Zion NP Part I (Week 2)

^ our wilderness campsite in the southwest desert of Zion... 1.8 miles "hike-in"

^ cooking using our Bio-Lite Stove

Kolob Canyons

First stop after leaving Cedar City: Kolob Canyons (Zion National Park)

Kolob is actually the northwest section of Zion National Park. It takes about 45 minutes to drive from the main park entrance to this section. However, since we were coming from the north, we stopped here first along our way down.

At the visitor centre, we learned about the climate --how it can vary in each section of the park-- and the process of getting a "wilderness permit" for backcountry hikes and overnight stays. Since it had just snowed, camping overnight anywhere in Kolob (at an elevation of about six to seven thousand feet) would lead to a near-certain death. Okay, slight exaggeration... but it would've dipped well below freezing-- something we (and our equipment) were ill-prepared to do.

Then began our drive up the mountain road. It was very, very cold up there... We stopped to hike the Taylor Creek Trail (took about 3 hours) and drove up to the viewpoint (short hike up there), and we took some beautiful photos. I did, however, really regret not bringing my warmest winter jacket.

^ Near the Taylor Creek trailhead

^ Snow melts from above

^ a lot of the hike was along this creekbed

^ view from Kolob Viewpoint hike

Moab to Cedar City

So... while we were in Moab, it was dreadfully cold at night. It hit freezing most nights and didn't warm up until around 11AM. Seeing as there was a snow and rainstorm in the forecast, we decided to hit the road and head toward Zion National Park (in the southwest of Utah). Unfortunately, we still got hit by a freak snowstorm (it was May and we were 2 hours from Las Vegas!) and had to get a motel room for two nights. Here are some photos from our drive.

^ Fabulous view from a rest stop

^ Our atlas :)

Rain, then a sand storm with ZERO visibility...followed by....

 SNOW!

Nothing like being stuck in the middle of Utah, where nothing is open on Sundays. We watched lots of youtube videos huddled under the covers, that's for sure!

Arches National Park (Week 1 of Roadtrip)

Breakfast at our campsite- thanks to the Biolite Stove!

Panoramic of our campsite just southwest of Moab, UT

^ Balancing rocks and warm sunlight.

^ Love these vibrant desert flowers.

^ Hiking to see Delicate Arch

 ^ See the video below...

This was the road with tons of rock-climbers. We also camped near here.

^ Inside Arches National Park... Hiked up to see Delicate Arch.

^ Fantastic view of several arches from atop a rock hill.

^ Cacti and their flowers

^ I felt so small standing near this huge rock formation

^ Welcome Centre- where we filled up about 5 gallons/day for free :)

^ Sunset at Arches

Sunday morning coffee overlooking mountain ranges on [almost] all sides... Makes the job/apartment/life'spurpose search all the more enjoyable.

Back in the C O

I am finally back in Colorado after 5 long (yet fun!) weeks of traveling. We saw so many interesting places, and my Books To Read list has gotten a lot longer -- how can I not read written works by John Muir and John Wesley Powell after traveling through so many historic places in Utah and California?

And, I'm proud to say, the trip was done on an extraordinary budget, especially considering some of the cities we visited- namely Los Angeles and San Francisco, where one could easily drop two grand on a long weekend.

I'm in the process of editing some pictures (the task of sorting through 2500+ photos is a job in itself!) and then I will subsequently upload the best of the best. :)

Until then, here is a picture from this morning's short hike with the pup.