Let’s update Smokey’s list for today’s more discerning American:
Did you really just use a flamethrower to clear out weeds in your yard here in bone-dry Utah? Did it ever cross your mind that you might do millions in damage and destroy priceless habitats, or cost family vacationers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy Bryce Canyon and Zion together?
Since there was nothing to see here today at Riverside Ranch campground here in Hatch, Utah (between Bryce and Zion), we killed time playing “Contact”—a five-round gin rummy-type game that was a favorite of my grandparents, and making lists.
I thought I’d update our readers on the rankings of our visited National Parks so far (5 stars is the highest possible ranking):
| Leo | Art | Eva | Bill | Average | |
| Hot Springs |
3 |
3.5 |
2 |
2.5 |
2.75 |
| Carlsbad |
3 |
4 |
4.5 |
5 |
4.125 |
| Mesa Verde |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
| Canyonlands |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| Arches |
5 |
4.5 |
3 |
4 |
4.125 |
| Capitol Reef |
3.5 |
4 |
5 |
4.5 |
4.25 |
We did the same thing for the RV parks we’ve visited so far:
| Leo | Art | Eva | Bill | Average | |
| McFarland Park (Muscle Shoals, AL) |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2.25 |
| Catherine’s Landing (Hot Springs, AK) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2.25 |
| Weatherford KOA (Fort Worth, TX) |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1.75 |
| Carlsbad KOA (Carlsbad, NM) |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1.5 |
| Santa Fe Skies (Santa Fe, NM) |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3.5 |
| Mesa Verde RV Park (Mesa Verde, CO) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2.25 |
| Archivew RV Park (Moab, UT) |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4.75 |
| Singletree (Dixie National Forest, UT) |
3 |
3 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
3.75 |
| Fruita Campground (Capitol Reef, UT) |
4.5 |
4 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
4.375 |
| Riverside Ranch (Hatch, UT) |
3 |
3 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.75 |
If the smoke is still crazy around here tomorrow we’re going to go to Vegas a few days early and extend our time in Sequoia/Kings Canyon.
Sorry there were no campout pictures to share here. Here’s one from Delicate Arch (way in the background), taken a few days ago.
The deserts of Utah have really impressed me. On the road we’ve been listening to the audiobook version of Edward Abbey’s classic “Desert Solitaire,” which he wrote as a ranger at Arches many years ago. I like his description of the soundscape as “not a silence so much as a great stillness.” I’m going to carry that auditory memory along with the visual/family ones.
BaresNation 
Great scenery. Think what a terrorist could do with a pack of cigarettes.
LikeLike
Desert landscapes are amazing, sometimes strangely oceanic at times, with the wind sounding like waves. Loved my time in the southwest.
LikeLike