A Grand Time in the Grand Tetons!

Flaming Gorge

After leaving Rocky Mountain National Park I headed north towards Wyoming.  Then I proceeded to drive across almost the entire southern part of the state.  It was a beautiful drive!  The landscape was a combination of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling plains of Oklahoma, and the beautiful dessert rock formations of Utah.  I decided that it was about time for a shower, so I check into a hotel with plans to go explore Flaming Gorge after procuring a room.  However, I was struck by the splendid comfort and of being inside with so many modern conveniences, so I skipped adventuring for the evening and savored the luxuries for the evening.    

The path into the mountains!

The next morning, I drove around Flaming Gorge. . .it’s quite ruggedly beautiful!  Then I proceeded to weave my way through Wyoming, Utah, and the very edge of Idaho as I made my way towards Grand Teton National Park.  After driving through a little corner of the park, I found my way to the visitor center.  I am pleased to report that the atmosphere of Grand Teton Nation Park is similar to that of the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park.  The rangers are more than happy to give you tips as to where to explore and recommend hikes, and then, they turn you loose to go adventures on your own and at your own risk.  Then, you get to go explore the fabulously beautiful wilderness teaming with wild animals at your own pace!    

Holly Lake
(site of my campsite in
the back country)

My first adventure was a two day, one night, backpacking loop.  The first day, I hiked a little over eight miles up to a serene mountain lake.  The lake was totally still and calm except for a few ripples when the wind stirred, this amazing stillness allowed the water to reflect the rugged and strikingly tall mountains all around it! Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Of course they’re tall. . .they’re mountains!”  But, unless you’ve seen them you don’t understand.  The Rockies are amazingly tall too, but you don’t really get a chance to see or comprehend just how tall they are because they are totally surrounded by other mountains (after all, even the foot hills are really foot mountains).  At the Grand Teton, however, the mountains and the foot hills are spread out, and the space between them is fairly low and flat.  As a result, you get a chance to see mountains shooting straight up from the ground!  This allows you to see and attempt to understand just how huge and impressive a mountain really is!

My very large friend!

 After setting up in a spot with an incredible view of the mountains and securing the rest of my gear in the bear locker, I headed for a large rock situated on shore of the lake.  I sprawled out on said rock and proceeded to alternate between gazing at the incomprehensible beauty all around me and dozing.  After dinner, I got into my tent to read for a while when I heard an unusual noise.  It kind of sounded like a cross between moaning and grunting.  I decided to check it out.  As soon as I rounded the corner, I saw a moose!  A huge, male, moose with gigantic antlers (and well, to be honest, gigantic everything!).  I stood there for a while and checked him out while he checked me out.  After he lost interest in me, he walked down to the lake and had a good drink.  He even scampered (almost running) along one side of the lake.  I don’t know how he pulled off that scampering. . .I’m not even sure how he pulled off the walking or staying upright and balanced for that matter!  Moose are tremendously top heavy creatures and when you throw those antlers into the mix, I don’t know how any of them can move at all on those long, skinny legs without tipping over! 

View of the mountains just
over Indian Paintbrush Divide 

The next morning I thought I heard my moose friend again.  After briefly surveying the scene and not seeing him, I continued to pack up my stuff.  I went back to my rock by the lake for breakfast.  As I was munching away, I looked out across the lake and saw the moose!  We enjoyed each other’s company for the remainder of breakfast, then we parted ways.

               

The next three miles of the journey were straight up!  I made slow but steady progress.  I was a little wary of crossing the first snowfield I got to.   The snow was very solid and rather slippery.  I was very careful to make sure I didn’t slip and slide down the steep snow bank, partly because it was rather dangerous would most likely have resulted in an injury of some kind, and partly because I had worked quite hard to climb up the mountain and didn’t relish the idea of having to do it again.  After making it safely across the snow and finding the path, I continued up and over the mountain.  That’s right. . .I  climbed up and OVER and mountain range through Indian Paintbrush Divide!  When I got over the ridge, I was greeted by the most beautiful canyon carpeted in an array of the most spectacular wildflowers I have ever seen!  They were brilliant blue, purple, yellow, white, and orange!  After zigzagging my way down the side of the mountain, I got to Lake Solitude, my favorite mountain lake so far.  It was another amazingly calm lake situated at the foot of the mountains.  It was totally surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers and had an especially magnificent view of the mountains at the other end of the canyon.  I found the perfect spot with a view of it all and had the most spectacularly perfect lunch hour of my life!  This was all complimented by the fact it was the most beautiful, sunny, 75 degree day ever with the bluest sky I have ever witnessed! 

