recklessly close to the cliff edge. I am not his mother, I am not his mother, I am not his mother.
Arrived at Monument Valley just before sunset, got checked into our cabin (#2). People have been asking about these new cabins, so I will give my impressions here but feel free to ask more questions if I don't cover something you want to know.
First thing to know is that the view from the cabins is NOT the same as from the hotel. From our cabin, which was to the far left as you face toward the Mttens, you could only see the two mittens and one other formation, with mesas to either side. There are two rows of cabins, and I had requested a cabin in the "front" row, with no other cabin in front of us. Our cabin met that description, but was, in fact, in the "back" row, but without a cabin in front. If you want a true front-row cabin, the numbers to ask for are 18-29. #1,2, and 3 have no cabin in front of them but are in the back row. If I were to go again I think I would try for #18 as it has no cabin in front or to the left of it so will give the most sense of being out in the middle of nowhere.
Each cabin has a covered porch with a couple of very comfortable porch chairs but no table for setting drinks or snack on. The porch is great for sunset/sunrise viewing but the roof interferes with stargazing. However, for a full sky view all you have to do is step off your porch and down into the sand in front of your cabin and there you go.
The large picture window gives you a fab view of the monuments if you prefer to hang out inside. We watched the sun set, snapped photos, ate dinner on the porch. In the middle of the night we happened to waken just as the crescent moon was rising next to the monuments, and back outside we went. Then set our alarm and got up for sunrise. Treated to an extra spectacle at sunrise as a few friendly thunderstorms in the east produced the most spectacular rainbow I have EVER seen in the west--we were running back and forth between our porch (which faces east) for sunrise with the monuments, and the rainbow at the back of the cabin, where the parking area and picnic tables are. Just great fun altogether.
As far as the cabins themselves go, they are very cleverly designed, with a lot of comfort in a small space. We stayed in one of the "Executive" cabins, which means the living/kitchen/dining area was separated by a wide hallway with two bunks built in, and the bathroom, from the bedroom at the back of the cabin. Bed was comfy and because there are open shelves and hanging bars instead of closets, the rooms feel more spacious than they are. Cabins still have that "new wood" smell. On the other hand, some of the furnishings were perhaps not chosen for the hard use to which they are likely to be subjected--the dining table already had a big watermark stain on it, and the chairs had rings as well as someone had pulled a chair outside to use as a side table. Main thing to know, if you are planning to cook as we were, is that the kitchens are not stocked AT ALL. No dishes, pots, pans, utensils, pot holders--nada. I had asked ahead about this so was prepared but if you aren't, you won't really be able to cook anything you couldn't cook in a standard hotel room. There is a two-burner cooktop, and a microwave, but no conventional oven. A full-sized frig, though. There is a coffee maker with the standard hotel-style coffee packs, which are terrible as usual.
We breakfasted at The View, which was where we saw the view we had been missing from the cabin. As I said before, the reason NOT to stay in the cabins is if you have to have this particular view. But all in all, I loved our cabin, the sense of privacy, the access to the desert right outside our door, and the comforts of cooking, albeit limited, that broke up our trip of hotel rooms and restaurant dining.
After breakfast it was time to head to the Grand Canyon. We had planned to lunch at Cameron Trading Post, but when we arrived--at lunchtime, duh--it was to find ourselves surrounded by a sea of tour buses, at least twenty of them, all disgorging their tourists from various nations, all making a bee-line for the potties, the shop counters, and most of all, the restaurant. At one time I had us booked into the Cameron Motel for a two-nights' stay while we visited the GC, but thankfully I was able to get park reservations and so cancelled. I imagine the place is much more bearable in the evening when the tour buses are gone but at noon--no thanks. It was truly a madhouse. The place is huge and able to handle large crowds. We, on the other hand, were not. We decided to make do with leftovers from last night's dinner and hold off on eating until we got to GC where we decided to picnic. The drive in through the East Gate as fun as we had views of the Little Colorado, sort of a teaser, as it were. Parked at Desert View, picnicked at the tables outside the snack bar, (shade, and entertaining people-watching as various European tourists eyed their Gen-You-Ine Amurric'n Hot Dogs--steamed, soggy buns, wrapped in foil bags--and wondered Who Are These People and Do They Really Eat These Things? And Like Them?) Then they saw our picnic--cheese, chicken, carrots and celery, crackers, cookies--and were sure they had been had. We shared our cookies with a young, hungry Dutch couple who only had enough money for one hot dog between the two of them.
