Day 18 - Dixie National Forest to Sand Hollow State Park, UT - The hidden side of Bryce

Today we would be packing up again and heading to one of Utah’s State Parks and so we decided to use our electricity a bit less sparingly and have pancakes for breakfast.  Unfortunately, we made a bit (read - LOT) too much batter and so we completely drained the solar generator.  Oh well, that’s ok - we’ll just have to also do our dishes at the state park because there’s nothing left but propane to make hot water and we’d rather use electric when we can.

Before we hit the road though, we wanted to go and explore Bryce a bit more.  Amy had again visited with the rangers and they suggested that very few people go to Mossy Cave.  We were a bit surprised to see so many cars when we got there, but we found a spot and started up the trtail.  

Along the we way up the trail, we realized that we were close enough to one of the guided tours that was being conducted.  Fortunately for us, the tour guide was willing to let us listen (he made sure to be very vocal when saying “No kids should hear this”) and he taught us the Ponderosa Pines have a very pleasant odor if you shove your nose into the bark.  Robinson was the first to volunteer and he said it smelled like carmel.  Sebastian gave it a try and said it was more vanilla.  Each of us smelled something different, but all of us thought it smelled good.

As we continued up the trail, we were following something we hadn’t seen much of in Bryce - water!  The canyon itself was very dry, but here on the path was a consistently flowing mountain stream.  As we rounded the corner, we even found that the stream had a beautiful waterfall.  The trail had split and when we went back the other direction, we found the Mossy Cave full of, as the name implies, moss, but consistent dripping water - as Sebastian found out when one drop went down his back!  We finished the trail and headed back to camp to pack up.

Packing up went fairly smoothly and soon we were starting our transfer Sand Hollow State Park.  We were relatively late in booking our travels and trying to find something around Zion was a challenge so Sand Hollow was what Amy could find.  It was about 40 minutes from the park, but we did get to drive through the park on the way there!  As a bonus, there’s one tunnel within Zion National Park that’s over a mile long and we would get to drive it.  

This tunnel through the park is the ONLY way to get across the park and so the National Park service manages it very closely.  It was built in the 1930s so it isn’t exactly ready to accomodate the cars of today.  So, they require careful inspections of wide vehicles and will run them as one-way traffic as needed.  Seeing Dover, the rangers felt we needed to be measured and we were 87” wide - just below the threshold to pay for one-way traffic management!  So, off toward the tunnel we went.

The drive through Zion is spectacular.  The park has some incredible altitude variation and the views on the East side of the park as you drive through are spectacular.  Again, the bare rock and size of it make it seem so very big.  After a few miles of this, we arrived at the infamous tunnel.  

As it turns out, the tunnel is run one-way for most of the day so we got through without an issue.  Good thing too because 2-way traffic on that narrow tunnel with Rover and Dover would have been nerve racking!  But we scooted through and then began the switchbacks that follow.  Eventually we drove past the visitor center and out of the park without much of a stop.

If I thought the area around Bryce Canyon was touristy, it was NOTHING compared to Zion.  There’s just so much tourism activity outside Zion.  It’s great that so many people want to come see the National Park, but there’s just so many people not seeing the park.  Oh well.  We got through it all and arrived at Sand Hollow State Park.

Sand Hollow State Park might better be called Party Central.  It’s a reservoir that Utah established as a park 20 years ago in 2003 and it feels more like a state run RV park than anything.  There were ZERO hiking trails and lots of motor sports activities (OHVs, motorboats, waverunners, etc).  It felt like a state sponsored #lakelife.

The boys were THRILLED with this idea and decided quickly that we didn’t need to go back to Zion.  We let them play in the outlet creek behind the camper while we set up, but we told them we were indeed going back to Zion if only to ride the shuttle on the scenic road.  So, they played, we set up, and eventually we all packed back into Rover to head back to Zion.

Given that it was later in the afternoon, the crowds had started to disperse.  But even then, after we parked, it felt very much like a theme park and not a National Park.  We later learned that Zion was the #2 visited National Park last year (behind our beloved Smokies) and it seemed set up for people management.  Thankfully it was getting into later afternoon so we had no issues getting on the shuttle and enjoying the ride up the scenic trail.

This time we actually followed our plan and didn’t get out and hike, but rather just rode the shuttle.  Our driver was terrific (Canadian - need I say more) and filled the ride with facts and anecdotes to help pass the ride.  Along the ride, we say the canyon walls, but also a number of deer, a turkey, prarie dogs, and a few other pieces of nature.  For a ride in a shuttle, it was a pretty good nature experience and left us with a few ideas for what to hike tomorrow.

When we finished the shuttle, we headed back toward camp.  We stopped at a grocery store for some California rolls for Robinson (he’d been waiting patiently for us to find some along the trip), milk, and a few other necessities.  We brought it all back to camp, sat outside and enjoyed a wonderful view of the lake.

The sun setting on the lake with the mountains was amazing and would only be surpassed by the full view of the stars after the sun set.  For a full 360 degree view, this place is hard to beat - it felt like being in a seat at the planetarium!  

While it was a bit noisy with some #lakelife folks enjoying their time without any quiet hours enforcement, we all were able to sleep great with all the screens still open.  

Total miles travelled - 3,988

# States (Provinces) - 10