Zion, Bryce, Havasu and In Between

For as long as I can remember, I've had a strong desire to see every nook and cranny this world has to offer.  You could tell me it was the most miserable place on earth and I think I'd still want to go there.

I'd love to mark off lots of places in the US before expanding out, but other countries often call my name and you just have to let things flow the way they want.  Due to my love for travel, here is my first TRAVEL POST.

This past summer...late summer...I had the opportunity to visit Havasupai Indian Reservation and added Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park onto the trip.

HAVASUPAI 

To get to the falls, you hike 10 miles from Hulupai Hilltop down a dirt and gravel road (also a river bed during heavy rains) to the village of the Havasupai Indians then continue 2 more miles to the campground and Havasu Falls.

Havasu Falls is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.  The water is so blue...I thought all the photos I had seen before were photoshopped, but no.  Calcium occurs naturally in the water and the deposits cause the coloring.

Hiking through the brush to the next set of falls

PAGE, ARIZONA

  

Horseshoe Bend wasn't very adventurous as far as the hike out to it, but definitely worth feeling "touristy".  

Lake Powell

BRYCE CANYON

This is a great place to see if you just want to drive straight up to the attraction.  It takes literally, zero hiking to see the most amazing colors in stone formations.  These crazy formations are called hoodoos and the early Mormon settlers to the area would allow cattle to graze in the valleys between.  Talk about losing a cow!

The famous Thor's Hammer

ZION NATIONAL PARK

I drove into this park during the sunrise hours.  We left Bryce around 4:30 in the morning to get to Zion first thing and start our hike of the Subway.  The drive in from the East was spectacular.  You come through the famous Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel completed in 1930 and wind down a road into the valley between the mountains.  The sun was just peaking over the edges of the ridgeline and casting amazing shadows on the stone to the west.  I tried to wake Jesse from his slumber, but he was pretty exhausted.  I owe him big time for taking the first driving shift and allowing me to experience that God-proof moment.

       

  

I must admit that while hiking the Virgin Narrows was one the most different and exciting things I've done, it was also a bit unnerving.  There were flash flood warnings out for the day we hiked this and while it didn't rain on us while hiking, there were storm clouds looming the entire afternoon.  The rain hit while we were camped out up on a little dirt mound above the flash flood line.  The muddy water you see me hiking in is the day after the rains.  The day before, the river was so clear we could see the bottom.

Our last night in Zion we sat and admired the view.  A sidenote:  everything in the dessert will attack you.  Never try to wear flip-flops or walk anywhere barefoot.  Even the most inconspicuous plant has spikes and teeth.

We ended the trip with a drive up the west side of Zion to go Rock-Hounding in the backlands of Utah and then finished up with a relaxing day in Vegas.  If you can imagine Vegas being relaxing at all.

I would highly recommend seeing this part of the country whether you consider yourself an adventurous soul or not.  You can't look a single direction without seeing something that baffles your mind and causes you to wonder at the mighty creativity God encompasses.