Casteyanqui.com | Electric Vehicles | Camping in Bryce Canyon

Rock & Roll
(Click to enlarge)

Camping Roadtrip
in our Ioniq 5
to Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park

Mark D Larsen
June 1-4, 2026

Ever since I installed the Stealth Hitch on Rocinante, I have longed to tow our tiny pop-up tent trailer to go camping. The arrival of warmer spring weather finally prompted me to do just that, so I reserved a site for four days in the Sunset Campground in Bryce Canyon National Park. The trip was a real reprieve from the political turmoil currently plaguing this country, allowing me to once again contemplate the natural wonders in this corner of our Pale Blue Dot. The trip was not free of frustrations, however, which I will explain in the following annotated photo album.

NOTE: You can click on the following photos to enlarge them, and the movies to play them.

I had set Rocinante to charge to 100% the night before, just in case towing the trailer would diminish its range.

I was delighted to see that the backup camera allowed me to line the hitch up precisely with the trailer’s tongue.

Here we are, ready to hit the road.

This was the first time I had used the settings in Rocinante to select a ”small weight” option for towing. However, after driving just a few blocks, I turned the setting off, because it disables i-Pedal. The trailer is so light, only 270 pounds, that I seriously doubt it makes any difference.

The trailer is also so very short and narrow that you can’t see it in either the rear view mirror or the side mirrors.

I wanted to take Highway 89 to Bryce instead of the I-15 freeway, so I set a waypoint to first take us through Zion National Park. It looked like we’d arrive there with 79% in the battery, and 35% at our destination after driving 137 miles. Not bad!

As you can see, Moxie came with me, already snuggled down in her doggy seat. Here is my initial video.

I recorded this clip while driving Highway 9 toward Hurricane.

In the town of La Verkin, I pulled into a gas station to use the restroom at its convenience store.

Upon checking the battery range, the percentage to reach Zion had now risen to 81% and at the campground to 37%.

I took this video after driving through the town of Virgin on the way to Zion.

I almost always stop to take a photo in this parking lot near the entrance to Zion.

Here we’re driving up the main street in Springdale, with the towering peaks in Zion as a backdrop.

The cars were lined up at the park entrance. We had to wait a few minutes before it was our turn to show my lifetime pass to the attending ranger.

Moxie woke up so she could bark ‘hello’ to the ranger, hoping for a treat or a pet, like she’s used to at drive-through fast food restaurants.

As always, the views in Zion were spectacular.

Here we are about to enter the tunnel to the east side of the park.

I took this clip while passing through the tunnel.

As we dropped down to Highway 89 at Carmel Junction, I stopped to again use the restroom at the Thunderbird Restaurant.

I have to wonder if the Thunderbird’s female employees don’t mind the silly joke about pies at their expense.

Moxie also got to have a potty break while there.

Now the display predicted we’d reach the campground with 40% in the battery.

This video is after we got back on Highway 89, climbing the canyon to the turnoff to Bryce.

We turned onto the road which would take us through Red Canyon.

I stopped to take this usual photo at the entrance to Red Canyon with Moxie posing on top of the trailer, tethered by her harness.

A video as we climbed through Red Canyon, just a few miles before Bryce.

We emerged from Red Canyon and could see the cliffs along a plateau to the north of Bryce on the opposite side of the highway.

And… here is Bryce Canyon National Park!

I was glad —and amused— to see that the Park cares about its wildlife.

We finally reached the Sunset Campground.

We’d driven 136.8 miles at 3.1 miles per kWh for nearly 5 hours, and still had 43% in the battery. I think that the energy efficiency was outstanding, given that we were towing a trailer while climbing several canyons.

I found our designated camp spot and backed in the trailer with the help of the rear view camera.

We had arrived, and I began to unload the car and set up our camp.

Here is the trailer popped-up with its attached canopy and screen room.

Moxie was happy to once again be in her camp chair inside the screen room.

I decided to drive back to the Superchargers in the parking lot of Ruby’s Inn to recharge the battery. I purposely try to avoid using them out of principle, but this was the only option available, so it would be the first time I’d plug in at a Tesla site since buying Rocinante well over two years ago.

