My Fifth National Park in Utah

After hiking in Bryce Canyon, I decided to drive down to Zion National Park for the night since Zion is much lower in elevation and thus much warmer (a big plus when you live in a tent!).  I had the pleasure of driving through a good portion of Zion at sunset!  I was struck, yet again, by how the setting sun makes the already spectacularly gorgeous scenery of southern Utah even more striking.  I was also stunned to see how different the scenery of Zion was from Bryce Canyon even though the parks are only about 80 miles away from each other.  This is a phenomenon that really astounds me.  Southern Utah has five national parks that are all essentially lined up next to each along the bottom of the state.  It seems hard to believe that there are five separate spots in such rapid succession that are both magnificent enough on their own to be worthy of being set aside as a national park and remarkably different from the other parks nearby to warrant being a separate park.  While this is hard to fathom before you see it for yourself, let me assure you that all these parks are both stunning on their own and easily distinguishable from the other parks!  From my experience, Utah is the most stunningly beautiful and diverse state in the country!  It is truly spectacular!

After a most enjoyable (and warm) night of camping next to the river and getting a tip from a ranger, I headed to the Angel’s Landing trail head.  The trail starts off with a relaxing stroll along the river.  After a short while and a few twists and turns, the trail takes you up to and along a ledge of a canyon.  I especially enjoyed the textured rock along the trail in this section.  (If my travels have taught me anything, it is that I really enjoy rocks and the many diverse forms they come in!)  After this section, the trail becomes a series of steep switchbacks (which must have been a challenge to build).  After the switchbacks, the trail emerges on a ridge of rock with a great view of the canyon and river below!

 The next section of the trail that leads to Angel’s Landing is extremely steep and requires holding onto and pulling yourself up chains during some sections.  There are signs all over warning people that if they have even a hint of a fear of heights they should not continue.  I heard a few people hemming and hawing about whether they wanted to continue.  I kept thinking, “What are you waiting for?!?!  This is going to be incredible!!!”  Then I realized that given the same group of people and the prospect of going snorkeling, they would probably waste no time in strapping on the gear and jumping in the water, while I stood on the beach debating if the reward of the experience would be worth having to see the terrifying creatures I was sharing the water with.  After that realization, I was very glad that I have fallen in love with deserts, mountains, and canyons, where I will very seldom have to face my very bizarre, yet real fear of fish!  But I digress.   I continued up the trail that wound itself along (at times, the very edge) of a chunk of rock.  After snaking my way to the top, I had a wonderful view made all the better by the rush of endorphins produced by the semi-treacherous hike up!   The fantastic 360 degree view of the canyon gave me a chance to assess and enjoy the type of beauty that Zion has to offer.  From my assessment, Zion seems to be the most “traditionally” naturally beautiful.  What I mean by that is, that while there are tons of spots in the park that take your breath away, what you see doesn’t make you question if what you are seeing is real (like a gigantic and delicate free standing arch or a strange hoodoo does).

After hiking back down from Angel’s Landing, I headed to the tail along the Virgin River.  The trail leads you to the jumping off point to hike the Narrows (a “trail” that consists of hiking in the river through the slot canyon!).  It was too cold to hike the Narrows without a wetsuit, so I didn’t pursue that option (but I will in the future!!! . . .how amazing does that experience sound!?!?), but I very much enjoyed strolling along the river and peering as far as I could into the slot canyon from the safety of the beach.  Canyons of all types have captured my heart, imagination, and sense of adventure lately.  I must say though, there is something especially intriguing about slot canyons!  The idea that it’s such a narrow space that it just looks like a slit in the earth from the top and the only way to see the spectacular beauty held within that crack is to hike into and through it is extremely captivating to me!

After having a snack on a rock in the river and dreaming about the journey along the narrow canyon, I headed to the Emerald Pools.  I hiked a fairly short and easy loop trail to see a couple of the pools.  The pools are little ponds of water that are created by the springs and run off from snow and rain at higher elevations.  The small waterfalls that supply the pools with their water were as beautiful as the small, green ponds were.  They were extremely peaceful spots!  The sound of running/moving water is always relaxing, and the experience in just that much more intense when you get to hear and witness that phenomenon when you are in the desert! 

While I had plans to do more adventuring in Zion, I woke up to a tent covered in frost and snow and a storm that was still going strong at higher elevation (where I wanted to my adventuring), so I decided to move on, but made a mental note that I had lots more to explore in Zion!     

Utah Just Keeps Getting More Amazing!!!

After my Moab farming adventure ended, I headed out to explore the rest of southern Utah.  I drove through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  It is rugged, wild and stunning!  It was one of last places in the continental United Sates to be mapped and the vast majority remains remote and undeveloped.  (I would very much like to explore the canyons in this area and see the stunning beauty hidden in the cracks in the earth!  That being said, I’m hoping the next good friend I make has extensive canyoneering skills. . .should you know someone with these skills, send them my way!)

