June 9th – Road from Zion to Kodachrome Basin State Park
Tunneled through the rock on Scenic Byway 12
It was a white knuckle kind of drive with the wind bouncing us down the road. The weather forecast says high wind warnings for the next three to four days. Wind is a nightmare for any high-profile vehicle, and even as small as Ellie Mae is, we are not enjoying the buffeting.
The good news though is that the sky is beautiful with oddly shaped puffy clouds and the wind has cleared the smog and smoke which makes for much nicer photos.
We passed near Panguitch, which is where we home-based ourselves on our trip with Laura and Michael years ago. We were very sad to see that the cheerful bright yellow farm-house we stayed in has been repainted a nondescript brown. The sunny charm went down a few notches in my books.
Turning off of Highway 89 onto Scenic Byway 12 takes us through the Red Canyon area.
Red Canyon
We have chosen Kodachrome Basin State Park as our headquarters for the next three nights. It is well situated to visit Bryce National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) and is not far from Capitol Reef National Park.
Kodachrome Basin State Park
We were so pleasantly surprised by the beauty of Kodachrome Basin. Having chosen it only for its location, we had no idea that it was a destination in and of itself. We hope to spend at least part of a day exploring as we seem to have stumbled upon a little nugget.
Six different trails within the park range from easy to moderate to strenuous. The Grand Parade Trail caught my eye at 1.5 miles, no climbing elevation, and allows exploration into two box canyons.
One of the “Stove Pipe” or “Chimney” features at Kodachrome
Another option here is Kodachrome Trail Rides via horse back. One and two-hour rides are offered daily starting at 9:00 a.m. Call (800) 892-7923 or visit http://www.redcanyontrailrides.com for more information and current rates.
We settled into our campsite and admired the surrounding red rocks that tower overhead. But man-o-man the wind has not died down.
One of the “Stove Pipe” or “Chimney” features at Kodachrome
The campsite next to us contained two tents and they were skittering across the ground, one pole had collapsed, and their blue cover tarp was off in the distance.
The group finally returned “home” and I was amazed to see six children, mom, grandma, grandpa and a large dog empty out to their van. They quickly scrambled to put things back in order – well at least mom and grandma did. The kids bickered while grandpa watched from the van.
Later in the evening the wind subsided enough that they were able to have a Norman Rockwell moment, gathered around the fire pit roasting marshmallows.
Enjoying roasting marshmallows as a family
I have some wonderful memories of camping out at Lake Shasta as a child with my parents, sister, and one or two other families. We would go boating or water ski during the day, and sleep in a tent under the stars at night. I hope this family is creating their own memories that will bring a smile to their face when they remember their time here years from now.
Sun reflecting off of the peaks over our campsite
One of the challenges of being in the boondocks is little or no internet. I am so accustomed to getting my news, updates from friends, directions to our next location, sightseeing information and tips of what to see in an area, as well as writing my blog post that to be untethered to the world is slightly unnerving to me.
Tim somehow managed to get me hooked up by installing a Weboost system. He then strapped my cell phone to the inside antenna where I could then use the phone as a mobile hotspot, connecting to my laptop. It worked well enough for me to get my blog post written, pictures uploaded from our previous day in Zion.
My cell phone attached to the booster to get me a little Internet.
Just call him Macgyver 🙂
OVERNIGHT: Kodachrome Basin State Park
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that we managed to keep Ellie Mae on the road as Tim calmly and carefully muscled against the blustery wind.
A Note From Abroad 
That Tim is one handy guy! It looks like beautiful country you’re travelling through.
Alison
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He is definitely a keeper!
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Wow. What a beautiful place!
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Yes, it is!
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Yup- winds can be horrible in an RV. We once spent a week avoiding them in Oklahoma and just spent an extra two days in Chamberlain SD because of high winds. Love the cell phone booster hookup!
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We are still hunkered down at Kodachrome. Extended for two extra days ourselves. Wind is just now starting to subside. I married a pretty clever guy 🤓
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NIce work Tim. You’ve heard the say don’t come a-knocking while the van is rock’n, just exchange RV for that. Hope the wind rocks you to sleep at night. Careful with the wind it can be tricky in that vehicle. Great photos, never been there but another spot that will go on my bucket list. Enjoy the adventure you two.
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Terry we will be continuing on the Scenic Byway 12 in a couple more days. Hearing wonderful things from others who have traveled before us.
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We’ve driven through that country in high winds many time over the years in my small RV, Joanne. So I feel for you! But I am also envious. The area is drop dead gorgeous, as your photos relate. Highway 12 has to qualify as one of the most scenic roads in America. Good for Tim and the booster. My son-in-law, who worked for Verizon at the time, added a booster to our van. –Curt
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Curt, we have extended our stay here at Kodachrome Basin. Winds are starting to cooperate a bit. From here we plan on continuing on 12. Everyone raves about it. Can’t wait to see more of this amazing area. Glad to learn that you had a booster as well. When blogging, it is frustrating to be offline.
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Thanks for showing us this gem, we will add it to our destinations next month! Our tablet only works on AT&T, so we are used to living without internet!!!
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We have found that Verizon gets service in many areas where others can’t, but we use our AT&T chip when traveling abroad because of the great International package they have. Can you tell I’m an Internet junkie???
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Oh, by the way, we are taking a two hour horse tour through Kodachrome Basin State Park in the morning. Stay tuned for more pictures from there. It is a lovely place for a home base.
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Looks like you lucked upon a wonderful place to explore as your home base. All of your pictures are beautiful. Saw where you commented above that the winds are subsiding. I’m glad about that. High profile vehicle + wind = scary. My favorite picture is the sun on the hill. 🙂
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We seem to be leaning toward finding a centrally located spot and staying put for a few days. Obviously, this is still quite new for us, but it feels right. So appreciate that you are liking our photos 😋
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So beautiful! I just love this part of the world.
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We are finding it pretty amazing!
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Glad you found Kodachrome Basin! That was on our must see list too. We based in Kanab and then Torrey, beautiful area! Very nice pictures too! We actually had high winds the whole time we were in Utah, so I think it may be the norm.
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Oh no, I sure hope that the high winds are not the norm. It has actually settled down for us and a gentle wind is now appreciated with our temperatures in the 90’s and expected to climb into the 100’s.
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Sorry to hear about the temps. 😦
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Pingback: Month of June Travels in our National Parks ~ Highlight Moments in Pictures | A Note From Abroad
Beautiful pictures!
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Thank you!
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