Utah Rocks! Bryce Canyon, Zion & Arches National Parks...Uuh-La-La!
- Sep 30, 2022
- 6 min read
When we visited Zion and Bryce Canyon, we stayed at Lutherwood campground which was a remote campground 3 miles off the main drag. Remote but very-very cool. The deer were like pets trying to see if we would feed them. We came home one night and there were cows blocking the road. We literally couldn't get through. They were blocking our path. It was pitch black and so were the cows. They stared us down. We were in such amazement we didn't video the scene, but no worries they were out a couple more nights (not as dark out) and we got them on video. Check out the cow's brand, it's Kathy's initials.
We spent 7 days at this campground splitting our time between both national parks. Don't ask which we liked better( Brad liked Zion, Kathy liked Bryce Canyon). Everyone asks us our favorite National Park. They are all amazing in different ways and should be on everyone's bucket list. We probably didn't mention this before but we use the NPS.gov app to determine what we want to accomplish on our visits to the National Parks. The first 2 days we went to Bryce Canyon. There are 3 "What to Sees," Bryce Amphitheater, The Southern Scenic Drive and Mossy Cave.
The first day we completed the Bryce Amphitheater section which included Sunrise, Sunset, Bryce and Inspiration points. We can't show you every photo or video because there's way too many.
We walked from Sunrise to Sunset Point and then realized we could drive to each point. It was a beautiful walk anyway. When we got to Sunset Point there was a place called Wall Street where you can walk down to the bottom of the Canyon. Kathy wasn’t feeling it so we went down as far as the window in the wall. While driving, we found Paria viewpoint which wasn't mentioned in the NPS app or on the map, but it definitely deserves attention.
Here are a few of our favorite pics along with Brad's entertaining and educational video narration. You can find more videos on our YouTube blog. https://youtube.com/channel/UCvDSnxNwLNYcx5g3mCXh1wg Check out the photo of all the people on the edge of the cliff. They were blind, holding hands and were being led by a woman to the edge. We wouldn't do that with our eyes open.
The second day at Bryce Canyon we did the Southern Scenic Drive and Mossy Cave. There are 9 viewpoints on the scenic drive. We stopped at all of them. Kathy said she liked Bryce Canyon better than The Grand Canyon because it was more up close and personal. Not Brad.
After the scenic drive we hiked Mossy Cave and the payoff at the end made it more than worth the trip. It was great. You know we love our waterfalls. This one we touched. Brad did get a little dampened in the Up close and personal video of the Mossy Cave Waterfall below.
On the way into Bryce you have to go through the Red Canyon which is part of Dixie National Forest. It made for a stunning entrance. We did a short hike after leaving Bryce on the way back to the RV that second day.
Next stop - Zion National Park. During Peak season, vehicles are not allowed on the scenic drive. You have to take a shuttle that starts at the visitor center and has 8 stops. We stopped at all of them however, The Temple of Sinawava, the Lodge, and the Grotto stops were the most popular and our favorites. At the Temple of Sinawava is the Riverside Walk that leads to The Narrows which is a 8 mile walk through the Virgin
River. Unfortunately, we didn't know about the Narrows ahead of our visit and didn't bring an extra pair of shoes. It was our first stop and we didn't want to have soggy feet the rest of the day. When we tried to go the next day it was closed due to possible flash flooding.
At the Grotto shuttle stop is where Angel's Landing is. You needed a permit for that hike but that didn't matter because there was no way Kathy was climbing the side of a mountain hanging onto chains. However, she did take the hike that led up to the start of Angel's Landing. We got to chat with a few people coming down from the hike. One group of young adults actually stopped to chat with us for a while because they saw Brad's Phillies hat and they were from Philly. They were 3 brothers, a sister, and a wife of one of the brothers and were genuinely nice people. We shared our blog with them so if they are reading this, we hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip. In the photo below we point out where we saw the hikers on Angel's Landing, but you can't see them in the pic.
At the Lodge stop is where you hike the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools. Kathy said she would take one pool hike at a time. It was so pretty that she couldn't resist and made it all the way to the Upper Pool. Then, we continued after that to the Kayenta Trail that led us to the Grotto. It was about a 5.5 to 6 mile hike. It was the highlight of our Zion visit.
Kayenta Trail starts at the middle Emerald Pool and was about 1 mile of beautiful views on the way back.
And, if that wasn't enough Brad had one more hike in mind. Canyon Overlook was the trail before the tunnel leading to the main part of the park. We only made it halfway. There were a few narrow spots that scared Kathy half to death...enough to say Uht-Uht She had enough hiking for the day.
We had a great couple days at Zion. Being out in nature all day is definitely a good feeling no matter how much you push your body. The drive in and out of the park is absolutely beautiful. So beautiful that there was a guy on a motorcycle in front of us videoing with his phone while he was driving by with one hand.. We met up with him later when we stopped on the side of the highway to check out a herd of bison. He was a young guy that was on a solo road trip on his motorcycle. He was really cool and interesting. If you are reading this Tony Crouch, great meeting you and keep that spirit you have. Here's the video of him filming and riding his Bike with one hand. We shared it with him. He dug the editorial big-time!
You're probably getting tired of reading, but we have one more park to tell you about. Arches might have been the most photogenic of all three parks so if this blog is too long come back to it. Or, at least look at the pictures.
Arches was our last National Park stop in Utah. Even though Arches is not that big, it took us 2 days to tour. You have to make a reservation to drive into this park. We had a reservation for both days, but the first day was a Saturday and we still waited in line 1 hour to get in. There's one way in and one way out.
Our first stop was at Park Avenue. When you see the second pic below, you'll understand how it gets its name. Same thing on the next pictures. Their called Courthouse Towers and Balanced Rock.
The highlight of our first day in Arches was our last stop at Double Arches, The North and South Windows and then Turret Arch which Kathy gave Brad permission to climb.
We started Day2 having a picnic lunch at the appropriately named Panaramic View. We hit a couple of pretty Spots: Salt Valley Overlook, Fiery Furnace and Sand Dune Arch.
Before we took the 2.5 mile hike to Broken Arch we went to Sand Dune Arch. The latter was the most amazing stop we had both days in Arches. It was a conglomeration of these huge fins of mountaneous rock formations that we got to walk in between. It was breathtaking. Like you're walking on a beach surrounded by these enormous and spectacular rock formations.
We were going to call it a day but instead we continued our exploration to the furthest point in Arches called Devils Garden's. There, we hiked about a mile one way to both Tunnel Arch and Pinetree Arch. Kathy did this little walk in her flip flops.
We're heading to Colorado next with stops in Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Fort Collins. With a one-day visit to the Capital of Wyoming, Cheyenne. Peace, love and Go Birds! Thanks for following our journey. Kathy and Brad
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More great photos, thanks for showing me parts of the country I've never been to. I loved Brad singing and cow interpretation, moo. Kathy how the heck did you hike in those flip-flops?