Zion National Park

Zion National Park

On December 6, 2024

In 2024, Angels Landing, Hiking, Utah, Zion National Park

Well, our week of good fortune continued. Dave and I entered the daily lottery to obtain a hiking permit for Angels Landing. And we BOTH won!! Woot woot! off to Zion we go!!

Our drive took about an hour and 10 minutes. The views of course were spectacular. Part of the drive includes driving through a 1.1 mile tunnel. The tunnel has several windows from which you can catch glimpses of the park. Stopping is not allowed in the tunnel… however, being the off season, no one was behind us and so Dave stopped so I could snap pictures out our windows.

After coming out of the tunnel, you descend down to the canyon floor using 6 switch backs. The views are incredible especially as the sun was coming up on the mountains.

At the bottom of the canyon were several mule deer doing their thing.

We parked and got set for the hike. It was 32 degrees and windy as we set out to hike. Angels Landing is a strenuous 5.4 mile (almost 6 for us). It took us approximately 4 hours to climb making us average hikers according to the warning signs. Ha!

The first 2ish miles of the hike are mostly paved with a series of 21 switchbacks known as the wiggles. Anyone can hike this portion of the trail which brings you to Scouts landing.

We reached Scouts Lookout in about an hour. Our quads were feeling the burn! There are signs posted frequently to remind you permits are required to hike the Angels Landing portion. To reach Angels Landing requires climbing a trail cut into stone. It is not a trail for the faint of heart. The total elevation change is 5790ft. This section is only about a mile round trip. It was the most challenging mile I have ever hiked.

The temperatures warmed up now that we were in the sun, but it was still windy. Along the trail are sections with chains to help you climb. There are also sections without chains. Both were super scary.

There were times when the space between steps were too far for my legs. I not only used all fours to climb but sometimes my knees and butt. The trail wasn’t crowded on our way out and the weather was perfect. The wind seemed to die down as well. Whenever we had to wait for someone to pass, I would take a break, sit and enjoy the view.

At the Saddle portion of the hike we saw a condor perched on top of one rock.

It took us about an hour to climb the to Angels Landing. Slow and steady. I’ll admit, I had moments where I was completely freaked out by the height. I did a lot of deep breaths and reminded myself to take it one step at a time. Dave was an amazing hiking partner, of course. He was patient and so supportive. We developed a system where we would only have one of us on a section of chain at a time because the chain would wiggle and freak me out!

We packed sandwiches and stopped for lunch on top. Talk about a view!

While we tried to relax, we had annoying chipmunks begging for snacks.

After about 30 minutes we were ready to hike back down. Just a few more pictures to truly take it in.

We also joked about the trees along the trail. Tree friends were a favorite of mine to hang onto and in some cases hug! I also loved when there was a crevice I could wedge myself in as I climbed up.

It took us about an hour to climb back down to Scouts Lookout. It was easier in some ways to descend because the physical demand was less. However, perspective wise, it was more challenging because now my back was to the mountain and I saw more of the open space all around me. It gave me that vertigo feeling. Also, we had to wait more frequently because the trail was getting more crowded. When we made it back to Scouts Lookout we took a picture of where we just were. If you look closely, you can see people on Angels Landing on the left side of the red rock.

It took us another hour to hike down and back to the car. We took our time down the switchbacks reflecting on the hike we just conquered!

After our hike we drove through the rest of the park. Soaking in the majestic view of the huge mountains. Most of these pictures were out of the car window. Beautiful regardless.

This week has been truly epic! Beyond my expectations. Thank you for following our adventures.

Grand Staircase Escalante

By wabisabisole

On December 4, 2024

In 2024, Grand staircase, Hiking, Utah

Tuesday we booked a tour of The Grand Staircase Escalante. The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is a 1.7 million acre (slightly larger than the state of Delaware) remote area requiring a four wheel drive vehicle to travel the dirt roads. It is one of the most remote areas in the country and the last to mapped in the lower 48. We were at the top “stairs” with the bottom of the staircase being the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

During wet weather, the roads can be completely impassable. The road was a bumpy washboard with deep ruts and crossed several streams. However, it was totally worth it, the area offers some of the most breathtaking views of the state’s colorful sandstone cliffs and narrow slot canyons.