And now… the trouble started. I attached my A2Z Typhoon Pro adapter to the Supercharger plug and connected it to Rocinante.

My Tesla app told me that it would take up to 2 minutes to start the charge. I waited more than 10 minutes with no result.

I then tried other Superchargers, 7 in total, and none of them would charge the car. The only thing that happened was that, every few minutes, the charge port lid would try to shut on top of the plugs.

Several Teslas were obviously charging without a problem. I tried contacting Tesla, and they gave me NO help. I also tried calling Hyundai, to little avail.

Meanwhile, an entire motorcycle club from Texas pulled into the parking lot behind me. What could I do? I needed to charge in order to tour the National Park.

The only solution that seemed possible was to get back in the car and drive a good 60 miles to this IONNA site in Beaver, Utah.

We arrived there with only 15% in the battery and 40 miles left on the guess-o-meter. The IONNA dispenser worked like a charm, which clarified that the problem was not in Rocinante, but only when using my adapter at the Superchargers.

I decided not to charge to my usual 80% in 17 minutes, but rather to 100%, which would take 46 minutes. After the charge finished, we now had 341 miles on the guess-o-meter.

IONNA charged us $25.40 for 69.59 kWh at a price of only 37¢ per kWh. We then started the hour-long drive back to Bryce Canyon.

After driving a total of 285.2 miles that day, I think Moxie was as exhausted as I was to finally get back in the trailer to spend the night.

In the wee hours of the morning, I was awakened by surprisingly chilly temperatures, so I plugged in the space heater to warm up the camper.

I think Moxie appreciated feeling the warmth near where she was sleeping at the foot of the sleeping bag.

At dawn, Moxie was ready for a potty break —and so was I! We walked down to the restroom, and I took this video in the campground on the way back to the trailer. She knew the way!

I fired up my induction cooktop to make coffee.

I then warmed up the stuffing from a breakfast burrito for our morning meal.

We then drove back down to Ruby’s Inn, which also has a campground with these teepees. I called A2Z to ask for their help with the charging problem. The representative checked with their technicians and learned that, when Tesla released its v.4 Superchargers, they were incompatible with my early model Typhoon Pro adapter.

Believe it or not, the rep then offered to send me an upgraded model via overnight delivery free-of-charge to the Ruby Inn’s front desk. Talk about superb customer service! I walked over to the Inn to let them know that the package would arrive the next day.

Hoping that the upgraded adapter would arrive as promised, I decided to use the miles left in Rocinante’s battery to tour the various viewpoints in the Park. Sunset Point was just across the road from our campground.

If you click on this map to enlarge it, you can see where it says “You are here”.

The red sandstone hoodoos at Sunset Point are truly breathtaking, spanning from the north…

…to the east…

…down below…

…and to the south.

Naturally, I had to take a portrait of Moxie with such a colorful backdrop.

We stopped by the Visitor Center so I could use the restroom and purchase a couple of souvenirs.

Here is the entrance to that Center.

I was impressed that the facility is powered by two huge arrays of solar panels. Nice!

Inside were numerous displays explaining the geology of the Park

They also had detailed textured maps of its layout.

We then stopped at Bryce Point, which was higher and at the south end of the Sunset overlook.

Its higher viewpoint gave a more panoramic vista of the hoodoos.

We could also look down into the Bryce “amphitheater”

In the distance, beyond the formations, was the town of Tropic.

I also had Moxie pose for me at this viewpoint.

Alas, as we drove south in the Park, we ran across one section of the forest that had been devastated by a wildfire.

I explain where we are heading on this drive.

We reached Rainbow Point at the farthest end of the Park.

It is well named, as the cliffs looking northward form a long, colorful rainbow shape.

We then stopped at Ponderose Point…

…which boasted this viewpoint…

…and these cliffs…

…and this amazing arch.

We took a break on a wooden bench at another overlook.

Having enjoyed all the tourist stops along the canyon, we then headed back to our campground.

Moxie was probably relieved to settle back in her camp chair inside the screen room.

