South East Utah planning

[iamunique127]

Back in October of this year, I was reading a thread about the annular eclipse. A post by forum member EscapeBoulder https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post455891 that contained a photo of Valley of the Gods in southeast Utah really captured my imagination.

photo credit: EscapeBoulder


I showed the photo to my wife and we agreed it would be a wonderful new area to see for ourselves. Photos of Goosenecks and Muley Point make them areas of interest as well. Boondocking is really our preferred way of camping and the idea of unregulated walks is very appealing, too. Although admittedly they are very beautiful, we are not big on National Parks or the big tourist attractions due to the crowds and congestion.

So we started thinking about when we could realistically get away for an extended time, to make the trip worthwhile from our home in Winnipeg, and figure sometime in the mid-April to late May time period would work for us. We enjoy travel in the spring and the month of May, here in Canada, is just about ideal. We will be travelling southwest from here but may experience high elevations, I'm not sure. I haven't looked into the route that far yet.

Generally, at least at a glance, this highlighted route seems favourable. We prefer to stay off the interstates as much as possible but realize short sections may be necessary. We tend to wander when we travel so it may take us a week to get down there although we've travelled the North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming sections before so don't need to spend a lot of time exploring there this time.



For those of you familiar with the southeast Utah area, what are your thoughts on what we would experience weather-wise in that time period? I've read travel is not advisable or possible on the backroads when they are wet but I don't know when rains can be expected there.

I have spent a bit of time in the Tucson area and cactus thorns were a problem for dog's feet on the trails. We now travel with a dog and I wonder if cacti are an issue in Utah?

Although I've stated some preferences they are not hard and fast rules for our travels. Is there anywhere else in the area or on our general route you'd suggest we see or do?

Thanks in advance for any input.