Fish Lake with Autumn Leaves

Autumn is the perfect time to go into the mountains to see all the beautiful colors of the leaves. We had the opportunity to take a pontoon boat out on Fish Lake which is located in the Fishlake National Forest in Sevier County, Utah.  Fish Lake measures six miles long and a mile wide. It is 160 feet deep but the waters are crystal clear. I have never fished there, but I understand there is great year round fishing.  I have seen pictures of giant fish caught in Fish Lake on the walls at Bowery Haven Resort, a restaraunt/resort located on the shores of Fish Lake. The food is pretty good there too.  Try some homemade pie 🙂

It was a little chilly the day we went out but we were overwhelmed with the beauty around us.  The autumn leaves were spectacular.  We drove from the Bowery Haven Resort to the end of the lake.  There we saw a beaver dam, some ducks and a gaggle of geese.  I overcame a little of my fear of the water by sitting near the front of the boat, which I learned is called the bow.  It was a relaxing and fun day.

In the Fish Lake surrounding areas there is a lot of hunting, camping, ATV trails, fishing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, hiking and sightseeing available.  You can have all kinds of fun in the Sevier County area.  And remember what they say… what happens in Sevier County, you can tell your friends!

Casto Canyon

Next on our travels we decided to head to Bryce Canyon (since you can get there by driving through that great tunnel).  We stopped in Hatch, Utah for lunch at Cafe’ Adobe and had a fantastic lunch.  Since I am in search of the very best hamburger in Utah, I  just had to try one there. I had the Cowboy Burger and it was delicious.  Definitely in my top 10.  Kirk went the Mexican route and had a chile relleno and enchilada.  That was very tasty as well.  I would highly recommend stopping there for lunch if you ever get the chance.

Now on with our journey.  We were on our way towards Bryce Canyon with our four wheelers and I asked Kirk where we were going to go four wheeling there.  I was informed that four wheeling was not allowed in Bryce Canyon.  However, from Hwy 12 east towards Red Canyon, and just prior to  the first red rocks, there is a sign for Losee and Casto Canyons on the north side of the highway.  Take the dirt road to the trailheads of these canyons.  Losee Canyon is not for OHV’s but we could drive our hot pink Polaris RZR through Casto Canyon.  This was our destination.

Casto Canyon is filled with all of the same red  hoodoos and white sandstone cliffs that you would see in Bryce Canyon but you can do it from the open air view of an ATV.  The scenery is beautiful and the roads are great winding through a dry riverbed.  As you drive east up the canyon the scenery changes constantly.  First is the red rock formations, then the white limestone, then the ponderosa pine forest.

We ended our journey at the Petersen Point Overlook.  There we were able to look back where our journey had taken us through Casto Canyon.  It was a beautiful and awesome sight.  It is spectacular to see so many beautiful sights that we have so close to our own home.

Zion’s National Park (the fast trip)

What a long adventurous week we just had.  So many places to go, so many things to see.  We started our journey in St. George, Utah and headed up the road through Zion’s National Park.  Why do I call this the fast trip?  Because we actually didn’t go into the canyon because you have to take a tour bus to do that and we were in a hurry to get to our next destination (which was just as fabulous).  Although we didn’t go into the canyon, the scenery was so beautiful and we did get some great pictures. 

The highlight for me was driving through the mile long tunnel.  I thought it would never end.  The Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel was opened in 1930 It is 1.1 miles long and took 3 years to build at a cost of $1,896,000.  The tunnel allows motorists to travel through the park and then  on to Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.  There is your history lesson for the day.  There are “little” windows in the tunnel that were built for air and light and also extracting debris during construction.  From the side of the mountain they look small but drivng past them in the tunnel, they appear large enough to drive a car through.  The tunnel is only big enough for one lane of traffic to go through at a time, so there is a wait on each end to go through. 

Next time through Zion’s I am definitely taking the tour bus into the canyon.  Because if what we saw was just a small portion of the beauty, I can only imagine imagine what the rest of the canyon looks like.