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 Donuts on the Dunes I camped that night in the northern part of Zion National Park, an area that I'd never visited, and it was a very warm and pleasant evening. The next morning I got in my truck and headed through Zion, then I drove east through the slickrock sandstone country of southern Utah. Each time I drive through southern Utah I try to visit a few new places, and this time I visited a couple of places that I'd highly recommend: Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near Kanab, and Calf Creek Falls near Boulder.
I pulled into Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in the early afternoon. The dunes stretch for over 10 miles and are incredibly beautiful, especially at sunset. The park is a bit off the beaten path but it's definitely worth a visit. There's also a pleasant campground here with really nice showers which I savored (twice, in fact). I made the mistake, though, of visiting the park on a Saturday afternoon when it seemed like every dune buggy and dirt bike in Utah was tearing through both the dunes and the campground. I used to deal with dirt bikers when I was a ranger in the Colorado Rockies and sometimes got fed up with their occasionally-arrogant and inconsiderate attitudes. Most of the dirt bikers I met in Colorado were pretty nice but a few of them had an attitude problem.
As I sat there in the dunes watching the sunset, with Yamahas and Hondas zipping all around me, I figured there wasn't anything more irritating than trying to enjoy a beautiful desert while listening to the annoying sound of a noisy dirt bike. Well, yes there was, come to think of it: trying to enjoy a beautiful lake while listening the annoying sound of a whining jet ski. It's a situation that recreational sociologists call as "asymmetric antipathy," where one group (i.e. me) is greatly impacted by the other but not vice-versa.
I don't want to sound like a cranky old dude, but I think the world would be a better place if all the jet skis and dirt bikes in the world were dumped into a giant trench and covered with a thousand feet of wet cement. Or maybe I do want to sound like a cranky old dude!
Fortunately though, all the dirt bikers were asleep the next morning – with thoughts of Kawasakis dancing in their heads, I'm sure. Not wanting to wake anyone and destroy the peace and quiet, I quietly snuck out to the silent dunes, took off my shoes and felt the cold sand squish between my toes. After a delicious breakfast of jelly donuts and Diet Pepsi (it tasted better than it sounds), I hiked up to the highest peak in the dunes where the view was absolutely stunning. Lesson learned: if you visit the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, do it in the quiet morning hours. Despite all loud ATVs and dirt bikes, though, I thought this state park was a real gem.
Above left: Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is beautiful at sunset – but watch out for those dune buggies! Above right: ATVs and dirt bikes zipped around the campground all afternoon and evening.
Above left: To get some solace, I snuck out to the dunes early the next morning and ate a breakfast of donuts and Diet Pepsi (my normal traveling fare). I had the dunes all to myself. Afterwards, I hiked a mile to the top of the tallest dune, in the background. Thankfully there wasn't a single dirt bike in sight. Above right: After leaving the park, I headed north on U.S. 89. This is near Kanab, Utah.
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