Natural Wonders

There is so much natural beauty in the world, words do not do it justice! We took a drive around Lake Tahoe. The lake was beautiful, and we stopped off in some little towns and poked around. Mark wanted to watch a football game, so I wandered around the shops. I could see why this was such a popular vacation destination for the rich and famous. The lake is kind of like an oasis in the middle of the desert. We had been commenting on how funny it was to see boats in Reno and Nevada, but when you see Lake Tahoe, you know where all of them were heading. In the summer months, they could enjoy the lake, and in the winter, they ski or gamble.

I had been lazing around long enough and didn’t want to put off hiking and seeing the sights any longer, so we headed to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, north of Vegas. It was quite desert-like with sandy trails and huge sandstone formations. It was super hot! When we returned from our hike to the truck, the temperature said 107 degrees! The hike pushed me, and we had to stop regularly for water breaks, but I was grateful I was feeling up to getting back out there. The rock formations were beautiful, and Mark loved the sea of colours and swirls in the rock and the slot canyons. 

I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived in Utah, but what we saw was certainly not it. There is such a vast difference from the south to the north. To be honest, my only experience with Utah was what I had seen on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Mark had the big five National Parks on his list of must-sees, and I, of course, was just along for the ride, but I did want to try a dirty soda at Swig! 

After the Valley of Fire, Mark had an agenda. Unlike previous days, he wanted to get an early start. According to a fellow on the shuttle, Zion was the second most visited National Park in the world. So, we got up super early to make the drive to arrive at the shuttle for 7:30 to guarantee a spot in the parking lot. Now I know that timing for most of you in the working world is not early at all, but we have been decidedly relaxed with our starts this fall. The morning started out crisp, needing lots of layers and my buff, but it warmed up very quickly. We were a little concerned when we saw loads of people outfitted in waterproof hiking boots and overall like hip waiters. Were we ready for this? Midway through our first hike, we were down to our base layers and wondering what the people in the waterproof suits were doing. We were smoking hot! We did many different hikes and saw everything from weeping rocks, sheer rock faces, canyons, rivers, emerald pools and views that stretched on for miles. I drew the line at holding onto a chain to scramble across a sheer wall with hundreds of feet of drops to hike Angel’s Landing. I’m afraid I would have been an angel if we had registered for that one. Towards the end of the day, we realized where the waterproof-suited up people were heading. It was called the Narrows, and you had to hike upstream in the bottom of the canyon. We hiked to the entrance point and got a picture with our angel instead. 

Since Trump had shut down the government, there were not many rangers or park staff. Only volunteers, the gift store staff and the shuttle drivers were working. They were not even collecting entrance fees, which I think is just silly! I am sure having someone stationed to collect the fees would be worth their while; however, it has saved us lots of money. We have visited six National Parks so far. 

I was finally feeling better from my cold/flu, and Mark was fighting it. Luckily, he only got a 48-hour version of a cough and sniffles. From the little town called Hurricane (why it is called that in the middle of the desert, who knows), we headed into St. George for ramen, and I wanted to try a dirty soda from Swig. Turned out we visited the original Swig location just by chance. When the founder franchised, she made an agreement that she would keep the original location. I had a hard time deciding what to try, and the server suggested I try a couple of different kiddie-sized drinks. I tried three, and they reminded me of a root beer float. The most popular is the Texas Tab, and that was Mark's and my favourite too. We also tried the Vanilla Vixen and the Dr. De Leche. 

As we moved further north, the next stop was Bryce Canyon. Another day of hiking in a very different setting. The rock formations were incredible, and the views spectacular. Words don’t really do it justice, so here are a few of our favourite photos. We took a million! Boondocking outside of Bryce was amazing, but I’ll tell you all about that later. 

We drove along Highway 12, also known as the ‘All American Road’, which is definitely not McDonald's, Starbucks and Super 8 motels. Mesas, sand doons, switchbacks, and a hair-raising drive along the hog’s back with thousand-foot drops in either direction kept Mark in the middle of the two lanes. We boondocked outside of Capital Reef National Park and stopped at some stunning vistas and strange petroglyph formations carved into the sides of the rock faces thousands of years ago. Every turn kept Mark in awe with the alien-like landscapes. If any of these features were in Ontario, they would be swarmed with spectators, but we often felt like we were the only ones there.  

Lastly, we spent a day hiking in Moab. Moab is a town that caters to tourists and adventure seekers, that is for sure. We saw everything from ski diving, rock climbing, ATV and Jeep excursions to rafting the Colorado and hiking. The Arches was another incredible park, known for the many different red rock arch formations. This was another big day of hiking with lots of breathtaking views. Mark and I felt like we were in a different world; it was really spectacular. Mark thought that the park could be a backdrop for The Lord of the Rings or Doon. 

It truly is incredible what nature creates, and we are so grateful to have been able to experience such beautiful sights on our travels. We met lots of people who had flown into Vegas and rented vehicles to visit the parks, something I would highly recommend if hiking is your thing. We will start to make our way back home now, heading across Colorado and Kansas next.