May 11th to 23rd ....And The End of Another Fantastic Road Trip....

Hitched up and ready to leave this incredible area of the world....

Back west along Scenic Route 12 to Panguitch....can never tire of this road....

What an amazing area for a school trip.... 

Back through the tunnels in stunning Red Rock Canyon....

Still snow on the mountains...

Coming down from the mountain and will soon head south on interstate 15 to Mesquite, Nevada... 

Back through the stunning Virgin River Gorge....

This area is just 8 miles north of our home for the next 10 days in Mesquite....

Back into Nevada and we gain an hour (Pacific Time Zone)....phooey even longer to "it's 5 o'clock somewhere" but that's the whole point it's 5 o'clock somewhere !!
We have a late afternoon storm...but it is only a few spits spots and still hot...

Friday May 19th and a drive north along Old Highway 91 to Littlefield and  Beaver Dam....
This dirt road, The Joshua Tree Scenic Drive is a turn off from Hwy 91 and passes up and through the gorge...

Yorkieman studying information about the desert tortoises....
Sadly a wildfire here in 2006 wiped out the tortoise food source but they have a program of replanting etc which they are hopeful of encouraging the tortoises to return...

Next stop Virgin River Gorge Recreation Area....
Even after the large amount we have seen we are still fascinated by the balancing rocks !!

The Virgin River and time for lunch sandwich....this is a big picnic and camping area...

It's a very beautiful area and although the busy I-15 is in the background the noise is minimal and does not interfere with the ambience....

And once more we go home via I-15 through the spectacular Virgin River Gorge...

Well folks we have come to the end of another fantastic road trip....
We have spent quality time with dear friends and met new fellow travellers and characters....
The weather has been extreme at times, 100 degrees to below freezing and very strong gusty winds...
The sights have been amazing, stunning, spectacular and yes awesome....or as a lady from the late 1800's said I am "exulted"...
We had a few days R & R in the sunshine of Mesquite before packing up our home on wheels ready for storage in North Las Vegas ...
We will all being well fly back to Blighty tomorrow with yet more travels stories.....we are looking forward to seeing family and friends and catching up and I know Yorkieman is looking forward to taking up golf after a year off....
I shall sign off this blog with one other observation....some of you might have noticed that I have not posted one

WATER-TOWER !!!!
Thank you all for following our adventures....
Until the next time it's bye for now from...
Yorkieman and Mrs Blogger....

Calf Creek Falls & Trail, Utah.....Monday May 8th...

It's a beautiful sunny morning as we head back east alongScenic Route 12 to Calf Creek Falls Trail...this is all part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument....
The first part of the 6 mile round trip hike and a fair amount of sandy terrain....

The trail follows Calf Creek and although elevation change is minimal with the short climbs and then sandy conditions it can be quite strenuous...
Before heading out on the trail we had a fabulous conversation with "ranger" Mike, what an amazing man...so full of knowledge and a great guy, so enthusiastic and very well travelled...could have chatted to him all day !!!

The trail and looking back down through the fertile valley...

This and next two pics...still lots of spring colour in the higher elevation...

It's a very interesting hike past beaver dams, pictographs and the ancients grannies....various species of trout inhabit the creek and an abundance of birds live in this fertile valley....

First glimpse of the 126ft falls....

Well worth the hike....

Very cool and relaxing after the hike and an excellent place for the lunch sandwich...

An excellent example of Desert Varnish...

And home via the slick rock area and our favourite part of the incredible Scenic Route 12....the photos can never do it justice...

An evening of two halves.....this is one view from our lounge...

And this is the other view...just as well we are having slow cooked beef !!

The sky clears and we have a brilliant full moon and although not a very good photo we were excited to see several large deer walking through the park...
Tomorrow we must bid our fond farewells to this incredible area of Southern Utah and head south back to Mesquite, Nevada....
We have seen such amazing sights and could only stand in awe of natures beauty...
More soon from..
The Exultant (checking to see if you have been paying attention !!) Campers...

Our Favourite National Park....May 7th 2017....

We are back once again at incredible Bryce Canyon National Park....
It's a busy Sunday but we are able to park at Sunset Point and get the free shuttle.....our driver was a real character keeping us entertained on the short journey to Bryce Point for our hike along the steep Peekaboo Trial and a trail we have not hiked before....
Bryce Point is 8,300 ft elevation, with an elevation change down through the beginning of the trail of 1,571ft...

Spectacular views from the trail...and sorry no apologies for the amount of photos today....so many pics and hard to choose which to use for blog...

This trail is through the heart of Bryce Canyon....it is a loop trail but we will head off later along the Navajo Trail as although the climb back up to Sunset Point is steep it is not as severe as climbing back up to Bryce Point....

We can never tire of looking at views like this....

And back to where's Wally/Waldo !!

Can there be more incredible views then here at Bryce...

I think the one on the right looks like an alpaca....

Same rock formation as above but to me from this angle looks like a lady from a Jane Austen novel....

Part of this trail is shared with guided horse tours another great way to see this stunning area....
We had found a great viewing spot for a rest and our lunch sandwich...

We are rested and fortified ready for the climb back to Sunset Point...

We made it back to the top and time to sit and reflect and gaze once more into the amphitheatre of Bryce...
Photos can never convey the beauty of this area......we are biased but in our opinion this should be on everyones bucket list of places to experience ....
Back home and a quick thunder storm erupts but clears in time for Yorkieman to grill some yummy pork chops...
We have had a most fabulous day.....fun with the bus driver, met some great folks on the trail and once again blown away and "exultant" by the most amazing scenery of Bryce Canyon....
Until the next post...
The very very Happy Campers.....