Category: Nature

The final destination of my journey through Utah (and Arizona) was the one which had been on my travel list for the longest time – Lake Powell. I remember watching the original 1968 Planet of the Apes when I was a teenager and being intrigued by the bizarre landscapes. Bright clear turquoise-hued water lapped against golden sun-drenched stone and sand. It was other-worldly, and somehow idyllic and post-apocalyptic at the same time. I immediately did some research into where the film had been shot, and ever since then it sat on my travel list. It did not disappoint.

The temperatures during my road trip had been pretty hot, in the low 30s, but as I turned into Page Arizona, oven-door-heat blasted at me from all directions – and I loved it. Page was my base for three nights as I explored beautiful slot canyons and got to know the lake by foot, boat and from the top of a butte via helicopter.

Antelope Canyon

My first stop on the way into Page was Antelope Canyon. Antelope is a slot canyon, which is a long, narrow, and deep channel with sheer rock walls. This system of drainageways hooks up to Lake Powell at the north where it can be explored by kayak. To the south they can be explored by foot. That’s where I dropped in.

There are several spots along the canyon that can be toured. I avoided the most popular one, preferring to avoid the busloads of tourists taking the same four photos. What I did see was incredible. The colours, erosion-worn texture and light play had me staring mouth-agape in all directions.

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Horseshoe Bend

I approached Horseshoe Bend with partial reluctance. It’s perhaps the biggest tourist trap in the area, given it’s easily accessed by a short hike off a large parking lot at the side of a highway.

Despite this, it was still worth a visit. The scale was spectacular. The green Colorado River lapped against those Utah red rocks and I was able to get up right to the edge and watch as kayaks and speedboats zoomed by below.

I tried a polarising filter on my camera for the first time on this trip and got most use of it in this section to reduce glare on the water and see more detail within.

Lake Powell

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With oven-heat blasting from all directions, I made sure to get down to the lake for a swim. The water was about 25 degrees, which some locals informed me was “too cold for a swim”. Warm enough for me! The water was clean and clear and incredibly blue-green. Small waves washed upon a sandy beach, and I was in the middle of the desert. I found it awesomely surreal.

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After my swim I boarded a boat to venture further out onto the lake. Along the way we passed Tower Butte, rising 1600 metres above sea level – and I caught a glimpse of a helicopter hovering above. My afternoon was wide open and I was looking for a way to round out my trip, so on an impulse I purchased a ticket and two hours later I was on a chopper above the lake.

Helicopters are awesome.

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I left Page and made my way back to Las Vegas. Due to my early flight I stayed the final night there – which was mostly spent stuffing my face at the Bacchanal all-you-can-eat buffet. The food was amazing, and I really did eat all I could before rolling back to my room.

But Vegas is a total dump, so after eating my body weight in food I took the shortest route back to my room.

Ennio Morricone blasted loudly from my car speakers as I zoomed along highway 313 toward Dead Horse Point State Park. Think of any film you’ve ever seen set in the old west – chances are it was shot either in Dead Horse or in Monument Valley. In this section of my trip I visited both of these spots.

Dead Horse Point State Park + Canyonlands National Park

Dead Horse Point overlooks the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park, and it was cool. I stayed here for about an hour walking along the edge of the canyon. Dramatic shapes and shadows form in every direction – the green edge of the Colorado river popping against the brown canyon.

Next I moved on to Canyonlands. I took less photos here. As spectacular as it was to experience hiking around, the scenery wasn’t terrifically different as I moved about.

Monument Valley

My alarm went off at five in the morning, and as the sun was rising I filled my tank with petrol and got moving to my next destination – Monument Valley. I wanted to get there before any potential crowds got in the way, particularly at the entrance, known now as Forrest Gump point – named for the spot where Forrest stopped his run across America. Thankfully there weren’t many cars around at all so I was able to get out onto the road and get some shots.

After about ten minutes another car pulled up behind mine and I met a couple of guys from California doing much the same trip as myself. I ended up in a convoy with them into the Navajo nation land. They had an off-road vehicle and invited me along to do the drive around the valley, where I was able to get some great shots.

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This trip was the first time I’d ever used a tripod. It opened up a whole new world of photography of which I was previously unaware. I found a spot outside my room to set up and captured the colours changing across the mesas, then the stars above, and in the morning I shot the sun as it rose behind one of the mittens.

