1-year Anniv Utah - Day 9

The final day of the trip started early.  We left Flagstaff and got to Meteor Crater just as it opened at 8am.  We toured the Visitor Center, snapped some photos, then got back on the road.  We passed ghost towns along Route 66, including Twin Arrows, the town featured on our tour book.

We drove through Winslow, AZ where we of course stood on the corner!  We then rolled into Albuquerque with only a few hours to explore.  Nadine found a local festival in the heart of old Albuquerque, where buildings were lined with dried hot peppers.  We really got a sense of the southwest.

On the way to the airport we grabbed dinner at a local spot, ate it in the car, then dropped off our rental car.  We made it on time for our flight and reflected on another amazing trip.  Another successful NaDave Adventure!

Meteor Crater (outside Flagstaff, AZ)

Road to Meteor Crater

Winslow, AZ - along Route 66

Albuquerque, NM - chili peppers drying outside

Crazy sign in Albuquerque airport

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 8

We packed up from the hotel and headed to Horseshoe Bend just outside Page, Arizona.  This famous sight is home to another entrenched meander of the Colorado River.

From here we headed for the Grand Canyon.  Along the way we passed some fun cities like Tuba City.  We entered Grand Canyon National Park from the east, and stopped along each of the scenic overlooks.

We arrived to the South Entrance Visitor Center and walked around the South Rim, simply beautiful.  We took the shuttle buses to a few stops to the west (Hopi Point, etc), then headed back to see Bright Angel Trail.  We hiked about 0.25 mile and then turned back.  Our family of 4 had hiked part of the rim-to-rim trail.

After seeing the beautiful canyon, we headed for Flagstaff AZ.  We got into town in time to see Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered.  We stayed there for ~2 hours where we learned about unmanned space voyages, as well as a tour of the constellations.

Around 9pm we headed for our AirBNB, and then headed to a local brewery to grab some food and drinks.  We then headed back to our overnight, and got ready for our final day of the trip.  It'd be an early morning, as we had our longest day of driving (5+ hours).

Horseshoe Bend (outside of Page, AZ)

Tuba City, ZA - along drive to Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon NP - Hopi Point

Grand Canyon NP - Overlooking Bright Angel Trail

Grand Canyon NP - Bright Angel Trailhead

Grand Canyon NP - Do not Poop!

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 7

We awoke...and sand was everywhere!  In our ears, in our shoes, covering our sleeping bags and backpacks.  We looked at each other and laughed, this was a first!  We've camped in a lot of conditions, but never blowing sand.

We packed up and headed for Page Arizona for our Antelope Canyon Tours.  Despite the Antelope Tours best efforts to confuse time zones, we arrived on time.  In fact we were a little early, so we rushed into town to get details on a Lake Powell sunset cruise.

We got back for our first tour, Lower Antelope tour.  We walked down into the Canyon, and narrowly navigated the twists and turns.  It was beautiful to see it up close, and fun to see different colors and shapes around each corner.

Our next tour was Upper Antelope tour.  We left in SUVs and drove down a long sandy wide road that felt like the middle east.  When we arrived, there were other trucks that looked like Indiana Jones.  We again walked through the canyon, and this one was particularly famous from the National Geographic cover image.  

When the tour ended, we headed towards Lake Powell and caught the sunset cruise.  We learned about Glen Canyon Dam as well as the lake (it took 17 years to fill!).  We relaxed on the boat ride and enjoyed the sights.  

We then checked into our hotel and ordered some yummy italian food.  Calzones for everyone.  We ended the night writing some postcards and reading up sights to come.

Monument Valley - Sand was everywhere inside our tent

Upper Antelope Canyon - Entrance

Antelope Canyon - Narrow footing

Antelope Canyon - beautiful!

Antelope Canyon - Wow!

Antelope Canyon - is that rock or a face?

Antelope Canyon - famous Windows software background

Lake Powell Sunset cruise



Lake Powell sunset cruise

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 6

Before saying goodbye to Moab, we took a morning trip to see some dinosaur tracks and also do a hike to see Corona Arch.  This arch is massive and is famous for people bungee jumping off the arch.
It was a pleasant hike, but the weather got hot quickly so we made sure we were finished by 11am.

As we said goodbye to Moab, we headed for Newspaper Rock, a famous rock with carvings from the early indians.

Next we stopped at Four Corners Monument and did the goofy pose to put a limb in each state at once.

Our final stop before Monument Valley was Gooseneck State Park.  This place is surprisingly unknown, but has an unbelievable double entrenched meander of the San Juan River.  So beautiful.  From there we headed past Mexican Hat, AZ and into Monument Valley.

The photos of Monument Valley can only do it justice.  The place looks like a movie set yet has a spiritual feel due to massive red stone features.  We snapped photos constantly.

We arrived to our campsite and it was very windy.  We picked our campsite, but waited to put up our tent to minimize the amount of sand that would blow in.  To explore the park, we booked a 3 hour driving tour which took us to sights beyond the public road.  We saw old Navajo sights, and spiritual areas that our guide gave background about and told Navajo stories.
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The tour ended and it was time to set up the tent.  It was so windy, we looked like a black-and-white of people who had never put a tent together.  We eventually got everything setup on the sandy surface, and needed big stones to place over the anchors to keep the tent from flying away.  As the sun went down, we made some lovely peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Before climbing in the tent, we saw the moonrise one more time, but this time the moon looked red!  There was so much sand blowing in the wind, that the moon appeared red, crazy!

