Saturday – November 1, 2014
St. George Campground & RV Park
St. George, Utah
We departed Kodachrome Basin State Park at 11:25 a.m. under threatening storm clouds and wind gusts up to 35 mph. The weather forecast is for isolated thunder storms and very strong windy conditions throughout Utah, with wind gusts up to 70 mph coming out of the south. We considered staying at Kodachrome Basin State Park one more day, but the weather there was going to be nasty, and since we were going to be crossing mountain peaks above 9,000 feet, we wanted to get to our destination before it started snowing at that altitude.
Our Travel Route:
West on Utah Highway 12
South on U.S. Highway 89
West on Utah Highway 14
South on I-15 to Cedar City, Utah
South on I-15 to St. George, Utah
Traveling the 41 miles across route 14 was our biggest concern, and rightfully so. At the eastern entrance to route 14 there is a warning sign for over-the-road trucks not to take this route, due to it’s steep grades and 25-mph switchbacks. Thankfully, the dense forest along the route shielded us from the strong southerly winds. After traveling about 20 miles, we encountered a dense fog as we approached the summit at about 9,900 feet. The rain showers had turned into sleet on the road and a light snow cover blanketed the area. We crawled along at about 10-mph for several miles before we descended below the fog and sleet. The remainder of our journey on route 14, thankfully, was uneventful.
We stopped at Walmart in Cedar City, Utah to stock up on supplies. We then continued 47 miles south on I-15 to St. George, Utah. We arrived at the St. George Campground & R.V. Park at 6:15 p.m. This will be our home base for a few days.
Local network news reported wind gust up to 80 mph had blown over seven semi-tractor trailer trucks on I-80 in northern Utah. I-80 was subsequently closed to semi’s for several hours until the winds subsided. We were certainly glad we were not traveling on I-80.
Camping Fee: $34.85 for water and electric service.
Camping Site: 27B
Total miles traveled today: 173
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
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