Cool, Clear Water and Willis Creek

Cannonville, Utah

  Today was family hike day and Marsha, part owner and manager of the KOA here, suggested the Willis Creek hike. She assured us it was dog friendly...  


You drive 2.9 miles south of Cannonville on Cottonwood Road and turn right on Skutumpah Road (scenic backway 500). The trailhead for Willis Creek is about 6 miles down Skutumpah Road which is an unpaved road and lots of fun!

 Parking for the hike is a well-used flat area on the right side of the road.








The trail into the canyon begins across the road.





Dover and Wrecks were the lucky pups today!

And they're off! The adventure begins...

The cool, clear water...Willis Creek.

Wrecks loves to run...

and Dover loves the water.










The canyon walls were beautiful!


     
Hard rocks make narrow slots...

               
     while softer rocks make wider slots.

Looking up through the narrows was like looking through a window.





We went through several open wash areas...
Dover climbed the banks like a mountain goat!





                  Perennial flow of water in the creek is usually 1-2 inches deep.
 
 
 
 
We weren't the only ones in the canyon today!
 
 
 
 

 

 

There were a few signs of spring along the way!

 

And hugs and kisses from happy (and wet) pups!

 

 We found petroglyphs at the end of our part of the trail.












This was the view Joe and I enjoyed at lunch...and below is the view
Wrecks and Dover enjoyed.

 We found a bug in the water.

And several waterfalls.

AA

We had two tired pups when we got home !

 

 

 

Our hike to the junction of Willis Creek and Sheep Creek was about 2.2 miles one way.

 

Hope you had a great day...we sure did!

 

Y'all come back!

P.S. Our Verizon internet connection is non existent and the KOA service inside the coach is way slow and so are we..... I finally tried taking the lap top outside and discovered the KOA connection was pretty good.  Hopefully, I will have time Thursday evening to read posts and catch up on comments.

Blue Skies and Bristlecone Loop

Cannonville, Utah

Can you see it? Blue skies!

 We actually had blue skies yesterday too, but still feeling a little light headed from the altitude we decided to take a ride, but that will be another post.


 I am just way too excited about our hike and fresh air today! We both woke up this morning feeling great and ready to hit the trails in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Wanting to be safe and not over do on our first day out, we chose Bristlecone Loop at Rainbow Point. It's a one mile loop and has mildly hilly trail changes.

 
 
Elevation at Rainbow Point, where the loop begins, is 9,115 ft. The loop descent is 100 ft.

The trail offers spectacular views...

...and a nice walk through a deep-mixed conifer forest.







The search was on...I had read a description of what to look for, but we kept looking and looking...this is not a Bristlecone Pine. 

The ground cover is beautiful...Greenleaf manzanita bushes are flourishing.

According to information I read, the Bristlecone Pine is one of the oldest living species on the planet. One sculptured tree can live to be almost 5,000 years old.

The needles are produced from the branches of the tree in groups of five.



As a defense against the harsh climate in which they live, needles may not shed for up to 40 years!

Bristlecone Pines are called "Wind Timber" due to their fantastically tortured forms.


                                                                 

Is this a yellow-bellied marmot? NO! Thank goodness! We were told to watch for them along with blue grouse. This is the only bird we saw and it has yellow on it. Thanks Judy...its a yellow-rumped warbler.

These little spots of yellow were everywhere too...don't know what it is either. It grows close to the ground, red stems and sometimes red leaves, and the leaves had prickleys.

The busy sounds of the everyday world were conspicuously absent.  An occasional bird, but just pure calm and quiet, and then an occasional breeze in the trees. 

 

We shared our lunch spot with a couple from Western MA, then met a family from Poland...we gave them our maps, and then met a  young family from France with the sweetest baby.

We had a wonderful day...hope you did too!

Y'all come back!