Lake Solitude (a small preview of heaven)

After lunch, I continued hiking in the canyon for several hours.  There were wildflowers and bubbling streams and waterfalls along the entire length of the path!  Eventually, I got into the woods, then slowly worked my way out of the canyon and around to the other side of the mountains.  The other side of the mountains was awash in brilliant fall foliage.  There were bright orange, red, and yellow leaves everywhere!  It was as if they were showing off for the first full day of fall!  The tail end of the hike worked its way along the edge of Jenny Lake.  I must say, this was the most difficult and most enjoyable solo backpacking trip to date! 

Amphitheater Lake

The next day was my last day as a twenty-seven year old, so I decided to send twenty-seven out with style.  I hiked a slow five miles up the side of a mountain to Surprise Lake and Amphitheater Lake.  I was able to have another perfectly peaceful lunch hour by the banks of Surprise Lake.  It was another beautifully sunny day and I found a lovely rock with a backrest to lounge on while munching and marveling at my surroundings.  For dessert, I continued a short distance to Amphitheater Lake.  It was amazingly clear and still!  I found the world’s most perfect rock; it was shaped like a beanbag chair with indents that seemed as if they were designed exactly for my body!  I settled into a lovely reclined position and basked in the sun and the beauty for quite a while!  After a most enjoyable and gorgeous retreat down the mountain, I went to the campground near Jenny Lake and procured a spot for the evening.  Then, it was time for dinner.  I was due for a warm meal that someone else cooked, so I headed to Snake River Brewing Company.  Shortly after sitting down, a lady came and sat next to me. We started chatting immediately.  It was quite wonderful to have someone to chat with!  The only part of my trip that I don’t really love is eating alone.  For me, sharing a meal with someone makes it so much more enjoyable!  So, it was lovely to have a lovely human to interact and drink beer with until my food came!  After enjoying a totally delicious stout and pizza, I moved on with my life. 

Surprise Lake

While walking to my car, I realized that it would not be prudent of me to start driving anytime soon!  So, I chatted with two of my dear friends and watched the sun start to sink down over the mountains.  It’s so lovely to be able to hang out with my favorite people even when we’re several states and time zones away!  

View of the larger, lower lakes on my way down the mountain

Backpacking in the Rockies

After renting a bear canister, getting some dinner, and alerting my family that I would be immersed in the woods for the next three days, I went to find a campsite.  I found a site at the foot of Longs Peak, the tallest mountain in the park.  I set up my tent and settled in for the night.  It was extremely windy!  At one point, my tent tipped over, with me in it!  This made me a little concerned about how well I was going to do on my backpacking trip (but not enough to detour me from taking the trip of course!).  After finding the perfect way to angle my body across as much of the surface of the floor of the tent as possible, as a result it was a stable enough structure to allow me to get some rest. 

I got up early the next morning to get my gear packed into the backpack as compactly as possible.  Then, I headed to the trail head.  After pulling on my boots and strapping on my pack, I was off!  The first day didn’t require much mileage to get to the campground, so I took a detour around Bierstadt Lake.  I ate my lunch while gazing at the snowcapped mountains that were framed by some pine trees between me and the peaceful mountain lake.  There was a swift breeze coming off the lake that was both refreshing and frigid at the same time.  After a while, the frigid part gave me the motivation I needed to keep moving.  After walking around the perimeter of the lake, I headed up the trail to Miller Creek Basin.  My campsite was situated in a gorgeous mountain meadow!  I found the perfect perch on a fallen tree branch and soaked up the sun and the glorious tranquility of my private meadow in the middle of the Rockies for quite a while.  Then it was time to follow the signs to the privy.  When I got there, I found a compostable toilet (quite a cool concept) and a bin with woodchips to help with the composting process.  What I did not find were walls around said toilet.  I found the experience of going to the bathroom on a toilet while still totally exposed to nature, strangely enjoyable!  It was certainly the best view I’ve ever had while using the bathroom!

