Two years ago, shortly after we returned from Glacier National Park, I put together a post sharing one photo from each day of the trip. I ended up writing many additional posts detailing our time in the park, but in the meantime, that post gave me the chance to share some of my favorite images while I was still working to get everything written and edited and ready to share.
We’ve recently returned from a roadtrip to southern Utah and northern Arizona, and while I’m busy sorting through my 1000+ photos and putting all our experiences into words, I figured I’d do something similar. So without further ado, I present a preview of our wonderful few days in the desert.
Day 1
After our Bryce canyon roadtrip four years ago, we swore we’d never again drive 9 hours in one day. Next time, we vowed, we’re flying and renting a car.
We’ve now broken that vow two – soon to be three – times. Flying with a week’s worth of camping gear is just too difficult, and not having our full assortment of gear is much less comfortable. Not to mention the substantial cost difference.
And so it was that we set off for the all-day drive across Utah.
Unfortunately, the day ended not with a jaunt through Cedar Breaks National Monument as planned, but with a last minute hotel booking to escape the rain and snow. But I can’t complain too much. If there was going to be a crappy day of our trip, at least it was this one. I’d have been much more upset had the weather forced us to cancel one of the hikes we were really looking forward to.
And luckily – for the sake of having a photo to share, anyway – part of our journey included a drive through the geologically bizarre San Rafael Swell in central Utah.
Day 2
We were up early this morning and en route to the northernmost section of Zion National Park for the longest hike of our trip – a 14 mile (22.5 km) roundtrip journey to Kolob Arch, which is one of the longest natural arches in the world!
Day 3
Planning this trip was somewhat of a logistical nightmare given the number of permits and reservations required. It was also a lesson in patience – which I tend to lack when it comes to travel planning – because I wasn’t initially able to obtain all the permits we wanted. But it (mostly) all worked out in the end, and I was able to score us a permit for a day hike through The Subway. I’ll be sharing an entire post devoted to this hike in a few weeks, but for now, suffice it to say my husband and I have both added a new hike to our all-time favorites lists!
Day 4
This entire trip was actually centered around one thing: Angels Landing. Months earlier, I entered the lottery for an Angels Landing permit and, much to my surprise, I got one! This was actually my second time up Angels Landing; my first trip was fifteen years ago. And while I’m not generally one for repeating hikes, this was one I had no problem doing again. Plus, I was super excited for my husband to experience it this time as well. Spoiler alert: he loved it!
Day 5
In retrospect, not hiking much for the first 5 months of the year was not a great way to prepare for hiking 32 miles (51.5 km) in 3 days. Thankfully, day 5 was more of a rest day as we drove from Utah to Arizona. Since we had all day, we decided to take the more scenic southern route, which had us ascending from about 4000 feet (1220 m) to 8000 feet (2440 m) and then dropping back down to 4000 feet. It was jarring to go from red rock desert to a beautiful ponderosa forest and then back to red rock desert, all in the span of about half an hour. But what gorgeous red rocks they were!
Day 6
Our home base for the next two nights of our trip was Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the shores of Lake Powell. While predominately a boating destination, there’s plenty of hiking to be found, including one of the most famous hikes in the southwestern US: Upper Antelope Canyon. It was impossible for me to choose just one photo from today, and it was pretty difficult to narrow it down to two as well. Prepare for many, many more Antelope Canyon photos in a future post.
Day 7
After a day spent on land, it was time to head out onto the water, with a boat tour of Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. Though this tour was neither plan A nor plan B for the day, we still ended up having a nice time out on the lake. It was a much-needed reprieve from the desert heat, and a great way to wrap up our time in Arizona.
Day 8
We’d initially planned a 9 day trip, but since our itinerary for day 7 ended up being shorter than planned, we decided to just start heading home after the tour. We’d also initially planned to make one final stop along the way, but by this point in the trip we were pretty sick of the hot + wind + sandy desert combo, so we bailed. This put us most of the way home by the end of day 7 and home by mid-day on day 8. Since all we did today was drive, I don’t have any photos… which I guess makes up for the two photos I shared on day 6.
Stay tuned for many more stories and photos from our southwestern sojourn over the next few weeks!
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