Southern Utah trip report
 

2004 Utah Trip Report

We departed Albany, NY on a nonstop Southwest flight (great deal at $198 rt) at 3:30pm Thurs, Sept 23. Arrived Las Vegas 5:30pm. Love that time change. Grabbed our Jeep Liberty from Alamo (great deal-$525/12 days) and hit the road. Stopped for some water and ice to fill our two soft-sided coolers we brought along. Route 15 north through St George, Utah and rte 9 right to Springdale. Arrived at the Desert Pearl at 9:30pm or so and jumped in the hot tub to finally fully relax. We're back in Utah! Last fall, we did an 8 day tour across Southern Utah the week after Labor Day. We had to come back again this year to see more. Staying for 12 days this time! We love hiking and taking lots of pictures. The incredible beauty of southern Utah just blows us away!

The Desert Pearl is a great place to stay and a great value. We had a king room near the pool/hottub as requested and enjoyed both. Pool/hottub are open til 11pm. Had an early breakfast at Spotted Dog Café. Decent food, lousy coffee. $20 w/tip for 2. We parked at the Visitors Center and hopped on the shuttle for the Angel's Landing trail. It was a gorgeous day and there were plenty of people on this popular trail. We made it to the scary part where the chains begin. peterboy chickened out and there were too many people so we picked up the West Rim Trail instead and loved it! Very few people; awesome views.

Headed back to town late afternoon and took a ride to check out Grafton ghost town and cemetery but only got a quick look because the lady was closing up. We love the Springdale/Rockville area. It's just so gorgeous. Had an early dinner at Oscar's - a table out on the patio. Tacos filled with broiled perch with serrano chili and grape salsa were fantastic. A chili-rubbed ribeye was tasty but fatty (and expensive). A few beers, chips & guacamole and our entrées - $60 w/out tip. Back to the Desert Pearl for some hot tub therapy.
We must've missed the chapter on towels
in the Desert Pearl rule book. The towel nazi caught us in the hottub with our(gasp!)white towels instead of the blue-striped towels we were supposed to be using. She started to take them away until we apologized. We had a good chuckle after she left. What a nice first day.

sharondi, thanks for your trip report. We're also planning a trip to Southern Utah.

It's been a few years since I've been to the Grafton Ghosttown and cemetery. There was never anything locked up so I'm curious what they have done there. I know there had been talk of fixing the town up again.

Utahtea

Thanks, Sharondi. We're planning a south Utah trip next year. Waiting for the 2nd part (and 3rd, and 4th..) of your trip report :)

The ghost town at Grafton has a gate and closes at 5pm. They were having a family reunion of the families that used to live there the next day. Pretty interesting. The cemetery is just by the side of the road. We'll try to get there earlier on a future trip!

Checked out of the Desert Pearl early. Peter got the last muffin (lemon/poppy) at the gift shop along with a scorpion encased in a lollipop. A nice pair of earrings for a friend. Stopped at the Tsunami Juice & Java near the park entrance. Excellent coffee, fruit smoothies, natural foods - all good. They even sell showers here for $4 in a very nice, new bathroom. We grabbed really good sandwiches for the cooler and headed east out of Zion. So amazing! Took Rt 89 to the Glendale Bench Road to Skutumpah Road, a backroad which goes north to Kodachrome Basin SP. This route was just gorgeous and we were glad we had a Jeep. Took a side trip down Sheep Creek Rd to a little used trailhead.
This road had some fun steep sections (yikes! and I was driving) and some nice dips and bumps.

Also drove out to Grosvenor Arch - long slow road in. The road seemed like it would've been rough in a car. Drove back out and up to Rt 12 to Escalante. A new visitor's center and park offices are under construction and small cafes, tour services, b&b's are springing up. Stopped for some groceries here since there's no place in Boulder where we're headed. Stunning ride from Escalante to Boulder. Arrived at the Boulder Mountain Lodge at 7:30pm. Nice timing. We have reservations for 8pm at Hell's Backbone Grill. We have room#11 upstairs with a great view of the pond. Not a large room but very comfortable. The shared balcony outside was not to our advantage since there were a few smokers occasionally and it was tough leaving the windows and door open. Plus less privacy than we like. The lodge is very nice with great artwork and a rustic theme. The sound of peepers, ducks and cows was unique (being in the desert).

Our meal began with a bottle of Bonnie Doone Big House Red, a bowl of fresh corn/squash chowder, and a shared house salad. They grow many of the vegetables and greens so they are super fresh and delicious. I couldn't resist the chipotle meatloaf with lemony mashed potatoes. Wow! Peter's fettucine with pinon nut cream sauce and smoked local trout was loaded with large chunks of trout! Large portions; everything perfect. $97 for dinner (plus one dessert) and a salami/provolone wrap ordered as a box lunch. Headed for the hottub after dinner. No one else around. Great tub; strong jets. Plenty of towels available. Wonderful end to a long day driving the backroads.

