There are people who love to criticize and complain about Utah. If you don't like Utah, then by all means, don't come or live here!
My mom had her spring break, so I headed out with both of my parents to southeastern Utah on Tuesday morning. My mom doesn't hike, so I think they were glad that my dad had a hiking buddy. We visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks back in 2006, so it's been a while.
First we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park. Apparently we went there on our 2006 trip, but I don't remember it. My dad and I hiked along one of the rim trails. It was a lovely desert environment, sort of a mini Grand Canyon.
After Dead Horse, we went into Canyonlands National Park. We went on the short, easy hike to Mesa Arch, which was crowded, and with good reason. My mom even went with us. On this hike, I broke my rule about not talking to strangers. I heard a man talking to his family about sandstone and basalt, but he didn't remember how granite formed, so I explained it to him.
We went to various overlooks in the Island in the Sky District. At one of those places, I went on a short (less than two miles round trip) trail run past all the people. It was flat and easy.
Then we spent the night in Moab. I spend a few minutes in Moab back in September, when I was visiting all the county seats, but we spent more time there this time.
On Wednesday morning, we headed into Arches National Park to hike to Delicate Arch. Back in 2006, we saw it from an overlook, but this was my first time going to the arch itself. I was also surprised it was my dad's first time. It was not a difficult hike; the average person could do it, but being in good cardiovascular health helped. Towards the end, I was a little uneasy with the drop-offs, but I do have a real fear of heights and slipping. If I can make it past the "scary" parts, anyone can. We did get a little warm on the hike, and it was the morning in March. I think this would be a terrible hike in the middle of a summer's day—no shade whatsoever.
I had always envisioned Delicate Arch as being on a flat plain, so I was surprised that it was on the edge of a bowl. I didn't like walking on the bowl, but it worked out. Though there are few people in my pictures, there were lots of people at the arch. Delicate Arch symbolizes Utah perhaps more than anything else, and it was great to finally see such an icon for myself. It really is spectacular. Well worth the hike.
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| 'Cause I know that it's Delicate. |
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| I liked the arch's shadow. |
We also stopped at the petroglyphs and Wolfe Cabin on the trail. The petroglyphs are between 1650 and 1850 because they have horses.
Next we headed to the trail for Landscape Arch. My dad and I split off to see Tunnel Arch and Pinetree Arch.
Then we headed to the precarious Landscape Arch. My mom made it to this one.
Then we headed to the Windows District. I went on a little trail run by the Turret Arch, North Window, and South Window. There was a primitive trail that I wanted to run on, but it was so primitive that I entirely lost it. I didn't want to get lost or fall off a cliff, so I just turned back the way I came.
I also ran across the street to Double Arch, where I ate a Carrot Cake Clif Bar in the shadow of the arch. I did get a little sunburned from that day's hiking and running.
Near the entrance of the park, I noticed a fault in the rock layers. Then I learned there was a sign pointing it out. I was glad that I noticed it without knowing it was there.
That night I wandered through the stores of Moab with my parents. In one, I found a postcard that matched the shirt I just happened to be wearing.
On Thursday, we went to Newspaper Rock, which had many ancient Native American petroglyphs, including six-toed feet. I think these are totally fascinating. There was some more modern graffiti, but it was more than fifty years old. I find it a little comforting that we seem to be better as a society about valuing these ancient artifacts.
We headed into the Needles District of Canyonlands. My dad and I went on a short hike among potholes, which are depressions in the rock that fill with water and support living creatures. At first, they were all dry, but then we did find plenty of wet ones.
We saw little shrimps in many of the puddles, as well as some swimming insects.
At one point, there was a mom and two kids, and the kids were stepping in the potholes and throwing rocks in them. All throughout the park, there are signs telling you not to touch or disturb the potholes. Were these folks simply uninformed, or were they apathetically and pathetically reckless? I didn't know what to do. After they stopped to marvel at some of the creatures in one of the ponds, I heard them wondering what they were. So I once again broke my rule about not talking to people, and I said to them, "They look like shrimp. But if you put your hands in the water, it can destroy their ecosystem." I hope I was able to educate them. My mom said she saw a ranger get on the trail, so I hope the ranger caught them and educated (or reprimanded) them, because a ranger has more authority than I do.
As we headed back out of the park, I wanted to see an ancient granary on a tiny side trail.
Then we headed to Monticello. We did sealings at that temple, my first time there.
The next morning we drove through Bluff, which was settled by Mormon pioneers who went on the grueling Hole in the Rock expedition. (Not to be confused with Hole N" the Rock, a tourist destination between Moab and Monticello with inexplicable punctuation.) We looked at the Bluff Cemetery.
We went to Goosenecks State Park. My current bucket list is to get to every state park, so I was glad to get this one crossed off. It's not worth a special trip to see it.
Then we headed into Natural Bridges National Monument, which was apparently the first National Park Service area in Utah. I think I liked this monument better than Canyonlands. We went to an overlook of Sipapu Bridge, the world's second-biggest bridge. I didn't think it looked that big from a distance. There appeared to be some small trees that filled a good amount of the space.
Then my dad and I went to hike down to the bottom of the bridge. This hike might be a little strenuous for the average person, and there were several places where they had to make it more accessible. There were three ladders, many handrails, and a metal staircase.
It was fantastic to actually be at the bottom of Sipapu Bridge. It was much bigger up close than it was from a distance. What I thought was a small tree was actually a large tree. It was very impressive.
Then we went to an overlook over some ancient kivas, Horsecollar Ruin. They were amazing, even though I could only see them from a distance.
Then we drove through Capitol Reef. We stopped at the visitor center, and we were going to eat a picnic lunch, but it was too windy. We didn't do anything else, but Capitol Reef is my favorite of Utah's national parks. It has the spectacular sedimentary rocks that the others have, but I also love the petroglyphs and the fruit orchards.
- Capitol Reef
- Zion
- Bryce Canyon
- Arches
- Canyonlands
On our way home, I wanted to eat at Sunglow Family Restaurant in Bicknell, because as far back as high school I heard they served a pickle pie. It was my half-birthday, which meant that I could eat non-seasonal things without breaking my rules. So we got a sampler of four pies: pinto bean, buttermilk, oatmeal, and pickle.
It really is great to go out and live an interesting, fulfilling life, rather than just a digital one.
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| "Nature is nice, but I wish I could take a quiz to find out what kind of donut I am." |
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