We drove from Dukes campground through the Capitol Reef canyon (not enough time to stop other than a panoramic view stop) to Fishlake. What a magical place of Aspen and alpine lake. It was so charming, we got our paddle boards out and went in the lake for the evening. We stayed over night at Dr. Creek Campground right at the lake and in between aspens for $15. We even got to do a camp fire. The pictures don’t do this place justice – it was absolutely magical!
Today’s lesson: Robert Frost had it right: “I doubted if I should ever come back. I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” We went to Fishlake on a whim and it almost turned around because it was so far off the beaten track – we are so glad we pushed on!
Today we followed a suggestion of the Utah visitor center and stopped at the Little Wild Horse Trailhead to head into the amazing slot canyon. One of our favorites this far. Parts of the canyon were so tight, we had to walk sideways to make it through. It’s technically a 8 mile loop but many (including us) just complete the 3 mile there-and-back Little Wild Horse Trail. Make sure to stay right so you hit the most amazing parts of the loop. We drove on to stop at our second paid camping ground in Hanksville, UT at Dukes Slickrock Campground ($35/night, full hockups)
Today’s lesson: don’t be shy to talk to the locals. We stopped at the Utah Welcome Center off I-70 and the sweet lady at the counter have us some of the most amazing tips and ideas on how to spend our days in Utah! We would have never found the Little Wild Horse Canyon without her.
The drive from our camping spot to Canyonlands alone was incredible. We took 191 to 211 and made it to the Needles Visitor Center within an hour. We stopped for lunch (sandwiches in the RV) at the “Newspaper Rock Site” and saw some 2000 year old drawing.
Pit stop at the Newspaper Rock Site
Once we arrived at the Canyonlands National Park, we entered the Canyonlands at the Needles side (south East side). There are two parts to Canyonlands – the Needles and the Island in the sky, accessible from Moab. We decided to see the Needles area. The entrance booth was empty but we dropped $20 in the box. There is a needles visitors center but we drove on to the first hiking location – Cave Spring Trail (See All Trail). The trail is a short (0.6 mile) loop trail but extremely fun. It leads past an old Cowboy Camp, through some caves that were used for shelter by humans for thousands of years who left their marks and up two wobbly ladders. We took our time exploring and completed the loop in an hours time.
Cave Spring Trail
From there we drove on to complete a longer hike on the Slick Rock Trail (See All Trails) – a 2.4 mile loop that took us about 1.5 hours. The loop offered 360 degree views of the canyon and the needles from afar. A great hike over “moon and Mars” rock.
Slick Rock Trail
Both hikes had very few other visitors despite it being a Sunday. It was breezy but warm at 80 degrees. We left Canyonlands towards Monticello (45 min drive), where we dumped and refilled at Maverick gas station and stayed at the Canyon Country Discovery Center parking lot (found it via Harvest Host).
Canyon County Discovery Center (Harvest Host Overnight Spot)
We made it to Utah! We refilled our fridge and fresh water tank in the little town of Moab, UT right by the Arches National Park. It’s Friday – and the night before a “no fees for National Park” Day and finding a spot to stay turned out to be a real struggle. After a few very stressful hours of pulling in and out of filled camping spots, in the pitch dark, we finally found a spot almost an hour south of Moab. We don’t realize until the next morning that we got the winning ticket: our free, BLM spot in the middle of nowhere is perfection. The kids call it “staying on the moon” – we parked in the middle of a huge rock formation. We are all alone and it’s blissfully deserted. We stay far away from any park on Saturday and decide it’s time for some housekeeping…cleaning and laundry. We stay for two nights before leaving to our next adventure spot: Canyonlands.
Today’s lesson: chores need to be done – even if you are on vacation. Or staying on the moon 😜
…at the border of Colorado and Utah was a great experience. We found the spot using our Campendium App and stayed for two nights. Solid internet reception and a beautiful spot made this place a success and allowed us to catch up on some work and school.
Today’s lesson: Boondocking is awesome and the way to go. Take a deep breath – it’s really not that scary and with the right app, you’ll find the most amazing free spots out there!
Bonus lesson: finding a great spot in the middle of nowhere is A LOT easier in daylight. This is I fortunately a “do as I say, not as I do” advice…we have had several ridiculously stressful evenings where we were trying to find a spot in pitch dark 🤦🏼♀️
