The Hitch-N-Post RV Park
One of the benefits of staying at this RV park was its walking distance into the small township. First stop was the fully refurbished Gem picture theatre complete with an old style ice cream parlour. We were met by a most delightful young girl who gave us a tour of the theatre including the small area they had dedicated to the artefacts discovered whilst rebuilding. As always we received a number of comments about our accent! They screen one movie a week and we agreed we would be back to see Bruce Willis in GI Joe at the bargain price of $6.
Bryce Canyon and Panguitch sit at an altitude of over 7,000 feet and due to this we were advised by the owners of the Hitch-N-Post to spend a few days touring before we ventured out for a hike. So a drive along Scenic Byway 12 was first on the list of must dos. The 200 mile round trip drive starts at Red Canyon winding through many different types of desert and townships ending at a small town called Boulder.
The Red Canyon Entrance
The views were fantastic
As my very knowledgable older brother advised us at the beginning of our journey it is important to have a 'rest' day every week so we spent the next day catching up with some washing, blog writing, reading and of course chatting to anyone who stood still long enough. As we were talking to the park owners we were introduced to a bloke by the name of Gary who it would seem is somewhat of a character around the town. Gary like many other Americans takes flight to the warmer parts of the USA during the winter months and had just returned 'home'. While on the road he earns a living doing leather work from his trailer and when back home he also runs quad bike tours around the canyon. We had had a taste of quad biking with Keith and Betsy in Caliente and were keen to give it another go. The going price was $250 for the day for 2 people however as Gary needed a hand to get his quads out of storage he dropped the price to $200 plus my labour costs.
Gary was a real character
Unlike in Australia, most of the National, State and Bureau of Land Management parks are open to all forms of transport ie, bikes, horses, and quad bikes (and yes you can also take your pets as long as they are on a leash!) We spent a total of over six hours on the trails - it was obvious that Gary had done this before and knows the area very well. We went to many places that the average tourist does not go to - no big shiny bus for us - just the dust and wind in our hair.
As isolated as we felt we did meet other people along the way travelling in what is commonly called a"side by side". We stopped, and for once Gary had more to say than me. They were fascinated with his uniqueness and character. Our fellow travellers didn't get away without one of our 'business cards' however!
A great day, including meeting others
Of course the whole point of going to Panguitch was to visit Bryce Canyon. We had heard so much about it during our last USA trip. We were definitely not disappointed - the views are just breathtaking and hiking into the canyon is a must. A few of the trails were washed out due to the snow melt and the altitude did have us gasping for air as we ascended back to the rim of the canyon, but well worth the effort.
Beautiful!
Yes we made plenty of stops, looking back down the trail
Time to sit and be amazed
Our hosts at the RV park (Randy and Jodi) had suggested a couple of other hikes in the region, Mossy Creek and their favourite, the Kodachrome Basin - named specifically for the fantastic photographic opportunities. Always ready to tackle any track we headed off with our backpacks full of energy bars and water.
We calculate the time we stay in any one place on trip advisor reviews and other google research. We had planned 7 days in Panguitch but very quickly discovered that this was not enough. Seven days very easily extended to 9. Panguitch will forever hold a very special place in our RNRUSA Gap year memories.
Posted by RnR on their IPad
Location:Panguitch Utah
No comments:
Post a Comment