The next morning I hiked for a bit until I found the prefect rock with an outstanding view of Cub Lake, another idyllic mountain lake.  This one had a tremendous amount of lilly pads that formed a ring around the middle of the lake.  I met two extremely friendly hikers and chatted with them a bit.  As they left, they said they’d see me down the trail.  After a snack and some more hiking, I did in fact see them down the trail, and boy was I lucky I did!  The man saw me heading down the wrong trail (it seems as if this is a pattern on my solo backpacking trips).  He rushed to catch up to me and tell me of my mistake.  I’m so lucky he did otherwise I would have hiked 1.7 miles to the nearest parking lot and would have been 3.8 miles away from my campsite for the night.  What a kind gesture!  People tend to be so nice when they are in nature!  It’s as if the wilderness somehow brings out the civilized side of people! 

The next 2.1 miles were the miles I was most nervous about since I gained 1,130 feet of elevation during that stretch.  I guess I must be in better shape than I realized because it wasn’t terribly challenging.  Of course, it does help that I was distracted by magnificent waterfalls, and majestic mountains!  Before I knew it, I met a lady who asked me where I was headed and when I replied, “Fern Lake.” She replied, “You’re there.”  And, indeed, I was.  I set up camp in a lovely wooded nook, then took my significantly lighter backpack down to the lake.  I had a snack and boiled water for tea.  As I enjoyed my tea, I realized that there was a rock situated at the perfect angle for reclining.  Recline I did. For the next couple of hours!  It was glorious!  I was in a state somewhere between being alert and asleep.  It was the most relaxed a person can be and still be awake.  I watched the ripples in the water, the clouds moving by in the sky, the several birds flitting around until they found the perfect perch, and basked in the radiating warmth of the sun as it peaked out from the intermittent cloud cover.  After a while, I went back to camp.  There was a large rock by my site that was shaped rather like a couch!  I sprawled out on the rock sofa and read for another several hours.  When the sun had moved on to a different section of the park and my grumbling stomach became impossible to ignore, I went at least 200 feet away (bear safety) and found a great spot in the woods that was perfectly suited to become my kitchen/dining room for the evening.  There’s something so splendid about a day that both starts and ends in the wilderness without any interruption of civilization in between!      

The next morning, after a fairly steep climb, I got to yet another serene mountain lake.  This one was so clear I could see the fish swimming about!  I could also see the mountains reflected on the surface!  I plopped down to enjoy the moment.  Not long after I plopped, there appeared another hiker who plopped down right beside me and we started chatting away. . .nature sure does bring out the best in people!  It turns out he was a professor of psychology and social work!  I told him I was thinking about going back to school for social work and he proceeded to give me some tips as to good schools in the general region I was thinking about looking for programs!  Then, after a bit of hiking together, he said, “Enjoy your life kid.” and was off.  And let me tell you. . .I sure am enjoying my life of adventure! 

After hiking on random old trails (probably made by fishermen) by the stream that feeds into the lake, I realized that I needed to retrace my steps and find the main trail.  Although, it was an extremely lovely detour!  I continued to climb higher until I had an outstanding view of the mountains as well as the lake so far below!  At this point, I started seeing more day hikers.  I think many of them will go home and report, “No, we didn’t see any moose, but we did see this backpacker and she was all alone!”  It was funny. . .it really was as if they were sighting some kind of wild animal that they had heard of, but never seen, when they met me and confirmed that I had spent two nights in the backcountry.  Luckily, my backpack also attracted the interest/attention of a man who works in the information office for the park.  He told me to call him on a Sunday morning and he’d give me lots of insider tips for my next trip to the park.  He also turned out to be a retired psychologist and was very interested to talk about my potential switch to social work.  He assured me that Portland was the place where I should go to pursue this dream, so I guess I can’t finish my trip until I make it there!  After just a bit more hiking downhill, I was back in the parking lot.  I unloaded my backpack and freshened up in the visitor center bathroom. . .probably my most outstandingly homeless moment thus far!  Then it was time for my post backpacking trip ritual.  I found an all-you-can-eat situation and ate my body weight full of what they had to offer!

