Kathleen's Window: Vermillion Cliffs and a Tale of Two Craters

Monday, March 10, 2014

Thursday morning we drove out of Zion Canyon and onto the park road heading east. When we entered the park we purchased a tunnel permit and that morning we needed it. The road leaving the park goes through two tunnels. The first one was built in 1930 in order for visitors to be able to drive over to Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon without going a great distance out of their way. Of course vehicles were smaller then, so today cars can pass each other in the narrow curvy tunnel, but even an RV our size is too wide. The solution is for tunnel rangers to stop two way traffic in the traffic for the oversized vehicles and they can drive down the middle of the tunnel. The $15 permit pays for the tunnel rangers at each end.

Zion Campsite

Our Woodpecker alarm clock, right next to the RV

Waiting for a one-way trip through the narrow tunnel

We were 2 feet too wide for two way traffic

Driving right down the center

Navajo Sandstone at the top of Zion

Checkerboard Mesa, East of the Zion tunnel

After a short wait we drove through and continued east out of the park to Kanab, Utah. This town was the mecca for Hollywood to film westerns due to the great scenery in the area. If you've seen an old western, you've seen Kanab. We stopped for fuel, groceries, and a Mexican meal at Nedra's Too. The walls were filled with autographs from the famous Hollywood actors that ate there in the past. Greg recognized a lot more than I did. I've never been much on westerns.

Lunch at Nedra's Too. Authentic hot pepper!

One of many actors of westerns filmed near Kanab

From Kanab we drove east to the Vermillion Cliffs area halfway between Kanab and Lake Powell. We discovered a free boondocking spot on BLM land overlooking the Paria (rhymes with Maria) River. No one else was there so we settled in for two nights of solitude after the bustle of Zion. We actually wound up on a bluff that was the edge of an inactive gravel pit. We had a great view of the river, and a few homesteads below. Across the valley was a narrow north-south ridge called The Cockscomb for it's red rock and jagged top. Greg rode his bike down the nearby gravel road to get a better view of Paria Canyon. We investigated the nearby hikes to the Wave and slot canyons, but discovered that we would need a four wheeled drive vehicle and a permit into the area. Something else to add to the bucket list.

Relaxing at our Paria Wilderness boondock site. Comfortable gravel footstool

View from our campsite

Our RV, seen from the trail below the mesa

Wildflower near camp

Looking across the Paria River

Down at the entrance to Paria Canyon

The mouth of a little slot canyon

Looking upstream toward our camp

After two nights of feeling like we were on a rolling deck from the wind gusts on the bluff, Saturday we drove towards Lake Powell and Page, Arizona. The lake is mostly inaccessible, except by boat, so there were no boondocking opportunities and we drove south from there towards Flagstaff. Most of the drive was through the Navajo Reservation and then into the Coconino National Forest. As we drove we watched snow covered mountains of the San Francisco Peaks emerge above the desert floor. Humphrey's Peak, the tallest mountain in Arizona at over 12,000' was surrounded by other only slightly shorter peaks that form a stratovolcano. There is a 6 million year history of volcanic activity in the Flagstaff area. The latest to erupt 900 years ago was Sunset Crater.

First view of San Francisco Peaks

At the top of the summit where the highway climbs to 7,300' we turned into Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We were able to hike along the base on one side of it, but not up on the rim like the Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley. After decades of visitors climbing up the sides, the ruts were so deep that the trails were closed in order to preserve the crater. Our hike took us through lava fields, and frankly with the high winds, and the cold, the one mile hike was enough.

Sunset Crater

The lava bed trail

Fresh-looking lava spatter cone

Looking up the cinder cone

Looking east at the San Francisco Peaks

Two-Needle Pinyon cones

Late afternoon we drove directly across the highway onto a gravel forest service road and found a place to boondock for the night amidst the ponderosa pines. Ahhh, peace and quiet with a view of snowcapped peaks. Bang, bang, bang!!! Someone was using a nearby quarry area for target practice. They were far enough away for us to be safe, and left at dusk. We also discovered that hunters had used our spot in the past based on a few large bones, some fur (elk maybe?), and bullet casings. National Forest and BLM lands don't have the same restrictions as national and state parks, but we are still surprised when we see hunting, mining, grazing, and ATV use. I guess sometimes that's the tradeoff for free camping.

