Diggers of the mountain tops: Utah

Colorado to Moab, Utah
 

Shortly before we crossed the state line of Colorado on our way to Utah we were hit by snow flurries: the first but not the last time we were confronted with snow on our trip. It meant we had to drive slower but slowing down while surrounded by a fairy tale of beautiful white covered forests was nothing to complain about. After we reached Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a short break and peak at a local Marijuana shop, the snow had settled and we were on the way again. We spent only a few hours in Colorado however the glimpse was intriguing, beautiful and one that will haunt me until I return and travel the entire state myself. It was late when we finally crossed the state line of Utah when I handed the wheel to Christoph for the last lag of the drive which would take us to a rest stop on the outskirts of Moab.

 

Arches National Park

 

After a really cold night we reached Arches National Park. The park lies on the Colorado Plateau along with other monuments such as the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and more. The Colorado Plateau is an area of 337,000km² covering corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona and is one of the most spectacular places I have ever stepped foot.

getting lost on the trails 

 

the famous 'Delicate Arch'

Breathtaking. Ancient. Eroding arches, spires, balancing rocks and sandstone fins overwhelm an area that used to be covered by a sea. A sea! Marvelous. Historic. Red rock against a backdrop of snow covered mountains. 
 

 

connecting with my feminine energy

I will never forget this moment. The way the sun illuminated the red rocks while the night began to creep in. The way the mountains darkened and the clouds above changed their colour. The air cooled and my legs ached from a day on the trails. The contrast of all these elements in one beautiful spectacle of wonder. A multisensory experience. It was impossible not to feel grateful, in awe and small. Unfortunately this photo does not do a justice but it brings me back to witnessing that moment unfold. 

 

Canyonlands National Park
 

As the sky burned red we made our way to Canyonlands Park passing by ATVers ripping it on the unending sand dunes and through an open ranch of cows grazing in fields. We spent the night in Canyonlands National Park where we parked the car at a lookout point. Canyonlands is one of many ‘International Dark Sky Parks’, which are parks that have an intensified darkened sky quality and have committed to preserve and reduce light pollution in the area. In other words, a wonderful place to get acquainted with the sky and its many wonders. 

A cool night in the car before we were up with the sun and on the trails again. It was cloudy and the morning air was crisp and new. Aztec Butte was a short but sweet trail taking us up a rock to a lookout point and leading us past an ancient food storage used by the indigenous people on their treks across the land. 

 

On the way out of the park we stopped by a lookout point with an incredible overview of the canyon.

Bryce Canyon
 

Driving through, I shall say, some interesting small towns in the countryside of Utah with an overwhelming and strong religious influence made our skin crawl as we made our way to Bryce Canyon. Reaching Bryce Canyon in the late afternoon, we did a load of laundry, made some rice and vegetables on the camping stove and began a leisure drive through the park along many lookout points.

When we parked the car at the beginning of the night it was lightly snowing and ignorantly we didn’t think much of it after checking the weather which claimed it should slow down to a stop over the night. Instead at 03:15 Christoph awoke, unable to sleep from being cold and somewhat worried since it was still snowing. Somewhat used to this, I shrugged it off and told him not to worry and go back to sleep. I woke again around 04:15 since Christoph was still up. We opened the car door to peak out and as we had feared there was a fresh layer of about 30cm of snow now on the ground. We took a test drive around the parking lot and after some debate decided that our best bet was to slowly make the drive out of the park. Very slowly: 15 kilometers and 1,5 hours of attentive and precise driving. We later learned that the park was closed for the next days due to the heavy snowfall therefore hiking was unfortunately not an option for us. When we finally reached the entrance to the park the sun was beginning to kiss the skies, the snow had stopped and what lay before our eyes was a fantasy. I have never experienced snow in such a magnificent way. 
 

The stillness of the morning light. 06:00 am and on our way to Zion national park. Empty slick roads. Clouds clearing to demonstrate the soft blue sky it was hiding. Trees crystalized from ice and powered with a thin layer of snow. Red rock like a cake sprinkled with snow icing. The snow took me home to many snowy winter memories.

 

 

  

Zion National Park
 

Entering Zion National Park, we became very quiet and our eyes grew big. Monstrous rock formations that looked like piled pancakes scraping the sky stood proudly around us as we drove a winding road towards the visitor’s center. Fog crept around corners and mountain goats stood their ground on rock edges. I felt as though I had entered another world.
 

 

Reaching the bottom of the valley we checked out the visitor’s center where we were given hiking tips and information on local weather. It was raining and was supposed to rain for the next days. We were craving the warm sun so we decided to continue our trip and include Zion after California by making a detour on our way back to Pheonix. Although we visited the park at the end of our trip I decided to include it in this section since I prefer to set up this blog as a series of states, not a timeline.
 

Returning to Zion approximately two weeks later was a good decision. We experienced sunny skies rather than rain. We spent our nights making bon fires, gazing into distant galaxies and listening in on the coyotes making their calls. In the middle of nowhere with the backdrop of red rocks- I am grateful to have had that place to spend the evenings. 

 

 

Our days in Zion were filled with hiking. Angels Landing and Hidden Canyon were some of our favourite trails to name a few.

 

 

 

 

 

We experienced Utah through its red rocks, unpredictable weather and magnificent national parks. Rewinding two weeks before: we made our way away rainy Zion National Park towards California via Las Vegas, Nevada.