This shot is a composite of two photos – one from midnight and one from sunrise. Without a tripod these shots wouldn’t have lined up so perfectly, nor would I have been able to capture those stars without a lot more blur.

As spectacular as Monument Valley was, there really wasn’t a lot to do, so once I’d stayed the night I hopped in my car and ventured into the north of Arizona on my way to the last stop of my road trip loop…

The first leg of my journey – through Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks – was epic in scale, and while it ventured through a lot of desert, there was still plenty of greenery around. There were other cars on the road and plenty of people in the towns and parks. My next leg was through a section of Utah that a lot of people skip past, and I felt it.

The first few days I was awestruck by incredible scenery, but it was on the journey from Bryce to Moab where I felt a great sense of freedom as well. As I made my way to Torrey, the trees thinned out, the horizon retreated further away and flattened, and the weather got wilder. There were sections where I had to compensate for the strength of the wind blowing on the side of my car. The landscape was different every half hour, and I passed towns and communities with populations lower than my age.

I rolled into Torrey just before sunset, checked into the motel, dropped my things and went to head out to find dinner. I got in the car and made it ten metres to the driveway and immediately realised it wasn’t going to happen. My car felt like it was going to roll over just sitting in the motel parking lot. I swung that car around, parked it again and went back inside.

“Bit windy out” I said to the girl at the front desk.

“Yeah, it’s monsoon season” she replied. Oh, great. Maybe I should have known that. In the twenty minutes from checking in to heading out again the weather had rolled in and I watched it unfold from the window in my room as I downed microwave noodles. It cleared by morning.

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef was a real surprise. I wish I’d had an off-road vehicle as most of the good trails and scenery was hidden deep down long dirt roads, and my hired car was restricted to sealed roads. Nevertheless I did the scenic drive, which was spectacular, and did a couple of hikes off the side of the road.

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I also stopped in at a place called Gifford Homestead – an old farmhouse which sold home made pies and ice-cream. I floated inside like a cartoon character carried by the scent of berries, and bought a mixed berry pie “for later” which turned into “I’ll have just a bite now” and five minutes later that entire pie was in my stomach.

Goblin Valley State Park

“Is this the right intersection?” I thought to myself as I took a turn off the highway down a nondescript road. I’d been soaring along on cruise control blasting tunes, passing a car about once every ten minutes. I wish I’d been able to photograph the areas I drove through as it was full of all sorts of bizarre scenery.

Soon enough it became apparent it was the correct turn. I saw the weird bulbous rocks of Goblin Valley getting closer. Of all the stops on my trip, this was perhaps the most alien. Giant alien turds littered a sun-drenched arid landscape as dark storm clouds flashed in the distance.

I wandered about and saw a spot named “The Goblin’s Lair” on the map, and hiked my way over, climbed up a wall of rock, and down into a cavern. It’s rare in life that you find yourself in a place of complete silence. Every movement I made was audible. I spent about ten minutes taking it all in, and cooling off. It wasn’t until I went to climb back out that it struck me just how alone I was. The climb out was relatively easy, but the fact I hadn’t considered my exit when I entered the cavern scared me a touch. One slip, one wrong foot placement and fall, and I’d have been screwed.

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The drive from Goblin Valley to Moab was cool. Thanks to the large flat plains, I watched wild storms play on the horizon like a screensaver as I drove through relatively calm weather.

Moab + Arches National Park

Moab was a really pleasant town. Clearly catered to tourists, but only so much that it helped – not so much that it took away from the experience. I could have spent twice as long here, with plenty of adventure sports on offer, and Arches National Park right next door.

Arches wins the prize for most descriptive national park name. There’s small arches, wide arches, double arches, and arches within arches. I spent a whole day covering it all, the scenic drive and a bunch of trails. The red soil and large rock formations reminded me of the Northern Territory back home, specifically Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and even a little of Kakadu.

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Next, I would venture into the classic scenery of the wild west – dry landscapes and mesas…

Put your hands on the wheel
Let the golden age begin
Let the window down
Feel the moonlight on your skin
Let the desert wind
Cool your aching head
Let the weight of the world
Drift away instead

Without a doubt the greatest adventure from my time living on this side of the world happened a year ago this month – as I drove, hiked and ate my way across the deserts of Utah and Arizona. It’s even up there with the greatest experiences of my life. I’ve done a lot of solo travel – with mixed experiences. Generally I find city travel works much better with some good company whilst the outdoors and nature can be enjoyed with or without people equally. I’m the type who would rather be with a good friend than on my own, but I’d rather be on my own than with some random person just for the sake of it.