I continued on to Bryce Canyon National Park.  I got some quick advice about good hikes at the visitor center, then headed straight for the trails.  Just when I thought that Utah couldn’t get any more fantastically beautiful, I started hiking past the bright orange hoodoos of Bryce Canyon!  These rock formations are unlike any others I have seen.  They tend to be thin and stick straight up towards the sky. Unlike the rock formations in the Needles section of Canyonlands, these rock pinnacles seem to be a more sculptured.  It’s easy to look at the hoodoos and see forms that are familiar (just as you can gaze at clouds and see dogs or ice cream sundaes).  In fact, there is one section called the Queen’s Garden.  It looks so much like a magical palace and surrounding courtyard, that there was really no need to build Disneyland!   Just add a costumed Cinderella and the effect would be complete! 

I hiked a figure eight shaped loop through the canyon.  It was fantastic to get to start out above the hoodoos, hike down through them, walk along the canyon floor with them towering over me, and getting up  on a ridge that allowed an up close view of some and a bird’s eye view of others.  I was amazed by just how varied the rock formations were in the relatively small area that I covered!  The hoodoos at the beginning of the hike were bright orange, the formations in the Queen’s Garden had a lot of light pink and white, and windows section had a combination of white and orange.  I had the added bonus of getting to see many of these formations frosted with a layer of snow!  That fact made for some interesting hiking though.  Since I got there at the transition between winter and spring, the snow was in the process of melting, but had not completely melted yet.  This meant that half of the hike was spent hiking in a very wet mud that was the consistency of pudding and the other half hiking through snow that occasionally gave away beneath me and plugged me kneed deep into snow.  It certainly made an already captivating hike all that much more interesting!    

Bidding Farewell to Moab

On my last day of adventuring in Moab, I decided to go back to the Hidden Valley trail and take it all the way to the Moab Rim trail.  The first stretch of the trail goes straight up.  Then, it levels off and opens up to a “valley”.  At the far end of the valley part, the trail opens up to a fantastic view of mesas on three sides of you!  It was a particularly gorgeous day, so I found a perfect ledge and sprawled out to enjoy the view for a while.    

After my rest hour, I continued on the trail to the rim of the valley.  The view was amazing!  I was surprised by how populated Moab appeared from above!  While a population of 5,000 doesn’t sound or feel like a lot of people, when you get a bird’s eye view of the evidence of 5,000 humans all crowded together in a relatively close space, it suddenly seems like a huge population.   This is especially true when the majority of the rest of the landscape around you is almost entirely devoid of human inhabitants!  After getting over the shock of just how bustling this lovely little town is, I took quite a while to relax and gaze at the town and the astonishingly magnificent vistas surrounding it.  It was the perfect way to say farewell to Moab.

When I was finished hiking, I had some extra time before I needed to be back on the farm, so I decided to drive on the road that follows the Colorado River.  I had been down a portion of the road before to get to a trail head, but this time, the drive was the whole event, so I was able to truly enjoy just how amazingly beautiful the sights were!  I continued to drive up into the mountains for a while (until I was passed by five enormous snow moving machines, which I took as an indication that my little car probably would fair too well, if I continued too much further).  There is just something about the combination of mountains, rivers, and strikingly strange rock formations that is totally magical to me!  As I worked my way back towards town, I stopped to stroll next to the Colorado River, which really is a remarkably beautiful and powerful river!  I took a moment to wade the frigid water for a bit, and then I headed back to the farm to prepare for my next adventures.     

A Last Few "To Dos" at Arches

Hiking in the
Devils Garden 

I decided to go to Arches to hike the entire Devils Garden Loop Trail.  I followed the main part of the trail to Dark Angel, which I hadn’t made it to before.  It is easy to see how the large, dark, rock pinnacle, that’s off by itself, got that name!  Then, I continued along the primitive trail.  This section of the hike was particularly enjoyable!  You hike down among some of the rock formations you see from the rock fin that you hike on during the first half of the journey.  I love being down among and surrounded by the rock formations because it gives me a chance to be more aware of the massive scale of the rock formations!  So beautiful and unusual! 

Dark Angel 

After hiking in the Devils Garden, I headed to the Delicate Arch trail head.  Delicate Arch is the arch that appears on most signs and even on the Utah license plate.  It’s particularly beautiful at sunset, when it glows and brilliant orange color.  I hiked the trail when I was here in September, and remembered it being moderately difficult, so I gave myself a generous amount of time to cover the trail before sunset.  Well, I guess all the hiking I’m doing these days has gotten in shape because this time, the trail seemed like a walk in the park and took almost no time at all!  That being said, the impact of rounding the corner and being confronted with an enormous arch that is perched right on the edge of a canyon was no less extraordinary than it was in the fall!  As with all the trails and overlooks this time of year, there weren’t a tremendous amount of people at the arch, so I had a chance to spend some time next to and under the arch, which was a treat!  I found a fairly sheltered spot to relax while I gazed at the wildly impressive sight before me and waited for the sun to work its magic. 

