2018 Dayton Sibling Reunion

In the fall of 2018 my mother and siblings set up a reunion in St George, UT.  Liz and I decided to drive the motorhome out to the reunion and make a trip of it.  We left on October 3rd and headed for Caprock Canyons State Park, a place in west Texas that we hadn't been before.  This is one of the few real canyons in Texas and it has it's own buffalo herd.  The scenery is impressive and there are plenty of hiking trails and some biking trails...we did both.

Caprock Canyons State Park, TX

Tunnel on the trail

We camped in Caprock for 1 night and then moved on to Amarillo.  On Oct 6 we headed to the Great Sand D Dunes NP in Colorado expecting to spend the night but discovered that the campground was completely full so we pushed on to Alamosa, CO, where we stayed for the night.  In its day, Alamosa was a major train hub for the Denver and Rio Grande railroad which still has a strong presence in the town.  This town has some real "old west" personality and we enjoyed walking the downtown area and down to the train station.

The next day we drove to Mesa Verde NP which is on the west side of Colorado.  Here we stayed in the campground for 2 nights.  We spent the day of Oct 8th touring the park.  It was the end of the season so access was closed to some of the ruins and we had to make do with seeing them from viewing areas instead of walking through them.

Ruins viewpoint at Mesa Verde

Leaving Mesa Verde we took a drive up the canyon toward Telluride to see the fall colors.  We were rewarded with some beautiful color displays as well as some snow.

Fall colors in Colorado
 on the road from Cortez to Telluride

We hit snow approaching  Telluride

That day we continued on to Cortez, CO where we planned to spend the night at the Ute Mountain Casino (we have stayed there before).  However, they changed their policy and no longer allow RVs to spend the night so we pushed on to Kayenta, AZ where we arrived late and spent the night.  Next morning we drove to Page AZ and stayed at Wahweap campground for the night.  It was great to be back at Lake Powell and nice to be at the dam end of the lake for a change instead of Bullfrog.  We got out the bikes and rode all over the campground area.  The next day on our way out we decided to take a tour of Glen Canyon Dam, something we've never done before.  We're so glad we did....the tour was well worth it!

Our campsite at Wahweap on Lake Powell

Lake Powell from the Dam

Glen Canyon Dam

Power generators inside the dam

Looking down river from the dam

We took Hwy 89 into Utah and followed it through Orderville to the junction with Hwy 14 which goes to Duck Creek Campground where we stayed the night.  On Oct 12 we drove over to Cedar Breaks NM, sort of a smaller version of Bryce Canyon NP.  This is also a place we've never been so we were very impressed with it's breathtaking beauty, especially covered with winter snow.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Even more amazing with the snow

 Our next stop was Zion National Park where we had reservations at Watchman campground for 3 nights.  This was the perfect way for us to see Zion.  We left the RV in the campground and walked, rode our bikes, or took the shuttle to everything we wanted to see.  We found that the shuttle could load up our bikes and take us to the top of the canyon after which we could ride all the way down, stopping at scenic views and trails when we wanted.  We had a blast! and would love to do it again.  We also took the shuttle into Springdale one day for dinner at a restaurant in town.  Zion is amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed out time there.

Zion Canyon - View from the Lodge

Great White Throne

Entrance to the Narrows

Ready to ride our bikes down the canyon

Shuttle bus that provides transportation up the canyon

Sunrise from our campsite in Zion NP

Walk from campground to visitors center

On Oct 16 we left Zion for St. George where we camped down by the Virgin River.  St. George has some very good biking trails that follow the river so we spent the afternoon trying them out.  Next day we drove up to the venue in St. George that had been reserved for the reunion.  It was a restored historic home called the Whitehead home, near downtown.  That afternoon my mom and siblings gathered at the venue where we stayed for 3 nights.  We had a very enjoyable 3 days catching up and visiting sites in St. George.  We particularly enjoyed the Red Hills Desert Garden, a sort of arboretum with plants and flowers from the local area.

Red Hills Desert Garden at St. George, UT

On our way home we made overnight stops in Flagstaff, AZ, Santa Rosa, NM, and Childress. TX, arriving home on Oct 23rd.  Trip highlights must include Cedar Breaks NM, Zion NP, and touring Glen Canyon Dam along with seeing Mom and the sibs.  Now we have some new places to go back to.!!