She's Camping at Coral Pink, a Summer 2022 Southern Utah Trip Report

[GrandCalifornian]

On Friday, Marshall and I got up just after sunrise and took the dogs for a walk around the campground.


I slept in again because that’s what vacation is for

It was nice to get some energy out of them before we left them in the trailer for a while when we went to breakfast. We had plans to visit one of our favorite places up there, the Thunderbird hotel and restaurant in Mt. Carmel junction. This resort on the East side of Zion was founded by a family and then ran by the wife once the husband passed away, at a time when women were not commonly running businesses in Utah.


The small town of Mt. Carmel Junction is onlyabout 20 minutes North of the campground, so we headed up there for breakfast.


On the way we saw some more cows, which required more pictures.


We have to take pictures of all of the cows. The Thunderbird is a great little restaurant and a perfect breakfst spot.



Paul and I split the stuffed biscuits.

The stuffed biscuits are great. They are biscuits and gravy with sausage and eggs and cheese and hash browns. It is quite a meal, and plenty to share.

Allie got french toast and Marshall got pancakes. They gave the kids Wikki Sticks to play with at the table which are pretty fun. I got new glasses out of the deal.


We love Wiki Stix. I remember playing with them on vacation when I was Allie's Age.

After breakfast we checked out the little gift shop at the resort. It is typlical tourist fare, but it gave us a chance to bring gifts home to everyone at the office.

It is a great touristy spot to grab fun souvenirs and we always find fun things for pet sitters and family.

After we left there, Allie and Grandma had big plans.


Starting a few years ago, they have been spending the last night of each Utah trip in St. George together in a hotel. They get to go visit the antique shops and thrift stores in there, and generally have a great time with just the two of them. They both look forward to this part of the trip so much, so there was no reason to skip it this year.

It’s fun bonding time for them and gives us time with just Marshall. It works out well.

Oh I almost forgot, Thunderbird has great pies! I got a whole strawberry rhurbarb pie to bring home.

We headed back to the campground with Grandpa (and the pie) and let the dogs out of their trailer jails.

Oh and dear Maverick made a mess out of his crate. At least we think it was him, we aren’t sure who the culprit was but the damage was pretty stinky if you know what I mean. We had to throughly clean out the trailer and wash Mav.

That was when being able to open up the back door of the trailer and air everything out worked really well. We just can't have super nice things...


Ahh such is life with our crazy crew. There’s always something going on.

After we got everything all cleaned up we decided to play another game of Skip Bo with Grandpa and Marshall.


We had fun playing cards together. Later in the afternoon we decided to go for a drive to fly the drones over the meadow and at the other end of the park where the water had washed the road out. It was a fun destination for us boys instead of going for a ride in the dune buggies. Marshall did a great job, and even flew the drones himself and landed them in the bed of the truck.


I stayed in camp with the dogs and caught up on some reading. We do have a tv in the trailer but we didn’t even set it up this trip.

As we made it back to camp the clouds were building, and before long it began to sprinkle again. We sat in our trailer for a while and played some more games, then Grandpa and I decided to head to town to pick up pizza for dinner.


Marshall stayed with me and we learned how to play a new game called Forbidden Island. It was alot of fun and he really enjoyed it. It’s a more cooperative game which was right up his alley. We ended up loosing but only barely.

In town, we went to one of our other favorite restaurants, Lotsa Motsa Pizza where we ordered a large pizza to go. It rained most of the way there and back, but we got good dinner out of the deal so we were happy.


They do have great pizza. The rain just made for a super peaceful evening, after dinner when it let up we walked up to the ranger station for a little wifi and some icecream.


We got to meet the rangers new puppy Banquet. He was adorable.

He was super cute, and it was neat to meet him. It was a nice way to round out a great day.

Next up, we pack up and adventure home.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Wow, the trip went by fast! You mentioned getting presents for pet-sitters. What pets were being "sat"?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Wow, the trip went by fast! You mentioned getting presents for pet-sitters. What pets were being "sat"?

Good question. We had the dogs with us, but left all of the smaller pets at home, which includes Allie’s hamster, a bunny named Yeti, and our seven chickens. We got the chicks this spring just after the Hawaii trip and the kids raised them. We still have all seven, and now we’re getting eggs every day from four of them.

 

[Wood Nymph]

They gave the kids Wikki Sticks to play with at the table which are pretty fun. I got new glasses out of the deal.

