Utah, the Beehive State

"New Beige" in front of Capital Reef National Park

Capital Reef                                                      Chimney Rock

Capital Reef        PetroglyphsRoad View Overlook

Bryce Canyon

  Zion

Desert Lake Dinner in Hurricane, Utah

1/25/12

Utah - what a state!  We spent three nights and four days in Utah.  We visited five national parks and hiked over 20 miles.  We have seen some of the most panoramic views, traversed some of the country’s most dangerous roads and spent more time in this state then any other since we left Ohio.  We hoped to spend a night or two in our truck to cut down on expenses, but it was pretty darn cold so we didn’t spend any nights in our truck.  One night at Hot Karl’s place and two nights in motels put us a little over budget, but we couldn’t freeze and they were pretty good motels with hot tubs and continental breakfasts.

Over the past four days we have visited Canyonland, Arches, Capital Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.  We drove through Escalante National Monument, but didn’t really see a good place to stop and hike from the main road.  At these five parks, we hiked through many different rock formations and colors, up and down elevations, and even through snow.  On almost every hike there was an element of steep cliffs or mountain ledges that were a little scary, for me especially, when some of them were covered with slick snow or ice.  But if I can’t push myself out of my comfort zone on this adventure then when can I?  Jon did buy me one of those hiking poles for the Bryce Canyon hike because it was really snowy and we were on the edge of steep cliffs.  It really helped so I’m going to use it now for hikes that involve an increase or decrease in elevation or snow.

Tonight we drove over into Nevada and gained an hour but didn’t have anywhere to be until Thursday when we have a reservation at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas as well as plans to attend Bite which is a topless, acrobatic, classic rock, vampire show.  Sounds quite interesting and will probably be entertaining to say the least.  Dinner this afternoon in Utah was really pleasant.  It was the first night that we cooked outside and weren’t cold.  We had a nice view of the sunset over a lake in Utah and even got out our camp chairs to sit and enjoy our dinner.  So, now we are camped in the truck at a wildlife management area near Overton, NV.  The sign says we can stay for up to eight days.  I wonder what happens if we stay for nine?   Tomorrow, off to Vegas baby.  I’ll let you know how Bite is but I’m sure you can imagine.  I’m expecting Vampire, Stripper Cirque du Soleil to classic rock music.