Corona Arch...Nadine in the lower center (just outside Moab, UT)

 Dinosaur Tracks (just outside Moab, UT)

 Newspaper Rock (south of Moab, UT)

Four Corners Monument

Gooseneck State Park -- Double Entrenched Meander!  (six miles of river are visible)

Monument Valley Entrance

Monument Valley - View from our campsite

 Monument Valley - Three Sisters

Monument Valley - John Wayne Point

Monument Valley - John Wayne Point (look at that hair...it was windy!)

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 5

We again enjoyed not sleeping on the ground in a tent, and the free breakfast!  We headed into nearby Canyonlands National Park, and immediately experience the vastness of the park.  It took 30 minutes just to get to the Visitor Center.  Once there, we saw signs that water was only available at the Visitor Center, so you had to pack smart!

First stop was Mesa Arch, and the view was of course breath-taking.  From there we went to Upheaval Dome hike, where scientists aren't sure whether its a meteor crater or a salt dome.  From there we went to Green River Overlook, which really gave us the sense of how huge and isolated Canyonlands is...and it also gave you a view of The Needles district in the southern part of the park.

Our final stop was Deadhorse Point State Park.  One of the prettiest sites in the park.  While there, we watched birds ride the wind thermals, and whip around near us.  What a great view.  From there we headed back into town, and dressed up for our Anniversary Dinner.  Nadine found a great spot and we shared a nice meal.  We ended the night with an ice cream and a beer, and a final moonrise.  We ended the night by the hotel pool in a comfy loveseat clam!

Canyonlands National Park - Entrance

Canyonlands NP - Mesa Arch

 Canyonlands NP - Upheaval Dome

 Canyonlands NP - Green River overlook

Canyonlands NP - Deadhorse Point (Nadine in upper left)

Canyonlands NP - Deadhorse Point 2

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 4

Day 4 started off in Green River, Utah.  We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and got on the road.  We had a nice morning drive into Moab and went straight into Arches National Park entrance @10am.  We made a quick stop at the Visitors Center to catch the Welcome Video, bought a patch, and then headed to the sites.

Our first stop was The Windows section, which includes the famous Double Arch.  From there we headed to Devils Garden, which includes the record-breaking Landscape Arch (almost 300 feet wide!).  The weather was warm and the sun was killer.  Before starting the Delicate Arch hike, we headed into Moab to check into our hotel and catch some AC.  We then headed back into the park and started the Delicate Arch sunset hike @~530pm, and man, the exposed hike was still super hot!  We arrived a large group of people, all watching the shadows creep up on the famous arch.

We wanted to stay at Delicate Arch for hours, but headed back down in time to beat the daylight.  Just as we were heading into Moab, the moon popped up behind the mountain range and provided a jaw-dropping view.  We snapped a quick photo, then headed into town to grab some grub at the Moab Brewery.  We filled our bellies, then headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Arches National Park - Drive into The Windows section

Arches NP - Double Arch

Arches NP - Nadine overlooking Devils Garden (Landscape Arch in upper right)

Arches NP - Delicate Arch at sunset (looking East)

Arches NP - Delicate Arch at sunset (looking West)

Arches NP - Full Moon rise over the Moab city

1-year Anniv Utah - Day 3

We woke up to a chill and a frosty windshield!  We also woke up a little more sore and decided to get breakfast at the Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant.  The omelets and hot chocolates warmed us up as we headed all the way into the park, and reached almost 10,000 feet elevation!

We spent the morning driving along the scenic route, and stopping for photos.  Our favorite spot was Inspiration point where the view of the Hoodoos was amazing.  From there we headed to Navajo Trail and hiked down into the park.  We passed right along the hoodoo structures and felt tiny among the giant rock formulations.  We got to end of the trail in the valley and raindrops started to fail.  We headed back up, knowing also that we had a long afternoon of driving.

We left Bryce dodging downpours and headed into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  This park is HUGE, so we stopped at a visitor center and grabbed a map.  We only had planned for a view hours, so we first headed to Grosvenors Arch.  It took some dirt roads and a small river crossing to finally make it.  It was a short walk to the Arch, and grabbed a nice photo.  To stay on schedule, we headed back to the main road and again hit a downpour.  After 1 hour of driving we came upon Hell's Backbone, and the view was stunning.  The land was barren for as far as the eye could see.  But the drive was spectacular, one the best roads I've ever driven.  Scenery in every direction.  Twisting and turning, up and down valleys and canyons.

Our final stop that evening was Capitol Reef National Park.  We arrived after the Visitor Center was closed, but followed the main scenic drive.  The road hugged close to the massive red cliffs, and the sun made the red rock look like fire.  We drove through Fruita, an old Mormon settlement where several fruit trees were planted.  We also drove down Gorge Road, a road created as a pass through where you were surrounded by high rising walls.  The final sight in Capitol Reef was Hickman's Bridge hike.  We barely squeezed in the 1 hour roundtrip hike as dusk settled in, and on the way home we treated to a spectacular view of the full moon.

As dusk turned to darkness, we hopped in the car and headed for Green River, Utah where we had a hotel for the night.  The full moon light the way for us, as we cruised and talked about another fantastic day!  We arrived to the hotel, happily took showers (the 1st since Friday!), and passed out on the comfy bed.

Bryce National Park - Inspiration Point

Bryce NP - Navajo Trail

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument -- Grosvenors Arch

Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat'l Monument -- Hells backbone

Capitol Reef National Park entrance

Capital Reef NP - Scenic Drive

Capital Reef NP -- Fruita

Capital Reef NP -- Gorge Road

Capital Reef NP -- Hickman's Bridge Hike (look at that moon!)