On to Moab and Arches National Park

[This one should get me caught up. Covering Friday thru Saturday afternoon.]

Up early to finish packing and break camp in Fruita. We intentionally stalled a bit to wait for Gifford House to open at 8am so we could buy one of their homemade cinnamon rolls that we had spied the day before (delicious, but we both agreed our daughter Victoria's are better!).

On the way out of the park, we stopped a couple times to take in some of the views, including petroglyphs - art carved/painted into rock faces by ancient natives around 600-1300 AD.

Fruita barn on the drive out of camp

Fremont culture petroglyphs (figures in the middle of the photo)

We drove about an hour through sparsely populated, gray-but-beautiful landscape before stopping for a great breakfast and solid wifi at Duke's Slickrock Grill in Hanksville, Utah. We blindly stumbled onto this place - and it was delicious. We've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of food at roadside restaurants - most serving locally raised/grown food.

Somewhere between Capitol Reef and Hanksville

Cowboy breakfast at Duke's Slickrock Grill

We got to Arches NP around noon and decided to check things out, even though we were staying outside the park Friday night. We drove a few miles into the park, stopping frequently to snap pictures and take in the scenery. It felt a little like driving through the gallery of a clay sculptor with massive, incomplete sculptures lying around.

The one in the middle is appropriately called 'Balanced Rock'

The one on the left is called 'Three Gossips'

After an hour or so, we headed into Moab to check things out and pick up some groceries. Restocked, we headed to our hotel, the Red Cliffs Lodge, which was significantly nicer than we were expecting - a pleasant surprise. It's a 17 mile drive out of Moab along the Colorado River, through a canyon of soaring red cliffs. 

Drive to the Red Cliffs Lodge

The Lodge has large, cabin-style rooms with decks looking out over the river, a large pool, laundry facilities (much needed at this point in the trip!), a restaurant, horse stables, and more. We learned that several movies have been filmed here - include 'Rio Grande' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. We quickly did laundry, replenished our ice and water, then showered and headed to the pool for half an hour before a 6:45 dinner reservation at the Lodge restaurant. Dinner was amazing! The whole experience at the Lodge was an unexpected-but-much-appreciated guilty pleasure - we're supposed to be roughing it, right?!

Poolside R&R!

The view from our dinner table on the deck of the restaurant.

Early to bed, up at 6, packed and on the road to Arches at 7. Karri had identified a few shorter hikes to views of some of the park's signature arched rocks. We had read that Arches is one of the busiest national parks and, as usual, wanted to beat the crowds. We were treated to some beautiful, morning-sunlight sights.

Turret Arch

South Arch

Double Arch

Delicate Arch

We stopped at our campsite at Devil's garden - at the northern end of the park road, dropped off some stuff, then drove back down for one more hike.

Sand Dune Arch

Broken Arch

At this point, we felt we had seen most of the sights - with plans for a 7.5mi hike (Devil's Garden) Sunday morning to see a couple more. The skies turned dark and my WeatherBug app popped a lightning alert for the area. As any responsible hikers would do, we decided to seek cover... and drove back to Moab for a cold beverage, an afternoon snack (that turned into dinner), and wifi at The Spoke on Center - a cool bike-themed restaurant/bar in the heart of town.

We're considering another revision to our plan... maybe only 1 night camping in the park, as we feel we've seen most of it. Karri is scouting options for Sunday afternoon/evening - centered around giving us an opportunity to hike Corona and Bowtie Arch Trail on Monday, which is highly recommended - and not located in a national park. We'll decide in camp tonight...

Song Spot: Several, but 'Can't See The Light' by Reuben and the Dark got me through a couple hikes

Hiking: ~7mi (Sat)

Biking: 0

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

[Out of cell/wifi range for most of Tuesday. Stopping for breakfast at Burr Trail Outpost - a great spot with espresso, breakfast burritos and solid wifi.]

About an hour out of Bryce, we entered Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - a 1 million acre (used to be 1.9 million; somebody decided that was too much) natural area managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It's a vast, rugged area that was apparently one of the last places to be mapped in the contiguous United States. 'Staircase' refers to the descending geological layers that are visible in different sections of the park.

The scenery is spectacular - and constantly changing as you drive: sheer canyon walls, vast open spaces, Bryce-like rock formations, green valleys, rivers, and winding highways. Tough to describe.

