Days #546-550 of Our Epic Trip

5-1-2025
H: 71ºF L: 47ºF
Boondocking, Cotter Mine Rd, BLM Land, Moab, Utah

We explored Canyonland National Park today. It was very pretty and Daniel really enjoyed it. I thought the scenery was a little redundant.

We did enjoy a short hike to Upheaval Dome. There are two main theories as to what caused this geologic formation: (1) underlying salt rising to the surface which deformed the rocks or (2) impact crater from a meteorite.

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5-2-2025
H: 75°F L: 46°F
Boondocking, Cotter Mine Rd, BLM Land, Moab, Utah

We drove on East 128, the Colorado Riverway Recreation Area which runs along the Colorado River. There were many campgrounds in the area and some trails leading into canyons. The trails did not allow dogs so we didn’t do any hiking. One of the campgrounds was names Hal Canyon Campground which we enjoyed because we call our Tesla Model X “Hal”.

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5-3-2025
H: 75ºF L: 43ºF
Dry Camping, Walmart, Richfield, Utah

We took the boys for a walk before loading in the car for a travel day. We saw so many cacti in bloom – it was fantastic! We have both always wanted to see wild cacti in bloom and we found a whole treasure trove of them this morning!

We are staying the night in a Walmart parking lot. We had an uneventful drive here and we met another vegan camper at a view point overlooking the canyons and mountains. We both wish we had told him about the Rolling Vegan Rendezvous in Quartzsite, AZ.

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5-4-2025
H: 68ºF L: 52ºF
Boondocking, La Verkin Overlook Rd, BLM land, La Verkin, Utah

We drove south to stay near the final “Mighty Five” national park in Utah. The boondocking site we chose in La Verkin, UT filled up quickly so we were glad we got there early.

It rained most of the day and we heard thunder! I don’t think we’ve heard thunder in over a year. It was the most marvelous sound.

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5-5-2025
H: 58ºF L: 49ºF
Boondocking, La Verkin Overlook Rd, BLM land, La Verkin, Utah

It’s Marcel’s birthday! He is 3 years old. The rescue group we adopted him from underestimated his age so we got to choose a May birthday for him. He’s spicy and sassy so Cinco De Mayo seemed like the perfect day for his birthday.

We went to Zion National Park and drove through the Zion-Mt Carmel Tunnel. The tunnel did not have any lights so that made it a little different from most other tunnels. It is also unique because it has windows to the views. During construction of the tunnel in the late 1920s, crews blasted holes in the side of the mountain where the tunnel was planned. They used these holes as a means to dump the debris from the blasting and drilling. The tunnel is 1.1 miles long and, at the time of completion, was the longest tunnel of its type in the US.

We found out that most of the main part of Zion National Park is only accessible via shuttles and they don’t allow dogs on the shuttles. There also was no available parking. So we drove to the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center on the west side of the park. There were hardly any visitors there and, while it rained the whole time, it was stunning and we saw four waterfalls.

It rained most of the day but by evening the sun came out. We had nice views of clouds and the mountains lit up by sunlight.

We also took some pictures of desert flowers. There was a bush covered in tiny white flowers which were so beautiful when we zoomed in with the camera. According to a google search it is an Ambrosia Salsola, commonly called cheesebush or desert pearl.

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Stats

Expenses:

• Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $13.51
• Tesla Model X fuel: $0
• Campsite: $0
• Camping memberships: $27.33
• Food: $175.98

Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 352.8 (242.1 kWh)

Tesla Model X miles driven: 626.1 (159.2 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1

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