We realize every time we come through SW Utah that Zion National Park and the surrounding area is just so uniquely beautiful that it is hard to leave. However, we were on a schedule and Zion was just the first of five national parks for the crew to visit before we part ways on the 30th. So, it was onward to Bryce Canyon National Park and to Ruby’s Inn RV Campground.
Ruby’s is a pretty nice campground, with big sites, and a tram stop for the popular Bryce Canyon National Park right next to the campground!
We were also fortunate to have family stop by to visit. It’s always wonderful to see John and Nancy Webster! John joined Ben, Chris, Hannah and Maya for a hike in the park while Ann and Nancy boosted the local Bryce Canyon economy. 😉
The hikers took the tram into Bryce Canyon and decided to hike the Navajo Loop Trail, only a 1.3 mile loop, but with 515 feet of elevation change!
Maya was the good luck charm of the day! She must have attracted the attention of a local chickadee or jay or even a Clark’s Nutcracker after it enjoyed a hearty lunch, because it nailed her right in the glasses!
She was a great sport about it, and John, being the always prepared scout, had wipes with him, so the problem was quickly solved. Thankfully, Ben was quicker with the camera than John was with wipes, so he could capture this precious memory!
Thankfully it wasn’t a California Condor or a Florida pelican!
Hike complete, we took a few self-congratulatory us-ies up on top, and then everyone rejoined at the RV park for pizza and s’mores.
We knew the forecast was turning very cold this evening. We all bundled up, while Ann went to put on every piece of clothing that she was ultimately allowed to bring after “Airstream fat camp.” Then she was off to hibernate under every blanket she had hidden on board, electric or otherwise. We were all set to brave the 35 degree night temps.
Unfortunately, no sooner did we turn in for the evening, when both the kids’ camper and ours were struck by local dipshit kids hurling rocks. These weren’t tiny rocks either and considering the terrain we were in, rocks were plentiful. The late night security dude that meandered over in response to our call indicated that it was likely local kids and that they had an issue the evening prior with the same thing.
We had seen an airstream on the way in with a busted out window and thought it was very unfortunate but did not assume vandalism at the time.
We have never experienced this before and were honestly pretty disappointed in Ruby’s Inn specifically for apparently lax security and in humanity in general for creating the conditions where local kids thought it would be fun to harass sleeping campers and vandalize their equipment.
Thankfully, these developing felons missed the glass by about an inch, both in the front and in the rear. We can live with the dents for now, but replacing full glass panels would have been pretty tricky on the road.
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We didn’t get as much sleep that night as we waited, fully dressed inside the camper, for the rocks to be thrown again. Thankfully, there were no more incidents that evening and we were out of there the next day, regardless.
On the advice of John and Nancy, we stopped at the Red Canyon Visitor Center to pick up some Smokey The Bear merchandise and to grab a few photos with the bear himself! (Voiced by Sam Elliot from 2008 to 2023 – Stick that in your back pocket if you are ever on Jeopardy)
And of course, poop stuff.
We are headed to Moab tomorrow via Capitol Reef National Park, Hanksville, and Goblin Valley State Park!
TaterTotTales 