We started our tour at 8am and our first stop was a breathtaking vista overlooking the cliffs.

Our second stop was at Bull Valley Gorge. Here we could view a slot canyon from above. Stuck in the canyon was a 1950s ford pickup truck. The legend goes, high school kids were in the canyon when a flash flood came through. Their truck was unable to travel up the muddy sides of the canyon and became caught in the flood. The kids survived. No doubt they got a good whooping!

We continued to drive down the mountain and arrived at Willis Creek. We walked down the icy creek to view the slot canyon. It was incredible.

We booked our tour through Dreamland. (Same organization as our Wave Hike) Our tour guide was Jaron. He was fantastic. Not only an excellent driver, also a superb photographer and very knowledgeable about the area.

We continued our journey and arrived at Kodachrome Basin State Park. Here we enjoyed a picnic lunch before hiking up to Angels Palace. It was a short hike to the top of the rock formation to view the sand spires and get a panoramic view of the basin. The park has 67 sand spires ranging in a variety of sizes. Big and small. So many jokes about all of these phallic features. The views of the different staircase steps was truly breathtaking.

Our next stop was at the sandstone rock formation, Grosvenor Arch. It is located is in the western corner of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The arch is named after Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society, the publisher of the National Geographic magazine. The arches were a mix of Henrieville Sandstone (165 million years old) and Dakota Sandstone (95 million years old). Weathering created a stunning natural marvel.

We continued on to the Cottonwood Narrows and took a short hike down into the slot canyon. It was unreal to see the size of boulders that are moved by flash flood waters.

I couldn’t get over the different rock colors. They seem so random.

As our tour came to a close, we made a couple more stops. One of them to see the mushroom hoodoos. It was another short hike to observe them from above. Can rocks be cute? These sure were!

Our final stop was close to Kanab. This vista was absolutely stunning.

Throughout the day, we encountered only one other group of explorers and passed maybe 5 cars. The area was gorgeous, quiet and completely mesmerizing. We obviously didn’t see the entire 1.7 million acres, but what we saw was captivating and made my nerdy science heart so happy. As always, thanks for reading!

The Wave

By wabisabisole

On December 3, 2024

In Hiking, Lucky, The Wave, Travel, Utah

The Wave, properly know as Coyotes Butte North is a geological phenomenon. It is located in an area of Utah/ Arizona as the Vermillion Cliffs. The area is protected by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In order to hike The Wave you must obtain a permit from the BLM.

You can enter the lottery three months in advance or one day in advance. Only 64 people per day are allowed in the area and as a result, demand far exceeds supply. Obviously, December isn’t a high demand time for hiking and so obtaining a permit is a little bit easier. Nonetheless, it requires a little bit of luck. And as the saying goes, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good!

Dave, as always, was the lucky one. He won the lottery for the four of us. We found out in early September he won and have been planning this adventure since then. There is no true trail to hike to The Wave. It is about a three mile hike to it through a desert landscape. We decided to hire a guide for peace of mind and safety. We were beyond happy with the decision. Our guide, Andrea, was very knowledgeable about geology and photography. Besides The Wave, she showed us dinosaur tracks and artifacts. Without further ado, here are our amazing pictures.

The formation of the Wave began 190 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. The desert dunes compacted and solidified into striped sandstone. The peculiar and unique fluctuating layers were created by slow wind and rain erosion.

Not to be ignored was the beautiful desert landscape as we hiked.

The dinosaur tracks were definitely a highlight along the way. because science is cool and real.