Anyone going to the Utah National Parks in the southern part of the state should stop in Moab. There are tons of whitewater rafting companies there that offer trips of varying lengths. You haven't lived til you've been rafting!

My husband and I are going to UT in two weeks, and I'm already regretting the short length of the trip! When I originally booked, it was to see Yellowstone, and was briefly disappointed to hear it's closed for a month. Then, the amazing options of Utah's National Parks were disclosed to me by several helpful people on this site. My biggest disappointment right now is that we'll be too late for white water rafting, since it ends the end of Oct. Guess we'll just have to come back in warmer weather, and next time, make it for a longer visit!

peterboy here,
We've been twice and haven't whitewatered yet and haven't felt like we were lacking anything. We're more day hikers so we will easily be filling up future trips with new discoveries. Utah was blessed when they were handing out natural wonders.

sharondi,

The gate at Grafton must be new. I wonder what else they have done since we have been there last. I guess we will have to make sure we get out there again next time.

Utahtea

Sharondi, very nice report. Makes me want to schedule a return trip immediately.

And BTW Peterboy, we agree about rafting. While we've done it various places and it has been enjoyable, we're more "big picture" people. Hiking and rafting are great, but only when I can still see the big picture / vistas ahead, and not just see one thing in front of me. JMO.

Thanks for the report.

Well, obviously, I disagree about rafting. I have done it everywhere from the one day trip in the Grand Canyon, to the tidal bore in Nova Scotia, to the Imster Schlucht [Gorge of the Imst River] in Austria. I never get tired of it.

I did do an overnight out of Moab once. Every other trip I have been on has been a day or half day trip because, well, the toileting on the multiday trips is not what I would call luxurious. Do not mention groovers!

Having said all of that, I neve go West without rafting if it is anywhere near where I am. The best rafting is in the spring. All the tour companies close down in October for the winter--or if the rivers get too low to make it fun. And, remember, it is not as scary on the water as off.

Schubenacadie River, Nova Scotia
Green River, Vernal, UT
Green River, Moab, UT
Colorado River (Grand Canyon and other places)
Imster River, Imst, Austria
Kicking Horse River, British Columbia
Royal Gorge, Canon City, Colorado
Potomac River, Harpers Ferry, WVA

etc., etc., etc.

Day 3 dawned sunny and beautiful. We slept a bit late and didn't get out til 9:30am. Grabbed some coffee to go and headed out for some exploring. Checked out a few really cool backroads nearby. Also stopped at the Kiva Koffeehouse on Rt 12 near Calf Creek. Really cool place in a highly scenic location. They sell a nice selection of beverages and sandwiches and snacks. We decided to do the Calf Creek hike after we saw the gorgeous red canyon that the hike winds through from the road above. What a treat! On this very warm day (in the low 80's) the clear stream running next to the trail and frequent shady spots made this a perfect hike. Highly scenic; sandy path; very level. Saw snakes, many birds, mule deer and passed plenty of people hiking out. By the time we arrived at the falls, we were the only one's there! What a beautiful pool and falls. The mist from the falling water cooled us off. We sat and ate lunch (great sandwiches from Hells Backbone Grill). Several other hikers arrived and we actually met some folks from the Albany area where we are from. Small world. On the hike out, we noticed the stream was filled with rainbow trout! This is a wonderful hike (5.5 miles roundtrip) - highly recommended.

We drove back to the Lodge, freshened up and then drove north on Rt 12 a bit to see the foliage. Wow! The aspens were peak gold! Took lots of pictures and headed back to Hells Backbone for dinner. The restaurant was quite busy. Ordered a bottle of wine, warm chips and salsa (yum) and hung out. Peter had the chipotle meatloaf tonight and I ordered the pecan-encrusted trout. Both were delicious. The salads are so fresh and good. Sour cherry and almond bread pudding and chocolate chili cream pot for dessert with excellent coffee. We waddled back to our room - very, very full. Decided to hit the hot tub in the hopes that it might help us burn a few calories. Yeah, right. We ordered 2 sandwiches to pickup in the morning for tomorrow's lunch. We also ordered a copy of the restaurant's cookbook which is about to be released. Hells Backbone Grill is truly a gem. Be sure to stop here for a meal on your way through Boulder. Amazing food and a delightful staff. Another great day in Utah. You gotta love this place!

