Day Seven
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Did I hear the sound of rain on the tent? In the desert? I peeked out, saw nothing, and decided maybe I was hearing things. As I laid there with my eyes closed, listening to the tent billow gently in the breeze, I heard it again. The sound was very soft, like the pitter patter of light rain on the rainfly, but how was I hearing rain with no rain?
Our campsite was located in the curve of the “basin” that makes it the Kodachrome Basin, so we had a huge rock formation forming a curve not far behind our tent. I came to the conclusion that the sand either falls from or blows off of that rock formation.
Willis Creek Slot Canyon…or not
Our first stop of the day was the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Visitor Center in Cannonville, UT to pick up Junior Ranger books for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I also wanted to inquire about Willis Creek slot canyon, a trail I had read about online. The ranger claimed the road to Willis Creek was fine if I had a high clearance vehicle, which I did. I just needed to make sure not to drive so carefully that I got stuck in the sand going uphill around a corner. “Just give it some gas,” he said.
This sounded like a recipe for a disaster in an area with no cell phone service. I may have been driving a capable vehicle, but I had never driven in sand before, and I had no desire to figure out where I’d need to “give it some gas,” so I asked if there were any other slot canyons nearby where we could stay on pavement. He gave us a map and instructions that sounded like something I could handle. We thanked him and saved that idea for the following morning, since it was in the opposite direction.
Bryce Canyon National Park
After we arrived at Bryce Canyon, I decided to check out the campgrounds to see what we were missing. It appeared that neither campground was undergoing the repaving project I had read about. Again, I wished I hadn’t made reservations. I also wished I hadn’t left the tent set up because I would’ve forfeited the second night at Kodachrome Basin for one at Bryce Canyon, but alas, camping in Bryce would have to wait.
Queen’s Garden Trail
The plan for the day was to hike the Queen’s Garden trail to Navajo trail and finish with Wall Street. The other part of the plan was to collect three benchmarks needed to earn a small prize. We needed to take a selfie or do a rubbing of each benchmark. Our Junior Ranger books had spaces for the rubbings on the back cover, so we brought them along.
I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better morning to hike in Bryce Canyon…clear blue skies, slight breeze, and not too hot. Perfect! We began our hike at Sunrise Point and I quickly remembered why I thought this park was so beautiful. It’s like red rock eye-candy everywhere you look.
When we reached the Queen’s Garden benchmark, we made rubbings and took pictures, but a lot of people were gathered at this location, so we kept going.
Shady benches in Bryce Canyon are not numerous, so when we found this one with no people, we stopped for a snack break and worked on our Junior Ranger books.
The Last Flower in Bryce Canyon
As we continued along the trail, we spotted a pretty little yellow flower. I have to mention this flower because it was the only one we saw in all of Bryce Canyon that day. We considered ourselves lucky to have spotted it since it was part of the bingo game in the Junior Ranger books.
While we were stopped so I could photograph the flower, a hungry chipmunk showed up and posed for pictures. This squirrel knew what he was doing. I’m pretty sure he thought we were supposed to reward him for posing.
The chipmunk kept looking at us like he was expecting a treat, so Joey pointed his trekking pole at the flower and told the chipmunk to “eat that.” The chipmunk looked at Joey, then at the flower. The next thing we knew, the chipmunk had plucked the flower off the stem with both paws and took a bite out of it, like he was eating a sandwich! No wonder we didn’t see any other flowers! In all of our national park travels, I think this is still one of my favorite critter stories!
Navajo Loop Benchmark
We finally reached the Navajo Loop benchmark and took a break. There were too many people around to work on the Junior Ranger books again, but we ate more snacks and rested while I studied the map of the other benchmarks.
We had rubbings from the number 4 and number 5 benchmarks and the number 6 benchmark didn’t look too far down the Peekaboo trail. I consulted with a couple hikers who had just come from that direction and they assured me that it was maybe only a twenty minutes to a half an hour away. That seemed doable, so we decided that we would go collect the Peekaboo benchmark and then come back the way we came and continue on with the Navajo Loop.
