Utah: Rock me like a Hurricane
Hurricane, Utah is SW of Zion National Park and is unexpectedly home to the amazing Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. Probably not on your list of attractions to see, but it should be. Zion national Park is on most people’s list for good reason and other local attractions include Belly of the Dragon, Pipe Springs, and Cedars National Monument all within a 90min drive. There are a number of other state parks, including the Coral Pink Sand Dunes that we’re on our list to stop; however, weather limited a couple days and Vince taking a fall out of the Belly of the Dragon’s mouth 😳 cut time a little short, but more on that fall later.
Red Cliffs is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and just happen to be across the interstate from the Hurricane/StGeorge KOA where we stayed. We went for a walk and found a tunnel going under the interstate and stumbled across the park on the other side. There is limited camping available but the hike back into a few of the trails was awesome. One had Dinosaur footprints in the rocks and offered a number of fun rock scrambles, as well as a small waterfall and a cave at the back where the Dixie National Forest begins. We got a little snow and sleet and had a fall in the river, but all were well worth a day of unexpected hiking and climbing.
After the unexpected Red Cliffs event we went to an expected highlight, Zion National Park. First day was honestly a bit of a let down. We’ve seen so many amazing things that we must confess, the “commercial” feel of the Zion canyon was a small let down. Don’t get us wrong or call us spoiled for that opinion, it was beautiful but the floor of the canyon from the visitor center up about 7 miles into the gorge is bus tram only. While there are numerous side hikes, many are paved and well trafficked. We went to stop 9 and did the Narrows Trail which reminded us of Big Bend’s Santa Elena Canyon, one of our favorites. Towering canyon walls and flowing water make for some beautiful scenes and the height of the walls is… wow. Again, not to be dismissed but after our tram ride back and numerous glass obscured window pics we left that night with a B rating and wondering if we would return for a second day vs explore other parks in the area. We opted to return to drive the scenic byway and tunnel… GLAD WE DID!
The elevated views and driving the mile tunnel carved through the rock really impressed and we actually did it twice. The tunnel is dark except for a few cut-outs in the canyon wall making this a rather unique tunnel drive. The Visitor Center was also informative and the boys got their Jr Ranger Program done with some Big Horn Sheep models and a genuine Mountain Lion pelt. We departed with an A- rating for Zion only due the lower canyon’s Disney feel… again who doesn’t love Disney though ☺️
Zion Scenic Byway & Tunnel (Route 9 & Zion-Mt Carmel Highway)
Belly of the Dragon is a drainage tunnel under US 89 between Mt Carmel & Zion. Drainage was car ed out of the rock under the road and ended up being pretty dramatic looking so it drew attention and became an unofficial/official stop for the Bureau of Land Management. BLM put a few blocks at the roughly 5ft tall entrance from the drainage wash below and a few porta-potty by the gravel parking lot 😏 More on that 5ft drop after the pictures…
As noted above, Vince found out he can still take a hit, and from a Dragon! Ok that sounds a lot cooler than what really happened. That drop from the mouth of the drainage cave is where I not so awesomely lost my temper with the boys and angrily stepped back off the mini-cliff… or at least a 5ft drop backward 😳 (not pictured). Yeah I didn’t have a clue I was close and didn’t know until my left foot was over my head and I scraped down the rock wall buckling my aged right knee replacement. Thankfully it’s National Athletic Trainer Month and I’m an AT so I did a field assessment and have a spring right MCL, sprained left AC joint, left elbow contusion and some minor scrapes. Will be slow go for a few weeks but thankful… literally prayerfully thankful 🙏… that I was able to limp away. Close call and a reminder to check my environment better and maybe less anger too 🤨😳🤔 Michele and boys got to hike the tunnel and we had to cut off our trip to Cedars National Monument and a ski lodge to get my leg and shoulder on ice and do some wound management 🫣
