South East Utah planning

[vermilye]

Be sure to check road conditions - while usually a pretty good road that even passenger cars can drive, it can become impassable under snow or rain. Glen Canyon Road Conditions.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

Be sure to check road conditions - while usually a pretty good road that even passenger cars can drive, it can become impassable under snow or rain. Glen Canyon Road Conditions.

true, if its too muddy Cottonwood Canyon will be barricaded right at the start near Kodachrome Basin. Last time I was there, early June 2019, as I sat there looking at the barricade a couple pickup trucks came from the other direction. I had a 4x4 truck with good A/T tires, so shrugged and went around the barricade myself, and had no problem. YMMV.

 

[iamunique127]

true, if its too muddy Cottonwood Canyon will be barricaded right at the start near Kodachrome Basin. Last time I was there, early June 2019, as I sat there looking at the barricade a couple pickup trucks came from the other direction. I had a 4x4 truck with good A/T tires, so shrugged and went around the barricade myself, and had no problem. YMMV.

When we are out exploring in just the truck our favourite roads often turn out to be the ones with Road Closed signs.

 

[NoSOD]

I'll check out freecampsites.net. Thank you.

That brings up another subject for consideration: cellular data. Last summer we travelled thru the northwest US and depended on finding free wifi for our data because our Canadian cell service provider charges exorbitant roaming fees, like, $12/day exorbitant. To us that's outrageous. But being used to having internet access everywhere at home it was a PITA being without for the majority of the time. This trip I'm considering getting a US sim card or two so we can search campsites, etc. when we want to.

From what I understand there are two main US providers and one is better in urban centres and the other excels in rural settings. We tend to shy away from cities.

I have yet to investigate getting sim cards for a short term, like a month or two, but I am hopeful it is possible.

Any recommendations here for which cell provider you've been most happy with in the situations I've described for our trip?

Have you had a look at Freedom Mobile? They had some really good Boxing Day deals that included Canada and US coverage https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA?...VBhutBh2R9Qk9EAAYASAAEgIdpfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I am intending to switch one of our Fido plans to Freedom to get another plan they have that allows you to roam all over the world, or at least to many places in addition to US and Canada. I've not actually tried them in the US. Earlier we went to Utah, and had a Mint plan, but it didnt work very well, often no carrier. I think it selects ATT. Apologies to US readers who are wondering what Freedom Mobile is!

 

[Lorraine Pittsburgh]

I've been to most of the places mentioned & loved them all. The two that really spoke to me were Bryce (a busy national park, ugh, but still worth a day) & Dead Horse State Park (scenery as stunning as any in the southwest).

Looking forward to a report & pics from your trip!

 

[iamunique127]

Have you had a look at Freedom Mobile? They had some really good Boxing Day deals that included Canada and US coverage https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA?...VBhutBh2R9Qk9EAAYASAAEgIdpfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I am intending to switch one of our Fido plans to Freedom to get another plan they have that allows you to roam all over the world, or at least to many places in addition to US and Canada. I've not actually tried them in the US. Earlier we went to Utah, and had a Mint plan, but it didnt work very well, often no carrier. I think it selects ATT. Apologies to US readers who are wondering what Freedom Mobile is!

I haven't heard of Freedom mobile but will check them out.
Thanks for the tips

 

[iamunique127]

I've been to most of the places mentioned & loved them all. The two that really spoke to me were Bryce (a busy national park, ugh, but still worth a day) & Dead Horse State Park (scenery as stunning as any in the southwest).

Looking forward to a report & pics from your trip!

Thanks for adding them to the list, Lorraine. They are both in our area of interest.

It's so great to hear preferences from ppl who have been there.

 

[GinoandLinda]

I've been to most of the places mentioned & loved them all. The two that really spoke to me were Bryce (a busy national park, ugh, but still worth a day) & Dead Horse State Park (scenery as stunning as any in the southwest).

Looking forward to a report & pics from your trip!

Another vote for Dead Horse State Park. I could sit and look out at that scenery for hours.

 

[HarleyD]

Dhsp

Ditto on Dead Horse, we stayed there the first month they were open. Three campers in the whole park, looked strange but nice. One was an Earth Roamer, the first one I had seen. Now at times it gets packed.
Happy New Year and Happy trails Roy!

Another vote for Dead Horse State Park. I could sit and look out at that scenery for hours.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

We stayed at Dead Horse Pt... Nice campground, convenient location, but in early June the bugs were awful and it was often very windy in the late afternoon when we wanted to go for an after dinner walk. Was quite glad we had a trailer! Oh, no water, limited sewer dump.