With no reservation for the night, we stopped at a visitor center in the town of Escalante to see what our options might be. The center was closed, but we identified several potential camping spots. Our top choice was a first-come-first serve campground with only 12 sites, near the trailhead to a highly rated hike to a waterfall. We grabbed lunch at a great outdoor mexican restaurant, then hit the road. At about 1:30 we pulled into Calf Creek Campground where we were very pleasantly surprised to find an un-claimed campsite! It was meant to be.

Just outside the town of Escalante

One of many scenic overlooks

Entrance to the campground. There's a creek running beneath those trees.

We paid for our site, then jumped back in the van to head to the tiny town of Boulder, Utah to replenish our ice supply. Headed back to camp, changed into hiking gear, and headed for the Lower Calf Creek Falls trailhead, about 50 yards from our campsite. It's a 2.8mi (each way) hike through the creek canyon to the falls.

Trail was sandy - at times like walking on a beach

One of many great views along the trail

It had been sunny and hot (low 90's), but some rain clouds started rolling in about halfway up the trail. Given the recent electrical storms we've witnessed, we're both conscientious about getting stuck in a thunderstorm. We decided to press on and enjoyed a refreshing drizzle just as we got to the falls.

Wildflowers and rainclouds

Made it!

Quick swim under the falls

The rain stopped so we stayed for half an hour, then packed up and headed out as it started to drizzle again. The wind started blowing and it felt like it was really going to pour, but 10 minutes later the rain stopped and the sun started to come out.

Clouds clearing

Blue skies

Got back to campsite around 6. Cocktail while we setup camp, then dinner of chicken-apple sausages. After cleaning up, and packing up as much as possible for an early departure, we sat out and watched the night sky. Karri got some more great stargazing photos. 

Moon rising over the van

Sagittarius (thanks star-gazing app) 

This was the most 'primitive' campsite we've stayed in, but we both liked it the best - so far. The trees/shrubs made for great privacy, we were 20 feet from the creek and a small swimming hole, and had a great view of the nearby cliffs. The creek provided a perfect soundtrack for a great night of sleep (at least for me - Karri didn't sleep as well).

Packed up quickly this morning - didn't even make coffee - and were on the road at 8:20.

Almost ready to go

Heading to Fruita Campground in Capitol Reef NP today. Looks like just over an hour-long drive. Karri's been scouting hikes/sights while I write this. :)

Song spot: This was the first hike with no particular song in mind (at least not that I remember)

Hiking: ~5.5mi

Biking: 0

An Amazing Day in Bryce Canyon

Decided to 'sleep-in' til 6:30. Showered and packed up before grabbing a Covid-modified buffet breakfast (you walk the line and a server fills your plate) at the hotel. Nothing fancy, but tasty and filling.

Loaded the car and headed to Sunset Point to start our hike - the 'Figure 8' that combines portions of 3 different trails. Gorgeous blue skies, about 65 degrees. On the trail at 8:15 with few cars in the parking lot and few hikers on the trail. 

Hitting the trail at Sunset Point

We started with a steep, switch-backed descent on Wall Street and were immediately rewarded with close-up views of the pink rock formations, known as hoodoos. We both had the feeling we were entering sacred ground - even feeling a little emotional at times (or could have just been too much coffee at breakfast :) ). 

Switch backs dropping us into the Canyon

Looking up from the Canyon floor on Wall Street

After a mile of mostly downhill, we got to Peek-a-Boo trail - a hilly, challenging 3-mile loop with spectacular views of the hoodoos. You can't help but make out different shapes - faces, animals, chess pieces, cathedrals, etc. 

We read about a local legend that the Legend People lived here long before the natives. They were ruled by Coyote - a benevolent god with a trickster sense of humor. The Legend People were selfish and careless, and Coyote eventually grew irritated with them. He invited them all to a feast, then cast a spell that froze them all in place. Hiking the canyon, you can almost imagine ancient people encased in the rockery. 

We also read that geologists say the hoodoos are formed from frost wedges (Bryce gets 200+ days of frost each year) that create small cracks that expand through continued erosion - eventually leaving tall, side-by-side stacks. I think the legend is more fun. 

A lone tree

Hoodoos against a gorgeous blue sky

Several natural portals along the way

After completing the loop, we walked a short connector trail to the Queens Garden trail, which was also beautiful, though not as impressive as Peek-a-Boo. Queens finishes with a steep climb back up to the top of the Canyon at Sunrise Point. 