I enjoyed the Watchtower, especially the ceiling paintings. DH got some nice snaps for me.
After lunch we drove on, stopped at a few of the overlooks, then checked in for our one night at El Tovar. What a beauty! Our room was a "standard" room on the ground floor, which might not be everyone's cuppa, but I loved being right near the entrance to the side porch that overlooks the Canyon rim , behind the flagpole. El Tovar: yes. Yes indeed. We wandered down the Bright Angel trailhead for a mile or so, and on the way back stuck our heads into the Kolb Studio where the gallery was closed in preparation for the grand opening of this year's Grand Canyon Celebration of Art exhibit which was due to begin the next evening; although closed, the door was open and we were able to peek at the paintings, which taken as a group were breathtaking. We were sorry to miss the event and think it worth planning around if you are an art lover and plan to visit the GC in September. I was told that paintings can be viewed online, but it's not the same as seeing them altogether, in person.
By this time we were ready for drinks and dinner. Had not made reservations as hadn't quite decided what we wanted to do. Ended up sitting outside on the porch of the lounge and having dinner from the bar menu, which worked out well. Stay way from the pate but otherwise everything we had was tasty and the drinks were generous. Watched the lightning storm light up the sky on the other side of the canyon.
Altogether a dreamy day/evening.
End of Trip Report Part 2. Third and final installment yet to come: More Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon slot canyon tour, Zion, Las Vegas, final thoughts.
Comment: Sharondi and StantonHyde, you are right about assessing the merits of a restaurant such a Rockin' V "in the middle of nowhere'. It's always hard to know how to assess a restaurant--do you do it relative to "big city" standards or not? Rockin' V is the kind of place that poses the most difficulties--it is head and shoulders above any of the other options available, and we certainly were happy enough that we ate there two nights in a row. OTOH, sometimes I find that people rhapsodize about a place such that, when it's visited, it turns out to be a letdown because context isn't considered. I think of Rockin' V as a place I would happily eat at again if I was in Kanab. I would not, however, plan a visit to Kanab just to eat at Rockin' V. Hell's Backbone Grill, however, is in a different class. I would go out of my way to go back to Boulder, just to eat dinner there again.
Hi all,
Thanks for your replies and encouragement. I will post the report and then comment on specific replies at the end.
But first a quick back-up to the Burr Trail road drive: along the drive, we played leapfrog with a pair of young cyclists who were in the midst of a coast-to-coast (San Francisco to Washington DC) ride and were enjoying the ride down Long Canyon with their evening's planned destination Lake Powell. DH, who is also a cyclist, got into a nice conversation with them and they gave us a link to the blog they are keeping. Sounds like the end of the day was more adventurous for them than for us. If you are interested in cycling, adventure travel, or looking for a way to get your twenty-something son away from the video screen and out of the house, feel free to check out their blog: http://www.nkhcoast2coast.com/blog/d...ts-death-march.
So. Moab. When I originally made reservations I had us staying at the Aarchway Inn, which would have been fine from what I can tell. But I did want to be within walking distance of eats, drinks, and shops as our trip involved SO much driving--well, whattaya expect on a ROAD trip, right?
--so when a room opened up at Best Western Canyonlands Inn, I snagged it and was SO glad I did. It's literally right in the center of town and within walking distance of many dining, drinking, and shopping options. It's a very comfortable place with a pool that was being well-used, a good laundry area in the basement that is blessedly open 24/7, and a pleasant breakfast area that is upstairs with a nice covered patio option if you prefer to eat outside. Dinner that first night was at Moab Diner. I recommend any of the dishes that have their specialty Chili Verde as part of the ingredient list-very tasty. Service was cheerful and efficient. A large group of foreigners walked in right in front of us and they were seated and served as easily as the two of us were. This place is one step above fast food so we aren't talking anything fancy but it was perfect for what we wanted that night. We had two nights in Moab, with the full day in between designated as an "I do my thing, you do your thing" day. By then we were in day 5 of our trip and had seen so many fantastic rock formations and new landscapes that we were both on a bit of a red rock overload, and were ready for something more than just a walk-and-gawk. In my husband's case, that meant mountain biking, since we were, after all, in Mountain-Bike Mecca. For me it meant a morning hanging out on the patio at Moab Coffee Roasters with my colored pencils, my poetry journal, and my caffeine addiction which sorely needed feeding, followed by a little shopping. First stop was Gallery Moab, which is a local artists' co-op on Main Street, right across the street from Moab Coffee Roasters. You get a great feel for what the local artists are about in this shop, and I scored a nice little oil of the Three Gossips for under $100.00, which is my idea of a great travel souvenir. Next stop was Back of Beyond Books, which was more or less right next door to the art gallery. Thoroughly enjoyed this well-curated bookshop that stocked a nice mix of new and used books with a good section of local authors. An extra prize was a small bin on the floor by the poetry section, filled with vintage chapbooks and published talks to dig through. Big ups to Back of Beyond Books.