But this particular desert trip was strengthened by the fact I was on my own. I was a vagabond, a drifter, rolling from town to town at a pace I liked – taking detours if something caught my eye and moving on if it didn’t. I wouldn’t have covered even half as much ground both driving and hiking if I’d had company. On top of this, I came away from it feeling like myself again after a brutal project. I was in my element – exploring some spectacular scenery in the blazing sun, taking photos, and stuffing my face with BBQ food and pies. Every leg of the trip was uniquely beautiful.

I would love to return one day to share the experience with someone, but in the meantime it’s inspired me to do more travel like this when I return home to Australia.

I flew in and out of Las Vegas, spending as little time as possible in that toilet bowl city. In between I covered a lot of ground hitting these key spots:

1. Springdale / Zion National Park
2. Bryce / Bryce Canyon National Park
3. Torrey / Capitol Reef National Park
4. Goblin Valley State Park
5. Moab / Arches National Park
6. Dead Horse Point State Park
7. Canyonlands National Park
8. Monument Valley
9. Page / Lake Powell

I’ll split this post into 4 sections. Today I’ll cover Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

Springdale / Zion National Park

The trip started early with a two hour flight from Vancouver, followed by a four hour drive from Las Vegas airport to Springdale. I was an hour away when I encountered roadwork which slowed everything to a near-halt for half an hour. As I was sitting in traffic I heard reports on the radio of an electrical storm with hailstones heading toward Springdale, so naturally I was shitting myself that my rental car was about to get pummeled. Thankfully I made it to the hotel with half an hour to spare and was able to appreciate the thunderstorm from the safety of my balcony.

Springdale itself was a pleasant place to stay. It had everything I needed and nothing more. The food was incredible and coffee was better than even what I’m used to in Vancouver.

Zion National Park was spectacular. The Narrows trail was closed due to flooding from the aforementioned storm the day prior – so the focus became the Angel’s Landing trail. This hike features a steep 460 metre climb and the second half of the trail makes its way along a thin ledge of rock holding onto chains to get past some sections.

I enjoyed one of the most satisfying beers of my life upon completing this and lay under a tree for an hour with a grin from ear to ear.

After two days I moved the road show on to Bryce Canyon National Park. The drive between these parks was incredible.

Bryce Canyon National Park

I had been told Bryce wasn’t as large as the other parks and so I only allowed one day. While the claim was true – it’s not as large – it disregarded how spectacular and unique this place was. I wish I’d had longer. An entire canyon is full of “hoodoos”, bizarre tall thin spines of rock of different shapes and sizes created by centuries of – you guessed it – erosion. Gazing from the lookout above they appear as enormous ant hills with tiny people wandering the paths between.

I wasn’t at the canyon more than ten minutes before it dawned on me that there was too much to see in the available time. Some more sensible individuals might scale back their plans in such a situation. Instead, I decided to add plans and just do them faster.

I found three trails I wanted to do and planned them out so that I ended up at Sunset Point at, well, sunset. The final trail prior to sunset was named the Fairyland Loop, which the guide suggested would take 3-4 hours. Perhaps a touch too arrogantly, I always shave about 30% from those estimates and convert them to how long it would take me. In this case my confidence was not justified. I found myself on a long trail in the blazing sun watching as the clock moved faster than my progress.

I had to get back before it got dark.

What’s more, I didn’t see a single other person after the first twenty minutes of the trail. All of these factors could have led to a very different ending – but somehow they enhanced the experience. I had a challenge, a goal, and it was a perfect example of mind over matter. My brain pushed my body to run when it was exhausted. I even sprinted some sections to make up for photo stops. Thankfully, I made it back just as the sun set over the canyon. Three to four hours? Please. I managed in two and a half – then destroyed half a chicken and a huge plate of mashed potato and slept like a rock.

I got up early the next day to catch the sunrise over the canyon before I moved onto the next destination – Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park.

Searching for a lunch stop, I found the Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm. I chose it purely based off the name alone, but I had no idea what I was in for. In the middle of nowhere I found one of the best meals I’ve had in North America – topped off with this incredible apple pie. With a full and happy belly I made my way to Torrey…