This particular all-you-can-eat affair was an inn situated in Rocky Mountain National Park (it must have been grandfathered in) that offered two types of soup, a salad bar, muffins, cornbread, honey wheat bread, and cubes of cheese.  I proceeded to eat three bowls of soup (one bowl of corn chowder and two of cowboy buffalo stew), two plates of salad, one slice of each kind of bread, a muffin, and several cubes of cheese!  It was all homemade and outstandingly delicious!  The experience was even better because I got to sit in the sun porch of that had a fabulous view of the Rockies! 

After stuffing as many totally delectable calories as I could into my stomach, I drove through the park on the outstandingly scenic Trail Ridge Road.  It didn't take long to get up to the section of the park that has an alpine tundra climate.  It was extraordinarily beautiful and cold!  It was snowing while I was hiking around!  There were odd and striking rock structures and view after breath-taking view of the snow covered mountains!  It was so harsh and majestic and beautiful!  As I drove down out of the mountains along the Colorado River, I had the good fortune of see several moose!  What large and odd looking, yet totally amazing creatures they are!                 

Floods, Fossils, and Friendliness!

A view from the road
in the mountains!

After leaving Great Sand Dunes National Park, I headed north through the mountains.  I think I have made a significant amount of Colorado drivers quite annoyed due to the fact that I tend to drive significantly under the speed limit partially due to the fact I’m sneaking glances at the astounding scenery all around me and partially because the tight curves through the mountains are fairly terrifying!  It started raining pretty hard by the time I got close to the parks I was aiming for, so I kept going to Colorado Springs.  I got some dinner and did some writing.  When I got back in my car, it was raining even harder.  I contemplated heading to a park anyway because it’s rather cozy to be all snuggled in my sleeping bag while listening to the rain on my tent, but in the end I opted for a hotel.  It was a good move since there was tons of significant flooding in the area and even a few flash floods! 

Garden of the Gods

The next day, it was still drizzling and extremely foggy!  I ran some errands to kill time and after I was finished, it was still foggy and drizzling.  I heard my dad’s words, “You’re not so sweet you’ll melt” echoing in the head, so I put on my rain coat and headed to the Garden of the Gods.  It was incredible!  The fact that it was so foggy really added to the experience!  It felt as if I really was visiting the gods’ world!  From a distance, I could only make out a vague outline of part of a rock structure, but when I got closer, the entire formation appeared clearly!  I had a grand time just wandering around in the mystical ambiance of the park for a while. 

Petrified tree stump at
Florissant Fossil Beds 

My next adventure took me back up into the mountains.  As I drove higher and higher the day got clearer and brighter!  It was quite a beautiful day by the time I got to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.  After talking to a most friendly and helpful ranger, I headed straight for the fossil lab!  They had a tent set up with various samples of fossils and even had some of the more impressive ones set up under microscopes!  They were incredible!  It was as if I was looking at the actual leaf or bug!  The best part though, was when the ranger explained how he picks the rock apart to find the fossils. . .while doing it!  He even let me help!  I did find a fossil (not a great one, but sill. . .how many people can say they found a fossil of any quality!)!  After making my ground breaking discovery, I went on a hike to see the many petrified redwood tree stumps in the park.  After my hike, I headed back to the ranger station to check out the delicate fossils they had there.  I had a lovely chat with two rangers.  They were so friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.  And, when they didn’t know an answer (to a super random dinosaur question prompted by the interests of a former student) they went way out of their way to try to find the answer!  One of the rangers even came and found me before I left to give me a junior ranger pin!  He also gave me a contact information for a person that may be able to make me a full-fledged ranger in the future (or “an ambassador of nature” as he put it)!     

