We are rolling south on I-15 again, still into the wind, through an unusually cold weather front.  Here in Utah, mountains flanking us east and west are all receiving a new dusting of snow.  It is lovely.  UT 20 winds and climbs through a pass among 10,000 to 12,000 ft peaks to US89 for the last leg of our drive for today.  Our reservations are at Bryce Canyon Springs campground near the tiny town of Hatch between Bryce Canyon NP and Cedar Breaks National Monument.  I call for final directions.  Seems the address and coordinates provided don’t lead to the same place.  Hmmm.  Turns out the address is better, still a bit of wondering as we wander through sagebrush but we do find our way.  The place was a bit over-sold online.  There is no one here for the mandatory check-in and site assignment.  It is a large graveled lot – fenced off from the pasture land thankfully- with some 6 or 8 sites occupied by travel trailers.  They are long level sites.  They are full-hookup (never mind the portable sewer snake at one site).  No bathrooms.  A semi-finished cabin and a “vintage” trailer neither quite occupiable just yet.  But it does work out.  I do have enough cell coverage to remote check in.  We find a suitable site.

White-tailed Prairie Dog

Utah Prairie Dog

We are in the middle of a huge sage brush prairie backed up to mountains with a second snowcapped ridge beyond them.  It is a wild, open-range kind of lovely.  Prairie dogs scurry about, including a threatened sub-species the Utah prairie dog.  Coyotes howl at night and we spot a couple pronghorn.  It is going to be just fine.

It rains off-and- on all evening and we get a surprise, sleet.  Temps at night are to dip into the low 30s or even 20s.   We have power, that means heated mattress pad and an electric heater, we are good.