That was the plan until we finally arrived at the Peekaboo benchmark. It was a long haul uphill, with switchbacks all the way. I consulted the map again since there was nobody around at this benchmark. We could go back the way we came and connect to Navajo like we had planned, but it seemed like an awful long way back to that point when it seemed like we were more than halfway down the Peekaboo trail and we could just keep going to Bryce Point. The distance looked similar, but with no backtracking, so we decided to hike the rest of Peekaboo trail out.
I had promised that we would stop for lunch at the next unoccupied bench in the shade, but it seemed that there were fewer benches per mile on the Peekaboo trail. We asked a couple how far to the nearest benches and learned that there were some just around the corner, but to watch out for an aggressive chipmunk.
A Chipmunk Wanted Our Chips
After our recent flower-eating chipmunk encounter, we figured an aggressive chipmunk might be an exaggeration, but nope, that lady was not exaggerating one bit! The aforementioned chipmunk popped up from below the trail’s edge and scurried toward us as soon as we sat down.
Joey tapped his trekking pole on the ground near the chipmunk, sending him back to his perch at the edge. I figured maybe he’d sit over there and wait for a handout, but as soon as I pulled out the chip bag for chips and salsa, he perked his ears up and scurried closer again.
Both kids were tapping on the ground, so the chipmunk went back to his spot and watched as I opened the bright yellow bag. This chipmunk knew exactly what was inside that bag because he made a run for it again when I handed out some chips. This sent us all hustling to stand on top of the benches, with both kids tapping the trekking poles and me holding the chips and salsa. Each of us had a handful of chips, no salsa, and a chipmunk trying to decide whose leg to run up to get a snack. I quickly ate the chips in my hand, closed the bag, and put it back in my backpack, along with the salsa. The kids ate their chips while whacking the trekking poles on the ground, all while we stood on the benches. If there were trail cams in this spot, some park rangers were probably getting a chuckle out of the three of us battling a hungry chipmunk!
When the chipmunk finally backed off, we decided to make a run for it. Joey usually takes up the rear, so he kept tapping his trekking pole at the chipmunk while we walked. Eventually the chipmunk went back to his hiding spot to wait for his next victim. Clearly, this is why people should not feed the wildlife! People food is like a drug to them and they go to any measure to get more of it.
We hiked another twenty minutes and then found spots to sit on a log and a rock further down the trail. It wasn’t the most scenic spot for a picnic in the park, but at least there were no chipmunks stalking us for our chips and salsa!
Every curve in the trail revealed another layer of stunning scenery filled with hoodoos and more hoodoos. It surprised me to see how many trees were also mixed into the landscape. Quite a lot of our hike was through forest area, which gave us some shade for our afternoon.
We finally reached the connector trail to go to Bryce Point. A horse-riding group came up behind us, so we stopped to let them pass. Their leader announced that they would soon be stopping for a restroom break. We had just been wondering about the whereabouts of a restroom, so I asked the guide at the end of the group and he said they were not far.
We found what had to be the smelliest of smelly pit toilets, covered with a bazillion flies, and hurried to get in line before the twenty horse riders did the same. I’m pretty sure I held my breath the entire time. It was so bad!
We retraced our steps back to where the trail divides, stopped for a few pictures with the sign post, and started our one mile hike to the top. The leader of the horse group had pointed out that you could see Bryce Point waaaay up there and you really could…barely…if you squinted. It was nice to be able to see the end, but it was clear that it would be an uphill hike the rest of the way.
The rest of the hike was a combination of switchbacks and amazing views. I am certainly glad we ended up on Peekaboo trail because it was possibly some of the most stunning scenery in the park, but boy was it a tough climb to get back out.
Bryce Point
Our view of the observation deck of Bryce Point came and went, but each time we saw it again, it was getting closer. When we finally reached Bryce Point, we were happy to find out that we didn’t actually have to climb all the way up to the viewpoint to get to the shuttle stop. It had been a long day and we were exhausted. We decided we had seen Bryce Canyon from every possible angle all day, so we didn’t need to go any further. We also didn’t want to risk missing the next shuttle, so we sat down to wait for our ride back to the truck.
Bryce Canyon Traverse
We took the shuttle to the lodge to have a look around the gift shop and ended up relaxing on their big comfy couches to finish our Junior Ranger books. It was there that I discovered that the hike we did actually had a name: Bryce Canyon Traverse. According to the trail information I found, you were actually supposed to hike it the opposite direction, going down the steeper Peekaboo section first. I like to call our version the Bryce Canyon Traverse in Reverse. Ha!