I then set about making some Beyond Burgers for dinner.

The next morning we arose fairly sleepy to face the third day of our vacation.

I again made coffee to help wake me up.

We drove to Ruby’s Inn so I could verify if they’d received the A2Z package yet. They hadn’t, so I pulled around the back of the Inn to at least plug into a Level 2 destination charger. I figured we might as well slowly add a few more miles while waiting for the package.

Indeed, it would take well over 4 hours to hit 80% from a 7.9 kW charge, so we had time to kill. Our touring the previous day had given us an impressive energy efficiency of 3.7 miles-per-kWh, leaving 37% in the battery.

We wandered over to the patio of the Ruby’s Inn general store, and had some snacks and water while waiting.

When the Level 2 charge had reached 52%, I figured that we might as well use the added miles to see a few more sights.

We then drove to Inspiration Point, which we had skipped the previous day.

Again, it was aptly named, for the panorama of hoodoos truly was inspiring.

This towering castle along the side was impressive.

We returned to Bryce Point to again take photos of the Amphitheater…

…seen here below us.

Later than afternoon I received a text message from Ruby’s Inn that the package had arrived. I was elated, and we drove to the Inn to claim it.

Inside the package was a protective case with the adapter.

And here is the upgraded version of the Typhoon Pro.

We drove over to the Superchargers and I again started the process to plug in using my Tesla app.

I attached the adapter to the Tesla plug and inserted them into Rocinante’s charge port.

Voilà! It worked! The charge lights started flashing!

The output was only 96 kW, the same I had experienced the first time I plugged in at a Supercharger to test my adapter. Regardless, it would take only 16 minutes to hit 80%.

However, I set the charge to reach 90%, which would take 25 minutes, thinking that we might need the extra kWh to power our cooktop and space heater during the night.

We now had 276 miles on the guess-o-meter, more than enough to drive home the next day.

Tesla charged us $13.45 for the kWh.

Storm clouds were moving in, but never threatened us with rain.

When we again entered the park, I took a photo of the prices charged. It’s unbelievable that the government has raised the cost for a lifetime senior pass to $80. I paid only $10 for mine a few years ago! Someone’s personal pocket must be filling up (need we say who?), for the government actually slashed the budget for our National Parks to the bone and laid off thousands of rangers.

At the campground we now had 88% and 271 miles on the guess-o-meter to drive home the next day.

Dinner for our last night was chili.

The following morning, our reserved spot had expired, as this was our fourth day in the campground.

I started to pack up the car and take down our setup.

It took well over an hour to dismantle everything, because I was still tired thanks to another camper who had pulled into the spot next to us with a loud RV at 1:15 in the morning. Sheesh!

We now had 254 on the guess-o-meter, and 83% in the battery after using the space heater half the night.

Here we are driving back down Red Canyon.

As I’d promised earlier, we stopped at the tunnel to take a photo.

We then drove through the tunnel and out of Red Canyon to connect to Highway 89.

As we approached Carmel Junction, I took this photo of the cliffs on the opposite side of the river.

On the highway back to Zion we had to stop for construction which channeled traffic into one lane both ways. I was amused to see this pair of motorcycles with tiny trailers waiting in front of me.

We got through the construction and the peaks in Zion were ahead.

We passed through the Park entrance.

The east side of the park has equally impressive vistas as the main canyon.

The cliffs’ sandstone surfaces are so swirled and twisted.

They seem to have layered textures like melting ice cream.

Back at the tunnel waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.

Exiting the tunnel to return to the main canyon in Zion.

I pulled over to take this panorama of the peaks ahead.

We drove out of the Park, through Rockville, then Virgin, La Verkin, Hurricane, and kept driving to reach Washington and then St. George.

With half-a-mile to go, we would arrive with 45% still in the battery.

We actually arrived with 46% and 151 miles on the guess-o-meter, with an energy efficiency of 5.5 miles-per-kWh since we last unplugged. Obviously, the trailer had hardly any noticeable effect on Rocinante’s range on this camping trip. Yay!

