Ten Reasons to Visit Southern Utah in 2018

Southern Utah is one of the most beautiful places in the world.   Southern Utah is home to five National Parks along with multiple National Monuments and State Parks.   Here are ten reasons to go visit Southern Utah in 2018.

#1:  Arches – Utah has the greatest concentration of arches in the world. It even has a National Park named after Arches.

#2:  Hoodoos – Hoodoos are skinny spires of rock. You can see a bunch of them at Bryce Canyon.

#3:  Canyons – Canyons are beautiful. Canyoneering through them is great fun. The Narrows in Zion National Park is a great one to start with.

#4:  Hiking – There are thousands of miles of trails in southern Utah through the desert, canyons, and mountains. Angels Landing in Zion National Park is recognized as one of the most thrilling in the country.

#5:  Stargazing – The dark skies of southern Utah are perfect for seeing the Milky Way.

#6:  Riding the Rocks – Whether rock crawling in a Jeep or biking on the slick rock around Moab, you can get your adrenaline rush in southern Utah.

#7:  Exploring History — Canyonlands National Park is a great place to see Dinosaur Fossils and Petroglyphs.

#8:  Lake Powell – Boating through the lake to see remote arches and flooded canyons is a ton of fun.

#9:  Orchards – The orchards of Capitol Reef National Park have 3100 trees of dozens of varieties. It’s free to pick and eat as well!

#10:  Backcountry camping – Some parts of Canyonlands National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument are days away from civilization. It’s a great place to get away from civilization.

rk

Star Pictures

I have been lucky enough to see the Milky Way on multiple occasions in the last couple years. The first time I saw was in Arches National Park and I could have stared at the sky all night long, watching the stars rise higher as the night got later and getting excited at the occasional shooting star. I feel the same way every time I see it again and recently I’ve been trying to get some pictures of the stars. In September (on my birthday actually) I got some decent pictures in Big Bend National Park. Some of them are a little blurry but you can see the stars pretty well! I hope to improve my night sky photography and will keep posting pictures on here if I get any good ones!

Thanks! – Josh

The Seven Natural Wonders of the Continental United States

Everyone has heard of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, right?   I thought it would be interesting to look at the Seven Natural Wonders of the United States.   Since I haven’t made it to Alaska or Hawaii yet, I will narrow this down to the Seven Natural Wonders of the Continental United States.  Each of these places is magnificent and has been protected by our National Park System

• Crater Lake – Crater Lake, located in Oregon, is the deepest lake in the United States with a depth of 1949 feet.  When measured by average depth, Crater Lake is the deepest in this hemisphere and 3rd deepest in the world.  Crater Lake was formed when a volcanic caldera filled with water over hundreds of years.  This lake is also known for its extreme water clarity.

Crater Lake (photo credit to guest photographer and friend, Katie)

• The Everglades –  The Everglades are the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.  Covering 1.5 million acres in southern Florida, this area is also known as a river of grass.  The Everglades used to consist of over 3 million acres before much of the area was drained for farmland in the early 1900’s.   This area is home to alligators, manatees, and the Florida Panther.

• The Giant Sequoias and Redwoods – These enormous trees in California are the tallest and largest trees in the world.  These two species are closely related.  The Redwoods can reach heights of 375 feet and diameters of 25 feet.  The Giant Sequoias can reach heights of 275 feet and diameters of 30 feet.  These trees truely must be seen to be believed.

Redwood trees in Muir Woods 15 minutes north of San Francisco

• The Geothermal Features of Yellowstone – Located in northwest Wyoming, Yellowstone is an unearthly place.  The first explorers of the area brought back tales of exploding geysers, colorful pools of hot and poisonous water, and boiling mud that were not believed.  We now know that this area sits upon a super volcano that will one day destroy much of North America when it erupts again.  In the meantime, it is a beautiful and mesmerizing place to visit.