We hiked almost five miles that day, which was the longest distance we had ever hiked at the time. It remains one of my all-time favorite hikes. I mapped it on Gaia GPS and added stars to show where the benchmarks were located. Clearly, that Peekaboo benchmark was not as far down the trail as we had thought that day!
We did not use Gaia to track our hikes back then, but I think if we had, we probably would’ve turned around at the Peekaboo benchmark and completed the hike out on the Navajo Loop, as originally planned. I’m glad we didn’t know how strenuous that climb up to Bryce Point on Peekaboo was because we saw some gorgeous and amazing scenery. However, it was maybe not the best idea to add so much to our hike without knowing the terrain. To be fair, though, the map we had with us made it seem like it would be about the same distance either way. The best part was that we learned that we could manage a five mile hike, which felt like a huge accomplishment!
Nostalgia
Speaking of accomplishments, just being at Bryce Canyon National Park that day with the kids felt like an accomplishment for me. I had wanted to go back for many, many years, and I had wanted to take the kids there ever since we had started traveling together. I was super happy the park still seemed the same as I remembered it being twenty-some years before. I love that we were able to experience so much of it by spending a whole day hiking among the hoodoos.
My first visit lasted only a few hours on our way to the Grand Canyon, but it had made such a lasting impression on me. Surely, a whole day among the hoodoos, being stalked by a chipmunk, and witnessing another chipmunk eating a flower, will be forever etched in our memories. Here’s a photo from my first visit to Bryce Canyon!
Bryce Canyon Junior Rangers
Feeling rejuvenated after some time in the air conditioning while finishing our Junior Ranger books, we caught the shuttle back to the truck and drove to the visitor center. We needed to have our books checked by a ranger and we also wanted to find out what the “small prize” for the benchmarks would be. I had hoped it might be a coin sized version of a benchmark for Bryce Canyon. Megan joked that it was probably a boring sticker. We discussed the possibilities pretty much every time we left a new benchmark. It had been really hard work to get three benchmarks, so we hoped it would be worth the significant effort, whatever it might be.
At the visitor center, the ranger checked over our books, chatted with us about our answers, swore us in as Junior Rangers and handed out the badges. This was my first Junior Ranger badge and number twenty-five for the kids. He also looked over our benchmark rubbings and gave us each a very nice quality waterproof sticker that was the size of the benchmark rubbings we had made. I wish they had made this design into a t-shirt because I totally would’ve bought one to match my hard-earned sticker!
Part of what makes Junior Rangers appealing to us, is chatting with the rangers who like to chat. This particular ranger looked at Megan’s pictures of the chipmunk eating the flower, and listened to our tales of both chipmunk escapades. He asked if we had fed the chipmunk that wanted our lunch and was happy to find out that we had not. He gave us his undivided attention, never once letting on that a line was building behind us.
The Hunt For T-Shirts
We did some shopping in the visitor center, where we attempted to find shirts that said we had hiked the hoodoos. Instead, we found a Nano Blocks set of Thor’s Hammer and Joey found his shirt. We also checked out a shop at Ruby’s Inn, but were amused and disappointed to find that many of their Bryce Canyon shirts featured mountains and not hoodoos. We decided to go back to the lodge gift shop, which was where Megan and I found shirts. We thought it was funny that none of us remembered these shirts from when we had been in the shop earlier. Either they looked better the second time around or we had recuperated from our hike by then.
We also decided that since we had bought Thor’s Hammer in Nano Blocks, we should go take a better look at the actual rock formation. None of us was motivated enough to hike anymore, so it was just a quick look-see from the overlook and then it was time to go find our supper for the night. The Bryce Canyon rangers recommended The Pines restaurant, but it was a 45 minute wait and sunset was fast approaching, so we decided against that. It sure smelled good, though, so I’m guessing we missed out on a real treat.
The Pizza Place
We went back to Tropic, to The Pizza Place. We had decided that if we could not have burgers, we needed a good pizza night to make up for the lackluster Grand Canyon pizza we ate a few days ago. We ordered breadsticks and a chicken bacon ranch pizza and both were a delight!
