St. George/Hurricane KOA

Another long day of track making, but the scenery turned decidedly more interesting, with a WOW finale. Heading north on I 15, we exited California, passing along the northern border of Mohave National Preserve. We then said hello to Nevada, which welcomed us enthusiastically with casinos, solar arrays, and Las Vegas traffic. For that, we mentally geared up, stopping to top up the gas tank and tummies, plus empty the bladders so we could push all the way through the city without stopping. We managed quite well, thank you, and I earned a cookie.

We were really excited all day long about playing a prank on our daughter. We always try to give her a heads up on Sundays when we are on our way home so that she can mentally prepare. Around noon, I send a text saying “ETA 2:30” or whatever time we think we’ll be home. We totally did that today because we are horrible people. We thought it was hilarious. She did not. We won’t do it again, but that one was worth it (for us).

I will note that as we approached Primm, NV on the border with California, we saw the most otherworldly solar array I have ever seen. I’ve seen massive solar farms before, with miles of black panels covering the landscape, but this one also had enormous towers with mirrors that helped to direct the solar energy to the heating of water. You could see the glow from miles off and it looked like a scene from an alien invasion movie. Just a few more of those and I’ll bet you could aim them at a single point and destroy Alderaan.

Just after crossing the the Nevada border we cut through a tiny corner of Arizona. Here you get to go through the Virgin River Canyon and that is spectacular. It looks very much like the road is going to take you, Wile E. Coyote-style, into the side of a mountain range. Just at the last minute, the sliver of a gorge opens up and twisty turns you along the path of the river. Often, the highway is suspended high above, making multiple river crossings, though you only get brief glimpses of the Virgin River below.

Once you come out of that, you quickly enter Utah. Steadily, the color of the rock begins to come to life with vibrant rusts and deep reds. This is where you get excited, knowing you are getting close to Zion. Our first night brought us to the St. George/Hurricane KOA because this is far easier to book than Zion. However, we did score a site for the next day and will be a mere 35 miles away. This is the reward for the slog days and I think it will be worth it. We passed by the Quail Creek State Park and campground where there was a beautiful lake. I may just try to get in a little boating tomorrow while Richard rides up to Zion. He got in a reconnaissance ride right after we settled in while I napped a bit in the AC.

The only other event of interest today is that we nearly got all our credit cards cancelled while getting gas in Baker, CA. We had forgotten to alert our banks that we are traveling because that was not on any checklist. Phone calls ensued and all is well, and there is a new item on the ‘Long Trips’ checklist. Having no credit cards could have been an interesting plot twist. Glad it didn’t come to that.

Total miles: 284.0, 16.6 mpg, 4 hours 42 min. Site 57, but yanno, KOA tightly spaced so doesn’t matter. Terrible cell service for both and molasses slow wifi. Full hookups.