Mueller State Park

After my totally enjoyable afternoon at the fossil beds, I went to Mueller State Park.  After conferring with another incredible ranger (people in Colorado are exceptionally friendly and good natured!) I headed for a walk-in tent site with a fantastic view of the snow dusted mountains!  After setting up, I went back to another overlook.  After enjoying the spectacular view for a while, I was then treated to front row seats to a thunder/hail storm!  After the hail subsided, I headed back to my private mountain view for the evening. 

Boyd Lake State Park

The next morning, I headed to Rocky Mountain National Park.  I stopped at the visitor center to get some tips.  I spoke with. . .you guessed it. . .the friendliest man ever!  He was a retired teacher from Ohio who had always dreamed of living out west, so as soon as he retired, he and his wife moved to the mountains of Colorado.  He gave me some great advice!  I drove through the park for a bit, but after determining that the campgrounds were full, I decided I needed to figure out where I was sleeping for the night before I continued adventuring.  I ended up driving to Loveland and camping by a lake there.  It was beautiful and it was also much warmer since it was much lower. 

Rocky Mountain National Park

The next morning I got up at sunrise . . .which was extremely dramatic and beautiful over the lake!  I packed up my stuff and headed pack to Rocky Mountain National Park.  I head out on the trails towards the mountain lakes that had been recommended to me.  It was incredibly beautiful!  The streams and waterfalls were especially vibrant since the area had gotten so much rain lately!  The views at the lakes were breathtaking!  There were a few flowers, beautiful golden leaves on the trees, magnificent snowcapped mountains, and a lake reflecting all this beauty back to you!  It was totally spectacular!  As if it couldn’t get better, I made a friend on my way to the second lake of the day.  While I’ve had meaningful and though provoking conversations with friends and family along the way, it’s mostly been over the phone (except in Texas).  It was very enjoyable to have good conversation with someone in person and even better to have it occur on the trail!  It truly enhanced my experience!  My new friend, Steve, and I met another man along the way.  He was an older man from Tennessee, near the Smokey Mountains.  He told us that he was on a trip to the park with his hiking buddies.  How fabulous is that!  I hope that someday I have hiking buddies that I go gallivanting with! 

Rocky Mountain
National Park

After saying good-bye to my hiking partner, I went to the backcountry office to inquire about a backpacking loop.  Again, an extremely helpful ranger was able to give me just the help I needed.  Our conversation kept getting interrupted, but by the time it was my turn, he looked at me and said, “I thought about it, and I don’t think you want anything too easy.”  He doesn’t even know how true those words are!  After brief reflection on those words, I realized that I tend to seek out things that “aren’t too easy” in most every area of my life!  I really do thrive on seeing how far I can push myself.  And, I generally find that I’m capable of much more than even I was aware of (which is saying something since I have pretty high expectations for myself!).           

Canyons, Pinnacles, Cliffs, and Dunes (oh. . .and MOUNTAINS!)

Colorado Monument

After a glorious week in Utah, I headed east into Colorado.  My first stop was to Colorado National Monument.  It’s a magnificent canyon with many striking rock features (reminiscent of the Moab area, the glorious Moab area!).  There’s a road that winds its way around the edge of the rim of the canyon with many outlooks.  It was quite a calm and relaxing way to see the canyon!  I also got to camp in the park.  I had a site a short distance from a historic shelter overlooking the canyon that people didn’t seem to enjoy gather at any more, which really worked out for me!  I found the perfect rock near the shelter and had the canyon to myself for a while!  I went back out on the road and to several of the overlooks as the sun set.  The sun light up the canyon and the rock formations in such a way that made it even more breathtaking! 

