Wire Slot Canyon

Canyons in Kanab Area

You may have heard of the Wave, which is a very unique canyon that looks like a great big wave.  To get to hike the Wave, you have to put your name into a lottery the morning before you want to hike.  The problem is, they only give out 10 spots per day and an average of 70-100 people show up for the lottery every day.  We tried a few times and didn't get a pass!  If you do get to hike the Wave, it is a 3.25 mile hike out to it and back!  And it isn't an easy hike.  This time of year it is very warm, mid 90's to 100 degrees, and it is over very up and down terrain.  The reason the Wave is on a lottery system is because it is on the "special" wilderness areas that they are trying to preserve and it is small, so if hundreds of people went there it would change the landscape.   

We did, however, go out to the area where the Wave is which is about 40 miles from Kanab and did some other hikes which were quite amazing, I think they were probably better!  We hiked the Wire Pass slot canyon which went out to the Buckskin Gulch.  The canyons were at least 100 feet tall in places.  After we got back from our hike, we found out that the river we came upon (so we couldn't go any further), was actually a flash flood.  Glad we found out after we got back!

This is the "nice" road out to the Wave and Buckskin Gulch!  We had to go through a river to get to the trailhead of the hike.  There were a few cars that were stuck on the other side of the river and didn't want to cross, but after they saw John cross, they went ahead and did it. Nobody got stuck, but one of the cars had to make about 4 passes at it to get across.

Here is a map of where we went.  We took the 89 East to the 700 and then went south to Wire pass and walked in.  probably round trip we went 4+ miles.  

 

 

 Some of the slot canyons were pretty narrow, you would touch both sides of the canyon at the same time!

Zion National Park and a little shooting practice!

Zion National Park

We have driven through Zion a couple of times, but haven't stopped to do any hikes yet.  You may have heard on the news that there was some really bad rains here and that 7 hikers were swept away in a flash flood in one of the Zion Canyons.  We are waiting for the trails to be reopened and cleaned up before we try any of the hikes.  The pictures at the end are showing how much water there was after the heavy rains.  There were waterfalls where there isn't normally a waterfall. 

It was also interesting to me that in the park the roads are red.  I guess they use the red rock to pave them.  And, in the middle of the park is a 1.1 mile tunnel right through the middle of the park's BIG rocks!  Quite amazing, I don't know how long it took them to do that, but it was a very long tunnel.  They had 3 openings along the way so you could look out, and I'm sure get some airflow through the tunnel.  It was very dark in there!  

Here are some pictures from our drive through the park.  It is a beautiful park and we can't wait to explore it more.  We will post more pictures when we have them.

We were right up against the rocks, glad we weren't in the motorhome.

Having a great time riding the motorcycle through the parks, so fun to see up close!

So close to the rocks!  Sure glad we weren't doing this in the motorhome!

This is the beginning of the 1.1 mile long tunnel, you can barely see the opening.

After the tunnel, we started a zig-zag down into the floor of the canyon.

This picture is the floor of the canyon after the heavy rains,  They were worried it would erode the road away where it is getting close in the middle of the picture.

There isn't usually waterfall here, this is just after the heavy rains.

In Utah when it rains, it creates flash floods that cannot be anticipated.  They come up so fast you can't get away from them, so when it rains, you have to be extra careful of going into canyons.

This is the creek after the heavy rains, way higher than normal!

On a slow day, we decided to go out to the shooting range and do a little target practice.  It was fun!  I didn't do too bad for a first timer,  but the closer I got the better shot I was!  LOL.  If we are going to have guns, it's a good thing to become familiar with them and feel comfortable handling them.   John shot the 357 and the 9mm, I only shot the 9mm.  

 

 

More from Kanab! (Grand Canyon & Lake Powell)

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon sits on the Kaibab Plateau between 8,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level.  Although as the crow flies it is only 10 miles from the South Rim of he Grand Canon it offers a very different visitor experience.  It is a much slower pace and the feeling of going back in time are just a few of the many attributes of the North Rim.



 The park has many view points and a dozen or so trails for viewing and photo 
opportunities.  We got to Cape Royal about lunch time so we found a great picnic area overlooking the Grand Canyon and had our lunch then went on a short hike around the area.  Wonderful views of the Canyon, it is hard to explain how BIG it is.

 

        

 

If you ever get to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, they have these great cabins you can rent that are right by the edge of the canyon.  Here are a few pictures.

Lake Powell and the Dam at Glenn Canyon

September 6th, we took a road trip to Lake Powell and visited the Dam at Glenn Canyon which is actually in Arizona.  Lake Powell is about 76 miles from where we are staying in Kanab.  The town of Page was established for the workers who worked on the Dam and has continued to be a thriving town.  Lake Powell is very long and has lots of fingers.  Not a lot of beaches because it is a lake in a canyon, so the sides are more vertical.  Lake Powell is a great place to rent a house boat and just get lost on all the fingers for a week.  I have a picture below of some of the houseboats,  they can get pretty luxurious.  Here are a few pictures.

This is a great place to rent a house boat and explore all the fingers of the lake.  Those are 4 jet skis on the back of that first boat.  Great way to take off and see the many fingers of the lake.