DH, as I mentioned earlier, is a cyclist, primarily a road cyclist but also a mountain biker--the latter being taken up more in support of our younger son, who is the real thrill seeker. As a mountain biker, DH is more about the lovely scenery to be viewed from a trail, as opposed to the technical aspects of single-track riding down narrow trails with nasty drop-offs. In any case, the mountain biking he is used to in the Bay Area is mostly dirt, sand, mud, with only the occasional short rock crossing. So he was looking forward to the slickrock at Moab as a new experience, but also a little dubious about how his skills would match up. Chili Peppers Bike Shop in Moab got him set up with a great rental, and gave him some good suggestions for trails that were in his beginner-intermediate comfort zone. He ended up choosing the Dead Horse State Park ride, which was about a 10-mile ride, not long distance-wise but plenty challenging for him, in a good way. Chili Peppers not only rented him the bike (with all the related safety/emergency repair gear) but also provided a bike rack that they installed on the back of our rental car so he could haul the bike to the trailhead. Overall they were terrific and I strongly recommend them if you are a mountain biker looking to rent. DH brought his own helmet from home but they will provide helmets if needed, of course.
I lunched at Peace Tree Juice Cafe, which is adjacent to Canyonlands Inn. The name is a bit of a misnomer as the place is a regular restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with cocktails etc, as well as juices and smoothies. I had an interesting-sounding dish of grilled slices of cheese, served with a jalapeno sauce that turned out to be sweet as well as spicy, and a side salad. Very tasty.
DH and I met up at 4 pm at the motel, and headed back up to Arches for sunset walk. We stopped at various viewpoints for photo ops, wandered around Balanced Rock, then headed up to the Windows section and walked there, ending up at Double Arch where we climbed up onto the boulders under the arches and watched the light shift and change along the walls underneath. A bunch of teenagers were scattered across various rocks, sketching and drawing--clearly a class assignment, and fun to watch them concentrating as they lay or sat or squatted in various ways as they tried to capture just the right angle. It made an interesting contrast to all the photographers with their rapid-fire shoot-and-move-on approach.
As the light died, we headed back to Moab Brewery for dinner. DH was ready for beer. Also beer. And maybe a beer, too. Moab Brewery was very busy and there was not great communication about how the whole beer/food/beer-and-food thing works here. We put our name in at the hostess desk for a table for dinner, were given a beeper and told to expect a wait of 20-25 minutes, so we took ourselves into the bar area
to sample the wares. DH pronounced his IPA adequate and let's face it, you don't go to Utah to drink beer. We waited quite awhile at the bar, and noticed that people were eating real food at the bar tables, and finally went to inquire--only to discover that we could have bypassed the dinner-table wait and and eaten in the bar area right way, if we had known the tables there were first-come, first served rather than being used as dinner seating. Oh well. Dinner--standard pub grub (burgers, fries, wings, etc.) was tasty if heavy, and our heavily overworked waitress was a doll. THe other waitress was busy chatting up one table with a couple of good-looking young men, and was quite happy to let our waitress tend to all the rest of the tables. DH had a perplexing encounter with the bartender who was occupied with texting on her cellphone and was quite annoyed with him for interrupting her to ask for another beer. Um. OK.
Next morning we headed back to Arches for more hiking. I can see why this place is such a favorite with photographers, and the trails are really fun to hike. We didn't attempt Fiery Furnace as I have some back problems that make shimmying up boulders problematic. Maybe next time.
After Arches we lunched at Milt's Stop-N-Eat. THIS is the place for burgers, fries, and shakes. Old-fashioned, NOT fancy, and delicious.
Our destination that evening was Monument Valley; staying in one of the new cabins, so we stopped at a grocery store in Moab to get dinner fixins. More on that later.
Waved goodbye to Moab, headed down 191. Hole 'N The Rock is. just. silly. Shot to the top of the list of hokey tourist attractions. Another stop at Wilson Arch. We did not turn into any of the Canyonlands districts or Natural Bridges, though we would have liked to. But did do the quick detour to Goosenecks State Park, where DH took snaps while I fought off vertigo when he insisted on standing what I considered to be recklessly close to the cliff edge. I am not his mother, I am not his mother, I am not his mother.