Hot spring in Yellowstone National Park

• Death Valley – The commonly held image of Death Valley is of a swelteringly hot wasteland.  While it is true summer temps here can top out at 130*F, there is a lot to be amazed at here.  Badwater Basin in the center of the park is a giant salt flat and at 282 feet below sea level is the lowest point in North America.  Telescope Peak rises directly behind Badwater Basin to a height of 11043 feet.  The only population of the rarest fish in the world exists in Death Valley.  There are less than 200 Devil’s Hole Pupfish left.

Badwater Basin in Death Valley

• The Arches of Utah – The highest concentration of rock arches in the world is in Utah.  Arches National Park has over 2000 arches alone with thousands more spread out across southern Utah.  Landscape Arch spans 290 feet.  Rainbow Bridge boasts a height of 290 feet.  Delicate Arch is arguably the most famous in the world.

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park

• The Grand Canyon – The Grand Canyon is the only member of this list that is also one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.  It is located in northern Arizona and was carved over a millennia by the Colorado River.  The Grand Canyon has a length of 277 miles, width up to 18 miles and a depth of  6093 feet.  To appreciate the Grand Canyon in all of it’s glory you will want to hike or mule down to the Colorado River.

Sunrise at Mather Point in the Grand Canyon

rk

Sunday Hikes: Natural Bridge Trail (Yellowstone)

If you are looking for a secluded and unique hike Yellowstone National Park, look no further than the Natural Bridge Trail. The trailhead is located just south of the Bridge Bay Campground on the Grand Loop Road with another trailhead leaving from the campground. 

We were camping at Bridge Bay so we hiked the 2.8 mile round trip trail one afternoon right after we had dinner. The trail is mostly flat and takes you through the trees for .7 miles where the tree cover helps the winter snow not melt well into summer. After that the trail met up with an old service road that we followed most of the way there. The trail forks with the service road going to the left and the trail going right and in between was a small pond. There were some ducks floating around on the water and a huge porcupine drinking on the edge. We tried our best to get a good picture but once it realized we were there it took off with quills ready to fire. I don’t think I had seen a porcupine before this one so I’m not sure if they are all giant but this one was larger than a toddler.

 Maybe 50ft after the fork in the trail we reached the natural bridge. It was quite impressive with a water falling flowing through it and it something we had seen anywhere else in the park. 

There was a very cool but somewhat old sign that humbly compared this arch to two of Utah’s largest arches (Rainbow and Landscape). 

The trail continues to the top of the bridge and gives you the only part of the trail that isn’t flat. At the top you could easily stand on top of the natural bridge (but you really should not because it will likely break). There is also what looked like the remains of a stone bridge over the creek to go look at the other side but it appeared to have washed away at some point. 

After taking some pictures and enjoying the solitude of the trail (we had seen nobody else there) we hiked back and kept an eye out for our porcupine friend. Much of this trail seemed somewhat rundown and dilapidated as if it had once been a very popular attraction but fell into obscurity. We really enjoyed this hike and was one of the few we got to do in our short time in Yellowstone. Whenever I get to return to Yellowstone I will probably be hiking this trail again! 

Thanks! – Josh

Sunday Hikes: Natural Bridge Trail

Between Badwater Basin and the Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley national park there is a short gravel road that will take you up to the Natural Bridge Trailhead. A short one mile trail that can be extended a half mile on the end to wander up the canyon a little more. We parked our rental car at the trailhead, grabbed our water and snacks and headed up the trail. Just like everything leaving from Badwater Basin, the trail takes you up pretty much the whole time but at a very slight angle. The trail had once been paved but little remains of the path due to a flash flood at some point in history. The trail is all gravel and at some of the steeper points a little harder to make your way up but it’s still a very easy trail. Probably .75miles in you will reach the trail’s namesake feature: the Natural Bridge.

