This is our third (Hughes) or fourth (Judy) trip to Best Friends, and we feel very comfortable returning to this small (pop. about 4,400) southern Utah town. Kanab is the county seat of Kane County which is centrally located to Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon National Parks, Grand Staircase–Escalante, Vermilion Cliffs, and Pipe Springs National Monuments, and Glen Canyon and Lake Powell National Recreation Areas. For almost eighty years, beginning in 1924 with “Deadwood Coach” starring Tom Mix, Kanab has been the site of over 100 movies, mostly westerns, and such TV series as Death Valley Days (!), Gunsmoke, the Lone Ranger, and many others. This part of the town’s heritage is celebrated each summer with the Western Legends Round Up, which features appearances by some of the movie and TV stars who worked here, a cattle drive and parade through town, cowboy poetry and music, and other exhibits. Even today, the Parry Lodge hosts a free movie nightly (from among those made in Kanab) in the old barn behind the lodge.
We have stayed at three different RV parks in town, including the 2-pad area at Best Friends, but the Crazy Horse RV Park may be the best of all: it has all the hook-ups, clean rest rooms, spacious sites, a swimming pool, a free night if you stay six nights, reasonable rates, and best of all in the summer, shade and cool grass. We were very comfortable during out stay there.
We should also mention:
The Parry Lodge is one of the oldest of the many motels in Kanab. It was headquarters for most of the movie and TV stars while they were working in Kanab. In keeping with the western movie heritage promoted by the Parry brothers beginning in 1931, the lodge offers a free nightly movie (chosen from among the ones made in Kanab) in the Old Barn Theater, which was built behind the lodge as a barn for horses used in the movies. We watched most of John Wayne’s 1943 movie “In Old Oklahoma” until one of us fell asleep, but we are certain John got the girl (Martha Scott) and, with the help of Gabby Hayes, won the lease to the oil rich property.
While we don’t often eat out, we not only had a good dinner with our Ned neighbors at the Rocking V, but we had a fine dinner at The Mediterranean Table, also on Center Street in downtown Kanab. Seafood, chicken, and vegan dishes are on the menu along with traditional meats all at a modest prices. It’s a very popular spot: the place was jammed by the time we left. Our advice is to get there early, even on a weekday night.
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