Our trip began a couple of days before, flying into Las Vegas and departing immediately to Zion National Park. We landed in Vegas around 5 pm and after arranging an appropriate rental vehicle that wasn't full of someone else's trash and random gold fish crackers found throughout the vehicle, we hit the road to Zion, stopping for supplies and dinner along the way. We lost an hour with the time zone change and as a result of unexpected delays, we were setting up camp at midnight in the Watchman campground. We had a great couple of days in Zion and it was off to Bryce Canyon National Park. We were prepared to bypass Bryce Canyon due to numerous trail closures due to the lingering snow and the main road being closed up until the day we arrived in Bryce. Bryce Canyon's web page was great about updating their status but not informing their staff. We informed a worker in the gift shop of the visitor center that the drive from end to end in Bryce was finally fully open.
This video captures the beauty and diversity of the region as we drive from Springdale, UT, home of Zion National Park, to Bryce Canyon KOA, near Tropic, UT. This would be our home base for one of our two nights we were to stay. Strong winds and lots of sand in our tent returning to the campground the next day drove us to seek accommodations elsewhere, needing a good nights sleep after a full hiking day. Little did we know, this was only the beginning of a trend for us on this trip.

Due to Mount Carmel Junction roadwork and closure, we had no choice but to take the long way around, adding another hour of drive time, to Bryce Canyon. We were not pleased with the longer route but what do you do when life hands you lemons? You know the answer.
Our "lemonade" turned into a beautiful drive, going up to Cedar City, turning onto UT-14 towards Duck Creek Village and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unfortunately, Cedar Breaks was closed as both access points were snowed in. We stopped for lunch in Duck Creek Village and continued on to Panguich Lake.
We climbed into the snow, stopping near still frozen and partially frozen lakes and even walking around one snowed over lake in our sandals. Not our smartest move but it was worth it. Even in our sandals, we were prepared to explore the area a bit more but thunder rumbling from 2 surrounding storms drove us back to the car to continue our adventure.
We encountered a herd of at least a dozen Pronghorn, which surprised us both.
There was a lava tube/ice cave that was off of a Forest Service road which we attempted to find but our rental minivan was not cut out for the snow and mud that remained on the dirt road. It was a longer drive in then we anticipated so we changed our minds and turned around.
Back on the road it was after stopping to find tore up backpacks, clothes, computer and cell phone on the dirt road. Something angry tore this stuff up. A credit card was found among the detritus which I picked up for when we reached civilization and a cell signal.
The credit card representative that did not want to tell me whether or not the card was reported lost finally understood that I was trying to determine if the cardholder was safe or if I needed to contact the authorities. Happily, the card holder reported the card lost and we happily returned to our adventure.
The clouds and storms surrounded us the entire time on one side or the other. A few sprinkles here and there but nothing extreme.
The weather had it in for us later on in the form of high winds, not rain.
Enjoy the drive!