Texas to Utah and Colorado
March 2022

We left Louisiana and headed west toward central Texas. The areas around San Antonio and Austin have lots of history to explore. Potter’s Creek Corps of Engineers campground on Canyon Lake is a good base for visiting nearby San Antonio missions.

The Potter’s Creek campground has lovely views of the lake with places to stroll and some very colorful sunsets.

There are several breweries nearby. (Always a good thing.)

One afternoon, we drove to the outskirts of San Antonio, for a really great Tex-Mex lunch at Los Barrios, a popular family-owned spot.

We also paid a repeat visit to McKinney Falls State Park, which is close to Austin. We hiked on the giant rocks along the Falls, and then spent another afternoon running errands and getting organized.

These days, most big cities sprawl, and we can usually find our favorite places for shopping and replenishing supplies in the city outskirts. John shopped at Home Depot while I got a Great Clips haircut from an over-zealous stylist. Oh, well. I lost in this round of “Great Clips Roulette.” Luckily, hair grows. No photos for a week or two, please.

We stopped at the Austin Beer Garden Brewery which, for us, is now an Austin tradition. They have great beer and pizza in an open air setting.

Just for fun, we camped at Dinosaur Valley State Park near Fort Worth. We searched along the river, but I’m not entirely sure that what we saw were the highly touted dinosaur tracks. But the interpretive center was very well done, and it was fun to see the large models of dinosaurs repurposed from the New York 1964 World’s Fair. Where I’d seen them the first time!

It’s hard to imagine that real dinosaurs roamed this area more than 100 million years ago, using the riverbed as their pedestrian highway.

We continued west, working our way into New Mexico near Portales. We camped at Cochiti Lake, a Corps of Engineers park. Our campsite was on a hillside overlooking the lake.

(If you ever camp here, opt for the Buffalo Grove loop.) The spring winds of New Mexico caught up with us. Staying outside to cook or hang out was a challenge. Even with a windbreak, the stiff winds pushed us inside the van to dine and relax.

On St. Patrick’s Day, we had planned to visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, when we hit our first big bump in the road. See the “Van Life” page on this website to read about that unexpected adventure.

On March 19, we departed Santa Fe and started our trek toward Utah and the big loop to see the Mighty Five National Parks: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands.

We purposely planned our timing to avoid the crush of crowds due to arrive later in the spring. We expected afternoon temperatures to be warm, and indeed, they were pleasant. We were a little surprised by how cold it was overnight – in the 20s some nights. Once the sun went down, so did the temperatures. Luckily, our propane furnace took the chill off while we had our morning coffee.

Getting camping reservations inside the National Parks is almost impossible; some parks fill a year in advance. But you can usually find a private campground just outside the park. Typically, sites will be sandwiched together and the parks will be over-priced. But on the flip side, they will be in close proximity to the park, sometimes within walking distance to a town, and they’ll have hot showers. So you take the plunge and book the site.

In Springdale, Utah, we stayed at Zion Canyon Campground.

The scenery was dramatic and our fellow campers were close. The slide outs from our neighbor’s rig extended out over our barbecue grill. Luckily, we didn’t plan to barbecue.

We weren’t planning to hang out in the campground anyway; we came to see the park. We could walk to the visitor’s center, and then catch the park shuttle. I thought the shuttle would be a drag. But actually, when it’s busy, it’s a smart system and very convenient. Oodles of free shuttles running every 15 minutes. We could also walk into the kind of upscale town of Springdale.

Zion’s scenery is absolutely stunning. No doubt about it. What a dazzling introduction to this group of parks.

We rode the shuttle for its entire length, to get the lay of the land, and then we took a few hikes: the Canyon Overlook Trail and the Emerald Pools Trail.

We took our evening stroll through Springdale, hit a few outfitter’s stores, and had a delicious dinner at Thai Sapa. The next day, we drove to the north end of the park and hiked the canyon viewpoint trail in Kolob Canyon. There were fewer tourists and wonderful views – well worth the drive. The snow-capped mountains added dimension to the magnificent views.

Bryce Canyon was next on our route. Options for places to stay are slim. Ruby’s – a historic outpost close to the park- seems to have a monopoly on all services near Bryce: campground, hotel, general store, gas station, post office, restaurant, car wash, RV servicing, and tours. The campground was pretty quiet during our stay. It was just opening for the season. At a higher elevation, (9,000 ft) it was cool during our visit in late March. Things really get rolling here in April. In late March, there are no park shuttles or tours, and it’s not as busy as Zion. It worked out fine for us.

Bryce Canyon is known for its vast number of hoodoos (irregular columns of rock). We drove the length of the park out to Rainbow Point, stopping along the way for views.

