Natural Bridges, UT

Among the slough of travelers we met, Natural Bridges was a popular recommendation of places to see.  

We slept just outside of the national monument the first night and woke to a millimeter of ice on the inside of every window in our van. I think it would be safe to say at this point we were getting a little grumpy.  Nonetheless, we entered the monument the next day and hiked the 8.6 miles loop through the canyons which offered spectacular views of the three giant natural bridges.  

An incredible thing happened during that hike, we ran in Joel! The awesome and inspirational photographer we met in Mt. St. Helens, WA.  What are the chances of that! We shared a campsite that night and swapped stories and talked Westies and photography. 

Overall, we didn't find the park to be as spectacular as all the hype made it out to be.  I'm still glad we went though.

Arches National Park, UT

Moab is an incredible place, a fun and high energy town sitting right at the base of Arches National Park.  A congregation of outdoor enthusiasts from hikers, to bikers, climbers, off-roaders and oh yeah more Westys (the van like ours) than you knew were still up and running.

Moab proved to be a great place to catch up on little things like laundry, grocery shopping and installing a new sink faucet in our van.  The original sink handle/pump broke off mid pump a few weeks back and had been out of order ever since.  That translated to us doing dishes and washing our hands with the spigot of a three gallon water jug hanging over the edge of the side door.  A process a little less discreet in a Walmart parking lot or on the side of a road! Needless to say it was very nice to have a sink back!  

I was surprised by the contrast from Arches to Canyonlands.  Arches was exponentially busier, had very little hiking in comparison and was much, much smaller.
The landscape was stunning! It was quickly apparent why Arches is such a popular destination.

Delicate arch, famous for its fiery glow at sunset, was a site to behold.  Time got by us and we arrived to the Delicate Arch trailhead quite late.  The trail was 1.2 miles with a 500ft. elevation gain that the brochure said would take an hour and fifteen minutes hike one way.  The trouble we only had 20 minutes...and believe it or not, we made it! Sweaty and panting we turned the corner at the top of the trail to witness one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. We stayed until it got dark and the stars came out.  Which seemed like a great decision until the hike down...
That hike did prompt us to upgrade our headlamps, so we don't have to repeat that fumble down the mountain with a broken headlamp and phone light!

Canyonlands: Chesler Park

After visiting a good chunk of National Parks in Southern Utah I realized that one of the most incredible parts of Canyonlands is how few people there are.  The park isn't all that accessible and when you get there, you will only find one campsite and unless you feel up to some strenuous ten mile hikes, you may as well just drive along the scenic route. I think that formula attracted nature loving, athletic, travelers rather than the "I want to see everything from the comfort of my car" tourist.

The most popular hike in the Needles District is Chesler Park.  The Needles District was named after the numerous needle like rock formations in the park.  The Chesler Park trail carries you into the heart of the needles, which are laced with slot canyons, caves, spires, pinnacles, juniper trees and more that can be witnessed only with your eyes.   

Sad to say you can't bring dogs on the trails in National Parks, so poor Clovey had to stand guard in the van yet again as we adventured into the rocky jungle. The dog restrictions are brutal in the National Parks.  Dogs can ONLY be in the campsites and on paved roads (not even dirt roads as we found out the hard way...).  That means we have to walk Clovey before and after hikes and if it was too hot to leave her in the car, we can't go. Having her there is unquestionably worth it though.