Ready to leave Red Rock country!

May 9th - 14th, 2017
Koosharem Reservoir and Spanish Fork, UT

We tried out our OBD II reader and smartphone app to
monitor real time MPG etc. (but doesn't match actual?)!
12.7 would be really nice!

From Bryce, we knew we wanted to make our way closer to Salt Lake City mainly to visit a friend (extended family really!).  We heard from Milesaway (our Instagram friends!) that cell reception was a challenge at Capitol Reef NP (which we need for trip planning!) so we decided to find a place east of Capitol Reef and make it a day trip instead of staying in the area.  We also heard Hwy 12 was not to be missed but weren't sure we'd really enjoy it in a motorhome towing a car!  

Pat walked up the hill to get this shot for us.  Isn't it peaceful
looking?  At Koosharem Reservoir in Utah.

We decided to try the boondocking next to Koosharem Reservoir.  Any place near a lake would be great right?  It was indeed great but had a few drawbacks.  There were swarms of flying insects, no Verizon, it rained and we experienced our first concern driving in wet "clay" and now we see how ruts get formed!  Luckily it mostly dried out before we left with the motorhome - yikes!

What kind of fly is this?  They were
in swarms at Koosharem Reservoir!

So we sat out the rainy day and just chilled (with a quick trip into Richfield for shopping).  The next day we had a long day of driving to see Captol Reef NP and drove at least part of Hwy 12 (south to Boulder).   We were glad we didn't do it with the motorhome!  It was a pretty drive but not spectacular.  Perhaps the spectacular part was between Escalante and Boulder?  Regardless, Capitol Reef was another great NP and we were glad we included it in our Utah trip.

One of our favorite hikes (ok more like a walk)
through Grand Wash in Capitol Reef NP

Fun photo-op on the Grand Wash hike

Capitol Reef National Park

Spanish Fork city campground (parking lot!)

From there, we HAD to get cell coverage because trip planning is challenging without it!  So we decided to stay more in town and ended up in a city "campground" in Spanish Fork which turned out to be a parking lot!  But it had Verizon and electric/water and a separate dump so we could regroup for the next leg of our adventure.  And it was close enough to drive to Salt Lake City.

We met our friend(s!) at Wasatch Brewery in Salt Lake City and had a wonderful time catching up.   And wow!  This area is beautiful too.  I think Utah is my favorite state (outside of the PNW!) so far.

Highlights:  Seeing our extended family in SLC, adding another NP to our list!
Lowlights: Bugs and mud and no cell at Koosharem Reservoir

Great place for lunch and brews with friends!

Things we've learned:  Why people say don't drive in boondocking areas after it's rained!
Things we're wondering:  Where should we go from here?  North to Idaho?  Across Nevada to Lake Tahoe then north?  Aren't you amazed we didn't mention batteries?