We finally planned our first out-of-state National Park RV trip, to Zion National Park. It’s 470mi away from Oceanside so we planned on two travel days. This is our first trip with our new Lectric E-Bikes. They add ~130lbs to our truck’s payload so we moved as much weight as possible to Howie. Instead of bins, we opted for bike bags to transport our folded bike since they take up less room. Bodhi stayed home with Sean & family because Zion doesn’t allow dogs on the trails & the heat in the RV would be too hot if the AC failed. He’ll go with us on our next trip to Silver Stand State Beach, San Diego.
21 Sept, Travel Day: we left Oceanside ~1140am and drove east, stopping at the Barstow for a break – Flying J for gas & a late lunch. Then we drove another hour, stopping for the night in Baker. We knew it would be over 90degF, so we decided not to boondock. Baker RV Park has full hookups for $25/night but no other amenities – it’s essentially a parking lot with hookups. You call the number posted and the manager tells you which site is available. We parked across the street from the Mad Greek’s Cafe and were thankful for the electrical hookup that let us run our AC. Since most of our trips have been on the coast or cool weather, we’ve never really had to use it. This trip was a good test and the AC worked well, without the freeze-ups that some other GeoPro owners have experienced.
File under ‘fascinating people you meet on the road’: Jim “Jet” Neilson. In Baker, the only campsite open at the RV Park was blocked by a rocket car(!). We met Jim as he was kind enough to move his rocket car trailer so we could pull in. Of all the stories I’ve heard about Covid affecting people, his is quite the tale. Covid has slowed one of the fastest man on earth. He’s hold up in Baker until he can make it back to his home in Panama. Stop by Baker’s Country Store/76 Gas Station, check out his impressive rocket car, have a chat & get one of his signed t-shirts.
22-27 Sept, St. George/Hurricane KOA: Like most KOAs, this campground was located well out-of-town, about 13mi north of St. George. It’s very close to Leeds, UT and 23mi from Zion National Park’s west entrance – Kolob Canyon. Zion’s southern entrance campgrounds were book solid so we opted to stay here then move to Zion Canyon RV Resort after 5 days. There is plenty to do on this side of the park and it is less crowded than Zion NP proper. Kolob Canyon has some great hikes as well as some of the other regional parks like Quail Creek (next door), Red Reef (across the road), Sand Hollow (10mi away), town of Hurricane (6mi).
27-30 Sept, Zion Canyon RV Resort: Now this is the place to stay with your RV when visiting Zion National Park. 0.4mi from the south entrance, walking (or ebike) distance to both the park, groceries, and food. We were fortunate, since we postponed our trip a week, to get a riverside site (130). This campground has full hookups, small pool, two restroom/showers, cable TV, and other amenities. They are still rebuilding from damage caused by the recent flash flooding of the Virgin River. So backhoes and rebuilding is going on during the day. The laundry is closed because of flash flood damage (as of OCt 1, may be open now).
