Inaugural RV Trip in Utah - March 2021

Outside Zion

One of our dreams is to buy an RV in retirement and spend a few years going around the US and through all national parks.  Bound stateside during the Covid crisis, we decided to make lemonade out of lemons and give this whole RV thing the college try....through some of our favorite countryside in the US.

Accommodation:

Cosmopolitan:  We needed a hotel room that was able to separate into two spaces as we were working on the Friday and the Cosmo had that - with a pocket door between the bedroom and the living area.  It had the added benefit that Keith's parent company owns it, so we were also staying there at the end of the trip while Keith worked in Vegas for a few days after the trip.  

View from our room

Winnebago:  Well, what an experience!  While we had a fantastic time on the trip, we do think that we experienced almost everything that could go wrong in an RV! We rented a 2016 Winnebago Ultra-Lite 31-foot trailer .  While only 5 years old, the interior aesthetic seemed more 1990s - brown on brown was the recurring theme.  So....what happened you ask?  First, the jack stripped, which meant that we couldn't get the trailer off the truck.  And we discovered this on the Sunday morning, with no one to fix it until Monday.  Also, the heater did not work the first night so we were incredibly cold overnight.  Fortunately, there were enough blankets but we had zero desire to get out of bed because it was 32 degrees outside...and possibly colder inside!  While the heater was fixed for a while, it was on and off all week.  The hot water stopped working mid-week, which coincided with the need to use the shower - so we had glacier-water showers.  The toilet clogged for a day which created its own adventure!  And we had a few other minor mishaps - mostly driven by our lack of knowledge!  We did learn a few bits of lingo - like 'stinky slinky' which is the name of the coil tube that connects the RV to the ground to empty the tanks and 'boon docking' which is when you park your RV off the grid!

Our home for 7 days

Wonderland RV Park, Torrey UT:  Our first RV site!  We were assigned space 16, which was a nice, spacious spot in the back corner.  The owner was nice and the shower/toilet block was super-clean.  It is also across the road from a gas station which enabled us to run across and get some "emergency" items like a can opener and ice.  

KOA St George / Hurricane:  This was a bit less exciting.  Just off I-15 on the east side the highway, we were assigned space 58.  The check in area was easy to navigate.  The downside of this site was that our space was in the middle of a long row of RVs, so not as quiet.  Also the toilet/shower block was closed for renovation which meant we needed to use the RV's toilet and shower - which added to the excitement of the week.  

Activities:

We flew to Las Vegas on the Thursday night so that we could work remotely on the Friday and then have a nice dinner in Vegas the Friday night before setting out.  

On Saturday morning, we jumped in a taxi to pick up the RV at the owner's house.  The owners are a nice couple, married for a year.  He is a musician and she was in marketing before moving into the RV renovation business as a result of Covid.  We were shown around two of their RVs under renovation while Shawn was brining our RV over.  We ended up borrowing the couple's minivan to go to Vonn's grocery to do our major shopping trip (Shawna had planned all the meals ahead of time so we had the list at the ready).  The shopping took almost 1.5 hours, but with that done, we drove back to the house for our orientation of the RV.  They had just purchased it a week prior so they were fairly new to this model as well.  It took about 30 mins for the full "tour" and we were on our way, Keith driving the F350 that was towing the trailer.  It didn't take long for Keith to get used to towing the trailer, though within minutes we were stuck at a left turn unable to make the turn with so much traffic in both directions.  So instead took a few rights to get back on the target road...and soon enough we were on I-15 for our 6 hour drive to Torrey Utah.  We did have to stop for gas every couple of hours as the combined truck and 18,000 pound trailer got 11.5 miles to the gallon!  Shawna checked us in to the park and the owner helped us reverse in to the space...Keith made it the first shot!  We arrived at RV park at 7pm, so Shawna quickly made a dinner of salmon and couscous and we went to sleep for the night!  

Keith at the wheel!

Shawna trying to stay warm!

Sunday was spent relaxing at the RV park since we could not unhook the truck from the RV.  We slept in and watched a few shows in bed, read, cooked, napped and did a little day drinking.  

Shawna cooking and lunch

On Monday morning, we went to see "Biggie" first thing when he opened so that he could replace the jack and check on the heat.  It only took us about 45 minutes and he charged way less than we thought considering he was the only RV repair shop in town (granted it's a small town).  So, we returned to the RV park to park the RV (no pun intended), unhooked the truck and drove into Capitol Reef to do some hiking.  We hiked the Grand Wash (which is an in/out trail in a canyon) and the Cassidy Arch Trails (which is uphill to a natural bridge made out of the rocks) for a total of 7.5 miles.  We then drove the Scenic Drive in the park to see the views - the park reminded us of Sedona but on a grander scale.

Capitol Reef

Tuesday was spent getting to our next destination and running errands.  We had a leisurely morning and then packed up the RV to drive to Zion.  After we checked in and parked the RV, we set out to get a few more groceries (namely wine) and a few space heaters since the heat was not working.  We actually only ended up using one of the space heaters (as we found out turning on two tripped the breaker which took us about 15 minutes to find)! But thankfully one was enough and took the chill out of the RV.