Hiking on the primitive trail 

Delicate Arch
as viewed through
Frame Arch

Any arch is impressive in its own right, but Delicate Arch truly outstanding!  It’s larger than you can possibly imagine.  The fact that it’s freestanding and perched right on the edge of a canyon makes it even more amazing.  Then there’s the fact that one portion of the arch is balanced precariously on a small point that is eroding away.  As you sit and really look at the arch, it becomes clear that there are cracks all over the arch, which makes the magnificent sight seem even more precarious and remarkable.  Just when you think there’s so way it can get any cooler, the sun starts sinking in the west, and the entire landscape starts to glow!  There are no words or pictures that can truly do it justice!  It’s totally marvelous!    

Delicate Arch!

    

Mill Creek

Sarah, Pete and I decided to hike along Mill Creek.  Chris had recommended this hike to us, so we were excited to see what he had been talking about.  We hiked along the creek, crossing it several times.  As we got farther down the path, the area opened up to a larger, grassy area with fantastic views of both the creek and canyon walls in the distance.  We kept going until we got to a point where the creek meanders its way through smaller spaces between larger expanses of slickrock.  It is a particularly beautiful section of the creek!  We decided to take a break there to enjoy the spectacular beauty.  Just as we were getting ready to settle into a spot on the creek, we saw some petroglyphs on a rock not too far away.  We went to investigate and found a rather stunning display of rock art!   

Skiing, Dwellings, and Bridges

Durango Mountain

After farming on Saturday, I headed over to Durango to meet my Uncle.  We had most delicious dinner and saw some live music.  Then, the next morning, we headed up to Durango Mountain to go skiing.  It was a ton of fun!  We found this fairly long and steep run that, at the beginning of the day was mildly terrifying, but by the end of the day was a blast!  We also had an adventure when we took a wrong turn and found ourselves having to ski through a little section of moguls with a fair amount of straw-like grass sticking up through them.  The whole day was a blast, and full of breathtaking views of the mountains! 

Hovenweep National
Monument 

The next morning, we decided not to go back because the wind was really strong and it was supposed to snow.  Instead, we went and got breakfast in town.  The waitress did not approve when I ordered two pancakes.  She tried to warn me against it, but seeing as I’ve been talked out of ordering a given amount of food in the past and then ended up stilling being hungry at the end of the meal, I went with my original order.  As it turned out, my newfound ability to eat enough for a small nation made short work of those pancakes! 

Hovenweep National 
Monument 

After our ten pounds of pancakes, my uncle and I parted ways.  I headed to the Colorado-Utah border to see Hovenweep National Monument.  The monument contains the remains of several Ancestral Puebloan dwellings.  Most of the buildings were built between 1230 and 1275.  The buildings are round, square, and “D” shaped.  Unlike Mesa Verde, these structures are not built into a cliff.  They are freestanding structures.  Most of the buildings are on the rim of the canyon, but a few of them were in the can shaped.  Unlike Mesa Verde, these structures are not built into a cliff.  They are freestanding structures.  Most of the buildings are on the rim of the canyon, but a few of them were in the canyon.  They are beautiful, well-constructed buildings in gorgeous setting.  It’s amazing to set to stroll through an environment so full of history and mystery!  It is so powerful to get to see ancient structures in their natural environment rather than in a museum! 

After leaving Hovenweep, I headed to Natural Bridges National Monument.  This was the first national park area in Utah.  The monument has three natural bridges.  From my understanding, natural bridges are a type of arch (it’s similar to the concept that all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares).  Natural arches are usually formed by a river that erodes away hollow part of the bridge.  They also tend to be a lot more symmetrical than arches.  The monument is fairly small and easily viewed by stopping at the several overlooks along the scenic road.  The bridges are situated in a gorgeous canyon that was made even more striking by the stormy skies.  I stopped to take a short hike to see the Horse Collar Ruins, which has two sections of structures built into an alcove in the canyon wall.  I continued along the road, stopping to gaze at the bridges and the canyon.  I decided to take the very short hike down to see Owachomo Bridge.  It is extremely large and impressive!  It’s the oldest and most well-developed of the bridges in the park.  While it was quick stop, I’m certainly glad I got the chance to see these bridges!        

Natural Bridges
 National Monument 

Natural Bridges
 National Monument 

Peas and Spinach

compost

My second full day of farming in Moab was totally beautiful!  I could really get used to February days being so sunny and warm!  We started the day by building a new compost pile.  Once we got into the rhythm of it, it was rather enjoyable.  Our next task was to get a row in the field ready to plant in.    First, we spread out two carloads of compost on top of the soil.  Then, Chris came and tiled the row.  Our next step was to spread out some fertilizer, then mix it into the soil with rakes.  After we raked the row fairly flat, we took this large roller with a handle and squished the dirt down with it.  Then, after marking where each row would be, we were ready to plant!  We planted two rows of spinach and two rows of peas (with three types of peas in each pea row).  After planting, we got the watering mechanisms set up.  Then, we put a bunch of metal hoops along the row and covered it with a piece of cloth to protect the row from the low night temperatures.  It was really fun to get to be part of the process of going from having a section of field that is not ready to be planted on to the point when it has four rows of seeds in it!  

An overwintered row of spinach