Moxie and I had a wonderful time on this camping trip. I have always enjoyed camping, probably because my family would go fishing in my dad’s truck camper practically every weekend in the summers when I was a kid. On this trip, Rocinante towed the trailer so smoothly and effortlessly that it was hardly different than just driving the car. A2Z had truly gone the extra mile to solve the adapter incompatibility with v.4 Superchargers, which really saved the day. I cannot thank them enough for such stellar customer service, and immediately posted a glowing review of the company and its products.
Seeing Bryce Canyon again was enchanting, for the vistas were inspiring… and humbling. I really appreciated taking a good distracting break from the news cycle we have all be suffering through lately, and want to repeat such adventures soon. I won’t be able to go to Pine Valley this year because a wildfire destroyed the entire campground and it probably won’t be rebuilt for at least another year. Maybe I’ll look into visiting Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the Valley of Fire, Duck Creek, or McWilliams Campground. Stay tuned!

I had set Rocinante to charge to 100% the night before, just in case towing the trailer would diminish its range.	I was delighted to see that the backup camera allowed me to line the hitch up precisely with the trailer’s tongue.
Here we are, ready to hit the road.	This was the first time I had used the settings in Rocinante to select a ”small weight” option for towing. However, after driving just a few blocks, I turned the setting off, because it disables i-Pedal. The trailer is so light, only 270 pounds, that I seriously doubt it makes any difference.
The trailer is also so very short and narrow that you can’t see it in either the rear view mirror or the side mirrors.	I wanted to take Highway 89 to Bryce instead of the I-15 freeway, so I set a waypoint to first take us through Zion National Park. It looked like we’d arrive there with 79% in the battery, and 35% at our destination after driving 137 miles. Not bad!
As you can see, Moxie came with me, already snuggled down in her doggy seat. Here is my initial video.
I recorded this clip while driving Highway 9 toward Hurricane.
In the town of La Verkin, I pulled into a gas station to use the restroom at its convenience store.	Upon checking the battery range, the percentage to reach Zion had now risen to 81% and at the campground to 37%.
I took this video after driving through the town of Virgin on the way to Zion.
I almost always stop to take a photo in this parking lot near the entrance to Zion.	Here we’re driving up the main street in Springdale, with the towering peaks in Zion as a backdrop.
The cars were lined up at the park entrance. We had to wait a few minutes before it was our turn to show my lifetime pass to the attending ranger.	Moxie woke up so she could bark ‘hello’ to the ranger, hoping for a treat or a pet, like she’s used to at drive-through fast food restaurants.
As always, the views in Zion were spectacular.	Here we are about to enter the tunnel to the east side of the park.
I took this clip while passing through the tunnel.
As we dropped down to Highway 89 at Carmel Junction, I stopped to again use the restroom at the Thunderbird Restaurant.	I have to wonder if the Thunderbird’s female employees don’t mind the silly joke about pies at their expense.
Moxie also got to have a potty break while there.	Now the display predicted we’d reach the campground with 40% in the battery.
This video is after we got back on Highway 89, climbing the canyon to the turnoff to Bryce.
We turned onto the road which would take us through Red Canyon.	I stopped to take this usual photo at the entrance to Red Canyon with Moxie posing on top of the trailer, tethered by her harness.
A video as we climbed through Red Canyon, just a few miles before Bryce.
We emerged from Red Canyon and could see the cliffs along a plateau to the north of Bryce on the opposite side of the highway.	And… here is Bryce Canyon National Park!
I was glad —and amused— to see that the Park cares about its wildlife.	We finally reached the Sunset Campground.
We’d driven 136.8 miles at 3.1 miles per kWh for nearly 5 hours, and still had 43% in the battery. I think that the energy efficiency was outstanding, given that we were towing a trailer while climbing several canyons.	I found our designated camp spot and backed in the trailer with the help of the rear view camera.
We had arrived, and I began to unload the car and set up our camp.	Here is the trailer popped-up with its attached canopy and screen room.