The hike to and from was beautiful. Although not as challenging as some hikes we have completed, it was the first we have ever witnessed an emergency situation. We stopped for a drink of water right before the last climb to the wave. While we were resting a group of four passed us. Not even 10 minutes later, as we were packing up to continue, we heard a scream. Turns out one lady in their party slipped and broke her ankle. We provided assistance and so did a BLM volunteer who was nearby. In the end, she had to be medically evacuated.

Andrea showed us evidence of ancient civilizations. What looks like just a rock is actually a mealing stone.

I would highly recommend adding The Wave to your bucket list. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Unless you’re a guide like ours, Andrea has hiked it over 100 times!

As always, thanks for reading.

Vegas to Kanab

By wabisabisole

On December 2, 2024

In 2024, Arizona, Hiking, Las Vegas, Utah, Valley of Fire State Park

Sunday morning Dave and I enjoyed a quieter morning and enjoyed visiting the atrium of the Bellagio without the crowds. The Christmas display is completely over the top. Like everything else in Vegas!

After breakfast, we packed up and returned to the airport to pick up our rental and our friends! And so our road trip began!

First stop Valley of Fire State Park. Nevada’s first state park.

Valley of Fire State park is about an hour away from Vegas. Within minutes of entering the park we had our first spotting of wildlife. Big Horn Sheep!!

The red rocks are caused by the oxidation of the iron in the rock. So, basically they are rusty rocks. The black is caused by the oxidation of manganese in the rock. Our first stop in the park was to see the beehives. The holes and ridges in the rocks are caused by erosion.

We continued driving through the park. We entered through the west entrance and exited through the east entrance. It would be easy to spend an entire day in the park. We only took a couple short walks to see specific sights. Mainly because we still had a three hour drive ahead to Kanab.

We stopped to see a petrified log…

We stopped to see elephant rock.

We loaded up in the car and continued our drive to Kanab. The drive was beautiful. We crossed back and forth from AZ to UT.

The sunset as we crossed through the Kaibab Indian Reservation in AZ. It was stunning.

We were glad we hit the road when we did from Valley of Fire State Park. We didn’t realize we went to mountain time in Utah. Our three hour drive was actually four. We were hungry and still needed to gather provisions for Monday’s Wave hike. Our hike begins at 8am. We are all beyond excited!

Greetings From Moab

By wabisabisole

On June 27, 2021

In America, Beer, Flowers, Food, Moab, Road trip, Utah

Welcome back! It’s been a while since I’ve shared a story. I’m super happy to be back – I’ve missed this. Long story short… Dave and I planned a summer vacation that had to fall under the rules of “somewhere we haven’t gone before.” We threw around a few ideas and picked Utah. Because Utah fit that rule easily! (I’ve only been to Four Corners) Here is our plan, we are spending three nights in Moab, four nights in Park City, and one night in Salt Lake City.

We flew out of Memphis early this morning and arrived in Salt Lake City by 10:30am. We picked up the TINY rental car & quickly named it “clown car” and hit the road for Moab.

The drive was beautiful. Lots of rocks and a couple train sightings.

A little freaked out about the speed limit. Our clown car didn’t really like going that fast!

We stopped about half way for a pit stop at a local brewery. CrossCut – It was a bust. The word brewery had a different meaning in this area. Funny story, I marked this as a spot to have lunch on our drive to Park City. It has been crossed off!

We made it to Moab around 4 pm. We are staying in a cute AirB&B in the center of Moab. We unpacked the clown car and set out on foot in search of a beer. Our destination was a mile down the road at the Moab Brewery. The beer was cold and apparently Johnny B’s IPA is number one in the state. The brewery had the fastest food service we’ve ever experienced. I forgot to snap pictures of our dinner – I’ll get back into the blogging habit soonest.

A few pictures of flowers blooming around town.

Tomorrow we are heading to Canyonlands National Park. I’ve mapped out our route. It’s full of overlooks and short hikes all to look at rocks in the desert. My nerdy science heart is so happy!

Finding Beauty with Imperfection

Category: Utah