Our adventures in Utah were among one of Bilbo’s favorite experiences of the entire trip. Lucky for him, Moab had only been the beginning; there were still three National Parks to see and an historical town to bed down in before we checked Utah off the list! Lucky for you, we took lots of pictures. Now grab a snow cap, because your “virtual tour” of Utah’s splendor begins with a snowy drive through Capital Reef National Park.
As you can tell, it was a fairly cold, but beautiful, morning in Capital Reef. The cold, our time line, and the presence of the cats in the car made this visit a drive through on the way to our next home base, Kanab. In Utah, Kanab is know as “Little Hollywood” due to the number of western films that have been filmed there, and at the heart of this small town’s film-lore is the historic Parry Lodge. I must admit that our temporary residence at the Parry Lodge was an episode of happenstance, as it happened to have the town’s best pet rate. It was only when Bilbo checked us in at the office, with its walls lined in film posters and stars’ autographed photos, that we learned of its role in the history of the American western, both housing stars and lending a backdrop for their heroic acts.
Oh, did I mention the life-size John Wayne cut out?
Bilbo, Bella, and I found the room to be above average quality for the low price (two queen beds, nice shower, and plenty of space); however, Fyodor spent the first night creeping from corner to corner with a low, irritated mumble of a meow. After that, he just waited by the door, hoping that we would leave. Maybe he doesn’t like westerns?
The next morning began before bright and early even came around in hopes of seeing the sun rise over Bryce Canyon National Park. That lovely ball of gas ended up making his appearance before we reached the park, but provided us with a glowing sky under which to drive.
When we reached the park it was covered in snow, the plow trucks were out, and the majority of the park was buried and closed for the season.
The Ramblin’ Bauers didn’t let that ruin their day, though! We hiked out the the two areas of the park that were open: Sunrise Point and Sunset Point (I thought this was quite fitting since we had come for the sunrise that day). Here’s what snowy Bryce Canyon looks like in November:
The formation in the front left of the photo below is “Thor’s Hammer”, a more famous feature in the park.
Here are a few neat things passed on the way back to Kanab.
Since our day in Bryce Canyon was substantially shorter than planned, our trip to Zion National Park began substantially sooner than planned! The consensus between the Ramblin’ Bauer’s was that Zion was among the best national parks in the US and the coolest places on Earth. Let me show you why.
We began with a scenic drive around, through, and between engulfing rock walls in a multitude of varying shapes and colors. The enormity and isolation of the park gave us the feeling that we had entered an entirely different world than we had been in at Zion’s gate.
The end of the road brought us to the Riverside Walk, a 2 mile round trip stroll beginning in a natural amphitheater called the Temple of Sinawava and leading through the Zion Canyon to the world famous Zion Narrows. This paved path is the most visited hike in the park and offers diversity and beaurty in scenery and surroundings.
Here’s the Temple of Sinawava:
Here we are at the Narrows:
Our next feat was to tackle one of the hikes Backpacker Magazine rated among the best in America, Angel’s Landing (which ends atop of this baby).
These signs made us wonder if they trail would be accessible, but our chances seemed pretty good considering this park wasn’t buried in snow. We decided that we would do what we could and turn around if the conditions weren’t favorable.
To reach the Angel’s Landing trailhead, you must hike the West Rim Trail which winds up the mountain in a series of paved “wig wags”.
Here is a popular feature which can be seen from the West Rim Trail, the Great White Throne.
And here we are taking a breather at the end of the West Rim Trail before taking on Angel’s Landing. Good news! There was not a speck of ice to be seen!
The hike to Angel’s Landing begins with scaling rocks like these (while holding the chain, of course) as the canyon floor grows further and further away.
About halfway along there is a perfect spot to stop and snap some photos. We are almost up as high as the rock walls around us!
From this point on, the trail becomes steeper and more narrow with each step. If you look really closely at the picture below you can see the chains marking the remainder of the path. Here’s a hint: it goes up the mountain.
Once we made it across this narrow pass, we were almost there!
Just scale these last few sections…
Round the corner, and…
Cue angelic singing!
This is why it’s called Zion, Heaven on Earth!
The view made Angel’s Landing the best hike that we have ever done! We took some time to relax, take it all in, and to photograph ourselves in this gorgeous place.
Rested up, it was time for us to call it a day and head back to the car. We saw some amazing things on the way down including an 85 year old woman hiking the trail and a buck grazing right beside us!
There was also pretty spectacular scenery.
The beginning of our second day in Zion was postponed by a morning trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. However, to stay with the theme of the blog, we’ll put that story on hold and continue with our time in Utah. The theme of this evening was rock climbing!
(You can see the parameter of the park as you approach.)
Below is the route that we climbed, following the crack up the face of the rock.
And this is the view from where we were standing:
Bilbo set things up, led the route, and I followed. I’m happy to report that we both made it to the top!
Here’s the view from the top, via the iPhone of Bilbo:
Here I am after untying my knot, and beside me is the rope stuck in the shuts anyways!
The rope got a twist in it, got stuck, and Bilbo had to climb the route again. Actually, he was happy to have gotten a second go at it. By the time we sorted everything out and left the park, the moon was out to wish us a farewell.
With that we ended our Utah adventures. In the morning, Fyodor’s wishes came true as we moved on to Arizona and became one step closer to home.
You guys are so cute! LOVE the pictures!
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