Mesa Spirit RV Resort, Mesa, AZ

We had an uneventful, but very bumpy ride down US 93 from Kingman, AZ. Once past Wickenburg the bumps smoothed out, but the crazy city traffic started. Thankfully, it was a Saturday and not weekday rush hour. Our only problem came at the very end of the journey when we could not find the entrance to the RV park. The GPS said we passed it, but we did not see it. Reversing direction in this beast on city streets is a challenge, but we managed. On the second pass we caught sight of the small signs just in time to make the turn. It is a narrow entrance amongst commercial buildings with more prominent signage.

This is a huge complex. We have found the staff and other residents very friendly. The sites are very tight, but once in they are not too bad. The placement of utilities was unusual and it took every bit of hose to reach the water source.

It is nice to be back in warm weather and wear shorts again.

This is Veteran’s Day weekend and we plan to attend the Mesa Veteran’s Day parade on Monday.

Elbow Canyon Trail, Scenic, AZ

After a day of rest following the FMCA 4Wheeler rally we met up with another couple and tried one last trail. The Elbow Canyon trail departs from the small town of Scenic, AZ and our club rates it an easy trail. It was not offered this year as a part of the rally, but we had GPS tracks on the iPad to show us the way. What could go wrong, right?

Heading due East out of Scenic it was a steady climb towards Mount Bangs and Black Rock Mountain. The trail was an unimproved road that may have supported early mining activity many decades ago, but is now a forest service road and best left to serious four wheel vehicles. It was a good workout, but not a major off-road challenge. At the top we could look back done the mountain to the valley we departed from.

This part of Arizona is just north and a bit west of the Grand Canyon. We hoped to get a glimpse of the canyon from a few of the vantage points that allowed a view in that direction, but did not see the canyon itself.

We ran the ridges and gullies back North to Utah. At times it was simple dirt roads, but at others it was hard to determine exactly where the trail was. It was obvious that no one had been on parts of this trail in a long time since vegetation was taking over.

It turned out to be a long trail and we got back to St George just as the sun was setting. We celebrated our safe return by having dinner at Irmita’s Casita Mexican Restaurant. The food was great. The only thing missing was the cerveza! No liquor license.

We now have two days to get chores and errands done before heading to Kingman and then Mesa, AZ to spend time with several old friends. Old as in knowing them since the 60’s and 70’s for they are certainly young in spirit.

Elephants, Virgins, and Things Trail, St George, UT

The last trail of the FMCA 4Wheelers rally was an easy, but bumpy, outing. We stopped to see two large sink holes that are the “Things” in the trail title. The Virgin refers to the many views of the Virgin River in the gorge below the trail.

The elephant is Elephant Arch. It is not a great picture, but look at the rock the guy is sitting on it this picture. Tap the photo to enlarge.

We had lunch overlooking the Virgin River Gorge and Interstate 15 far below us.

Despite appearances to the contrary the Jeep was washed two times this week. It will just stay dirty now until the day before we leave for Kingman and Mesa, AZ.

West Rim Upper Trail, St George, UT

After a day off we tackled a bit more challenging trail.

While just as scenic as the others this trail offered a few obstacles. From here “Escalator” does not look too bad.

It gets more interesting.

As seen from the other direction. Thank you John Beard for a fine job spotting us down.

This was the way out once we came down Escalator. We cleared the sides by two inches.

Barracks Trail, Hurricane, UT

Wednesday was a long day. The Barracks Trail leaves from Hurricane, UT and winds it way north to the eastern entrance to Zion National Park. The return was on the highway through the park to Hurricane and on to St George. The trail itself is forty-four miles long, but totals 145 miles when the highway segments are considered.

We visited more dinosaur tracks. The tracks the other day were direct imprints in the sandstone. Today’s prints are cast, meaning the original imprint was filled with material that calcified and are now preserved in relief.

It is a very scenic trail, but not without its challenges since there is a good bit of sand. Here one of our group needed to be strapped back on the trail from the edge of a substantial drop off.

We had lunch in a stream bed, but it was too cold to set up chairs. We all ate in our respective jeeps before continuing on. From this point on to Zion National Park we managed twenty-four water crossings of various depths. The lead Jeep was breaking the ice on the river. As we crossed we could see ice in some places that was nearly an inch thick. I think this was the day that I read Florida was experiencing a heat index of 100 degrees.

The drive through Zion came at the perfect time of day to light the canyon.

This was the night of the wine tasting contest. Six wines were served. Each was presented in a black glass to hide its color. We were to guess its color, varietal, and year. We guessed blindly for the most part, but still came away with nice hand made wood cutting/serving boards as prizes.

Toquerville Falls, Toquerville, UT

Tuesday had us on Toquerville Towers and Falls Trail departing from the wonderful little town of Toquerville, UT.

Our first stop was the top of the mountain behind the town. This is the site of communications towers serving cell phones and local business radio systems. Great view from here.

We had lunch at the falls. The next morning these falls were frozen over.

West Rim Upper, St George, UT

Our first full day on trails had us on West Rim Upper Trail. Interesting stops included the ruins of Fort Pearce an outpost used by the Army from about 1867 to 1870 I believe. The wall leading away in the photo is a remnant of the coral. The actual fort is the small stone structure in the distance. It must have been harsh duty, the longest dimension of the building is only thirty feet.

We continued on to a wash that features dinosaur tracks. There were quite a few imprints of varying size. The one pictured was about a foot in length and is believed to be made by an animal eight feet high at the shoulder and about twenty feet long.

In hundreds of acres of dunes in the State Park we managed to find the one composting toilet.

The views at our lunch spot were beautiful.

Did I mention it is getting in the twenties at night here during Halloween week?