FauxSteMarie, I'm not disagreeing with you about rafting...Im sure that it is very fun and I'm so glad that you enjoy it so much. I was only trying to say taht we managed to have a grand time in Utah even without rafting. Perhaps we will on a future trip. That's the beauty of one's vacation...you can do as you please.

utahtea,
This was our first visit to Grafton so I have no way of knowing what it was like before. I get the impression that it was just wide open when you visited last. It looks as though the place is staffed by one person at least part of the time and the gate is locked at night. The buildings (all three of them)had doors and they were locked as well. We were only there for a few minutes so my impressions are vague. The lady was wanting to go home as it was 5 P.M. when we rolled in.

Hi Sharondi!

Love your report! I'm so glad you had a good time. Calf creek Falls is wonderful isn't it?

Please continue!

Hi Dayle,
It's funny. We weren't planning to do the Calf Creek hike thinking, since we're from northern NY that we've seen plenty of waterfalls and there's so much else to see in Utah. But we were in awe of the wonderful red canyon we could see from the road above and had to go. So glad we did.

I am lucky enought to live in the area and get to enjoy it daily. I love St. George people should spend more time here.

Day 4 Monday
Checked out of the Boulder Mtn Lodge by 8:30am. Sadly, we had to skip the amazing breakfast at Hells Backbone Grill but we were still full from last night?s dinner. We had breakfast there last year and it was wonderful. Took the Burr Trail through Long Canyon. Wow! Just gorgeous! We found the slot canyon that the Hells Backbone folks tipped us off to and enjoyed a short morning stroll into this easily accessible spot. We continued down Long Canyon and found it more impressive than we thought it would be. High red cliffs all pock-marked with holes. Pavement ends and we came to an area of colorful soil ? everything from purple to yellow all in the same view. As we approached the Waterpocket Fold we saw the sign for Muley Twist. Drove in a couple of miles but turned around since it was pretty rough and we were starting to scrape the bottom of the rental. The next stretch of the Burr Trail featured yellow wildflowers growing alongside the road for about fifteen miles. A Utah version of the yellow brick road?

We came down the Waterpocket Fold on the switchbacks. At one of the turns we passed a car from California with two young men in lounge chairs working on their tans in the middle of nowhere. Odd. Came to the Notom Road and took a right going south so we could check out Surprise Canyon hike to break up our drive. A nice short hike into a another small slot canyon. Great variety of rock colors and even some green mud for our amusement. Back to the jeep and headed north on Notom Road toward Capitol Reef. The view of the Waterpocket Fold from the Notom Road is impressive. Stopped at a campground and ate our yummy sandwiches from Hell Backbone. Then headed up Hwy 24 and stopped at the visitors center. We did the highly scenic drive into Capitol Gorge. The sky was looking stormy as we headed to Torrey and checked into our cheap but good-sized room at the Capitol Reef Inn. $48/night. Figured we?d try it. The room had everything you need ? including a table, phone, tv and refrige. The bathroom had dated fixtures and pretty noisy plumbing but the place was fine for 2 nights. The on-site Café was convenient and we had a decent, inexpensive meal ($34 w/2 beers). BBQ chicken & fixings ? standard fare but pretty good. Took an after dinner drive to check out the sunset and full moon. Early to bed.

We started Day 5 with breakfast at the Café. Homemade bread. Very good. Hiked the Chimney Rock Trail in the park. 3 ? mile loop that starts out steep but levels out. Excellent views. Next we hiked the Grand Wash (4 ? mi. rtrip). This is a nice easy level walk through narrow canyon walls. It was a hot day ? mid 80?s. The intermittent shade of the canyon walls was very nice. Clouds threatening in the late afternoon but no rain. We made reservations for an early dinner at Café Diablo which is conveniently just down the road from Capitol Reef Inn. Grabbed two wraps from the Chuckwagon General Store for tomorrow?s lunch. Café Diablo had a few other early diners. Our server was outstanding and so friendly. We ordered excellent margaritas and they brought out a plate of grilled veggies w/cheese and bread. Very good. We couldn?t help it. We had to try an appetizer. Cornflower pillows filled w/cojito cheese and sweet potato on a black bean sauce. Unbelievable! I had fire roasted pork medallions w/loads of fresh veggies ? excellent. Peter?s pork ribs in chipotle, molasses and rum glaze were wicked good. Meat falling off the bone. More margaritas. We wrapped up with really, really good coffee and had to have dessert because our awesome server was also the dessert chef. Keylime & berry tart and some pear/almond thing with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. I wish I had it right now! Everything was delicious. And we talked with people at other tables around us and everyone loved their meals. Another perfect day in Utah.

If anyone's interested in viewing our pictures, check out our utah galleries at www.pbase.com/peterb.

WOW, those are fantastic pictures!

Utahtea

sharon,

Very nice trip report and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share them.