Life's Journey

We got back from an amazing week of adventures on Sunday July 7th. I can't believe it's already been a week… whoosh… time goes so fast. This past weekend we were in Hermosa beach for a quick getaway to celebrate dear friends birthdays - and get out of this crazy heat for awhile. In my last post (which was way too long ago) I said we were driving the Grand Circle in Utah, once we started on our journey I realized that it is actual called the Utah High Five… get it? Clever, eh? hee hee

We started at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. No matter how you see it, from the North, the South, a helicopter or a plane the Grand Canyon is amazing. But I will say it is a different experience at the North rim. It's quiet, less traffic up there and sheer cliffs. Beautiful. Then we drove into Utah and decided to go into Zion for sunset. We just missed the sunset but it was amazing to drive through the park. We stayed the night in Kanab just outside the park.

The next day we went back to Zion for some hiking. You have to park at the visitors center and take a shuttle through the park. This is a very popular park. We decided to stop at the Overview trail before going to the visitors center. This is a quick 1.5 mile round trip hike to a gorgeous overlook into the park. You can see the long windy road down into the canyon. We spent some time taking it all in then headed down the road in the jeep. We took the top off the jeep so we could really enjoy the drive. We took the shuttle to the lodge and walked to the Emerald Pools trail. It was a hot day so there wasn't much to see at the pools. We decided to follow the trail around to the Grotto bus stop about 1.5 miles ahead. From here we caught the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawa and walked the riverside hike to the Narrows. We stopped for a picnic on a rock along the way. The Narrows is the entry point to a huge trail of narrow canyons walking in the river. It's one of those things I would have loved to have done but realized my body wasn't going to let me. The walk back to the bus stop was tough. It was 114 degrees out and this was another 2 mile hike round trip. I may have pushed too hard. It was time to go. We saw a lot of Zion and had a great day. We set off to Bryce Canyon. The drive to Bryce started our journey on Scenic Byway 12 - wow! 'nuff said. I think we saw more beautiful sights while driving than while hiking this trip.

We checked into the hotel in Bryce and I crashed - nap time! I was up and ready to go in time for sunset at the canyon. Another beautiful sight. I don't know how to put words to the beauty and calm that comes with sunset and sunrise. It just makes me feel peaceful and in awe of this amazing world we live in. Bryce Canyon is full of hoodoos which are the tall rock formations that come up out of the canyon. It's a really cool site, like being on another planet. We went to all of the viewpoints and checked it all out before heading into town for dinner. We wanted to get away from the crazy touristy stuff so we decided to ask the hotel staff where to go. Roy and I both went to different people and found that they both told us the same spot so we decided to try it. Great choice, a little mom and pop restaurant just outside of town that was famous for their pies. We had a great time.

The next morning we were up before the sun and headed back to the canyon. We found a great spot to sit and watch the sunrise over Bryce Canyon… wow! Then, while it was still nice and cool, we set off on a hike into the canyon. We started down Queens Garden and connected to Navajo Loop making it a 3 mile loop hike. Within a few hundred feet we were deep into the canyon and seeing the hoodoos up close and personal… wow! The hike took us even further into the canyon, through an area of trees, and then through Wall Street. This is a narrow canyon with walls as high as you can see. It's awesome. The hike out of the canyon was switchbacks - holy moly! This was not easy but I knew I could do it… phew! I was so happy to see the top of the canyon! I felt really good about myself for keeping up and doing something I love. It made me feel alive! We had time to go back to the hotel for a shower and clean up before heading off to Capitol Reef. This was about a 2.5-3 hour drive along Byway 12. So pretty. We took a detour down a dirt road to slot canyon. We found a great spot for a picnic lunch. I packed lunch meat, fruit, bread, mustard, cookies, chips, drinks, etc. so we could pack lunches for picnics each day. This worked out perfect and saved us a lot of money.

