Paradise 2 Pavement

[volcomsurfer]

Update #11 Southern Utah

I last left off in Salt Lake City again with plans to go to the salt flats and in the Unitas again. The salt flats still had water so I skipped that for now. I never did make it to the Unitas again either. We took a little trip up to Idaho to Bear Lake for a night. It's the "Caribbean of the Rockies" because the water is teal. It looked just like Antiguan water. The only problem is that it was overcast, cold, and windy. It was still a cool little trip.

First view of the lake

So the first sight coming down the hill into the lake is a bummer. I was thinking someone was burning some brush or something off in the distance, but I guess the climb was too much for this truck.

So my friends brought along their dog too. Tigua and Cooper have become best friends. However, Cooper does some things that I wish Tigua wouldn't learn. This would be one of them..

We went straight to the beach and there was no one around. Let the dogs play a bit, then we went in search for a campsite.

This'll do

Chef duties per the norm

The next morning we packed up and headed back towards SLC. Since it's the caribbean of the rockies, I had to get a shot with the flag...

And since we were there, figured we would stop in Wyoming to pick up some real beer.

Came across my dream home..

Before leaving SLC to go south, we did a very popular hike called living room, near the college. Nice view, but packed..

Saw this on the way. "If you can read this, flip me back over"

 

[volcomsurfer]

Off to bryce canyon.

Splurged and got a campsite for the night. The plan was to wake up early and go on a full day hike, but when we got up there was **** visibility. So we made the collective decision to go to vegas and get out of the snow for a bit.

The drive from Bryce to 15 takes you over a pass that gets to over 12,000 ft. There was still about 3 feet of snow on the ground and coming down while we were there. UGH, get me outta this crap!!!

 

[volcomsurfer]

So the first stop in vegas was old town. I've been to vegas once as a kid so I wanted to go to some spots that I've seen on tv and stuff. On the way to old town I saw a killer parking spot for the night. RIGHT across the street from the stratosphere. Security guards patrolling and it's free, perfect.

The view from the strats rooftop pool on the 35th floor.

I really wanted to just chill by a pool and get hammered, enjoy the sun, swim a bit. The strats pool was meh at best. I remember the MGM having a killer pool when I stayed there as a kid so we hightailed it over there for the day.

And that's all the pics because ya know, what happens in vegas....

After vegas we went to Zion. Stopped to let the dogs out for a bit..

He's ready for a modeling job if anyone knows of any.

We only went on one hike because everyone had to leave the next day, so we did observation point. Everyone loves angel's landing because you have to use chains to pull yourself up and there's a risk factor with the dropoffs on either side of the trail. But observation has a better view.

'Merica

 

[volcomsurfer]

After that we parted ways and I was on my own once again. The Ironman is coming to Zion in a few days so I decided to get outta dodge since it was already packed. I headed East towards Kanab in hopes to get a permit for "the wave" hike in upper coyote buttes. I don't know what made me think I could get one with the luck I had in vegas... But the drive was amazing.

There were a couple tunnels that were pretty cool. They had a few cutouts to check the sights.

I found a cool little campsite by the trailhead to red rock canyon and stayed there for a couple nights.

The second day I hopped on the bike and went to the canyon. It was like 8 inches of soft soft sand for about 5 or so miles. It made for a pretty interesting drive out there to say the least. But the reward was worth it.

I got to test out the new stove too.

So you want a permit to north coyote buttes huh? They only give out 10 walk-in permits a day. No matter what time you get there, no matter how many times you go, you still have the same odds as everyone else. I've gone 4 days straight now and this was the emptiest room yet, since it will be overcast tomorrow.

 

[volcomsurfer]

After constantly striking out I figured I'd go check out some stuff out east. I headed towards Wire pass which is the same trailhead for the wave. Found a cool little free campsite for the night and headed out for the hike.

I got to this point where it's a 10 ft climb down and Tigua wasn't having it.. Come to find out later that there's a little trail around it. :emo: Oh well, I'll try again another day.

So because the day was cut short, I decided to take the bike for a ride down into arizona some more. What a cool area.

 

[volcomsurfer]

Made some enchiladas for cinco de mayo. I'm really starting to get the hang of cooking on this thing.

Woke up this morning and went back to Kanab to try my luck again for the north buttes. This is the drive out...

******K this ************** caught on..

So, nope... Missed out on a permit again, but I stayed and tried my luck for the south buttes.. BINGO!! winner winner chicken dinner.

So I'm going to go back to the stateline and find a campsite around where I went on the bike yesterday. I'm going to just kill a week here to wait for the north rim of the grand canyon to open up on the 15th. Then heading to overland expo in flagstaff on the 20th. I'll keep trying to update when I can, but internet has been hard to come by out here. Thanks for checking it out.

 

[toyotech]

Awesome photos. Loving it! How did you do Zion with the dogs?? Hope to hit that place up soon


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[SurferJacoby]

Question

What are you shooting with?the panoramic a are the best.

 

[volcomsurfer]

I found a nice shady parking spot in zion near the visitor center. There's quite a bit of them. We did the hike early before it got too hot. I'm shooting it with my cell phone. I'm open to camera donations lol. The panos are amazing. This little phone is mighty impressive. Wish i had some serious though. However, these views aren't given justice by any camera.

 

[Sierra Valley]

Keep posting love your trip. You come to Reno NV Ill show ya around. Take you to Tahoe and do some dirt biking.

 

[SurferJacoby]

I'm shooting it with my cell phone. I'm open to camera donations lol. The panos are amazing. This little phone is mighty impressive. Wish i had some serious though. However, these views aren't given justice by any camera.

That's some awesome quality photo work. Was sure you were using a digital on some of these.

 

[zb39]

Love those pics of Bryce and Zion. Very nice.......thanks for posting.

 

[Whito123]

******K this ************** caught on..

This quote makes this the greatest thread yet. Well done. Will look for your van in Flagstaff...

 

[volcomsurfer]

At the expo now if anyone wants to swing by for a beer or 12. Towards the back corner of the camping area.

 

[ericvs]

Nice! I followed your build and will now be following your trip. When you get to Seattle hit me up for some kiteboarding, lots of rad places to kite local or we can hit the coast for some waves. Great!