The next day, we hiked along the rim for a closer look at the marvelous shapes and colors of the canyon.

Some hoodoos look like castles, some like fortresses. It’s gorgeous in a way that’s different from Zion.

From Bryce, we went to Torrey, Utah, to visit Capitol Reef. This park also had an entirely different feel to it.

The Fruita settlement and its orchard show how challenging it is to farm in this area. The fruit trees were just starting to bloom. Visitors who come later will be allowed to pick the fruit. We took the scenic drive through the park, looked at the one room Fruita schoolhouse, viewed petroglyphs, and hiked a quiet canyon trail.

Just outside Capitol Reef, our campsite at Wonderland RV Park left little to wonder about. It was basic without much to do and a laundromat that skimped on hot water and didn’t dissolve our soap pods (annoying). We drove to a nearby town for a so-so Mexican meal and, by day two, we were ready to move along.

Along our route, we stopped at Anasazi State Park to learn more about the Puebloan culture. As our trip through the parks continued, we grew more and more interested in the people who lived here hundreds of years ago.

Near Moab, Utah, we camped at Cottonwood Creek, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campground.

This used to be a free for all sort of campground. But due to high use, and indiscriminate campers’ abuse of the area, this first-come, first-served campsite now has designated campsites, and charges a modest fee. Ten dollars a night for all this beauty is such a deal.

We felt lucky to nab a great site along the river, and used this as a base for visiting Canyonlands and Arches.

We entered Canyonlands from its northern entry: the Island in the Sky. The scenery continued to stun us. This is a park of overlooks, which we enjoyed on the scenic drive. In terms of hiking, we decided to save ourselves for Arches, the next day.

We got an early start for touring Arches. We hiked out to Delicate Arch and Balanced Rock. In addition to these, the park is full of arches to see along the park road, with short hikes to each area.

Each of these parks had a different feel to it. But even so, after five big parks, we felt a bit overwhelmed by canyons and red rock.

We went east into Colorado to see Mesa Verde and Canyons of the Ancients. This region of the southwest, where the borders of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico intersect is referred to as the Four Corners. It is chock-a-block full of Puebloan history, museums, and artifacts. While the big five Utah parks seem to be mostly about dramatic scenery, the two areas we now planned to see are mostly about culture. Who lived here? How did they live? What was their life like? Why did they leave when they did?

We headed south, stopping at Newspaper Rock, to view the mysterious petroglyph panel, and then spent a couple nights in Monticello, Utah to regroup.

In retrospect, we probably could have skipped Monticello, because the park and town held zero interest for us. But it was an okay place to rest up for a couple of days after two busy weeks.

We spent a night in Mancos, as Harvest Host guests at the Mancos Brewery.

It was a fun stop and place to unwind. The beer was very good, as was the food. A band was playing on an outdoor stage.

Lots of locals, who seemed to know the band and were brewery regulars, were dancing outdoors and enjoying a lovely, early spring evening.

The next day, we visited Mesa Verde. This is where ancestral Puebloans built dwellings in the cliffs. The most famous is the Cliff Palace that has over 150 rooms tucked inside the cliff, but there are other cliff dwellings, as well.

A fair amount of the park is under renovation, so some areas were closed to us; other areas weren’t yet open for the season. But we were captivated by the views and sophistication of the construction.

We spent a few nights at Sundance RV park in the center of Cortez. This was one of the best private campgrounds we’ve experienced. Clean and well maintained. From here, we did a day trip to drive the loop through the Canyons of the Ancients. What a spectacular area. We visited the Lowry Pueblo, one of the most completely restored pueblos, and marveled at its large kiva. Kivas were gathering places for important events and religious activities.

We stopped and hiked around Hovenweep, the canyon area north of the San Juan River. The canyon rim is lined with remnants of imposing towers – of many different and nearly perfect shapes.

These were probably constructed to protect the resources below – the river in the canyon and the springs in the canyon walls. Throughout time, water has been the key to successful settlements. It has been guarded like a jewel and been the root of many struggles. Lack of it has led entire cultures to move on. It’s thought that drought might have forced the ancient Puebloans to leave Mesa Verde in 1300.

We wrapped up our time in this area with a visit with our friend Marietta Eaton in Albuquerque. She fixed a super home-cooked meal for us – the first we’ve had in quite some time. While she cooked, we chatted about the amazing sights we’d seen. Marietta had a long career with the Bureau of Land Management, was Director of the Canyons of the Ancients Monument and Museum, and has significant family history tied to this area. Her insight to the area and its culture is vast and invaluable. We loved our time with her.

Our intrigue with this area continues to grow. We hope to visit Marietta and the area again on future trips through the area.

Next up: Continuing west