We got to Capitol Reef just in time for… a nap! We were there pretty early and I was feeling sore and tired from our early morning hike so pain pill and nap were just what my body needed. Then it was off to the park to talk to a ranger at the visitors center. I wasn't able to find out too much about the park before we left for the trip. I don't think many people journey here. We, apparently, talked to the right ranger and learned that you pretty much had to have a 4 wheel drive to really see the park. Luckily we had the jeep, he was super excited to tell us some good places to go. We took off on the road to the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon. This was a great back road drive through clay fields and desert to find the two huge rock structures that come out of nowhere. Wow! And as the sun was beginning to set the colors all changed, it was beautiful. We enjoyed the scenery and decided to head back to town for dinner. It was getting late and there was a steakhouse that got good reviews in town that Roy got me all excited about. We drove into town and everything looks dead, closed, no one around, it was weird. The steakhouse was closed - bummer. We found a little patio burger joint kinda place and they explained that the power went out in the entire town! Well that explained why it looked like a ghost town. Oh well, might as well take advantage so we drove back into the park to one of the viewpoints to watch the sunset. Wow! Then we went back to the hotel and made a picnic for dinner in our room while we waited for the power to come back on.

We finally slept in this morning… til 6:00a. LOL We loaded up and took the scenic drive in the park checking it all out. One hike I did read about and was looking forward to was the hike to Cassidy Arch. When we talked to the ranger the day before he said yes it was beautiful but it was a pretty strenuous hike. Ugh. Stomp. Sigh. My body was so sore and tired I know I couldn’t do this one. But, I didn't want Roy to miss it. So off we went. There was a viewpoint from the road to the trailhead where you can see the arch way up on a mountain. Roy said "I'll be up there in 45 minutes, be here and look for me". There were two trailheads - one up to the arch and the other through the grand wash. This was a pretty flat hike with beautiful views. I took my time and strolled up the hike a little ways before going back to the viewpoint to see Roy. The timing was impeccable, there he was. I was surprised to be able to see him. And there was so much of an echo through the canyon we could literally hear each other, it was really cool. He came down and told me all about the hike. It sounded amazing. As we drove out we stopped at the farmhouse and bought some jam made from the fruit grown at the orchards in the park. Then we were back on the road. Our next stop was Moab. Another beautiful drive on small windy roads through mountains, forests, along the colorado river, past ranches, and mountain climbing cows on the side of the road. We took a longer route with a more scenic view which was well worth the detour. We arrive in Moab checked into our hotel and headed into Arches National Park. Holy cow! This was way cooler than I thought it was going to be. It was a hot day, we'd been driving for awhile, I was pretty tired so no hikes for me. We took the scenic drive, stopped at the viewpoints to see things like Park Avenue and the Balancing Rock. We took so many photos none of which can truly capture the beauty of this amazing place. We ended up going into the Windows area and taking a super short hike to the Double Arch. Wow! Just standing under these huge arches was amazing. Just… wow! We went on to see the famous Delicate Arch - this is the one on the license plates. It's pretty cool. Crazy to see this big arch just standing in the middle of a flat sandstone area. We decided to head back to town for dinner at Eddie McStiffs. I mean how can you pass up eating at a place called Eddie McStiffs? They make a killer burger! Great pick.

Once again we were up before the sun… but just barely . We really wanted to get into Arches to catch sunrise. So we raced up into the park and just made it… wow! It was a beautiful morning. After sunrise we followed the road back to town and went to the Jailhouse Café for a fantastic breakfast. Then it was back on the road again and headed to Canyonlands. I couldn't find anything about this park before we left but the girl at the hotel told me it was totally worth the drive and so many people just miss it because it's off the main road. Off we went, another great adventure. This park was worth the time. We drove through some of the scenic drives to see the Needles, Elephant Rock and other sights. We took a back road drive and a short 1.5 mile hike before heading back out to the main road. We were on our way to Farmington New Mexico to spend the 4th of July with the Family. This was another pretty drive through small farm towns, 2 lane roads through the hills and mountains. But this day of driving was quite a bit longer.

We arrived in Farmington at Roy's dad's house before everyone else. Just enough time for… a nap. I was relieved to be able to fit so many naps into this trip. The rest of the family arrived and we had a great visit. The nieces and nephews, my brother in law and his wife, roy and I all stayed at his dad's house. It was crowded but really fun. We watched fireworks, had a cook out, went to the bounce house and just enjoyed spending time together.

It was a whirlwind of a trip but one that neither of us will ever forget. I highly recommend seeing this part of the country if you ever get the opportunity. We drove about 2000 miles and spent 40 hours in the car… but I must admit it was so beautiful it didn't feel that long. This was a "wow" adventure that I'm so glad I got to share with my amazing husband. I'm a lucky girl! Life is good!

Hugs and Smiles!