Day 75, Before the Rains Come

We left early this morning since the forecast was for rain before 8. We have been fairly lucky on this trip. We have only driven in the rain a few days and only really had one day when we got to the Catskills that we were "rained out."  It has rained at night and we did hike in the rain twice, but all in all, we feel we have managed to dodge the rain.


We got to St George/Hurricane KOA really early, having avoided rain, but not sprinkles. They let us check-in at 11:30 which meant we got to have lunch at the campsite. This is the least attractive, but not the least expensive, and most packed-together KOA we have been in. As we left the Bryce Canyon area this morning, we talked with another camper who was also headed this way without reservations. There are campgrounds that are first-come, first-served but I wasn't happy to leave this to chance. After all the internet searching, emails, and phone calls, we are here - nearly 30 miles from Zion, but at least we aren't driving from BLM campground to Forest Service campground, which don't have phones, looking for a place to park.

We aren't far from the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. We had time to do a hike before the rain was due to start here. We had to drive through a few tunnels first.


We chose a 2 mile out and back that was rated easy, which it kinda was until the rock scrambling began. 




We got to a place where I was happy to let Denis go beyond by himself.

It was a beautiful hike and we managed to make it back to the car just as the rain began.

We still have prepared food in the freezer from home but I had read about a Mexican market, Su Lugar, in Hurricane that had great carne asada and guacamole. We headed there just as the lightning storm hit. Luckily, we didn't have the pod with us. Dinner was procured and on the way back, we stopped at Lin's Grocery to pick up a few fresh things we'd run out of. Unlike some of the other local stores we've shopped at, this one was more like a local Albertson's. Denis found the beer aisle. This is Utah and even with brands we have back home, all beer was a maximum of 5% alcohol.

While we were in Bryce Canyon, many of the restrooms were closed due to a water shortage. In some places, pit toilets were available instead. Driving back to the campsite, the storm had passed. We drove by Quail Creek Reservoir. You can see just how low it is.


Hard to complain about any rain when the West is so dry.
Location: Hurricane, UT 84737, USA

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