I've never heard of Wikki sticks, but they look like fun and a great way to keep kids busy and off their devices.

Starting a few years ago, they have been spending the last night of each Utah trip in St. George together in a hotel. They get to go visit the antique shops and thrift stores in there, and generally have a great time with just the two of them. They both look forward to this part of the trip so much, so there was no reason to skip it this year.

What a nice tradition! It is a win-win for everyone.

It rained most of the way there and back, but we got good dinner out of the deal so we were happy.

It is strange to see the rain during your trip to such an arid region. Was this normal for your trips?

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I've been enjoying the trip report. Happy Thanksgiving to @GrandCalifornian and all your readers!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Hi everyone! We apologize for the delay but wanted to pop in and say hello and that we haven’t forgotten about this report. Work and life have been super busy but we are all doing great. We celebrated Marshall’s birthday last week and today we have 172 days till our next WDW trip, but we’ll cover that more later. Now, back to the summer fun:

I've never heard of Wikki sticks, but they look like fun and a great way to keep kids busy and off their devices.

They are wax string toys, and Inplayed with them as a kid so they are pretty timeless. We all enjoyed them.

What a nice tradition! It is a win-win for everyone.

It is always one of the highlights of the year for both of them.

It is strange to see the rain during your trip to such an arid region. Was this normal for your trips?

We have had some rain every year. This is just part of going there that time of the year. They get monsoons and the thunderstorms can be really impressive. The rain is something we enjoy getting to see.

I've been enjoying the trip report. Happy Thanksgiving to @GrandCalifornian and all your readers!

Thanks for posting and following along. We have more to write soon, but would like to wish a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and wish happy Holidays as well.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

When we left off (in the trip, which we last wrote about before Thanksgiving) we were just about to start our return home travel day. Now we are going to finish off this trip.

Allie and Grandma were spending the night in St. George, and we stayed at the dunes for one more night with Grandpa, Melissa, Marshall and me.

We didn't have a lot to pack up so we took our time getting out of the camp site. It made for a more relaxing morning for sure.


After a sunrise dog walk, I took the drone for a flight over the campground. It gives a nice perspective of the campground area and the adjacent sand dunes.



Eventually we hooked up the trailer and went by the dump station on the way out of the park.


This is one thing we don't have to deal with on a Disney vacation, but oh well. Soon we were on the road following Grandpa in the rental motorhome.


He decided to take the scenic route to St. George to drop off the motorhome, circling around from Hurricane and avoiding I-15.

This took us by Sand Hollow, which is another nearby state park which has similarly colored sand dunes and a lake.
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It is like the ultimate recreation destination.

We haven't stayed there but it would be fun to take sand and water toys...

We stopped to fuel the motorhome just outside of the St. George airport, which is a teeny tiny airport. It's barely an airport.

It is super small, and only has a couple of commercial flights. We have looked at flying into here to get someone up to Coral Pink or home early for work, but it seems Las Vegas is a much more economical option, although it is further away.

Then we dropped off the motorhome.


Because it was a private rental, we actually returned it to the owners house. They were gone for the day, but they had arrangements for where to park it and leave the keys. Overall this rental worked out super well for them this trip. Getting to pick up and drop off the motorhome so close to the dunes really saved money on gas. The motorhome was clean and nice, and we would definitely consider renting from them again.

We loaded Grandpa and his belongings in the truck and went over to meet up with Grandma and Allie at a nearby gas station.


We met them and heard about all the fun they had on their night in St. George, which included good food and antique shopping, but not much buying this trip.

Then we made sandwiches in the trailer for lunch.

This was a nice treat because without the dune buggy in the trailer we had more room than usual in it while on the road.

Then we got on the freeway and headed for home. The drive was fairly uneventful.

We made it to Vegas where Grandma and Grandpa turned off and headed for home.


Then we continued on towards Jean, NV which is near the California state line. We stopped at a giant Chevron station which has over a hundred fuel pumps.


It is massive.

We watched the clouds build as we headed for home.


We often get rain this time of year on the drive home, and sometimes it is quite spectacular.

When it rains in the desert, it literally pours.

We missed the rain this time, at least for a while.

We continued through Baker and into Barstow, where we stopped for dinner and another break in the trailer.

By now it had started to rain, but it didn't affect our drive.

We grabbed Tommy's chili burgers and ate them in the trailer while the dogs stretched their legs.


Tommy's is a Southern California institution, lesser known than In-n-Out but still worth a try if you are visiting.