Arrived at Monument Valley just before sunset, got checked into our cabin (#2). People have been asking about these new cabins, so I will give my impressions here but feel free to ask more questions if I don't cover something you want to know.
First thing to know is that the view from the cabins is NOT the same as from the hotel. From our cabin, which was to the far left as you face toward the Mttens, you could only see the two mittens and one other formation, with mesas to either side. There are two rows of cabins, and I had requested a cabin in the "front" row, with no other cabin in front of us. Our cabin met that description, but was, in fact, in the "back" row, but without a cabin in front. If you want a true front-row cabin, the numbers to ask for are 18-29. #1,2, and 3 have no cabin in front of them but are in the back row. If I were to go again I think I would try for #18 as it has no cabin in front or to the left of it so will give the most sense of being out in the middle of nowhere.
Each cabin has a covered porch with a couple of very comfortable porch chairs but no table for setting drinks or snack on. The porch is great for sunset/sunrise viewing but the roof interferes with stargazing. However, for a full sky view all you have to do is step off your porch and down into the sand in front of your cabin and there you go.
The large picture window gives you a fab view of the monuments if you prefer to hang out inside. We watched the sun set, snapped photos, ate dinner on the porch. In the middle of the night we happened to waken just as the crescent moon was rising next to the monuments, and back outside we went. Then set our alarm and got up for sunrise. Treated to an extra spectacle at sunrise as a few friendly thunderstorms in the east produced the most spectacular rainbow I have EVER seen in the west--we were running back and forth between our porch (which faces east) for sunrise with the monuments, and the rainbow at the back of the cabin, where the parking area and picnic tables are. Just great fun altogether.
As far as the cabins themselves go, they are very cleverly designed, with a lot of comfort in a small space. We stayed in one of the "Executive" cabins, which means the living/kitchen/dining area was separated by a wide hallway with two bunks built in, and the bathroom, from the bedroom at the back of the cabin. Bed was comfy and because there are open shelves and hanging bars instead of closets, the rooms feel more spacious than they are. Cabins still have that "new wood" smell. On the other hand, some of the furnishings were perhaps not chosen for the hard use to which they are likely to be subjected--the dining table already had a big watermark stain on it, and the chairs had rings as well as someone had pulled a chair outside to use as a side table. Main thing to know, if you are planning to cook as we were, is that the kitchens are not stocked AT ALL. No dishes, pots, pans, utensils, pot holders--nada. I had asked ahead about this so was prepared but if you aren't, you won't really be able to cook anything you couldn't cook in a standard hotel room. There is a two-burner cooktop, and a microwave, but no conventional oven. A full-sized frig, though. There is a coffee maker with the standard hotel-style coffee packs, which are terrible as usual.
We breakfasted at The View, which was where we saw the view we had been missing from the cabin. As I said before, the reason NOT to stay in the cabins is if you have to have this particular view. But all in all, I loved our cabin, the sense of privacy, the access to the desert right outside our door, and the comforts of cooking, albeit limited, that broke up our trip of hotel rooms and restaurant dining.
After breakfast it was time to head to the Grand Canyon. We had planned to lunch at Cameron Trading Post, but when we arrived--at lunchtime, duh--it was to find ourselves surrounded by a sea of tour buses, at least twenty of them, all disgorging their tourists from various nations, all making a bee-line for the potties, the shop counters, and most of all, the restaurant. At one time I had us booked into the Cameron Motel for a two-nights' stay while we visited the GC, but thankfully I was able to get park reservations and so cancelled. I imagine the place is much more bearable in the evening when the tour buses are gone but at noon--no thanks. It was truly a madhouse. The place is huge and able to handle large crowds. We, on the other hand, were not. We decided to make do with leftovers from last night's dinner and hold off on eating until we got to GC where we decided to picnic. The drive in through the East Gate as fun as we had views of the Little Colorado, sort of a teaser, as it were. Parked at Desert View, picnicked at the tables outside the snack bar, (shade, and entertaining people-watching as various European tourists eyed their Gen-You-Ine Amurric'n Hot Dogs--steamed, soggy buns, wrapped in foil bags--and wondered Who Are These People and Do They Really Eat These Things? And Like Them?) Then they saw our picnic--cheese, chicken, carrots and celery, crackers, cookies--and were sure they had been had. We shared our cookies with a young, hungry Dutch couple who only had enough money for one hot dog between the two of them.