Driving in the Dark
After devouring our pizza, we needed to hustle back to our campground in the dark. Luckily, it was not far to go. Folks on the travel forums recommend not driving after dark due to wildlife and open range cattle…and because it is completely dark without streetlights. That last bit always makes me chuckle when I read it.
Being a lifelong country girl, it had never occurred to me that anyone would not drive in the dark simply because it was dark outside, or because animals might be in the middle of the road. We go places all the time in the dark, not that that is a valid argument, but when you live in a rural area, you just learn how to drive in the dark. Drive slower, don’t use cruise, keep your high beams on, scan the space in front of you and you’ll be fine. “Watch out for deer” is basically the midwest version of “Have a safe drive.” We hustled carefully back to the campground without incident, waved at the ranger as we went by the visitor center, and made our way to our home away from home at site 12.
What Happened Here??
When I drove in and the headlights hit the tent, I immediately noticed that our tarp under the tent was missing! Did someone steal it? We grabbed flashlights and discovered that the tarp was wadded up under a nearby bush. Odd! How does a tarp get out from under a tent that is still staked down??
Upon further investigation, we found that the side stakes had been yanked out of the ground, but the corner ones were still intact. Very odd! I shined the flashlight around the inside of the tent and discovered the foam mats we had left inside on a stack were flipped over, still stacked in the same order, but upside down and with a lot of sand on them. There were no footprints inside the tent, though, so how did the stack of 24” square foam mats get flipped over??
There were footprints around our tent that were not ours, but it seemed really strange that someone would yank out the tarp from underneath a tent, pulling up a couple stakes in the process, and then slip their shoes off to go inside the tent. And if they did all of that, it also seemed odd that they would very carefully zip both tent door zippers so there was no space at the corner for critters to get in. I have no personal experience with this, but in the movies, vandals are not usually so considerate when they leave. This did not add up.
There was a ton of sand in the tent, but I had already suspected that was coming in from the top. Thankfully, we had put the rainfly on or there would’ve been even more sand. This fine sand sifted it’s way through two layers of tent fabric. Surely, we had the finest sand in the whole park sitting in our tent. Nice…
Back to the trouble at hand, we decided to run back to the visitor center to ask the ranger if he had heard about anything happening, but he was no longer there. The kids spotted someone with a red headlamp who was reading, so I stopped at their campsite to see if anything unusual had happened while we were away. He mentioned that it had been windy earlier, but he thought it sounded like the work of a group of kids. He had been gone all day, as well, but nothing had happened to his stuff that had been sitting outside. His spot was not as secluded as ours, though, so it made sense that it could’ve been kids messing with the tent. If that was the case, I doubt the zippers would’ve been zipped to the corners, though.
We looked around one more time when we got back to our tent and noticed that one of the side stakes was missing. Why would they take that one when we had left an extra tent stake sitting on a rock and that was still right where we had left it? So many questions and no answers to this mystery! I was more than a little creeped out by the fact that now our tent was sitting directly on the ground with no tarp separating us from the venomous critters who live in the sand. Just to make sure, we lifted the tent and shined the light around under it. There were no critters hiding out, but we found the missing tent stake! How the heck did that get there?? This was just getting stranger by the minute. We decided to go take showers and then figure out what to do.
After our showers, we drove back to our campsite, joking that maybe we had been delirious earlier and nothing was wrong with our tent. Nope, not delirious! The tarp was still pulled out to the pavement where I had left it before. I didn’t want to fold it up in the dark, so I parked on it. Megan wasn’t so sure we should camp in the tent, but the alternative would’ve been sleeping in the truck and I had been looking forward to stretching out after our long hike.
After listing pros and cons, we decided that the tent was already standing and whatever person, or creature, had yanked the tarp out, was probably happily asleep by now. We gathered our sleeping bags, thankful that those had been with us for the day…thankful that one night spent drying sleeping bags seven years earlier had taught us to always take them with us. At least they wouldn’t feel like someone had been messing with them. We attempted to get the sand inside the tent concentrated in one corner. The tent floor was gritty, like sandpaper. Ugh.
At least we still had a tent to sleep in…and tomorrow would be a new day.
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