Going Back Down South

And having fun with free camping.

I won’t lie. I cried as I drove through Capitol Reef National Park on Highway 24. I hated to leave. A solution came to me while I was still in the Park: when I get home, I need to go through all of my Utah pictures. ALL of them. Select the best ones and then get them printed out. Canvas, metal, whatever looks best. If the red rock canyons of Utah are my happy place, (but since I’m not likely to actually move to Utah any time soon), why shouldn’t I be able to see my happy place whenever I want? There’s still a ton of wall space at my house.

That made me feel better, although I was still reluctant to leave Capitol Reef behind. I headed south across Utah’s high country, stopping at Butch Cassidy’s boyhood home (because they had a bathroom).

It was cold out! And windy. Still, it was a pretty spot.

Continuing south I decided to cheat a little bit and arrive in Hurricane via Zion National Park. It was cheating because neither Michael or I have ever been to Zion before. I thought that, you know, we should experience it for the first time together. But Zion is such a popular National Park that they no longer have a “down season.” While summer is definitely the high season here, it’s still busy the rest of the year. From what I’ve read, it’s crazy busy. So I figured I could get a lay of the land, as well as a map and any helpful information, for when Michael and I arrived together.

Did I mention that Zion is crazy busy all year round? That’s what I read, so I was pretty surprised to find no line at all at the East entrance to the Park. Traffic increased as I drove west, but it wasn’t too bad, really. Zion is quite pretty on the east side. A lot of slickrock that kind of reminded me of Moab. Because of all the heavy snowfall the area received this winter, there were several waterfalls and weeping walls.

Then I got to the tunnel.

First of all, I’m not sure anything can really prepare you for the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel. I saw the sign to turn on your headlights and take off your sunglasses, like driving through this tunnel was serious business or something, and have to tell you I laughed a bit. I mean, I used to drive through the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado about once a week for years. I can handle a wee tunnel.

Except… the Eisenhower Tunnel has lights and a complex ventilation system. I’m not sure if it was the darkness or the curves or the slow speed (25mph), but the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel seems waaaay longer than it actually is. Zion’s website says it’s only 1.1 miles long (the Eisenhower tunnel is 1.69 miles, with a speed limit of 55mph, which nobody does anyway).

I felt like I was driving in the dark for a long time. Except, every so often I’d pass holes cut into the tunnel – the only light sources – and I tried to see what I was driving alongside, but it was tough to do that and stay in my own lane. The Zion tunnel was completed in the 1930’s, back when vehicles were a lot smaller, so it seems particularly narrow. I know what you’re going to ask me: How narrow is it???

If your vehicle is 11”4 (3.4m) tall or taller or 7’10” (2.4 m) wide or wider, including mirrors, awnings, and jacks, you will need a tunnel permit.

https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/the-zion-mount-carmel-tunnel.htm

Luckily, Taco Negro is only about 7 feet tall.

Anyway, the tunnel permit costs $15. You pay it when you enter the Park, but you’ll need to present the permit before you can drive through the tunnel. See, on either side of the tunnel is a little shack, like a guard house. Each shack is staffed by a Park Service ranger. So if you’re approaching the tunnel in an oversize vehicle, you show the ranger your permit… and they shut down the tunnel. Just for your oversize vehicle.

Summers in Zion must be so much fun.

So I was driving along in the dark, with no idea what to expect, for what seemed like forever. Then I could see daylight, so faintly, ahead. The light got brighter and brighter and then I came out of the tunnel. To this:

I mean, holy shit. I can see why people say Zion is their favorite National Park.

I knew I’d have to take Michael back through the tunnel. He needed to have this experience!

So while I felt a tiny bit guilty for getting to see Zion first, I figured out a couple of things and formulated a plan for our return. See, you can drive though the park but not into Zion Canyon, as that area is only accessible via shuttle bus. (The buses run about every 10-15 minutes.) There is parking in Zion, at the Visitor’s Center, but apparently it’s pretty limited. The Park Service suggests parking in the town of Springdale, to avoid waiting in line to get into the park and then possibly not being able to park at all. Springdale also has a free shuttle that will take you right to the Park boundary. Sounds great, right?

Sure. Except the Park Service fails to mention that parking in Springdale is not free. I never did figure out exactly how much – it’s metered parking and I didn’t really investigate – but I saw a sign on a lot that said $20 for all day.

Parking in the Park IS free. Well, for me it is, since I possess an annual pass. But I figured that if Michael and I got to the Park early enough, we should be able to find a spot, and avoid paying for parking in Springdale.

I moved on, happy to know I’d get to come back and really explore Zion. The original plan was to camp outside the town of LaVerkin, Utah, at a site called Sheep Bridge Road. But when I got there I was greeted by this sign:

I looked at my watch. It was April 5th.

Well, shit.

So I decided to head back to Fort Pearce. My crappy little site there wasn’t that bad, I told myself. And it was on the way south, right? I put the location into Google Maps. Google Maps, trying to be helpful, sent me what I soon realized was the back way. It was much shorter than heading back out to the Interstate. But… a lot weirder. I wandered along the far east side of Hurricane, then past an airport community.

Shortly after hitting the dirt road I passed a BLM sign.

Huh. Well, I didn’t need to camp all the way back at Fort Pearce. One BLM site is as good as another. For me, anyway. So I pulled off at the first level spot and made camp.

I arrived just as the sun was starting to set, so I made a quick dinner and retreated to my cozy little coffin for the night. Only a couple more nights back there…