Along Queens Garden trail

Climbing out of the canyon; Color contrasts were amazing

Sights like this everywhere

Then we walked half a mile along the Canyon Rim Trail back to Sunset Point. The total hike was shorter than we had expected, about 7.5mi.

View from Sunrise Point overlooking a portion of the trail we hiked

We got to the car at 11:45, tired/hot/sweaty/dusty from the trail. A shower sounded really good (we honestly weren't planning to shower daily!) so we decided to hustle back and try our luck at the hotel (checkout was at 11am). They hadn't cleaned our room yet and Karri was able to sweet-talk the front desk attendant into giving us a new key! 20 minutes later we were refreshed and ready to head to our campsite in the park at Sunset Campground. 

Over leftover pizza and cold beers, we discussed a modification to our plan. We intended to hike the 8mi Fairyland Trail Tuesday, camp here again, then get an early start Wednesday to drive through Escalante National Monument, on the way to Capitol Reef NP. We've heard and read great things about Escalante and are thinking more time there might be nice. The Fairyland Trail sounds great, but looks like it will be similar to today's hike. 

After some R&R in camp, we biked back to the visitor center, stopped for a cold beverage at Bryce Canyon Lodge, then on to the viewpoint and trailhead at Fairyland, just to see what we might be missing. 

Great bike trail along the first 5 miles of the park

Got back to camp around 6:15 for a cocktail. Steaks for dinner. Quickly cleaned up, then biked to Sunset Point for... sunset. The setting sun (behind us) cast beautiful light on the hoodoos in the distance. 

Tough not to smile :)

Back to camp at dusk. Karri set up the tripod and got some amazing nighttime sky photos. 

Exhausted after an amazing day, we climbed into bed around 10. Temps dropped into the mid 40's overnight. Great sleeping!

Up, breakfast, packed and now off to Escalante!

Song spot: Johnny Cash covering 'Desperado' while descending into the Canyon. Tom Petty 'Wreck Me' got me through the tough hiking stretches. 

Hiking: ~7.5mi

Biking: ~9mi

Zion to Bryce

Today was a moving day, as we packed up camp and drove from Zion NP to Bryce Canyon NP. We had a leisurely morning in camp (we're both a little sore/achey after hiking the Narrows), then biked to town to grab a couple souvenirs. On the way back, we decided to continue up the Pa'rus trail another half mile to enjoy the amazing views one last time.

Saying goodbye to Zion

Packing up was fairly quick. After 6 days of camping, we are starting to get better organized and find a 'place' for everything. (I'm married to a process consultant - we were well organized to start, but there's always room for continuous improvement!). 

Morning sun hitting the peaks as we get ready to pack up

We pulled out of the campground shortly after 10 and headed out the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway to the East park entrance, which gave us a chance to see a section of the park we hadn't explored. It's a gorgeous, winding road, with a couple narrow tunnels that were built in the 1930's. We stopped several times to snap photos and soak in the Zion sights.

West Rim from the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway

East Canyon with Z-MC Highway switchback

It's less than a 2-hour drive to Bryce from Zion... unless you stop to enjoy the scenery! We got to our hotel, near the entrance to Bryce, around 1:15, about a 3 hour trip. As planned, we are 'treating' ourselves to a hotel every 4-to-6 days to clean up and rest up. A night in a king-sized bed is sounding pretty good right now!

We've been filling drive time with a mix of music, podcasts and an audio book. We're currently listening to 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' by Edward Abbey - a hilarious story set in Southern Utah(!) - recommended by my buddy Mike. It really helped pass the time on those early 7+hr drive days.

We stopped at the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon to check in, then hopped back in the van to head to the park visitor center before driving the length of the park to see some of the sights. 

Bryce is opposite from Zion in a couple ways. Zion has a road from south-to-north that runs along the bottom of the canyon, with views up steep canyon walls. Bryce has a road that runs from north-to-south on the rim of a vast canyon with views down to valleys and beautiful rock formations. 

Due to higher elevation (8,000-9,000ft), it's significantly more comfortable here compared to Zion - low-80's vs mid-100's. Going to be cool in the evenings, which sounds delightful to both of us. 

There are several pullouts and viewpoints along the main road that give breath-taking (especially if you don't like heights!) views of the canyon. 