Colorado Monument 

The next morning I started hiking in the canyon, but after a while, I saw many menacing storm clouds and remembered all the warnings about flash flood that I had gotten in Canyonlands.  I decided not to take my chances and turned back.  After retreating out of the canyon, I drove through the mountains for a bit.  It was the most gorgeous section of road that I have been on yet!  There were mountains, and streams, and ponds, and millions of trees that were starting to turn golden!  After several stops to admire the view, I made it to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  I hiked to exclamation overlook, which is quite aptly named!  This canyon is one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring things I’ve seen!  It’s unbelievably steep!  When you get near the edge, you look straight down thousands of feet and see a river, but first, you hear the river!  The roar of river rushing through the canyon is still impressively loud so far above!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison 

Dillon Pinnacles

After visiting the north rim, I headed towards the town of Gunnison.  I got a campsite in the national forest.  My site was overlooking a lake surrounded by mountains!  Better yet, I got there at sunset!  The next day I went on a hike to see the Dillon Pinnacles.  They are unusual and beautiful rock structures that were created by volcanic activity! 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

After the morning hike, I went to the south rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  This side of the canyon had a road that ran along the rim!  Each view was better than the last!  It is stunning just how deep and narrow the canyon is!  The edges are extremely jagged and the river is unbelievably far below, rushing its way through the canyon!  It’s totally breathtaking!  U even had the good fortune of randomly arriving at one of the overlooks right when a ranger program began, so I  got to learn all about various types of birds in the canyon! 

The next day, I got up early and drove down the million dollar highway.  It was so beautiful (and terrifying at moments when I was on the side without the guardrail)!  It’s amazing that people get stuff done in Colorado.  I think I would spend all my time staring out the window at the beauty all around me!  Each view is more stunning than the last!

 

Cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde

After safely making my way down to the four corners section of the state, I headed west to Mesa Verde.  The first thing I did was go on a guided tour of Balcony House.  After walking down several stairs, then climbing up a ladder, we got to one section of the dwelling.  It’s amazing that people were able to build such amazing structures right into the cliff with so few tools!  It’s even more amazing that they are still in such good shape after more than 700 years!  After touring the rest of balcony house, climbing another ladder, and crawling through a fairly tight tunnel, we were back in the parking lot.  I spent the rest of the day tour other dwelling sites in the park.  The cliff dwellings are so stunning and really blend in well with the cave!  I don’t know if I would notice them if I wasn’t looking for them! 

Cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde

Great Sand Dunes

The next day I drove east across the southern part of the state.  After a lovely morning of driving through the mountains, I arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park.  The park has the largest sand dunes on the continent!  I hiked to the highest point in the dunes.  The hike was surprisingly difficult!  The dunes were shockingly steep, plus I was hiking through sand, plus the elevation was 8,000 feet.  It was well worth it though!  The view was amazing!  The dramatic and beautiful dunes are surrounded by mountains!  The hike down was extremely fun!  The dunes are steep enough that you can run/slide your way down!  In fact, they are so steep, that you kind of need to zigzag across the dune (like when you ski) to prevent yourself from going too fast!  I had plans to get my sled and go sledding on the dunes, but it was pretty cold (it had dropped about 20 degrees overnight) and it started to rain just as I finished my hike.  I decided that sledding in the cold rain didn’t sound like the best idea I ever heard, so I moved on with my life.     

Adventures in the Moab Area

Window Arches in Arches N. P.

After exploring the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park, I headed to Moab.  It’s the largest town in the south-east Utah with just under five thousand people.  I headed to Arches National Park to get a campsite before going out to find food.  However, the campground was full, and I was too tired to go exploring at the moment, so I started heading back to a campground in a national forest that I passed on the way up.  However, I looked up at the sky and saw stormy clouds, so I decided to get a hotel room.  As soon as I got a room the heavens opened up.  I was very happy all I had to do was go get my gear out of my car instead of having to set up a tent in the downpour!  I also very much enjoyed getting to take a shower (showers have become less readily available since I entered the desert. . .and the combination of long hikes, desert heat, and a lack of shower facilities can be a little tragic).  After regaining a level of cleanliness that would allow me to be around civilized humans, I went to the Moab Brewery.  It’s Moab’s only microbrewery (and I think may be Utah’s only one as well).  Either way, they make a very delicious beer (probably several, but I can only vouch for one).  The combination of good beer and a tasty hamburger was heavenly!  The ambiance in the bar was quite enjoyable too. . .it definitely had some character!  The next day, I got some random errands done and then had yet another huge meal at the Moab Diner.  The green chili was excellent!  I must say, after wandering around Moab for a while, it’s quirky, outdoorsy charm had won me over!  It’s an unique, earthy, and eccentric little town . . .all traits I rather love!

