When I went to bed last night, there was a slight breeze. It was nice. I figured it would help cool me down. The tent holds in heat pretty well, so it was a little warm.
Around 4:00 AM I woke back up. Not sure why. But the wind was picking up. Maybe that’s why. I think it may be caused by temperature differences in the park, because it steadily increased as the night went on. I wasn’t staked down since the ground had been too hard to stake into and I didn't have a mallet to help me with that. I'd set large rocks on the stakes instead. The wind got so strong at one point that I wondered if it was possible to be blown over. I kept reminding myself that the rain fly couldn’t blow off and that my body would hold the tent down. The tent was raised off the ground in all four corners - everywhere except where my body was holding it down. I considered collapsing it and sleeping the rest of the night in the car, but since the wind was fairly steady, I wasn’t sure how I could do this without it blowing away once I got out of it. But my theory of the wind strength being related to the temps meant that as the sun came up in a few hours the wind should die down. And that’s what it did. Around maybe 6 AM the wind was calm again. I fell asleep for an hour then woke up. Then fell asleep again for maybe an hour before waking up to a hot tent. Temps were almost to 80 degrees by 9:00 AM.
I got up, packed up the tent, and then went back to the top of the hill near my site where I had explored the night before. I took some pics of the area in the daylight. It was getting hot so I didn’t dilly dally.
From there I drove to Zion hoping to get a campsite. After Yosemite, I wondered if I’d have trouble. I was tired and really didn’t want to have to struggle to get a site. At the gate, they told me that the campgrounds were booked up and mentioned some on the other side of the park just outside of it. I’d planned to be here two nights, but as I drove through the park I decided to leave Zion and see Bryce instead. I’d seen Zion before. I’d wanted to spend more time here, but that meant staying who knows where and driving in and out each day. I hadn't seen Bryce before. So I found a KOA near Bryce, called, and reserved a site. I enjoyed Zion and stopped a few times to take pics or explore a little, then drove to the Bryce area.
Around 4:00 AM I woke back up. Not sure why. But the wind was picking up. Maybe that’s why. I think it may be caused by temperature differences in the park, because it steadily increased as the night went on. I wasn’t staked down since the ground had been too hard to stake into and I didn't have a mallet to help me with that. I'd set large rocks on the stakes instead. The wind got so strong at one point that I wondered if it was possible to be blown over. I kept reminding myself that the rain fly couldn’t blow off and that my body would hold the tent down. The tent was raised off the ground in all four corners - everywhere except where my body was holding it down. I considered collapsing it and sleeping the rest of the night in the car, but since the wind was fairly steady, I wasn’t sure how I could do this without it blowing away once I got out of it. But my theory of the wind strength being related to the temps meant that as the sun came up in a few hours the wind should die down. And that’s what it did. Around maybe 6 AM the wind was calm again. I fell asleep for an hour then woke up. Then fell asleep again for maybe an hour before waking up to a hot tent. Temps were almost to 80 degrees by 9:00 AM.
I got up, packed up the tent, and then went back to the top of the hill near my site where I had explored the night before. I took some pics of the area in the daylight. It was getting hot so I didn’t dilly dally.
From there I drove to Zion hoping to get a campsite. After Yosemite, I wondered if I’d have trouble. I was tired and really didn’t want to have to struggle to get a site. At the gate, they told me that the campgrounds were booked up and mentioned some on the other side of the park just outside of it. I’d planned to be here two nights, but as I drove through the park I decided to leave Zion and see Bryce instead. I’d seen Zion before. I’d wanted to spend more time here, but that meant staying who knows where and driving in and out each day. I hadn't seen Bryce before. So I found a KOA near Bryce, called, and reserved a site. I enjoyed Zion and stopped a few times to take pics or explore a little, then drove to the Bryce area.