On Wednesday, we got up early to drive into Zion - about 45 minutes from our RV park.  We had purchased our shuttle tickets in advance (in Zion, you can't drive into the park - there are shuttles that take you to the various spots within the park) so we were in line for our time window - thankfully there were not too many people in line but when we returned later in the day, the lines were quite long! Unfortunately a few of the great hikes in the park were closed due to a rock slide that had occurred last year but we were able to do one of the famous ones - Angels Landing! The hike is 5.5 miles and is somewhat strenuous (uphill with crazy switch backs) - the last mile is the nail biter with chains to hold on to while you hike up a very thin edge to the top.  Needless to say, Shawna only made it up the first part of the chains and with legs shaking, decided not to make it the rest - so she sat there and waited almost an hour while Keith did the rest - it took that long b/c there were quite a number of people hiking and you had to wait at times to allow others to pass since the trail could really only fit people going in one direction at a time.  Keith took some great photos from the top.  We had our lunch (cheese and crackers) sitting at the area where the chain part of the hike starts with great views!  We then hiked over to the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools which added another few miles - the pools were not that spectacular and the trail was very crowded. After our hike, we tried to stop for a beer in town but couldn't find parking so opted to head back to the RV and have a few beers there before making dinner.

Zion - Angel's Landing

On Thursday, we got up early again and went back into Zion - this time hiking the Sandbench trail (a recommendation from the park ranger) which is a 7.5 mile, fairly easy trail (although a bit hard as much of the trail is sand) - what was great about the trail is that we hardly saw another person and there were great views. We then took the shuttle over to the last stop to walk the Riverside Walk (about 2 miles) to the entrance of the Narrows - we wanted to see what the water levels were like.  We saw several people setting out to do the Narrows with waders that went up to their chest - we had heard from a few that we spoke to on the shuttle that the water was quite cold and at times did come up to your chest so we opted to try this hike next time when we happen to return in the summer.  This time, we kept our car parked at the entrance and walked over to Zion Brewery across the bridge - unfortunately, they were not serving food but we were able to grab a couple of pints and sit outside by the river.

Zion - Sandbench Trail

Enjoying a pint at Zion Brewery

On Friday, we drove about two hours (so left early) to Bryce Canyon.  While it took a while to get there, we were so glad we made the trip as we both thought it was our favorite park of the trip with such wild and interesting hoodoos (rock formations in columns).  We did the Queens Garden and Peekaboo Loop trails - about 8 miles in total. The hike was moderate with a few icy bits but with stunning views along the way! We had a great picnic spot - right at the part of the hike they call the 'windows'.  After the hike, we returned to the RV for a few beers and dinner.

Bryce - Queens Garden and Peekaboo Loop Trails

On Saturday, we drove back to Vegas, after having a leisurely morning. We returned the RV with no issues and were quite happy to check-in to the hotel to get a warm shower.  That afternoon, we treated ourselves to a massage at the hotel spa and then a yummy dinner that Shawna did not have to cook!

On Sunday, Shawna flew out early to go to Louisiana to visit with her mom for the week while Keith caught up on work and stayed in Vegas for the week to visit properties.

Dining:

Cosmo Room Service: we ordered room service for lunch on the friday.  Keith ordered a salad which arrived with no dressing which was less than optimal.  Shawna had ordered a tuna poke bowl as well as pita and hummus, so Keith ate half the hummus as well.  

Mizumi at the Winn:  Delicious dinner - a Micheline star Asian restaurant.  We both started with the Cherry Blossom Margarita, then moved to a bottle of Jordan, Alexander Valley, CA, 2016 and closed out the night with a dessert wine.  Dinner was shared Wild Snapper Sashimi Usuzukuri, Wagyu Gyoza Dumpling, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Lamb Chop Yakiniku with Yuzu Miso, and Miso Toothfish Saikyo-yaki.  We finished with the Trio of Pineapple for dessert.  

Dinner at Mizumi

Winnebago:  Shawna brought home-cooking to RV life.  We were pretty sure that we were the only ones eating couscous and veggie burgers in the RV park - the other RVs seemed to be more of the hotdog cuisine!  Breakfasts were either avocado toast, omelets, or yogurt/granola/honey/berries.  Lunches were usually hiking and we generally had cheese and crackers we hiked in with us.  Dinners were delicious: they were usually preceded with 2-3 beers and then enjoyed with a bottle of wine.  Everything Shawna cooked was made in double portions so we could have leftovers another night...again, just like home!  The dinners included salmon with veggie couscous, turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and arugula salad, and turkey meat balls with orzo and peppers.  All fantastic!

Jose Andreas Bazaar Meat: After a week of hiking, Keith wanted some real meat. Being fans of Jose Andreas, we decided to give this place a try.  We arrived a bit early for our reservation so sat at the bar to enjoy a drink - Keith had a great gin and tonic and Shawna tried the 'cotton candy' mojito which involved pouring some liquid over actual cotton candy to create a smoky effect - quite the show! For dinner, we had a great bottle recommended by the sommelier - 2016 Aalto Ribera Del Duero.  We also shared the Super-Giant Pork Skin Chicharron (which was quite giant), Kobe Eye of the Rib prepared table side, Tenderloin, Setas al Ajillo (grilled mushrooms) and Patatas Bravas.  Since we were filling quite full, we opted to skip dessert.  Everything was very tasty.

Dinner at Bazaar Meat