Balanced Rock in Arches N. P.

After eating everything that wasn't nailed down in Moab, I headed back to Arches National Park.  The campground was full again, but I decided to explore for a while until it was time to ensure that I could procure a piece of land to set my tent up on for the night.  Well, I can see why it’s so busy!  It’s incredible!  If Canyonlands is a totally natural and larger than life sculpture exhibit (as I previous stated), then Arches is the special section of the museum that you have to pay extra to go see because the stuff in that section is extra rare and spectacular! While you lose the sense that you are the the only person that knows about this section of the earth and are discovering it for the first time (which was one aspect about Canyonlands that made me love it so much), you gain an opportunity to see rock formations that are totally and completely astounding!  There are large boulders precariously balanced on another rock formation and huge archways worn out of the stone!  No words or pictures can do it justice!      

View of the Colorado River in
Dead Horse Point Sate Park

After exploring a bit of Arches, I headed towards Dead Horse Point State Park.  However, the campground was full, so I headed to a primitive campground with five sites run by the Bureau of Land Management that was just down the road.  I got my tent set up right before a rather significant rainstorm started. I rather enjoyed being tucked into my sleeping bag and listening to the rain on my tent.  After it stopped, I was able to see a rainbow over the mountains followed by a brilliant sunset!  The rain also brought cooler temperatures, which was pleasant as well!

The next day I headed to Dead Horse Point State Park.  They say it’s the Grand Canyon of Utah.  I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon (yet. . .), so I can’t vouch for that claim, but  it did have spectacular views of a quite large and dramatic canyon as well as the Colorado river.      

View from Whale Rock in the Island
in the Sky district of Canyonlands

Next, I headed to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park.  This section of the park is up above the canyon, so you have a grand view of the rock formations down in the canyon.  One of the first hikes I did was to Mesa Arch.  These arch situations will never cease to amaze me!  Even after you learn about the science behind them, it just doesn’t make sense that these arches occurred naturally and have been around for so long!  I went for another hike along a canyon wall with outstanding views the entire way!  I attempted to go on a popular hike to Upheaval Dome, but the parking lot was full, so I backtracked and hiked on Whale Rock.  It was an wonderful hike on several large, rounded rocks that led to stunning view of that section of the canyon!  Plus, I was the only person there!  After enjoying a break in the warm Utah sun while losing myself in the breathtaking beauty of the scenery, I hiked back down and slowly dorve out of the Island in the Sky district.  

The Goblins in
Goblin Valley State Park

Then I headed to Goblin Valley State Park.  This park was near the shores of an ocean billions of years ago.  That ocean left deposits in this section of Utah.  The deposits are these strange yet beautiful sandstone sculptures that, thus the name, look rather like goblins.  There are hundreds of them in the valley!  The best part is that they let you just wander around among them!  I got there as the sun started to set, so they were glowing, which added to the mystical and magical feeling of the place!    

