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Red Canyon, Scenic Byway 12 Dixie National Forest, Utah
Red Canyon reminds me of Sedona in Arizona. The red rocks stand out among the greenery of the trees and create vistas camera-worthy. We rode our bikes along the trail attempting to reach Bryce Canyon. Alas, the altitude kicked my butt and I had to turn around. Not once did I have to peddle going down, and it was at that point I realized the entire bike ride was all uphill. The hike along Thunder Mountain trail was 5 miles and a favorite of mountain bikers. Sometimes the trail was so narrow I thought how treacherous it would be for the bikers if they lost control. Not a sport I am willing to try.
The next day we traveled the Scenic Byway 12 which is 124 miles. We did about 58 miles of it. The byway houses two national parks, three state parks a national monument and a national forest. The terrain changes and the view point along the way are spectacular.
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Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce, Utah
By far, this has been the best hike. We started off looking over the vast canyon and deciding which way we should hike. We choose the right path. From the top, it looks like a white fairyland with spires named hoodoos lining as far as the eye can see. The hoodoo’s reminded me of the drip sandcastles made in my youth. See if you agree with the comparison pictures below. Interestingly 53 to 40 million years ago this entire canyon was underwater.
We started our descent and the incline was fairly steep going down into the canyon. There were so many different hoodoo’s to admire and wander through. At the bottom, a forest began to emerge with beautiful fir trees standing out among the red colored rocks.
To hike up to the rim, you hike through the Wall of Windows. This was the best part of the hike minus the quick elevation going up. The photos cannot do this segment of the hike justice. It reminded me of the slots in Antelope Canyon in Arizona. The slot was towering as high as a skyscraper. To get to the top from the bottom, you have to traverse the switchback path until you reach the top of the rim.
This was the first hike I felt elated and would probably do again.
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Canyonlands & Boondocking Moab, Utah
Island in the Sky In Canyonlands, we drove to Grand View Point. This is the starting point of the two-mile hike to view Island in the Sky. It was a pleasurable hike, but not a good idea to get too close to the edge. Unfortunately, Mitch’s desire to video the depth of the canyon leads him to the edge too often. At the end of the hike, a huge mesa stood proudly among the surrounding terrain. We found ourselves sitting on a rock, enjoying and savoring the incredible view.
Our next stop was the Mesa Arch. Rock arches are my favorite formations. Most times, they frame a vast array of distant mountains. It is like peeking into a window to see to the other side. It is sad to think at some point in time, these arches will collapse, and an exquisite vista will be lost.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term boondocking, it is a place with no amenities – no water, no electricity. You need to fill the water tank before arriving, and if you don’t like roughing it – that’s me, then you need to have solar panels and a generator. These areas are usually government land and one can stay free for a maximum of 14 days.
We enjoyed our week here. It was so quiet that we heard the birds’ wings flapping through the air as they flew overhead. If you want to be disconnected from what’s going on in the world, this is where you want to be. While there, we went for a short hike and saw an area where dinosaur prints were fossilized. Honestly, if they didn’t have signage, I would have never guessed they were dinosaur prints.
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Arches National Park & Dead Horse Point Moab, Utah
There are a ton of adjectives to describe this unique park but none would adequately describe its beauty. These arches were formed because the park is on top of an underground salt bed. I don’t want to get too technical on the process, but the rock is layered above the salt and when weather erodes the salt you are left with arches of rock. Fun fact – July 2019, this park received its certification as an international dark sky park. There are only 70 of them in the world. This means it has the best quality of starry nights. Since a third of the population resides in areas of extreme artificial light the milky way is never seen.
There was a woman who was performing a ritual underneath one of the arches. She eloquently played her flute. She then clasped her hands and bowed her head. From her flask poured water onto the rock. The tune was so soothing, peaceful, and ethereal. As I looked up at the arch, I felt like I was in a cathedral and should say a prayer. I said a prayer of gratitude.
The most popular arch is the Delicate Arch. Viewing this arch as the sun sets is recommended. The hike up is pretty strenuous but it paid off at the end. Most visitors were setting up their camera equipment trying to capture the prize-winning view. With all the negative press surrounding COVID, I was extremely impressed with the people. Everyone wanted to get a picture of themselves under the arch. There was no crowding or chaos. People waited in line patiently, six feet apart, until it was their turn to stand beneath the arch. We choose to just take the picture in its natural beauty.
The next day we went to Dead Horse Point State Park. This canyon is similar to the Grand Canyon. In my opinion, I thought it was better. While the Grand Canyon is widespread, this has the added dimension of color. The Colorado River is more easily seen here than in the Grand Canyon which gives it a nice contrast to the canyon.
The bike ride shown in the video was all uphill. I pooped out and let Mitch ride the rest of it himself. The elevation is a killer.
