Bear Valley RV and Camping Resort (26-28 May 23)
Look close or you may never find it, but at the intersection of UT 89 and 20 just 10 miles north of Panguitch is a small outpost camping area with full RV hookups and a gas station. “Bear Valley RV and Camping Resort” was our home away from home for our day trip to nearby (33 miles) Bryce Canyon National Park. It made for a shorter day trip, and it is on the way to our next stop in Park City, UT. Instead of doing the 170 mi roundtrip from Kanab, we just moved closer to Bryce! Friends from the Rally told us about Bear Valley, and they had plenty of room despite it being “Memorial Day” weekend. Remain thankful for those that have gone before us in service to our great nation!
The only planned and executed excursion was to “Bryce Canyon National Park.” We started with watching sunrise over ‘Inspiration Point’ overlooking the ‘Amphitheater.’ The downside to watching sunrise was the 3:45AM wake up call! Well, it was also only 29 degrees when we arrived at the top, but I digress. Anyway, we contemplated skipping the morning routine, but had the entire day planned and decided getting up a little earlier to shower would be a good idea! The start time was, of course, derived from prep time, breakfast, and our drive time to arrive at least 15 minutes before sunrise. We made it on schedule and despite a few clouds on the horizon, enjoyed another beautiful sunrise! The positive side was enjoying an essentially empty park that early in the morning. By the time we left a few hours later, cars were backed up at the entrance three across and ten deep. Go early or wait in line!
I mentioned the day was planned, which included watching sunrise, taking a short 5-mile hike around the ‘Amphitheater,’ and then enjoying the 18-mile drive stopping at various scenic overlooks. We hit 2 out of 3! The hike fell off the list shortly after arriving at ‘Inspiration Point’ and hiking to its highest of three overlooks. We decided that hiking at 9,000 feet was not in the best interest of those used to living at an elevation closer to 900 feet! We did make the drive where we enjoyed some spectacular views of natural rock formations, and we have the photos to prove it! For the record, we did still log some mileage walking from parking lots to viewing spots. Fitbit says so!!!
After our morning in Bryce Canyon, we stopped in Panguitch on the way back to camp and had a real ‘breakfast for lunch’ at the “Flying Goat Café.” Tina had fruit stuffed French toast and I had the pancakes and eggs. Both were delicious! We were not sure if that was because it tasted so good, or we were just hungry after Bryce Canyon! Regardless, the service was outstanding and we would not hesitate to eat there again.
Panguitch was having a street market, so we walked around there for a short time before heading back to Bear Valley. The resort (?) is a perfect place for a short stop of a day or two. It is 10 miles from town, but is on UT 20 which is a main feeder for US Hwy 15 that we will be taking north. The campground does offer a few nostalgic “Conestoga wagon” cabins and one “teepee” for rent in addition to the RV campground. The campground is wide open as far as spacing between rows. Distance between campers is adequate, but you will not feel crowded. It is level and all gravel. The scenery rivals what we experienced in Kanab, there is a 24-hr laundry room and bathrooms on site, and I guess one other bonus is the Sinclair gas station that is here! Short distance to top off! It is not in the heart of anything, but is close to much and is a great stopover if you are in the area!
Camping up with the Joneses 