TrailerQuest 2010 - Days 13-16

Cacti, Vortices, Zion and snow

We departed the comfy resort in Las Cruces and began the trek across New Mexico headed towards Tucson.  The seemingly never-ending onslaught of billboards somehow reminded me of my youth and the few trips we took to NM and AZ.  Moccasins, turquoise jewelry, inexpensive cigarettes, beef, Dairy Queen, pottery and my favorite - "Hillbilly Figurine Collectibles".  I haven't pieced together what part of the Navajo tradition embodies the modern exaggerated and stereotyped ceramic hillbilly crafted in China, but maybe I'm missing something.

It was a long haul - through western NM and into the greater Tucson area.  We decided to forego RV park "camping" and stayed at the Catalina State Park just outside the northeastern corner of the city.    It is clear that the city sprawl has headed towards the pretty side of town and has nearly swallowed this large state park.  If you forget a piece of essential gear there is a Dick's Sporting Goods just across the street from the park entrance.

Somehow the park felt far away from all of that and was equipped with power and water connections to make camper life easier.  We parked ourselves on the perimeter near the cacti with a wonderful view of the Catalina mountains.  The facilities at the park - restrooms and showers - were probably the best I've ever seen at a campground, public or private.  Unfortunately it was chilly and very windy so our time at the park was limited to being inside the camper.

The next morning after a quick breakfast we hitched up and headed towards AZ and the quirky rich hippy vortex-laden red rock extravaganza known as Sedona.  The drive through Phoenix was tedious as that city has grown into such a sprawling metro area of connected suburbs.  The landscape of AZ is almost cartoonish - dry barren hills covered quite specifically with Saguaro cactus.

We arrived in Sedona in the late afternoon and stayed at an RV park located right in the middle of town. It was actually quite nice and sat next to the river that runs through town.  We took a break from camper life and headed into town for some pizza and pasta at a nice organic restaurant (see note above about rich hippies).  From there we drove to the upper part of town and strolled through a few shops and stopped in for some ice cream.

In the morning we walked down to the river and let Anya dig in the sand.  It is worth noting that her favorite camping activity appears to be rock hounding, rock moving, handing rocks to you, taking rocks from you and covering herself in dirt/sand/gravel/mud.

Departing Sedona we made the run for Utah, bypassing the Grand Canyon in the quest for Zion National Park.  The wind has been relentless on this trip since Fort Stockton, TX and has made travel - especially uphill travel - that much slower.

We passed the Vermillion Cliffs and failed to stop at any of the innumerable Navajo roadside stands until we entered Utah and the freakshow idiot hamlet of Kanab, UT.  In 2006 the Kanab Mayor and city council passed the "Natural Family Resolution" which codifies the definition of a "natural family".  To paraphrase the resolution - a family must be a married man and woman, ordained by God, open to a 'full quiver of children', where they envision young women growing into wives, homemakers, and mothers' and 'see young men growing into husbands, home-builders, and fathers'.

Sorry for the tangent here but that rules out most everyone I know, including us.  Sorry single parents.  Sorry families with one or no children.  Sorry working women.  Of course sorry single people or gays.  I never understood the point of adopting this resolution in a town almost solely dependent upon transient tourist dollars - tourists who do not stay and taint your Utopia anyway.  I'll be spending my money in LaVerkin where they have declared the city to be a UN-free Zone and at one time attempted to require their residents to carry concealed weapons.  Southern Utah is an amusing place.

We drove through Zion National Park and stopped for the night in Springdale - a beautiful little town.  After settling into our RV park, we decided to head out once again and get some restaurant food.  As fate would have it we inadvertently chose the only five-star establishment in Springdale and sauntered in with all of our 2 week road trip patina.  While quiet couples dressed in black and white gazed at each other over a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, the VanTyne family strolled in as such:

Daddy - Hawaiian palm tree surfer shorts, wrinkled button up shirt with "camping trip" flannel overshirt, Chuck Taylor shoes, un-showered for 2 days.

Momma - Chuy's restaurant t-shirt, shorts, Keen shoes, fleece, baseball hat.

Child - doesn't really matter what she was wearing, only mattered that she was a child.

We were made to feel comfortable and welcomed and were assured there was no dress code.  We enjoyed one of the finest meals we have had in years - filet mignon, angus appetizers, mixed greens, vegetables, etc.  One diner on her way out stopped at our table and said "I didn't hear her once this evening!".  To Anya's credit (and Momma's), she was very good at dinner.  The din of the date-night conversation far overpowered her occasional squeals for more pasta or bread.  All in all very nice and we can highly recommend the Parallel Eighty-Eight restaurant in Springdale if you ever find yourself there.

The next morning brought the final leg of TQ2010 - Zion to Sandy.  We said goodbye to the magnificence of Zion NP and hit the road heading north.  It is a familiar and somewhat unremarkable route up I-15.  We arrived home late in the evening and were met with cold rain and later snow.  Snow.

Overall a fun albeit exhausting trip.  With so many miles to cover we never had a chance to sit and relax in any one place.  It was mostly an exercise in driving, stopping, setting up, eating, sleeping, taking down and driving.  But we are happy to have "Lagom" in the driveway waiting to go places with us.

Thanks for reading.  Hope to see you in the mountains sometime.

Final Mileage Ticker - 3908 miles total