Days 28 and 29 - Salt Lake City and Canyonlands

“and hence there is no greater joy than to 

have an endlessly changing horizon" 

Chris McCandless

The 5^th leg of the trip has begun.  I remember looking at my list of stops and thinking it would be forever before I got to these final two weeks.  Like any vacation, the beginning feels like forever and then when you get to the last part of it, it seems like it went by too quickly.  Its been fun sharing this with some the most important people in my life, but now it is time to go forward alone.

Day 28 started off a little rough in Jackson, we may have had a few too many drinks.  The silence of two people in a car with hangovers, was good preparation for the rest of my trip.  A stop at a roadside coffee shop fixed our misery and we made excellent driving time to Salt Lake City.  The first view of the city was reminiscent of Las Vegas; a city cloaked in a desert haze surrounded by mountains.  I dropped Shriver off, and immediately had a feeling of dread.  Home seemed very far away, but that feeling was instantly cured with a stop to the Red Iguana, the locals’ favorite Mexican restaurant.  It was featured on Diners, Drives and Dives and it lived up to the hype (seriously get the TVfoodmaps app; it’s free).  With my belly full I headed to the Sheraton to crash.  It was already mid-afternoon so I opted for a nap in my king-sized bed and then later went for a stroll around town.  Salt Lake is a beautiful city, once the haze dissipates.  It’s clean and everyone seems to enjoy walking outside.  The sunset behind was the skyline was great.  I had a late dinner at Squatters Brew Pub, chatted with two ladies in town for the Outdoor Retailers Conference at the bar and then called it a night.

Salt Lake City

The next day, I made a 4 hour drive to the Southeast corner of Utah, where Arches, Canyonlands and Moab are located.  I’ll be here for 3 days.  For the first day, I started with Canyonlands.  As I made my way towards the parks, the landscape changed from tree-covered mountains to red and orange mesas with large plateaus covered in small bushes.  Before getting to the park, I made the mistake of not braking hard enough before passing a cop.  Fortunately, Utah cops are much nicer than Virginia and when he saw all my bumper stickers and I told him about my road trip he let me go with a warning.  I continued along, slower, and eventually made it to the park early in the afternoon.  The first thing I noticed was that there were no crowds or lines of traffic.  I was already very happy.

Island in the Sky

The park has three main sections; all are accessible from opposite corners with no direct way to the others.  Since I did not have time to see everything, I stuck to the northern section along the top of the canyon for the most expansive views.  This area is the spot where two canyons created by the Green and Colorado rivers meet up.  The landscape here is different than Grand Canyon or Zion, with random rock formations, mesas, buttes and spires.  Though, color scheme is similar to Zion with pinks, oranges, and whites.  It was hot so I decided to stick to short hikes and then drive to the various overlooks.

The first hike was to Mesa Arch.  I had seen this in the Peter Lik art gallery in Las Vegas, and was pretty excited to it up close.  His picture is absolutely amazing, with a shot of the red arch lit by the sunrise and the snowcapped La Sals mountains in the distant.  I was unable to recreate the shot do to the time of day, season and the four kids climbing on it .  The next stop was the Upheavel Dome, a 2 mile round trip hike around.  Upheavel Dome is a mysterious crater that geologists still cannot agree on how it was formed.  The hike was very different than previous hikes as it was over slick rock, with now one path, only cairns (piles of rocks) to lead the way.  I pictured myself getting lost out here very easily, but I managed to stick to the trail.

Mesa Arch

After a bit more driving around, I left the park and drove a few miles back towards Dead Horse Point State Park.  Shriver, who had been here a few years ago, recommended this place for camping.  The campsite and park sit at the edge of a mesa overlooking the Colorado River and it’s the canyon, 2000 feet below. I set up my site, which had the best view one could as for when camping and then waited for a great light show as the sun set, and more stars than I had ever seen made there way out.  I went to bed content and woke up early for another show as the sun rose lighting up the canyon below.

Sunset at Dead Horse Point

Traveling alone is certainly a different experience.  You see something fantastic, smile, and then move on to the next without getting to talk about it.  It’s very quiet in the car, well that is when I’m not singing and pretending I am Simon Cowell insulting my own singing.  There is to division of labor at camp.  There are some benefits though.   Picking out a place to eat takes no discussion, and there is no one to judge me when I pick Wendys and order both a Baconator and spicy chicken nuggets (and don’t judge me now).  You don’t have to remember whose turn it is to pay for gas.  Speaking of gas, you don’t have to pretend that smell is something outside the car, like the sulfur from a geyser.  It’s only been two days alone, so we’ll see how the rest of Utah goes.  Next up, Moab and Arches.

Stats:

Miles Driven: 7427

States: PA, MD, WV, VA, TN, NC, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, ID, MT, WY

National Parks: 15

Miles Hiked: 75

Times Pulled Over: 2

Times I’ve Actually Yelled at Siri for bad directions: 18

Trail to Upheavel Dome