Looking plucked straight out of southern Utah, the hefty chunk of rock reaches from one end of the canyon to the other. We were quite impressed by the arch as we passed under it like a gateway to the rest of the canyon. After the Natural Bridge the canyon has a large rounded area where Anya and I sat down to eat our apricot clif bars (the best flavor ever). While we snacked, Dad checked out a nook in the rocks that seemed perfectly round and you could store a giant pencil in it if you had one. After that we met a very friendly couple from Sacramento that had done much of the same road trips as us and had even visited the little train museum by our house. After chatting we carried on to the end of the trail where there had once been a waterfall but was now a slick rock slide. We climbed up it and scrambled around the canyon for a little more before heading back to the car. Dad tested the former waterfall’s slideability and we figured out it worked a little too well! We were back at the car in no time thanks to the trail’s short length and ready to explore the rest of the park. If you’re in Death Valley for a short time or for a long trip make sure to check out the Natural Bridge trail! Also bring water along with you even though it is a short hike because Death Valley has that name for a reason!

Badwater Basin (-279fasl) and Telescope Peak (11,043fasl) from the trailhead. 

Thanks for reading! – Josh

A Day in Arches National Park

Arches National Park is not one of those massive National Parks like Yellowstone where it is impossible to do everything in a weeklong trip.   In fact, the majority of Arches NP can be done in a single day if you plan right and pack plenty of water and food.   You are going to want to stay in nearby Moab.   It is a cool town with everything you need and more.

Tower of Babel and Sheep Rock

You will need to get up early and beat the lines into the park (which in summer can get lengthy).   In fact, when we went thru around 6am the gates were just open with no one in the toll booths checking to see our Park Pass.   You should be able to pick up a park map here, otherwise grab one from the boxes outside the Visitors Center.  I would recommend driving straight through to the back of the park and park at the Devils Garden Trailhead.   This is about an 18 mile drive.   Here you can take the 7.2 mile Primitive Trail and see a bunch of arches including famous Landscape Arch, as well as Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Double O Arch, Private Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch and Skyline Arch.   There are also smaller unnamed arches through this area.   This trail is somewhat primitive (hence the name) after passing Landscape.   It can sometimes be confusing where the trail is so make sure it is daylight when you start this trail.   It will take approximately 3 hours to complete this trail depending on your pace.   This is the longest hike of the day, but definitely one of my favorites.   You can read more about it here:  https://bighorntravelblog.com/2017/01/01/sunday-hikes-the-devils-garden-primitive-trail/

Landscape Arch

Before leaving this section of the park, there is another quick trail called the Broken Arch Loop.   It will take you by Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch.    If you drive over and park near the Sand Dune Arch you can have a picnic lunch there and then quickly see the two arches on this trail and then return without doing the entire 2 mile loop.

Sand Dune Arch

Broken Arch

From here drive part way back towards the front of the park.   Park and take a quick look at the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint.   This area of narrow canyons requires a permit and/or a ranger guide.   Check it out and then make plans like I did to come back another time to do this section of the park.   It’s a cool overlook so it is worth the quick stop.

Hop back in the car and take the turnout to Wolfe Ranch and Delicate Arch.   The trail to Delicate Arch is 3 miles round trip and is a real fun hike with elevation changes and a ledge with a good drop near the turnaround point.  Once you get to Delicate Arch, plan to spend some time in this area to take pictures.   There is often a line of folks waiting for their turn to get their picture made with Delicate Arch.   Delicate Arch is much bigger than you think and it is astonishing to see how it defies gravity.   Don’t skip this trail as this is in my opinion the most spectacular Arch in the park.

Delicate Arch

Once you get back to your car, drive back up to the front of the park and take the turnoff towards the Windows section of the park.   By this time, you may be getting tired of hiking so you will be glad to see that all the arches in this section are right by the parking lot.   Short loop trails will take you to Cove Arch, Double Arch, Turret Arch, and the famous North and South Window Arches.

