On our full last day in the Southwest, we had a large breakfast of juevos rancheros, muffins, and fruit at our B&B, the Cozy Cactus (it wins “Best Breakfast” for the trip) and then went for a hike to the Seven Sacred Pools (off Soldier’s Pass Trail). We hiked right by it and kept going [...]
Archive for the ‘2008 Southwest’ Category
Sedona, AZ
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Arizona on October 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Zion National Park, UT – Day 2
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah, Zion on October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No sleeping in today – we ate breakfast at the Spotted Dog Restaurant (right at Flanigan’s) as soon as it opened (Jen had odd sweet potato pancakes). Then we rushed back to Zion, parked at the Visitor’s Center, and caught the shuttle up to the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava. In the freezing cold, [...]
Zion National Park, UT – Day 1
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah, Zion on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We made it to the park in plenty of time to grab a parking spot at the Visitor’s Center and jump on the shuttle to head up the canyon. We were going to do some smaller hikes in the morning and try Angel’s Landing in the afternoon, but we were too excited to wait. We [...]
Hwy 9, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The first time we visited Zion National Park in 2007, we thought that Hwy 9 was part of the park. It’s the road that leads into it, and it is beautiful. This time, we slowed down and took some pictures as we drove through.
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Bryce, Utah on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It was very important to us to hike down into Bryce Canyon on this trip. We had visited the year before on a van tour from Las Vegas and had only gotten to see the valley of hoodoos from the overlooks above. We wanted to see them from the bottom looking up. We already knew [...]
Hwy 12, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Highway 12, particularly the stretch between Escalante and Boulder, is incredibly scenic. We particularly liked driving over the Hog’s Back, where there are sheer dropoffs on both sides. We also stopped for lunch in Escalante at a little diner that clearly wasn’t catering to tourists.
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Capitol Reef, Utah on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Capitol Reef is certainly the least visited and least appreciated of Utah’s national parks. Unfortunately, we didn’t appreciate it much, either. We drove a few minutes down the scenic drive, snapped some photos, then turned around and headed back west. In our defense, we had a lot of ground to cover on this day.
Goblin Valley State Park, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We learned about Goblin Valley State Park online and figured that it would be an interesting place to break up the long (6 hours) drive from Moab to Bryce Canyon. Goblin Valley turned out to be such a pleasant surprise – like a playground in the middle of nowhere. The park was completely deserted when [...]
Hwy 24, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Utah on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This day started with an early morning breakfast at our hotel, followed by a drive north to Green River and west on Hwy 24, a desolate but very pretty stretch. We snapped the photo of the sunrise through the side mirror of the car while we were refueling at a gas station in Green River.
Arches National Park, UT
Posted in 2008 Southwest, Arches, Utah on October 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Of the five national parks we visited in Utah, Arches was one of our favorites. It’s small enough to cover quite a bit in an afternoon, and we saw as much as one could see in a few hours. We started off near Park Avenue, taking photos of the skyscraper rock formations. We stopped at [...]