Moxie was happy to once again be in her camp chair inside the screen room.	I decided to drive back to the Superchargers in the parking lot of Ruby’s Inn to recharge the battery. I purposely try to avoid using them out of principle, but this was the only option available, so it would be the first time I’d plug in at a Tesla site since buying Rocinante well over two years ago.
And now… the trouble started. I attached my A2Z Typhoon Pro adapter to the Supercharger plug and connected it to Rocinante.	My Tesla app told me that it would take up to 2 minutes to start the charge. I waited more than 10 minutes with no result.
I then tried other Superchargers, 7 in total, and none of them would charge the car. The only thing that happened was that, every few minutes, the charge port lid would try to shut on top of the plugs.	Several Teslas were obviously charging without a problem. I tried contacting Tesla, and they gave me NO help. I also tried calling Hyundai, to little avail.
Meanwhile, an entire motorcycle club from Texas pulled into the parking lot behind me. What could I do? I needed to charge in order to tour the National Park.	The only solution that seemed possible was to get back in the car and drive a good 60 miles to this IONNA site in Beaver, Utah.
We arrived there with only 15% in the battery and 40 miles left on the guess-o-meter. The IONNA dispenser worked like a charm, which clarified that the problem was not in Rocinante, but only when using my adapter at the Superchargers.	I decided not to charge to my usual 80% in 17 minutes, but rather to 100%, which would take 46 minutes. After the charge finished, we now had 341 miles on the guess-o-meter.
IONNA charged us $25.40 for 69.59 kWh at a price of only 37¢ per kWh. We then started the hour-long drive back to Bryce Canyon.	After driving a total of 285.2 miles that day, I think Moxie was as exhausted as I was to finally get back in the trailer to spend the night.
In the wee hours of the morning, I was awakened by surprisingly chilly temperatures, so I plugged in the space heater to warm up the camper.	I think Moxie appreciated feeling the warmth near where she was sleeping at the foot of the sleeping bag.
At dawn, Moxie was ready for a potty break —and so was I! We walked down to the restroom, and I took this video in the campground on the way back to the trailer. She knew the way!
I fired up my induction cooktop to make coffee.	I then warmed up the stuffing from a breakfast burrito for our morning meal.
We then drove back down to Ruby’s Inn, which also has a campground with these teepees. I called A2Z to ask for their help with the charging problem. The representative checked with their technicians and learned that, when Tesla released its v.4 Superchargers, they were incompatible with my early model Typhoon Pro adapter.	Believe it or not, the rep then offered to send me an upgraded model via overnight delivery free-of-charge to the Ruby Inn’s front desk. Talk about superb customer service! I walked over to the Inn to let them know that the package would arrive the next day.
Hoping that the upgraded adapter would arrive as promised, I decided to use the miles left in Rocinante’s battery to tour the various viewpoints in the Park. Sunset Point was just across the road from our campground.	If you click on this map to enlarge it, you can see where it says “You are here”.
The red sandstone hoodoos at Sunset Point are truly breathtaking, spanning from the north…	…to the east…
…down below…	…and to the south.
Naturally, I had to take a portrait of Moxie with such a colorful backdrop.	We stopped by the Visitor Center so I could use the restroom and purchase a couple of souvenirs.
Here is the entrance to that Center.	I was impressed that the facility is powered by two huge arrays of solar panels. Nice!
Inside were numerous displays explaining the geology of the Park	They also had detailed textured maps of its layout.
We then stopped at Bryce Point, which was higher and at the south end of the Sunset overlook.	Its higher viewpoint gave a more panoramic vista of the hoodoos.
We could also look down into the Bryce “amphitheater”	In the distance, beyond the formations, was the town of Tropic.
I also had Moxie pose for me at this viewpoint.	Alas, as we drove south in the Park, we ran across one section of the forest that had been devastated by a wildfire.
I explain where we are heading on this drive.
We reached Rainbow Point at the farthest end of the Park.	It is well named, as the cliffs looking northward form a long, colorful rainbow shape.
We then stopped at Ponderose Point…	…which boasted this viewpoint…
…and these cliffs…	…and this amazing arch.
We took a break on a wooden bench at another overlook.	Having enjoyed all the tourist stops along the canyon, we then headed back to our campground.
