Utah National Park road trip - June 2002

In June of 2002, I decided that I wanted to visit the National Parks of southern Utah. None of my friends were available during the time I wanted to go, so I decided to go alone. I bought a cell phone just in case I needed roadside assistance.

The first day went well. I left Phoenix early in the morning and had a nice drive to Flagstaff to visit Sunset Crater. I had a nice stroll on the trails there then headed over to Page, AZ to visit Horseshoe Bend, and spent the night. The next morning, I headed into Utah. My first stop was to visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. This park is mostly for people with ATVs or dune buggies, but I enjoyed seeing the coral pink dunes against the bright blue sky. I wandered around for about an hour, before heading back on the road to Zion National Park.

As I was driving into the canyon at Zion, the brakes to my car started to make grinding and screeching noises. I wasn't quite sure whether I should keep driving, or pull over and call a tow truck. Since the breaks were still working and it was over 100F outside, I decided to keep driving and stop and the next service station. Unfortunately, that service station was at the bottom of the canyon..... and my brakes didn't last that long!

As I was descending some steep curves in the road, my brakes decided to stop working. Luckily, the emergency/parking brake still worked (sort of). By shifting the car into neutral and using the emergency brake, I was able to make my way into the canyon without killing myself or anyone around me. I got to the first service station, and was told that they would have to order the parts. Since it was a Saturday, they wouldn't be able to order the parts until Monday, and they should have them by Tuesday - Wednesday at the latest. That wasn't quite what I wanted to hear.

After a 20 mile drive, I arrived in Hurricane UT and found a garage that could fix my brakes. I finally left the garage around 3:30 and headed back to Zion to visit the park. I didn't really enjoy the park that much, because I was still pretty shaken up about driving without brakes and having an extra expense that I didn't plan, but I did manage a few short hikes.

I spent the night in a dumpy motel near Zion NP and then drove to Bryce Canyon early the next morning. I spent the day hiking various trails in Bryce Canyon and enjoying myself there. Around 5 in the evening, I decided to head towards Kodachrome Basin State Park. Leaving Bryce, my brake pads started smoking as I was driving down a really steep curvy road. I pulled over before my brakes died on me again. My cell phone had reception, but for some reason ATT decided that I wasn't authorized to roam, and wouldn't let me call AAA. I waited in 100+ heat, but there were no cars in sight to help me. After the brakes had a chance to cool, I started driving again - and pulling over every few minutes when I detected a burning smell. I eventually reached a town at the bottom, and they told me the nearest service station was back up at Bryce!

Needless to say, I spent the night at Bryce, so I could get my brakes fixed - again. At least it gave me a chance to see the sun rise over Bryce.

With fixed brakes, I headed back down the "hill" to Kodachrome Basin. I enjoyed the drive and a few short hikes, then contemplated whether I should risk driving 10 miles on a deserted dirt road to view Grosvenor Arch. I decided to chance it and was glad I did. The car worked fine and I got to enjoy this arch all to myself.