Grand Canyon Part 1 - Roadtrip to the Canyon

I've been looking forward to our Grand Canyon backpacking trip since I got the permit in June, and finally the time arrived. We spent Friday night packing up the car with all our backpacking gear plus our roadtrip stuff, and Kuzca was none too happy about her backpack not coming up from the basement. She pouted all evening and into the next morning, but I think she forgave us when after our her dog friend showed up for a week of playing.

We rolled out of the house Saturday morning and started driving west without much of a plan. We figured we'd try to make it to Bryce on the first of our two driving days, but we agreed that we didn't really care if we stopped earlier. We've driven I-70 across the state numerous times, but I can't remember ever doing it in the fall. It was a pleasent surprise to see all the aspens changing into their autumn golden colors.

Aspens along I-70


After we got into Utah, we got off the main highway and took some smaller roads and drove through Capitol Reef National Park and Escalante Staircase before making it to Bryce in the evening. Having not made any advance plans, we didn't have any reservations. We figured that it'd be no problem this late in the year, but we were quite wrong. Long story short, we ended up staying about 20 miles away in Panguich.

The next morning, we got up really early and drove into Bryce Canyon National Park to catch the sunrise. It was super cold (25 degrees), but we put on our down jackets and braved it until the sun started peeking up over the horizon. Totally worth it. From Bryce we drove over to Zion with a quick stop for some pie in Mount Carmel Junction. Just in case you go some time, the pie at the Thunderbird Cafe is really good. The pie at the dive across the street sucks. A few years ago, the park service closed one of Zion's roads to normal traffic. Instead, they have a shuttle that takes visitors around. It's a cool idea because it cuts down on traffic an polution, but I must admit it felt a little weird to be taking a bus tour. There were plenty of stops where you could get out and walk around, but we unfortunately didn't have much time. It'd be nice to go back sometime and hike around.

Bryce at sunrise


Thunderbird Restaurant


From Zion, we drove to Kanab ,UT to meet up with Owen and Erin at the Rocking V Cafe. Cheesy name, but really good food. And they're open on Sunday in a town where everything else was shut down. We enjoyed our last meal in civilization and then drove down to trailhead at the edge of the rim in the Kaibab National Forest.

View from Crazy Jug Point on the Grand Canyon rim