North and South Windows Arches

From Windows, head up to the park entrance and park near the Park Avenue Viewpoint.   There is a one mile trail where you can see the Courthouse Towers area up close and personal.    By this time it is probably getting to be late afternoon.   If you have 4 wheel drive, consider spending the rest of the afternoon driving the unpaved road to the Klondike Bluffs area.   There are some short hikes in that area to see Tower Arch and others.   Just going 4 wheeling is probably enough of a reason to take this loop.   If not, head back to town for dinner and to get cleaned up and then head back to the park after dark to see the stars.   There is great stargazing throughout the park and if you happen to be there during a new moon prepare yourself to be amazed at the stars in the night sky.   I hope this itinerary was helpful and you enjoy Arches as much as I did.  rk

Balanced Rock at Night

Sunday Hikes: The Devils Garden Primitive Trail

My favorite hike in Arches National Park is the Devils Garden Primitive Trail.   Last July I hiked this with Josh in the middle of the day.   It was pretty hot and although we had brought water, we probably should have carried more.

Landscape Arch

The trail is at the far end of Arches from the entrance.   This hike is a great way to see a bunch of arches up close and without having to deal with the crowds you see at The Windows or Delicate Arch.   It is a 7.2 mile loop with multiple spurs that starts at the Devils Garden Trailhead.   The first part of the trail is paved and you quickly traverse about a mile and a half to the iconic Landscape Arch.   Most folks turn back there so it gets lonely from here on out.   After climbing up a rock scramble the path becomes not as well marked.   There is a lot of traversing sandstone and climbing on ledges.   We passed Partition Arch and then took the spur to the left and quickly came to Navajo Arch.   This arch was cool because you could go through it and take pictures from either side.  We went back to the main loop and took a picture of an unnamed rock formation that looked to me like a UFO.   I hereby named it UFO Rock and took a picture of the formation for posterity.

Navajo Arch

UFO Rock

We continued down the trail until we came to Double O Arch.   It was very dry and sandy by this point.  Double O was really cool because it was one arch on top of the other, kinda like a figure 8.   After checking it out for a moment, we continued on skipping the spur to Dark Angel due to the water concerns.   We thought we could Dark Angel in the distance but were not sure.

Double O Arch

We then commenced to the most fun part of the hike which was the Primitive Trail portion.   This area was not marked well at all and several times it was just a cairn in the distance that kept us from wandering lost into the scrub and canyons.  However, jumping from sandstone to sandstone or sliding down a slickrock to get to the next one was a highlight of the day.  We did take the spur to see Private Arch and then finished the loop around back to Landscape.   On the way in, we hit took the paved spur to see Pine Tree and Tower Arches.   We were able to complete the 7.2 mile trail in about 2.5 hours so we were moving at a pretty good clip.

Pine Tree Arch (from the backside)

I highly recommend taking time to do this trail when visiting Arches.   It is a rare place in this park to have some solitude and see the backcountry a little bit.   It’s probably better to do the hike in the morning rather than the middle of the day due to the heat and sun in the summertime.

rk

The Best Bargain in Travel

The best bargain in travel is the United States National Park Pass.   The cost is negligible really.   We purchased an annual family Interagency National Park Pass last June for $80.   If you are a senior, it is only $10 for a lifetime pass and the US Military get in free always.

Having the National Park Pass gets you into all National Parks, Monuments, and Federal Recreation sites at no additional cost with no limitations on visits.   Before I had the National Park Pass I had been to 6 National Parks in 43 years.   Since June, I have been to 9 National Parks with 7 of them new.   In addition, my adult children have used the pass to visit 3 other National Parks and between all of us have scheduled trips this winter and spring to at least 7 more.   The National Parks are spread all over the country so while some of our trips have been based around the Parks, others have been because we have been in the area.   Work trip to New Hampshire, then drive up to Acadia in Maine.   Weekend getaway to Seattle, lets squeeze in Mt Ranier etc.

The United States National Park system represents all that is great about America.   To quote writer and historian, Wallace Stegner, national parks are “the best idea we ever had.  Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”   The National Park system preserves the most beautiful, special, and culturally important places in our country.   To visit them widens your view of the world and fills you with awe to the beauty created by God.

