Utah and Nevada Travels – From the
Sublime to the Ridiculous
Jack and I enjoyed a week in Southern Utah- October 7-15, 2012. Not sure if we will ever get back to Utah so Zion and Bryce National Parks seemed the best choices. Everyone else must think so also as Zion has 3 million visitors a year. But we had a great time anyhow and dodged the crowds when we could. So we had saw the most gorgeous - sublime mountains, waterfalls and scenery and then we ended the vacation by spending the last night at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas. - that was the Ridiculous!
So from our travels here is some
More Unsolicited Advice for
your Travels through Life
(For original advice see blog on Wild Wet and Wonderful in Costa Rica)
Here' s the Sublime Part of the Story- Zion and Bryce National Parks
Travel with an
adventurer who encourages you to do things you might not otherwise do. See
the adventures below.
Hike as much as you
can – In Zion National Park, we hiked on the Emerald Pools Trails, the Angels Landing the and the
Narrows Trails.
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| View of the Virgin River from trail - This river looks innocent, but it continues to carve this spectacular valley |
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| Some of the Emerald pools |
Angels Landing Trail
I did not feel obligated to go out on the precarious saddle trail to Angels Landing at Zion. I let Jack get those photos.
I did not feel obligated to go out on the precarious saddle trail to Angels Landing at Zion. I let Jack get those photos.
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| HIking Up Walters Wiggles to Scouts Landing |
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| View of Angels Landing from Scouts Landing |
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| View of the Virgin River Valley from Angels Landing Trail |
Even if the trail is labeled rigorous, sometimes I did take it and...
Hiking in the Narrows River at Zion was my BEST adventure ever on foot. Hiking for miles in and out of the Virgin River over rocks big and little with water sometimes up over my knees. The big sloppy boots let water in like a wet suit and added to the audio and visual pleasure. But the 2,000 foot cliffs surrounding us made it all like an incredible cathedral.
Hiking in the Narrows River at Zion was my BEST adventure ever on foot. Hiking for miles in and out of the Virgin River over rocks big and little with water sometimes up over my knees. The big sloppy boots let water in like a wet suit and added to the audio and visual pleasure. But the 2,000 foot cliffs surrounding us made it all like an incredible cathedral.
Take the trail less traveled. That way you find the Coyote Scat – Why didn’t I take a picture of that? This was the East Rim trail on the back side of Zion Park.
I convinced myself that my exhaustion was just the elevation- 4,000 ft and the heat, and not my age or being out of shape. So that's when I figured out that's what cell phones are for. Not that it worked to call you, but ... I just collapsed and decided to take pictures of myself. Here I am in Zion's Refrigerator Canyon.
Turn off your camera sounds. The Sounds of silence
were so loud in the bottom of Bryce Canyon that even with a group with 4
kids under 6 right behind me, I still found my camera so loud, I had to turn
off the sound. The better to hear the Pygmy Nuthatch. We enjoyed the Navaho Trail with the Loop on the Queens
Garden- which was labeled in the
brochure “the best 3 mile hike in the world”. Yes it certainly is gorgeous!
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| Bryce Canyon- "a hell of a place to lose a cow" |
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| Aspens at Bryce Canyon |
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| Wall Street |
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| View of Hoodoos from Navaho Trail |
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| Down in the bottom of Bryce Canyon |
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| Queens Garden Trail |
These places are so
stunning so take all the pictures
you can. Most are worthless, but its so hard to tell on the trail in the sun- you can hardly preview
photos.
Pack for all kinds of weather
And don’t be afraid of going outside in all of it. One of our best hikes was at Bryce– we had snow (Oct 12) where we were at 9,000 feet –
After those stunning natural parks...
Here' s the Ridiculous Part of the trip- Las Vegas
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| Four kinds of chocolate pouring 4-5 levels down from the ceiling in the Bellagio Hotel- No we couldn't taste... |
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| Crowds flock to Water Fountain display in front of the Bellagio - what a way to use water in the desert! |
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| And here is a great way to use up energy with the night time display probably visible from the moon. |
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| No its not Disney, but Excalibur Hotel where we stayed - - no, not in the towers |
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| We enjoyed the Mon Ami Gabi restaurant at the foot of the Eifel Tower wanna-be. |
No, we didn’t gamble. It costs more than a quarter in the slots – and you don’t even use real money. Not the same as having a big clanging bunch of quarters fall out like they used to.
So we had a Sublime trip with Ridiculous elements....
But Here' s the Bottom Line Travel advice
Get all the sleep you can
Don’t be too ambitious for sunrise and sunset photos, let alone nighttime star photos. Sleep is much more important… Like 9-12 hours a night is what these old people need…
Bring at least 2 good
books and a flashlight to read at night if need be.
Meet some new friends
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| Mule deer at Bryce Canyon- much more elegant than the Garden raiders in our neighborhood |
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| Tarantula at Zion |
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| Bryce Canyon Raven who patrols Overlooks for snacks or tourist roadkill- whichever comes first |
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| Cousin to Bird Feeder Robbers in our yard- |
Maybe you were hoping for elk or bighorn sheep, but they are smart and stay away from the crowds... unlike the deer in my back yard....
Don’t be afraid of being in a Hurricane
that is Hurricane Utah - pronounced Hurriken. It is not 20 minutes from Zion- more like 30 -but the ride has scenery of its own, and we saved lots on the hotel costs.
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| Yes it really looked like this! |
Don’t send postcards
– It’s hard to find stamps. Do a blog.
True Bottom line – if you possibly can, take a vacation
These flights only cost us $20. But of course we made up for that in meals and at Ruby’s Inn at Bryce Canyon City. And use those frequent flyer miles and have fun before you can’t do it any more.
Thanks for traveling
with us. Let me know if you have enjoyed this, or have a suggestions. And I’d
love to hear about your vacations.
