I don't know how, but the Jehova's Witnesses found and cornered me at my campsite. Pamphlets are a waste. There's a surefire way to recruit me ... Just bring me a Starbucks venti Americano and a good piece of carrot cake. I'd convert, no questions asked. I'd even become a Russian spy! But no, they bring crappy literature. At least I know I'll have moved again before they come back!
Kennel (the van) cooled his treads today at family-owned Zion RV & Campground, which is better than the National Park campgrounds, IMHO. Why?
First of all try getting a spot in Zion National Park without a reservation. I tried and failed! So Kennel, Coco, Tiarra, and I headed east into Utah’s Slickrock Country.
But just 3 miles east of the park entrance, we found *our* Zion. It’s beautiful, quiet, and price-competitive with the National Park. The tent campsites are nestled among shrubby trees, so you don’t feel elbow-to-elbow with other campers. There are also games, WiFi, showers, and laundry.* Across the street is a trading post with curios, souvenirs, a pizza parlor, and a demonstration blacksmith shop.
Best of all, there’s a whole lot fewer people on the east side of Zion National Park. The west entrance gets all the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas (and other) visitors coming off I-15. It’s an overdeveloped playground for the rich and richer. But this side of the park is kind of in the middle of nowhere – just the way I like it.
If you’re coming up here to stay awhile, and especially if you have kids with you, I think the campground is a better option than the National Park. It’s less busy, there’s more for the kids to do, and you’ve got showers, which you don’t get in the National Park – all for about the same price.
Zion RV & Campground is owned by the same family as Zion Mountain Ranch, a buffalo (American bison) ranch just up the street. The ranch has cabins and lodges, horseback trips into the National Park, and a restaurant that specializes in serving buffalo meat.
Here’s a recent review I found on YouTube:
* Note: Right now, they’re doing upgrades on the shower house. But the laundry and bathrooms work. The contractors will be done by “the season,” which I guess is end of April 2016 or so.
I’ve never camped at the Bedrock City theme park, but I wish I had when my stepkids were little. Can you believe there are two of these places? It’s true! This one is in Williams, Ariz, at highways 64 and 180, south of Grand Canyon National Park. The other Bedrock City is in Custer, S.D.
But now that I think about it, do kids even watch “The Flintstones” anymore? When I was a kid, that was one of the few, steady showings on my half-dozen channels. When my stepkids were little, they watched Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network via cable TV. Nowadays, how many kids stick with Internet? I don’t know. I’m outta the daddy loop these days. One thing stays the same, though: They all love cartoon animals.
There’s another cartoon-themed campground franchise I’ve run across in the USA: Jellystone Park, as in the Yogi Bear cartoons. Apparently, they’re all over the country, but I’ve never stayed at one. <shrug>
Now for your viewing pleasure, the beautiful Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart star in “Babes in Bedrock,” a slightly snarky video filmed at the Bedrock City in Williams, Ariz.
This gorgeous, FREE campsite (with vault toilets!) is just off I-10 near Bowie, Ariz. The maximum stay at the Indian Bread Rocks Picnic Area is 14 nights. I found this Bureau of Land Management (BLM) site thanks to Freecampsites.net. Having lost a week waiting for a new tire rim in San Angelo and wanting to get to Saguaro National Park as quickly as possible, I only stayed the night and didn’t even meet the few other campers parked there. I got in at about 4:30 p.m. in the evening and left about 6 a.m. the next morning. Shame. Maybe in the future I’ll come back to stay longer and look for the archaeological remains. According to a post at the Bowie Chamber of Commerce website, “Wandering Among Indian Bread Rocks,” the amateur archaeologist can find potsherds, stone flakes, and other Native American artifacts. Indian Bread Rocks is named for five bedrock mortars (metates) you can see, which the ancients used to grind flour from mesquite pods and acorns. Not pictured to left (north) is the vast expanse of the valley. You can literally see for 20 miles to the next mountains. You can also see cars moving on I-10 down below, just a few miles away. Behind is the Dos Cabezas Mountain Wilderness. Those mountains reach up to about 7,500 feet, and when I was there, the peaks had a dusting of snow. Warning: You’ll be sharing this campsite with cattle. Be careful where you walk! Bullshit (and cow shit) abounds! There are also cacti everywhere, which you’d expect. Coyotes, too, so don’t leave small pets out at night. But they sure do serenade you beautifully!
