Park 3: Canyonlands May 2009

The early morning sun casting shadows.

On the same trip to visit Arches National Park, we headed south of Moab to Canyonlands National Park. Named as such because the Colorado and Green Rivers have carved actual canyons into the landscape, Canyonlands covers about 525 square miles and is divided into 3 different districts. The area we chose to hike in is called the Needles district which is named after the red and white banded rock pinnacles which dominate it. Unlike Arches National Park, where many of the sites are accessible by short hikes or even your car, most of the good stuff in Canyonlands requires some long-distance hiking.

Starting at the "Elephant Hill" trailhead, we spent the majority of the day doing the Chesler Park Loop, which provided great views of the Needles formations. In the southern portion, the trail sent us through deep, narrow fractures in the rock called "fins". These were amazingly fun, a little bit scary, and wonderfully chilly. In the hot desert heat, these fins acted as an air-conditioned hallway to hike through.

Inside the fins.

On full day hikes like these, we usually start out as early as possible to beat the heat. That being said, by the end of the hike,  in the late afternoon sun, I was ready for some shade. (I'm sure it didn't help that Dad and I "raced" the last couple of miles... I like to hike in front, but so does he.)

The one thing I really enjoyed about Canyonlands is that the trails aren't full of hikers. Because the park requires so much back-country hiking, many of what I call "just tourists" stay away. There's nothing more annoying than sharing the trail with folks that just got off the tour bus wearing flip-flops and carrying nothing but their purses and cameras!

The Needles

Park 2: Arches (Part 1) May 2009

I've got to backtrack a little to keep my park visits in order...

In 2009, my parents and I headed to Southern Utah to visit Arches and Canyonlands. Utah, is by far, one of the most beautiful states I have ever visited. Seriously, if it weren't for all the crazy polygamists, I could definitely live there. (However, 'Big Love' on HBO was an awesome show.) Salt Lake City is a little blah, but just south is Provo and Sundance, which are absolutely stunning and is where we stayed the first 2 days. It was so wonderful to breathe the crisp air- something you just can't find in Tennessee- and to see a valley covered in green aspen, but the mountains behind still covered in snow.

Sundance is the famed ski resort owned by Robert Redford and home to a "little-known" film festival. Want to know what it looks like? Check out the film 'Jerimiah Johnson', add in some Uggs and Hollywood celebs riding the ski lift and and an over-priced mail-order catalog, and you've got Sundance. But seriously, it was a fantastic place to stay for the night. We slept in a little hillside "cabin", ate some amazing food and took a couple of art classes at the on-site art studios. If you ever have the chance, check out the resort, especially in the off-season when prices are right.

Sundance's ski-worthy mountains.

Once leaving Sundance, we headed south for the tiny town of Moab. It's about a 4-hour car ride, but the scenery is absolutely beautiful (if you can stay awake... I'm like a baby in the car and fall asleep pretty quickly). The temperature rises as you drop lower and lower, out of the snow-capped mountains and onto the desert floor. In the course of one day, I went from wearing jeans and a fleece to shorts and a tank top.

On the way into Moab, you actually drive by the entrance to Arches National Park. It has a lovely Visitor's Center that I recommend stopping at before entering, mainly because the park rangers are happy to point out places of interest and help you decide on the best hikes. This is where we stopped and picked up our park pass (required for all visitors) before heading in to town to the house we rented for the week.

The main road inside Arches National Park.

This is where I have to give my mom credit for always planning and organizing some wonderful trips for our family. Wherever we travel, she puts together the itinerary, the accommodations, the hikes... it's always fantastic. One of her main sources of info is VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner). With a little bit of research, rental houses can be just as affordable as a hotel, especially when you consider that a rental home gives you the opportunity to cook some meals instead of eating out all the time. Plus, rentals usually include washers/dryers, which means you can travel with less clothing.


Moab is paradise for any active person, but especially mountain bikers, jeep off-roaders, and hikers. There are only about 4,500 permanent residents that live there, the majority of which work in the tourism industry. The locals are either bad ass mountain bikers or batty old hippies. (Seriously, there a no overweight people in that town.) Moab is also home to some great breweries, restaurants and art galleries, one of which I purchased some fantastic art by Jonathan Frank.

Moab Recommendations:

Restaurants:
Jail House Cafe (the original town jail that now serves amazing breakfast)
La Hacienda
Moab Brewery

Bike Shop: 
Chili Pepper Bike Shop

Art Galleries:
Framed Image Art Gallery

Park 1: The Big Hole

My first memorable experience with a National Park was in 1993. I was in 6th grade, skinny, moody, and not too jazzed about riding in a car for 4 hours to see, as my sister and I put it, "a big hole in the ground." Driving through the northern deserts of Arizona from Las Vegas, I was pretty taken aback with the starkness of my surroundings. It was the desert, yes, but not how I'd pictured it in my mind. I imagined "Lawrence of Arabia",  riding camels, searching for an oasis in the distance. The desert to a girl from Alabama looked like the Sahara. Not this shitload of rock and scrub. Oh, yeah, and a really big dam.

But once we reached the "hole in the ground" I was thrilled. It was so much bigger than I could have imagined. And there were donkeys! Giving rides! (Yes, this grabbed my attention pretty quickly.) Our family did the typical touristy things. We took pictures at specified lookouts, we used those ridiculous quarter-operated binoculars and we hit up all the gift shops. Finally, in keds and probably carrying no water, we ventured down into the "giant hole". Behind the donkeys no less. 

I'd say we hiked about 2 miles before my sister and I started complaining about how hot it was, how much donkey shit smelled and my parents realized that what you hike down, you have to hike back up. We turned around and that was that.

Jump ahead to 2006. I had not been on a hiking vacation since the Grand Canyon. I guess I really hadn't had much of an interest in anything that involved too much exertion or effort. My parents, however, had started hiking with a travel group called The World Outdoors. They had done some pretty amazing hikes out west and in Alaska and Canada. And they were hooked. And after taking me to Sedona, AZ that summer to do some hiking, I was hooked too.

So begins this little "project" of mine. I've had the opportunity in the last few years to go on some AMAZING hikes in some pretty spectacular places across the country. For a long time, I used to think that the only vacations worth taking were in Europe or Asia... definitely oversees. But, I've come to realize there is so much of this country I want to see. The U.S. is BIG and full of breathtaking landscapes. One thing our forefathers did right was to put aside these places and designate them as National Parks; for everyone to visit and enjoy.

I plan to see them all. All 58.

I have a handful under my belt, but many more to go....

So enjoy this little blog of mine! And go hiking!