When we initially drove with the RV from the Grand Canyon towards Zion National Park, we saw some lovely lakes, mountains, and rivers and wished we could have stopped. Funny how things work out. A snow storm hit southern Utah including, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. While we like to hike, we don’t like to hike in snow if we can help it. The weather south was sunny, so we took the opportunity to go back to AZ to explore with our new pickup truck.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

This is a very scenic area that millions flock to in the summer to boat on Lake Powell.

Nearby is the Glen Canyon Dam.

Lake Powell is a reservoir for the Colorado River. Further up the road is the Navajo Bridge that provides a Colorado River crossing between Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

Vermilion Cliffs

Vermilion Cliffs is a national monument that covers over 293,000 acres of land. Within this monument are some beautiful striated seas of rust, purple and gold sandstone rolling across the desert of Arizona. A permit to hike here is required in most areas, and the most popular hikes require a four month advance request for a permit. We definitely want to come back to explore this area in more depth.

North Rim Grand Canyon

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon doesn’t open until May 15th due to bad weather. The North Rim is much less commercial than the South Rim and with less people, it was great to walk around the trails.