 

[alanmalk]

We stayed at Dead Horse Pt... Nice campground, convenient location, but in early June the bugs were awful and it was often very windy in the late afternoon when we wanted to go for an after dinner walk. Was quite glad we had a trailer! Oh, no water, limited sewer dump.

This is true of a number of other desirable destinations in the desert south-west:
Campground water is brought in by truck and campers are asked to not fill RVs and dumping facilities may be a considerable distance from the campground.
And in the spring, late May thru late June roughly, the tiny biting bugs can be a formidable obstacle to camping enjoyment. It depends on the amount and timing of spring rains, if any.
I have run into these bugs in West Texas thru the major parks of Utah. Sadly, they are smaller than the average window screen holes.

Call your chosen Park in advance and ask about current conditions.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

thankfully, I'm not remembering these bugs as biting, just swarming and annoying.

 

[GinoandLinda]

This is true of a number of other desirable destinations in the desert south-west:
Campground water is brought in by truck and campers are asked to not fill RVs and dumping facilities may be a considerable distance from the campground.
And in the spring, late May thru late June roughly, the tiny biting bugs can be a formidable obstacle to camping enjoyment. It depends on the amount and timing of spring rains, if any.
I have run into these bugs in West Texas thru the major parks of Utah. Sadly, they are smaller than the average window screen holes.

Call your chosen Park in advance and ask about current conditions.

Linda swears by Skin So Soft from Avon. It doesn't work for me so I use repellents that have DEET. Also, the CLAM Venture shelter we purchased last year was a god send. The biting flies, and no-see-ums in northern New Mexico had a banner year last summer.

 

[wackyburggeezer]

The Colorado Plateau is blessed with several types of flying vampires. The extremely small ones are called "Cedar Gnats". There are larger biters: Black Flies and Deer Flies. The common mosquito (also a Colorado Plateau resident) will simply puncture your skin to do its' business. The "Cedar Gnat" chews a hole through your skin to irritate you.

Head nets help, and copious amounts of bug repellant. The Plateau Country is worth the suffering, but you'll lose no points for protecting your skin and sanity with repellant.

 

[alanmalk]

thankfully, I'm not remembering these bugs as biting, just swarming and annoying.

Nothing personal, but perhaps you don't taste good?

 

[Telescopist]

We stayed at Dead Horse Pt... Nice campground, convenient location, but in early June the bugs were awful and it was often very windy in the late afternoon when we wanted to go for an after dinner walk. Was quite glad we had a trailer! Oh, no water, limited sewer dump.

There is potable water at Dead Horse Point. Big basin sink outside restrooms which can be seen in front of the 4Runner. As I recall, there is a huge cistern up on a hill above the campsite that services this sink and the restrooms. True, I had to fill up (3) 6 gallon containers with water and replenish my fresh water tank manually.

I didn't find that the sewer dump location was a problem either. It was on the way out for us adjacent to where the campground hosts stayed. We were in site #7 -- the Kayenta campground.

 

[Shudbesailing]

Phone plans

I saw your post re phone plans
We are in BC and with Freedom Mobile. Just added on to our plan to include unlimited calling and text in Canada & USA & 35gb data. $35/month if you pay online. They connect through AT&T and T Mobile.
Haven't used it yet - SOON!
Ray

 

[Shudbesailing]

Is the elevation too high to visit later in March?

 

[DT6]

It’s now my home WiFi, I only stream.

I’ve been told it can be taken with you on the road, but I’ve yet to test it out.

We live in Oregon and have taken our T-Mobile WiFi tower with us. Right now we are in Bakersfield, CA staying overnight at a local Casino and the T-Mobile WiFi tower is working great!

It's like taking your home WiFi with you, because - you are taking it with you! We love this thing and it works very well both at home running a bunch of WiFi enabled gear (phones, tablets, computers, appliances, alarms, etc.) and on the road with just our phones and laptops.

 

[iamunique127]

I saw your post re phone plans
We are in BC and with Freedom Mobile. Just added on to our plan to include unlimited calling and text in Canada & USA & 35gb data. $35/month if you pay online. They connect through AT&T and T Mobile.
Haven't used it yet - SOON!
Ray

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the info on Freedom Mobile.

Is the elevation too high to visit later in March?

For future reference: when responding to someone's post its a good idea to use the Quote button on their post so it is clear who you are addressing.