Grand Circle - South

October 3 - 11 , 2009

Every year, I go on some sort of camping trip. Usually, they last about a week, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer.

In 2009, due to feet issues, I wasn't planning on a trip. But sometime around July, I decided to go. Within a few hours, I'd decided when, where, and what, and all necessary reservations (except for tours) had been made. Because, believe me, some of those campgrounds get full months ahead of when you are actually going to be there.

The main stops were Zion National Park, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Lake Powell. I'd camped at the North Rim in 2002 and drive through Zion National Park that same year. But I really hadn't visited Zion and had never been near Lake Powell, so this was a trip of new places for the most part. I also decided to visit a few other places because I was going to be there or passing by there anyway - Cedar Breaks, Natural Bridge (kind of a moral imperative if you take a boat trip at Lake Powell, which you also kind of have to do), and Montezuma's Castle. Sunset Crater, Wupatki, and Casa Grande turned out to be spur of the moment stops due to being ahead of schedule with nothing else to do at the time.

Some of the places I visited are on the Grand Circle trip proper. At least, on the trip as described in numerous magazines and websites. Some are not but I have called this trip Grand Circle because the major stops were.

I must say, I had some interesting weather on this trip - wind at Zion, snow and rain at the North Rim, and sun and a little wind at Lake Powell. Most places had sun, even the North Rim although that sun was fleeting. It was cool (almost cold) in Utah and Northern Arizona. The wind at Zion was strong enough to snap one of my tent poles. And the snow and rain at the North Rim were enough to drive me off early to camp in Page, Arizona, at the Best Western (although I did spend one night in my tent at the North Rim campground). But Lake Powell was warm enough to make up for all of it and, as I traveled south further into the state of Arizona, it got downright hot.

But I survived and enjoyed my trip. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the commentary.

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