Parks visited so far this year by our family include Acadia NP, Congaree NP, Cuyahoga NP, Zion NP, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Grand Canyon NP, Saguaro NP, Mt Ranier NP, Olympic NP, Shenandoah NP, and the Great Smoky Mountains NP.    Scheduled trips over the next six months include Joshua Tree NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP, Badlands NP, Big Bend NP, Guadalupe NP, and Carlsbad Caverns NP.   I’m sure we will sneak in a few more as well!

rk

Picture of the Day – Delicate Arch

I took this picture last summer at Arches NP in Utah.   Arches is beautiful and a bucket list destination for sure.   I liked this picture because it shows the Arch from a different perspective than what you usually see in magazines or on the internet.  You can really see the size of the Delicate Arch as well as the huge drop off behind it.

rk

 

Sunday Hikes: Corona Arch

It was 8 o’clock in the afternoon in beautiful Moab, Utah. We had spent the whole day hiking at Arches National Park but we hadn’t seen enough arches for one day! So we decided to go to Corona Arch, recommended to us by my sister’s friend. We had dinner and asked our waitress about the hike and she warned it is a difficult trail to follow but we figured it couldn’t be too hard to find a sixty foot arch in the middle of the desert. We pulled off the road that ran parallel to the Colorado River and into a gravel parking lot. The trail started off by going up a steepish hill and then across some rail road tracks with fences around it (presumably to keep bighorn sheep from getting hit by trains or to keep outlaws from tying people to the tracks for Roy Rogers to rescue). After the tracks the trail continues to walk along a small ridge overlooking the parking lot and the river but then takes a turn to the right and then hits a big step up and thats where the trail turns into looking for wear on the rock and keeping an eye out for cairns rather than just following the trail. At this point my sister and I were a good bit ahead of my dad and our two younger siblings, but instead of waiting around for the slow pokes we kept on trying to follow the trail. Pretty quickly you are at a large open area with no sights of the arch and we were somewhat confused about where to go until we heard people speaking french coming from the left of us so we went that-a ways. we turned a corner and ran into a nice french family that were on the way back. Just after we passed them we spotted approximately 12 billion cairns all together having some sort of party. We were so fascinated by the rocks that we didn’t even realize that we were in eyeshot of Corona Arch! When we spotted the arch we headed that way till we came to some chains and a ladder going up small inclines (a small taste of the ropes we would be holding onto with white knuckles a couple days later on Angel’s Landing). We followed the trail in a horseshoe pattern and then looked up to see Bowtie Arch just before Corona and were surprised that we didn’t know there were two arches on this hike. Corona is the much more impressive of the two however so we moved on. Pretty soon we were under the arch looking out across the way where we could see our small ant-sized family approaching the ropes and ladders. We went around the corner to stand on the edge of the cliff on the other side of the arch and to look out at the beautiful view of Corona arch with a storm going the other way in the distance. Standing on the edge of a cliff is a scary thing but it gets all the more terrifying when the storm you thought was going the other way violently hits you with sand and winds that blow you off your feet. Well thats what happened to my sister and I as we stood put taking in the view and waiting on our family. We began to crawl away from the edge and back towards the arches as the wind tried to blind us with sand and rip my glasses from my face. Eventually we got away from the edge and tried our best to run back to the car without tripping over cactus, rocks, and our own feet. Once we got back to where the trail is a real trail it had begun raining hard on our unprepared heads and we had seen no signs of our family yet. As we turned the corner we saw them hiding under a rock sticking out of the cliff waiting for us (Because I had the car keys). As we met up with our family my dad proceeded to whisper in my ear that the storm had literally scared the crap out of my younger brother. We ran back to the car and out of the rain (which stopped as soon as we got into the car). After that is was a nice drive back to the hotel to clean up and then go to Arches National Park to stare at the Milky Way for hours. Overall I’d say it was a great day and a great hike despite the sand in my eyes and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

-Josh