The Great Gallery in
 Horseshoe Canyon

The next morning I went to explore Horseshoe Canyon, which is a little part of Canyonlands National Park near the Maze district.  My guidebook said that it was thirty miles down a maintained dirt road.  I’m not sure how maintained this road is!  There were sand drifts slowly starting to take over the road, places where the road was totally covered in a thick layer of sand, and sections where the edge of the road was crumbling away.  After an hour of driving down the road, I made it to the trail head.  I was confused when I got there.  The guide book said that this was a must see section of the park, but the park service had posted all these signs saying that it was a terrible idea to hike there due to flash flooding  and   quicksand.  Luckily there was a ranger there as well as two other vehicles of people.  I went to ask the ranger if it was okay to hike into the canyon.  She told me that she’d be leading the hike until the halfway point!  It was really great to have a guide to point out some amazing pictographs and petroglyphs along the way as well as share a little history about the canyon!  After our guide left, the family that was still on the hike (the other group bailed out) let me join their family for the afternoon.  It was really great to have people to hike with because it was very hard to tell where the trail was.  It was also good to be with people because as it turns out there really was quicksand!  The daughter in the family I was hiking with sunk down to her shins!  After hiking through the canyon we got to the Great Gallery.  It’s an eighty foot long panel of pictographs and petroglyphs (some of the designs are both!) that is at least 2,000 years and may be 8,000 years old!  Many of the designs are of life-size human forms!  The designs have an amazing amount of detail!  It was certainly worth the sixty total miles of driving on the dirt road! 

A closer view of a section of the Great Gallery 

Landscape Arch in Arches 

The next day I went back to Arches to explore the second half of the park.  I started my day by hiking to delicate arch.  It was amazing to turn a corner and be greeted with a magnificent and gigantic arch!  Again, it was difficult to believe that this seemly precarious structure was a naturally occurring phenomenon!  My next hike was in the Devil’s Garden.  This area of the park really did look like a rock garden on a gigantic scale!  There were countless breathtaking views along the trail!  Landscape arch was the most amazing arch!  It’s unbelievably thin!  As I continued hiking, I passed a spot where one of the arches did collapse several years ago.  It made me appreciate the fact that I made it in the park while the others were still standing! 

Partition Arch (one of my faves) in Arches

After hiking in Arches for several hours, I made my way back to the Moab Brewery.  After another fantastic beer and burger (and getting the chance to share some of my knowledge of the area with some travelers who that just arrived in the area), I hit the road.   

Delicate Arch in Arches

A New Favorite!

 I think I have a new favorite National Park!  It’s Canyonlands in south-eastern Utah.  I had a small idea of what it might be like since I have been reading Dessert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.  It’s a book about the summers he spent in the area as a park ranger.  While, I had read about what it looked like, I was certainly not prepared for just how spectacularly gorgeous it is!  It is unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life!  There are huge rock formations everywhere!  They’re so strange and beautiful; it’s like an outdoor, all natural, sculpture exhibit! 

I also very much appreciated that it’s all very much wilderness!  They really did simply preserve what was already there and then just let you loose to go explore the wild beauty for yourself!  The tails are only marked by small piles of stones (since you can’t see the path because most of the hiking is done on rock), so it feels like you’re one of the first people exploring the area, since you really have to make an effort to find and stay on the trail! 

The first hike I did was a loop that started right next to my tent!  It started off by getting to climb up and over a huge ridge of rocks.  At that point, I was totally surrounded by the orange, rock formations and had fantastic views of the mountains in the distance!  I was totally swept away by the stunning magnificence.  I was also surprised by how many plants and animals are able to live there!  I saw many lizards and rabbits!  I also saw a shocking number of flowers considering it’s the desert!  I had the good fortune of being back up on the ridge when the sun started setting.  The setting sun lit up the rock formations!  They looked like they were glowing from within! 

The next day, I went to a more remote part of the park (actually the whole thing is pretty remote).  After driving for a while on a very bumpy and twisty gravel road, I got to the parking area.  Then I mistakenly started hiking on the four wheel road.  After just a little while of walking on the road, I can’t believe that anyone would dare to drive on it!  It seems like you would certainly die!  I found my way to the hiking trail and hiked about four and a half miles into the canyon.  I was headed to see a remote rock formation, but after I got pretty deep into the canyon, I was having a hard time finding the rock piles, so I decided to turn around.  The idea of being lost in the remote, dessert, canyon didn’t sound like a plan to me, and it would be extremely easy to get lost there, so I headed back to the trail head. 

The drive back out of the back was quite enjoyable as well!  I really didn’t realize how far down I was until I started driving out!  I also had a chance to see the Newspaper Rock.  It’s this section of rock with tons of pictographs!  It’s quite an amazing sight!