Boondock area near Sunset Crater in Coconino National Forest

Our boondock site - Real trees!

The wind finally died during the night, but it was cold. We snuggled under the down comforter on our bunk. From time to time we awoke during the night and took some deep breaths. Being up in the mountains is beautiful, but the oxygen is thinner. Until you spend six weeks at a higher elevation and your body is able to adjust, you have to pace yourself when you hike as well. Greg seems to do better than I do. I've had to scratch a few high altitude hikes off my bucket list. : (

Sunday morning we left the mountains in search of our next crater experience. This time it was a meteor crater. We descended a few thousand feet to Flagstaff and took I-40 east to the Meteor Crater exit out in the flatland of the high desert. The snow covered peaks were still looming behind us. A short drive down the road we reached it. It's a national natural landmark, but privately owned, so we were a little concerned that it might be a hokey roadside attraction. In reality, it is a well done exhibit and was crowded with families and college classes on Spring Break.

50,000 years ago a meteor struck this area in the Arizona desert and left the best preserved meteor crater on earth. Scientists have been able to identify it as having been caused by a meteor and not by a volcano, and that proof helped them to identify many more meteor craters across the planet. We toured the museum and went out on the observation platforms. The trail around the rim was closed in the 1990's due to liability issues, so we had to take a guided tour around a small part of the rim. Because of it's resemblance to craters on the moon, the Apollo astronauts trained here. It was a fun, informative stop, and after a few hours we drove further east.

Yup - Big!

The largest fragment found of the 150-foot iron meteorite that struck at 26,000 MPH

Looking from Meteor Crater toward the San Francisco Peaks

Pretending to have reached the crater bottom

We left I-40 at Holbrook and took Route 180 south. At the entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park, we found the Crystal Forest Gift Shop. Our internet sources said they had free camping, so we pulled in just before 4 pm. Hmmm, there were a bunch of cars in the parking lot there, and at its sister shop across the road. We found a spot in the back of a fenced field away from the road, and walked to the shop. It closed at 4 pm. A few other cars pulled in and then left. A closer look at the cars showed that they were “vintage” and most no longer had license plates! Decoy cars to lure in customers! Petrified Forest doesn't draw in the visitors that it used to, and these gift shops have been around a long time. Two other campers joined us for a quiet, cold night.

Petrified wood dealer

Free camping site with genuine petrified wood bench

Petrified wood log

Shop pillars

Decoy Cars

We left before the shops opened in the morning and continued south across the high desert and into the Apache National Forest. During the morning we saw a prairie dog on the side of the road. Greg had seen some in Utah, but darn, I just couldn't spot them. We also saw two herds of pronghorn antelope, and had several mule deer cross the road in front of us in the mountains. Climbing up through the mountains and southeastward towards New Mexico we saw a lot of evidence of wildfires. This is the area of Arizona that has frequent large fires because of the drought and low humidity. The twisting turning roads took us over the border into New Mexico and towards the Gila Wilderness.

Elk warning

Forest fire damage in Apache National Forest

View of Gila Wilderness from Apache National Forest

View from Aldo Leopold Viewpoint in Gila National Forest

Our goal for tonight was to stay at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument deep in the Gila Wilderness north of Silver City. The road descended into the valley that circles the Wilderness on the west side. To reach the cliff dwellings we had to return to Silver City directly south on the circle, that we came through almost two months ago on our route west. From there we drove north on Route 15, a narrow, twisty road through the ponderosa forests, and along the high ridges. RV's over 25' and trailers over 20' are not allowed to go up this route and must take an alternate route part of the way. Greg has gotten a lot of experience driving those types of roads in our 24' rig, so my fearless chauffeur chose the twisty route! The views were spectacular and the temperature got warmer as we drove higher in the mountains. By the time we reached our destination after climbing to over 8,500' and back down into a high valley to 6,000', it was 72 degrees!

NM 15 winds 41 miles to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, a TWO-hour drive

The Gila Basin from 8,000 plus feet

The dwellings closed for the day at 4 pm, so we pulled into the Lower Scorpion Campground. We took a short hike from there to see a small cliff dwelling and some paleoindian rock art. We're parked on the pavement, but it's free and quiet. Only one other camper. Tomorrow morning we'll hike up the canyon to see the cliff dwellings.