Moxie was probably relieved to settle back in her camp chair inside the screen room.	I then set about making some Beyond Burgers for dinner.
The next morning we arose fairly sleepy to face the third day of our vacation.	I again made coffee to help wake me up.
We drove to Ruby’s Inn so I could verify if they’d received the A2Z package yet. They hadn’t, so I pulled around the back of the Inn to at least plug into a Level 2 destination charger. I figured we might as well slowly add a few more miles while waiting for the package.	Indeed, it would take well over 4 hours to hit 80% from a 7.9 kW charge, so we had time to kill. Our touring the previous day had given us an impressive energy efficiency of 3.7 miles-per-kWh, leaving 37% in the battery.
We wandered over to the patio of the Ruby’s Inn general store, and had some snacks and water while waiting.	When the Level 2 charge had reached 52%, I figured that we might as well use the added miles to see a few more sights.
We then drove to Inspiration Point, which we had skipped the previous day.	Again, it was aptly named, for the panorama of hoodoos truly was inspiring.
This towering castle along the side was impressive.	We returned to Bryce Point to again take photos of the Amphitheater…
…seen here below us.	Later than afternoon I received a text message from Ruby’s Inn that the package had arrived. I was elated, and we drove to the Inn to claim it.
Inside the package was a protective case with the adapter.	And here is the upgraded version of the Typhoon Pro.
We drove over to the Superchargers and I again started the process to plug in using my Tesla app.	I attached the adapter to the Tesla plug and inserted them into Rocinante’s charge port.
Voilà! It worked! The charge lights started flashing!
The output was only 96 kW, the same I had experienced the first time I plugged in at a Supercharger to test my adapter. Regardless, it would take only 16 minutes to hit 80%.	However, I set the charge to reach 90%, which would take 25 minutes, thinking that we might need the extra kWh to power our cooktop and space heater during the night.
We now had 276 miles on the guess-o-meter, more than enough to drive home the next day.	Tesla charged us $13.45 for the kWh.
Storm clouds were moving in, but never threatened us with rain.	When we again entered the park, I took a photo of the prices charged. It’s unbelievable that the government has raised the cost for a lifetime senior pass to $80. I paid only $10 for mine a few years ago! Someone’s personal pocket must be filling up (need we say who?), for the government actually slashed the budget for our National Parks to the bone and laid off thousands of rangers.
At the campground we now had 88% and 271 miles on the guess-o-meter to drive home the next day.	Dinner for our last night was chili.
The following morning, our reserved spot had expired, as this was our fourth day in the campground.	I started to pack up the car and take down our setup.
It took well over an hour to dismantle everything, because I was still tired thanks to another camper who had pulled into the spot next to us with a loud RV at 1:15 in the morning. Sheesh!	We now had 254 on the guess-o-meter, and 83% in the battery after using the space heater half the night.
Here we are driving back down Red Canyon.	As I’d promised earlier, we stopped at the tunnel to take a photo.
We then drove through the tunnel and out of Red Canyon to connect to Highway 89.
As we approached Carmel Junction, I took this photo of the cliffs on the opposite side of the river.	On the highway back to Zion we had to stop for construction which channeled traffic into one lane both ways. I was amused to see this pair of motorcycles with tiny trailers waiting in front of me.
We got through the construction and the peaks in Zion were ahead.	We passed through the Park entrance.
The east side of the park has equally impressive vistas as the main canyon.	The cliffs’ sandstone surfaces are so swirled and twisted.
They seem to have layered textures like melting ice cream.	Back at the tunnel waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.
Exiting the tunnel to return to the main canyon in Zion.	I pulled over to take this panorama of the peaks ahead.
We drove out of the Park, through Rockville, then Virgin, La Verkin, Hurricane, and kept driving to reach Washington and then St. George.
With half-a-mile to go, we would arrive with 45% still in the battery.	We actually arrived with 46% and 151 miles on the guess-o-meter, with an energy efficiency of 5.5 miles-per-kWh since we last unplugged. Obviously, the trailer had hardly any noticeable effect on Rocinante’s range on this camping trip. Yay!