Happiness is...

April 26-May 3
Zion National Park, UT

...new batteries that work the way they're supposed to and meeting new InstaFriends!  Oh and Zion was pretty amazing too!

Where we boondocked outside Zion NP.  And the views
out front were spectacular as well!

When we arrived to the Zion area we had difficulty findinng a good boondocking spot.  As usual, I would drive the car ahead to check out the spots to make sure they were suitable and acceptable to the Ellen standards (not to mention navigable for the motorhome!).  We tried several along the Virgin river but they were too narrow, rutted, sandy in places and trees/bushes were just a little too close for our liking.  To top it off, cell reception wasn't great so letting Pat know back at home base was not working either.  So it was a bit more challenging than usual!  We finally found a wonderful spot on a bluff that had glorious views and no one around!  After we settled a little Pat went out to remove the bugs from the windshield so we could take great pictures from inside as well.  While he was out there, a black jeep passed behind us to the 2nd spot at this location which was on a long narrow road barely etched into the cliff.  Later, we climbed a hill that was beside us and took a picture of our motorhome and car and we noticed off in the distance up another hill we had company.  It was then we realized that black jeep might indeed be milesawayeveryday (the Instagram couple we stalked but never met, near Page, AZ).

Sunrise one morning lit the plateau behind us!

So we took a walk up the other hill and sure enough it had Florida plates and a broken passenger mirror (they had just posted they broke their mirror coming through the tunnel in Zion!).  Instead of leaving a note this time, we posted on their broken mirror Instagram feed that we found a strangely familiar motorhome just up the hill from us.  About 9:00 that evening, we had a knock on our door and it was them, so excited after reading our post and realizing we were neighbors!  We had a great 3 hour visit (yes for those who know us - way past pumpkin hour!).    This was the start of a great friendship on the road and was the second Instafriend meeting and the first where we got to spend more time together.  Great fun sharing with like minded folks!

Costco Golf Cart batteries to the rescue!

Back to Zion NP!  We kept going back and forth about when to go into the park.  We arrived on Wednesday and logic said we should go into the park on Thursday and Friday before the weekend crowds.  BUT we were just too excited to get to Costco to get the new batteries plus we knew it would be multiple trips (get the batteries, find some place to fully charge them, install them and return another day to return the old batteries to get the $15 core charge back).  So we opted to do that on Thursday.   We wanted to test the batteries with the hydrometer before we paid for them but they wouldn't let us but they assured us they are fully charged.  They read in the middle of good on the hydrometer so they were mostly charged.  So we brought them back to the motorhome and Pat installed them (they JUST fit!).

At the top of Canyon Overlook hike

We knew the wind storm would hit us here in Zion and it sure did!  The dust wasn't too bad but we did have to bring the slide in for much of our stay due to the wind  noise on the slide toppers.  We've been in worse wind but this one must have been at the right angle to cause quite a racket that seemed like the topper would be blown off!  We've since read there are ways to reduce that so perhaps we'll try that next time!


On Friday we went to Zion and drove hwy 9 which was very beautiful and passed through two tunnels through the rock (one really long!).  We pulled off by one of the tunnels to hike the Canyon Overlook trail.  I think this was our first moderate hike (mainly due to steep).  We usually do easy since we're not into that much pain but we're (I'm?) getting stronger and hikes are getting easier.   It was a GREAT hike with rewarding view at the end.

Zion walls - wow!

When we got back to the motorhome we were so excited to see the solar and battery had basically recovered almost all the 56 amp hours it was down from overnight.   We ended the day down 3 amp hours (we had no shade and it was clear).   Now we are wondering  how many amps our solar will recover under ideal conditions?  A story for another day I guess!

We don't often venture out after dinner (other than to see ideal sunset locations!) but we were feeling restless and decided to try a drive out on Zolob Terrace road was near where we were camped.  It turned out to be another highlight of this area.  We drove up to the reservoir and the changing landscape and views along the way at sunset were such a treat!

Cute little store with the BEST homemade ice cream!

We made the mistake of trying to get into Zion on Saturday around 10:00 am but the line was really long to get in and we knew that meant parking would also be a challenge.  So we went back to St. George to return the batteries, do some shopping, and drove out a scenic loop.     After dinner we had the best homemade ice cream with milesaway at Fort Zion Trading Post.

One of MANY whimsical sculptures
in the park at St. George

On Sunday, we sought out a United Methodist Church as we usually like to do and were intrigued to see St. George UMC had Praise Choir and Bells in addition to Choir.  When we got there, all the regulars were gone on a mission trip so no regular pastor, choir, bells, OR praise!  We cracked up when the pastor said "I'm not Pastor xxxx" and the organist said she's not the praise team!  Turned out this congregation was very friendly and we would for sure return again if we're in the area.  They even gave us sweet bread and a magnet for being new visitors!

Grafton Ghost Town

Turns out that Sunday in Utah is pretty quiet!  Most everything was closed!  But we did enjoy the Sculptures in the park downtown and when we returned to the Zion area we visited the ghost town of Grafton.

Monday we met trinklesontour and ppalmer21 another couple we have been following  on Instagram and hadn't had a chance to meet at either Verde Valley near Cottonwood nor Grand Canyon.  We texted them that we were getting on the shuttle in Zion and going to the end of the park and making our way back.  There was no cell coverage so we weren't sure what their plans were.

Wonderful easy hike along the river up to the Narrows
which were closed due to high water

We took the hike to the Narrows (which were closed due to high water) and that was fantastic (along the river and an easy hike).  On the way back on the trail we started looking for any couple that looked like them in case they had made it that far.  We didn't see them so we got on the shuttle and told ourselves they are probably on that shuttle that just passed etc.  When our shuttle stopped at the next stop, Pat pointed out a couple who were possibly them.  They had just gotten off the shuttle going the other way so we quickly scrambled off ours and as we approached they got back on theirs so we said oh well if it isn't them, we'll catch the shuttle back at the next stop.  "PPALMER21?" Pat said as we took approached them.  Excitement and hugs were exchanged when we realized we actually connected.  We got off the next stop and stood around chatting for a long time before we decided we should continue over dinner the next evening.

Zion Brewery outdoor patio!

So we stayed an extra day from our original plan to leave Tuesday so we could meet them at the Zion brewery for dinner and also go on the Pa'Rus trail on our bikes which we really wanted to do.  Both were well worth the extra day but we did run out of water.  We started with 2/3 tank so in the future we will make sure we are full if we even think we'll be there for close to a week.

Zion area is definitely one of our favorite stops so far!

Highlights:  Meeting two couples we follow on Instagram, best hiking and bike riding so far AND batteries that work now!
Lowlights:  Wilson electronics was in St. George so we contacted them Monday (they were closed over the weekend) but they didn't sell their latest cell booster and two places in the area didn't have them in stock.  Super disappointed.  We know we are getting into areas where cell reception will be more challenging.
Things we learned:  How happy (and care free!) one can be with new deep cycle batteries.  We still don't know if the performance issues we had on the old batteries were due to being bad batteries (not, according to Interstate but yes according to the hydrometer and multiple attempts to get them fully charged) OR due to being hybrid deep cycle and starter batteries.  But the new batteries are finally performing as as we were expecting based on everything we'd read!

Bike ride along Pa'rus trail - wonderful!

Things we're wondering:  how many amps can we recover with solar on clear days?  Cloudy days?   Partially shaded days?  How many amps will we use from sundown to sunup using maximum power (furnace, DISH, TV, charging our electronics etc.)?   So much to learn.    Always the question is how much battery did we really need and how much solar to replenish that!