Friday, April 8, 2011 - Zion National Park, Springdale UT

Morning Snow, South Campground, Zion National Park, April 8, 2011

Plans, we don't need no steenkin' plans

Sheesh. I tend to travel with only a general idea where I'm headed, maybe just a tad more of an idea than my father who, when he wanted to get away for a few days, would drive up to Albany Airport and take the next flight out, sure of an adventure wherever it took him. Just a tad more.

A couple weeks back, I made rough plans to head west to visit with relatives in the Las Vegas NV area for a few days after I got my new refrigerator in place. And from there head up to Zion National Park to spend the month of April drifting eastward across southern Utah before blasting back east for the summer.

Well, I made it to Zion ok, but these rough plans are falling apart. Here it is well into April, it's snowing in Zion, the Feds are threatening to shut the National Parks and National Forests tonight, and I'm still in Zion National Park with enough snow falling to make me uncertain whether LD will have enough traction to make it through the tunnel and up the hill (with the $15 escort pass I bought on my way into the park - they figure this rig is too big to go it alone) on Saturday if it comes to that. If I can't make the climb I'll have to detour way south. Sheesh.

[Update] A walk down to the Visitors Center yielded a little info that might prove useful. The current thinking there is that if the Feds close the park, the current guests at the campground will have until Monday noon to leave but anyone arriving Saturday forward will not be admitted. Waiting out the storm and leaving Monday was my original plan, cut short by the return of my check for 5 nights stay in exchange for a check for 3 night stay. Uh - so does that make me a new arrival come Saturday or am I Grandfathered in as a current guest? Right.

I also posed a question about how to determine if the road east up through the tunnels will be passable if I'm ejected Saturday. That's easy - the Park closes the road if it becomes questionable - no need for me to fret getting stuck mid climb.

Night camp

Site 112 - South Campground, Zion National Park, Springdale UT

• Verizon cell phone and EVDO service - good signal
• Go to Zion National Park website
• Locate Zion South Campground on my Night Camps map
• Check the weather here