I enjoyed the Watchtower, especially the ceiling paintings. DH got some nice snaps for me.
After lunch we drove on, stopped at a few of the overlooks, then checked in for our one night at El Tovar. What a beauty! Our room was a "standard" room on the ground floor, which might not be everyone's cuppa, but I loved being right near the entrance to the side porch that overlooks the Canyon rim , behind the flagpole. El Tovar: yes. Yes indeed. We wandered down the Bright Angel trailhead for a mile or so, and on the way back stuck our heads into the Kolb Studio where the gallery was closed in preparation for the grand opening of this year's Grand Canyon Celebration of Art exhibit which was due to begin the next evening; although closed, the door was open and we were able to peek at the paintings, which taken as a group were breathtaking. We were sorry to miss the event and think it worth planning around if you are an art lover and plan to visit the GC in September. I was told that paintings can be viewed online, but it's not the same as seeing them altogether, in person.
By this time we were ready for drinks and dinner. Had not made reservations as hadn't quite decided what we wanted to do. Ended up sitting outside on the porch of the lounge and having dinner from the bar menu, which worked out well. Stay way from the pate but otherwise everything we had was tasty and the drinks were generous. Watched the lightning storm light up the sky on the other side of the canyon.
Altogether a dreamy day/evening.
End of Trip Report Part 2. Third and final installment yet to come: More Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon slot canyon tour, Zion, Las Vegas, final thoughts.
Comment: Sharondi and StantonHyde, you are right about assessing the merits of a restaurant such a Rockin' V "in the middle of nowhere'. It's always hard to know how to assess a restaurant--do you do it relative to "big city" standards or not? Rockin' V is the kind of place that poses the most difficulties--it is head and shoulders above any of the other options available, and we certainly were happy enough that we ate there two nights in a row. OTOH, sometimes I find that people rhapsodize about a place such that, when it's visited, it turns out to be a letdown because context isn't considered. I think of Rockin' V as a place I would happily eat at again if I was in Kanab. I would not, however, plan a visit to Kanab just to eat at Rockin' V. Hell's Backbone Grill, however, is in a different class. I would go out of my way to go back to Boulder, just to eat dinner there again.
Sep 28th, 2014 | 05:06 PM
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Yes, Hell's Backbone Grill is truly in a class by itself!!!! You made a smart decision not staying at Archway. Much better at Canyonlands. Sorry--the liquor laws are confusing. I think Eddie McStiffs has better beer but you may have had better food. I stick with Deseret Bistro when possible.
Cameron Trading Post is a zoo. Good to look at--e.g in a touristy, fascination kind of way. Agree that I would not necessarily eat or stay there!
This has been such a great trip report!! I think it is important to give details about why you enjoyed it--what worked for you might work for others but it might not. And by giving details like you have done, others can assess how these meal and lodging options would work for them.
Kudos to your husband for taking on the mountain biking--not always easy!! We were staying at the Desert Gardens bungalows one year and there was a group of Canadian mountain bikers in another bungalow. One of them had broken his nose. It came out in conservation that my DH is an ER doc. Mr. Broken Nose was celebrating his 21st bday that night and they wanted to know which of the medications he had could he take and still drink DH advised them and all was well.
Can't wait to read your further installments. Even though I have been too all of these places, I am taking notes--you have great details/advice!!! (oh, and kudos to you for taking a "separate" day during your vacation. I think its good for the vacay and good for the marriage!)
Cameron Trading Post is a zoo. Good to look at--e.g in a touristy, fascination kind of way. Agree that I would not necessarily eat or stay there!
This has been such a great trip report!! I think it is important to give details about why you enjoyed it--what worked for you might work for others but it might not. And by giving details like you have done, others can assess how these meal and lodging options would work for them.
Kudos to your husband for taking on the mountain biking--not always easy!! We were staying at the Desert Gardens bungalows one year and there was a group of Canadian mountain bikers in another bungalow. One of them had broken his nose. It came out in conservation that my DH is an ER doc. Mr. Broken Nose was celebrating his 21st bday that night and they wanted to know which of the medications he had could he take and still drink
DH advised them and all was well. Can't wait to read your further installments. Even though I have been too all of these places, I am taking notes--you have great details/advice!!! (oh, and kudos to you for taking a "separate" day during your vacation. I think its good for the vacay and good for the marriage!)
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carolv
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Jan 13th, 2008 12:31 PM
