[Moo]

Hey I'm going to the states at the end of January through till sometime in march. I was wondering if Joes valley would be in nick then or if there's a good chance we'll be snowed out. Any other info would be much appreciated as I've not been there before ( been to the usual bishop and hueco ).

[Sasquatch]

Jan/Feb is pretty hit or miss.  March should be good. 

Camping is free where ever.  Super fun climbing, probably a bit soft...

[Moo]

sounds pretty good  what's the motel situation?

[Rabies]

March should be good as Sasquatch said.  Motel situation is ok, there are motels in Orangeville / Castle Dale and Huntingdon.  There are also some other towns further south too.  I camped for free when I was there and made it comfortable by staying in a motel every so often.

[SA Chris]

It snows, but I don't think it gets snowed out very often. If the weather is crap for a day or two you can always head down to the Triassic Area / Land of a Thousand Boulders (google for more info, or I think it's covered in the big red Utah bouldering guidebook) which is at a lower altitude and a bit warmer while the snow melts and the boulders dry.

Grades slightly on the soft side compared to rest of US maybe, but rock is good quality, and a nice setting.

Someone mentioned some accomodation at the resorvoir too, which would be nice and close, but I think it's seasonal only.

Price is a decent sized town with most mod cons, restaurants, cinema etc and good for a rest day. ou are pretty close to Arches and Capitol Reef NP too, and not far from Canyonlands.

[Greg C]

You can camp by the reservoir in the winter (far side). We were there last Jan and the toilets were also open and usable. It will be cold up there in Jan, we camped there (in our van) for a few nights and water was freezing inside the van.

The motel in Castle Dale (Village Inn) does a weekly rate, which works out a lot cheaper than paying per night. That said they weren't open to further negotiation for lengthier stays.

The garage in Castle Dale (pretty much next to the Village Inn) is good for coffee & snacks and the Food Ranch in Orangeville is good for general supplies and superb corn dogs. It also sells the guide book. There is a bigger more generic supermarket in Castle Dale too.

[SA Chris]

Could corn dogs be the pinnacle of American Cuisine? I used to think breadbowls were their finest food related invention.

[andy_e]

What's a breadbowl when it's at home? Is it as simple as it sounds?

[SA Chris]

It's a bowl, made of bread. You get your chilli (or whatever) in the breadbowl and as you eat the chilli you break off the bit and dip them in and eat them, once you are finished you eat the rest of the bowl. Genius. Apparently there's an art to getting the bread crusty enough to stay stable and chilliproof, but still be edible. A problem I'm sure mary Berry never contemplated.
 

[andy_e]

Oh, I thought it might just have been a bowl full of bread with super noodles or beans poured on top. Breadbowls sound genius!

[Sasquatch]

There is a downside to Joe's Valley, It's in the center of the epitomy of "Red State", and it shows in the food

[Blunk]

Yes, but multiple wives are okay though! 

[Moo]

one's bad enough