I completely agree. Tommy's is different and has great chili that they serve on everything.

Then we made the last part of the drive home.

It was about an hour and a half home from Barstow, and the rest of the drive was uneventful. We made it home before too late, and enjoyed the fact that we didn't have to work the next day.

We even were home early enough for you to go take a trouble call...

That's right. Welcome home, and back to work. Fortunately it was an easy elevator to fix, and fairly close to the house. It is a 24/7 job.

Thanks for following along as we finally got to wrap up this summer trip report.

We are now just 145 days from returning to Disney World, which we are looking forward to as always. We'll do a trip report for that one, so keep an eye out for that one.

Thanks for hanging out with us!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Are you guys considering staying at or near Sand Hollow on a future trip?

I really enjoyed this trip report. It's fun to read about other destinations, especially Utah which is also a favorite of mine. Thanks so much for writing this!

Looking forward to reading your next trip report.

 

[Wood Nymph]

This took us by Sand Hollow, which is another nearby state park which has similarly colored sand dunes and a lake.

It looks like a nice state park. A lake is always a bonus.

We often get rain this time of year on the drive home, and sometimes it is quite spectacular.

How has the recent rain affected you at home? It has been amazing to see all the flooding that is happening now.

Fortunately it was an easy elevator to fix, and fairly close to the house. It is a 24/7 job.

I would guess that fixing a broken elevator is a priority, especially if people are stuck in it.

We are now just 145 days from returning to Disney World, which we are looking forward to as always. We'll do a trip report for that one, so keep an eye out for that one.

I can't wait to read all about your upcoming June trip. Is this a new time of year for you? We did a June trip with extended family, including two of our grandsons and it wasn't as rainy as it tends to be in September.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Are you guys considering staying at or near Sand Hollow on a future trip?

We have thought about Sand Hollow, but the dune area isn’t as big as Coral Pink so we haven’t done it yet. We may stop there and spend a night or two sometime, but it is only just over an hour from Coral Pink so we just haven’t stayed there.

I really enjoyed this trip report. It's fun to read about other destinations, especially Utah which is also a favorite of mine. Thanks so much for writing this!

We’re glad that you enjoyed it. It was fun to write up, even though it took us forever to finish. We do love Utah, and can’t wait to go back each year.

Looking forward to reading your next trip report.

Thanks! We are looking forward to this trip. It is going to be shorter than most past trips, at 6 days, 5 nights, and it will just be the four of us but we will have a ball. We can’t wait to share it.

It looks like a nice state park. A lake is always a bonus.

It is pretty, and would be fun to boat on but it’s tough to bring the boat and the dune toys.

How has the recent rain affected you at home? It has been amazing to see all the flooding that is happening now.

We have gotten more rain than normal, but it isn’t too bad for us. It causes traffic, but that’s nothing new.

I would guess that fixing a broken elevator is a priority, especially if people are stuck in it.

Fortunately nobody was trapped in this one, but people want to be able to ride it. Overtime is a big deal, but it is super expensive to pay double the already high hourly rate.

I can't wait to read all about your upcoming June trip. Is this a new time of year for you? We did a June trip with extended family, including two of our grandsons and it wasn't as rainy as it tends to be in September.

We are excited about it. We went in June 2007 for our honeymoon, but haven’t been back at that time since then. It be is cool that we will be there for our anniversary this year, our 16th.
We are hoping the weather is good, and it won’t be as cold as our recent winter trips. We are ready to heat it up a bit. The girls loved the weather in late May, so early June should be pretty similar.
This will also be the first time it is just the four of us, so the smaller group should be pretty efficient. Our last time with just our family was when Allie was three, and that was long before Marshall.

 

[ambula603]

Such a fun, beautiful place! We camp here in Kentucky and it looks SO different. Here we camp near a lake in the middle of some forests, so it is very green. I love the landscape in Utah! We have been to Bryce and Zion and both are like stepping into another world. Utah has so much to offer, we can't wait to visit again someday.

 

[rdkeim]

Thanks for sharing your Utah trip! Really enjoyed it. Camping is so great for kids - good memories for them. A few years ago we took a trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion. Stayed at a hotel in Kanab. Did the tour at Best Friends. I didn't realize we were so close to the pink sand dunes! We love that area - so scenic. We ate at the Thunderbird and enjoyed some pie. What a great family tradition it is to go to Utah every July!