After such an active (and enjoyable) few days exploring Gold Butte, this old man just wanted to find a quiet place for some R & R (Rest & Recovery). Unfortunately, it was Easter week-end and, as I soon learned, Spring Break for schools in this area. For people who love the outdoors, it was the first opportunity in months for families to get outside for a week. Consequently, all campgrounds within a large radius were full up for the entire week. I finally found a vacant site in the town of Leeds, at a campground I have used several times before, but not where I had planned to be. However, it offered everything I needed at that point in time.
For the next four days, I mostly stayed close to camp, catching up on phone calls, computer work and laundry. I went out for sunrise and sunset, and made one trip to St. George for service on the LRJ. While in St. George, I visited a convenient petroglyph site (not a very good one), but dropped plans to visit some others that required hiking.
The most interesting thing about these petroglyphs is the location, smack in the middle of a neighborhood of new homes. I think it's great that they were preserved, but will they survive all the kids who live nearby. Some were climbing on the rocks while I was there.
Next, I wanted to move to Kanab, UT, but found no campground vacancies as it was still during Spring Break. The closest spot for me was on the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation, located at Pipe Spring National Monument some twenty miles from Kanab. I learned that the RV park had just been re-furbished and is very nice. As a bonus, the rates are very good. (I stayed for two weeks.)
Kaibab is part of the Arizona Strip, the land between the Grand Canyon's northern rim and the Utah border. There are only a couple small towns in the Strip since there is little to attract settlers. A wild land, it was left to the Paiute Indians who lived here for hundreds of years. The Mormons built a cattle ranch here in the 1860s, due to the favorable climate. Early raids by the Paiutes led to the creation of a "fort" at Pipe Spring. (The Indians couldn't understand why the Whites could kill their deer, but they weren't supposed to kill the cattle.) Eventually, the Mormons and Paiutes made peace and lived together harmoniously. The Pipe Spring National Monument is surrounded by the reservation, and seems to be a joint effort between the National Park Service and the tribe.
Spring weather in this region is unpredictable, with high winds being a common occurrence. Accordingly, my time here has been a mix of touring and staying in camp, so I've had plenty of time to keep up with chores and still do the research necessary to support my activities. Internet service is good, but cell phone service practically non-existent.
Sunrises and sunsets have been pretty good during my stay here.
On a day trip to Colorado City (famous because polygamy is still practiced), I hiked a little into Water Canyon. I thought of going all the way to the head of the canyon to see the waterfall there, but a young couple returning from there weren't enthusiastic about it. When I saw their video of the waterfall, I decided it wasn't worth the additional two miles of hiking. Looking at the stream bed, however, it was clear that it would become a torrent after a rainfall.
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