Kanab, Utah

Best Friends

 Before driving 80 miles to the campground in Kanab, we took one more walk along the rim of Bryce Canyon before the short easy drive. Fifty miles down the road we ran into road construction and had a 40 minute wait. Once we were back on the road and getting a little hungry, we arrived in the tiny Hitching Post campground in the middle of town.

Our site had been changed from a nice big pull thru full hookup to a tiny back in with very little room to swing the truck around with only inches to spare while avoiding the giant 5th wheel parked in our way.

Mike was almost in the site when the guy in the back told him he should just start over and come in from the opposite direction. I stepped in and said "No! Wait!" I told Mike to get out and assess the situation and he could decide for himself. Three people talking at once was  making him crazy. He took a deep breath, got out and felt he could manage the situation fine. After a little shimming, he was in perfect. When he went to hook up, there was no sewer hookup. The first guy told him to just go over to the dump station and he could back in again. I said "NO!" We needed time to think. There was nothing else available in Kanab and we were tired and hungry. We decided that we would be fine, with water and electric and could use the campground shower. They gave us a "generous" $3 discount since we didn't get what we reserved.

We needed groceries and thought a trip to the Kanab French Bakery for lunch would be a good treat. They were out of chicken. Our only choices were a croissant with egg and a very peppery quiche. The service looked very slow. so we grabbed a peach turnover to hold us over during the wait.

A day of rest and reading was in order. OH! And grocery shopping and the propane was getting low.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

We have missed volunteering during the pandemic, whether is was a state park or Feeding America. We had hoped to volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary but didn't plan ahead but made a visit for a tour.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary was founded on Feb 19, 1984 where 1600 animals are cared for and loved on any given day. Most of the animals are dogs and cats; the rest are horses, birds, rabbits, potbellied pigs, and an assortment of other animal

Best Friends began with a group of animal lovers who were unwilling to accept that shelters had no choice but to kill “unadoptable” animals. These future founders of banded together and started rescuing animals from shelters, where the animals’ luck was about to run out. Providing proper care, love and patience, the group of friends helped these homeless animals heal and find loving forever families. The animals who weren’t ready for adoption spent their days romping in the new sanctuary.

The cemetery

The Sanctuary is located in the majestic red-rock country of southern Utah, just outside the town of Kanab. When Hollywood was no longer using the canyon for movies, the owners decided to sell. The group went to the bank for a 1.2 million dollar loan with $5000 down. The bank felt if they defaulted, the bank would get the canyon. The views are spectacular.

Angel Canyon, where the Sanctuary is located, is a mecca for people who love animals and nature. The canyon is world-famous as the backdrop for dozens of movie and TV westerns going back to the 1950s. Thousands of years before cowboys set eyes on Angel Canyon, the ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) people built a peaceful and enduring culture, leaving many ancient dwellings and petroglyphs.

Our tour guide would bring out animals and give us their stories. This rooster blended in too well with our guide's shirt is diaper trained. 

You’re welcome to tour Best Friends and visit with the animals throughout the year. Full tours take about an hour and a half, and should be scheduled in advance. More than 30,000 visitors come to the Sanctuary each year with 400 paid staff and the money is primarily from donations.

Volunteers are always welcome at the Sanctuary helping the animals to get ready for new homes. Volunteers come from all over, and spend time working with the animals and giving them 

personal attention. Make arrangements to volunteer before you arrive a couple of months in advance which we didn't do but enjoyed the tour.

The food trailer was not open during this time.

Even if you don't volunteer or tour the Sanctuary, there are hiking trail through some scenic landscapes.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Coral Pink Sand Dunes is a scenic area with dunes of warm, pink sand 30 minutes from Kanab. The dunes are a favorite place to ride off-highway vehicles. Many people were renting sandboards as they entered the park for $25. Climbing the dunes is a lot of work for a few rides.

We drove to the North Rim on the first day of Fall and the trees were in their full glory.

The fires clear the pines allowing the aspen to flourish.

De Motte Campground

De Motte Campground is 20 miles from the visitor's center at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and 9000 feet elevation making for chilly nights in the 30s. The campground and visitor's center in the national park didn't open this year.

The campground filled up quickly each day. Even though the Full sign was up, we would see many people driving though to make sure it was really full. Mike saw a man on a motorcycle circling as it was getting dark. He flagged him down and invited him to use the tent pad on our large corner lot. He was thrilled even though we warned that it get quite cold at night. He didn't want to drive the 30 miles back to Jacobs Lake and he had a sleeping bag with a rating down to 0 degrees. It was 32F in the morning and he didn't sleep well. The rating must have been for 0 C degrees, his feet were cold.

Every time we stepped out of the trailer the bright fall colors of the aspen were startling. The drive from Kanab through Jacobs Lake kept getting better and better.