Natural Bridge

Canyons and Ponderosa pines

A passing storm created some great lighting

Inspiration Point

Our plan for tomorrow is to do a longer hike starting at Sunset Point, descending into the canyons. As usual, we're hoping to get an early start to beat the crowds, although initial indication is that Bryce has much lighter traffic than Zion. 

Sunset Point (arrow) where we plan to start our hike tomorrow

We had planned to grab dinner at the resort across the street from our hotel, but after a cocktail and some smoked salmon in our hotel room, takeout pizza sounded pretty good (it was!).

Shower, then early to bed for a 6am-ish alarm.

Song spot: With no strenuous activities and lot's of car time, nothing stuck around for long today

Hiking: <1mi

Biking: ~2mi (slackers! but if felt good to rest after the Narrows)

The Narrows

[Showered and enjoying beers while we wait for an early dinner at the restaurant next to the brew pub]

Up at 5:30am, biked (~1/2mi) to the Visitor Center to catch a shuttle at 6:20am. We asked an attendant where we could lock our bikes and he encouraged us to use the racks on the shuttle bus and take them with us, then bike back down after our hike. Well... why not?!

Bus dropped us at Temple of Sinawava at 7:00 and we were on the trail at 7:10. Traffic on the trail was light and we were able to separate from other groups, which made for great photo opportunities. We didn't realize what a treat this was until the trip down.

The first mile of the hike is on a paved trail. The rest is spent mostly walking in the shallow Virgin River - or along rocks on either side as the width of the canyon permits. We had rented special water/hiking boots and neoprene socks. We weren't sure if they were necessary, but once we hit the river we knew we had made the right decision. And our hiking poles were essential.

First portion of the trail

Last 'dry' spot before entering the river

We had never hiked in running water before - other than occasionally crossing a stream. It was at the same time exhilarating and nerve-racking. Some of the rocks were very slick. At times it was hard to see the bottom. And in narrow sections, the water was running fast.

You can hike up to an additional 4 miles in the river without a permit. We'd read that the last 2 miles were particularly beautiful - and less crowded - so, of course our plan was to hike the whole thing. 

Early morning sun starting to hit the canyon

At times it got a a little deeper :)

The water was cold, but refreshing - especially after 3 days of 105+ weather. As anticipated, it got prettier the further we went up-river.

Waterfalls

Massive overhang at a bend in the river

A narrow bend

My fearless companion

The deepest spot was at a narrow gap were a large rock blocked much of the path. We had to remove our packs and I shuttled them overhead while the water came up almost to my armpits. Karri was able to climb over some rocks along the edge and only(!) go in to her waist. 

We hiked about 5 miles total to the end of a stretch known as Wall Street - would have needed a permit to go further. We stopped and enjoyed an early lunch before heading back down.

Lunch stop at the end of the line

Working our way back down - sun moving overhead; that's Karri with the red pack

Our fashionable - and very useful - rental boots!

Mid-day with gorgeous skies overhead

After about a mile hiking back down, we started to run into more people heading upstream. After 2 miles, it was starting to get crowded and you had to choose your route carefully to avoid crossing paths. After 3 miles, there was a mass of humanity. People were everywhere - and still coming up the canyon in droves. We frequently had to wait for the path to clear - or just blast down the middle of the river, which we did several times. 

We were exhausted by the end. Hiking in the water was tough and we were both tense from trying to avoid slippery rocks - and people. But it was so worth it. Certainly one of the most unusual hikes we've ever done, and one of the most scenic. Definitely a must do in Zion - as long as you can beat the crowds.

The bike ride down was tougher than yesterday. We were exhausted, it was hot from the early afternoon sun and the wind was blowing in our faces for long stretches. It was still beautiful, and a fun way to end a great adventure.

Stopped at camp to grab clean clothes. Biked to town to return the boots, take a shower (a nice luxury that the town has clean public showers) and head out to dinner at the pub. 

Planning on a relaxed morning before we pack up and head to Bryce Canyon NP. Might do a quick bike ride... or may just sit in camp and drink coffee!

Another awesome day. Zion is amazing. Highly recommend!

Song spot: Interesting day. Dylan kept a persistent grip in the morning, this time with 'The Times They Are A Changin' . An encounter on the river with an unhappy couple reminded me how lucky I am and brought John Prine's 'Inspite of Ourselves' :) to mind. The rest of the day was filled, apropriately, with Talking Heads 'Take Me To The River'.

Hiking: ~10mi (7+ of which was in/along the river)

Biking: 9+mi