~Tuesday, September 29, 2020~
Day 107
A restless night as we had a few minor events. The low was around 22 last night, with the trailer at about 41 when Jeff put on the heater around 4:00 a.m. After realizing we’re just wasting propane and battery power being completely warm under our fleece sheets and 10 degree rated comforter, he turned it off until 7:30 a.m. I don’t know about you, but I like fresh cold air hitting my face, as long as the rest of me is nice and warm under the covers. Even our fur baby was trying to get under the covers, even with her thick coat. The other thing that woke us was the sound of clanging metal behind our trailer, then a scurry on the roof. Sadie had something to say about that for sure. Jeff thinks it was an animal that jumped onto our bike rack then up the ladder (the clanging sound), then onto the roof when he came out to investigate.
Since staying in our peaceful forest, we try to get out and sightsee every other day. So after our delicious pancake, egg and bacon breakfast, we headed to Bryce Canyon. This would be my third time there (once when Jeff and I were dating and once with our kids). Jeff’s favorite is Zion but we wouldn’t have been able to bring Sadie there due to their “shuttle only” service through the park. This is only happening this year because of COVID. For some reason, Bryce does not operate the same way. We started with the visitor center which was shockingly, open with the routine monitoring of the number of people going in and out of the building. Jeff and I took turns going in since it was on the warm side having Sadie left in the car. So I caught up on emails, phone calls and posts. It was at this time I heard the tragic news from Hannah, that Calistoga and Angwin were both being fully evacuated from another devastating fire, called the Glass Fire which was already at 48,000 acres burned and no containment. The Napa Valley just can’t catch a break. They were under the same evacuation orders back in 2017. I am so sad for the people, wineries, and vineyards that have been affected. Gosh can we just put 2020 behind us already??
After the visitor center stop, we chose to concentrate our time on the amphitheatre area where we took a paved trail from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point.
Sadie loved it and it was quite the dog social hour. I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t take the dirt trail down to Bryce Canyon due to no dogs allowed. They’re only allowed on paved trails (there are 61 miles of dirt trails through the canyon). Even though we have some limitations bringing Sadie with us on this year long trip, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re so glad she’s joined the party.
I just remember how much fun we had going down the canyon with our kids about 13 years ago and looking UP at the many weathered rock features. Apparently, there is about 1 to 4 feet of erosion per century on the cliff edges. I’m glad I’ve been able to see both perspectives looking down into the canyon, and up to the surrounding plateaus. We stopped at a few more overlooks with the shadows making the scenery even more dramatic as the afternoon wore on. I’ve noticed that most of the tourists are Americans enjoying what’s in their own backyard. Very few international tourists due to the pandemic.
On the way to our site, we stopped at a small grocery store in the town of Panguitch which fit the bill for the basics of milk, crackers and bananas. Only minutes from arriving at our site, we came across the same herd of sheep we saw by our campsite the other day, crossing the highway into another meadow with the same herding dog laying in the road near the cattle guard. We only had to wait a few minutes which really tested Sadie’s patience as she wanted to join the other herding dogs I’m sure.
With light snacks and no lunch, we were eager to start our fajita dinner under a nearly full moon. Maybe we’ll be lucky to catch a full moon tomorrow night with it being our final night here in the Cedar Breaks area before heading to Colorado.
We’re doing another experiment this evening in terms of keeping the heat in. When we purchased the trailer, it came with a set of insulated covers for our skylights and vents that simply snap into place. We’ll see if this keeps our overnight temps higher inside the trailer or not. Stay tuned……