Not really back. It's just a post.

Don't get your hopes up, I refuse to commit to regular blogging. Life gets too crazy. But I wanted to update family on our trip to Utah and I think this is the best way.

Friday, May 19, my two weeks of holidays began. Dan picked me up from work and we were on our way to the border. We stayed in Great Falls, Montana that night at a Super 8, poorly chosen by me. Note to self: no more Super 8s in the future. On Saturday we drove, drove, drove all the way to Provo. The goal was to drive to Moab that day but there was no way, we were too tired and it would've involved looking for a campsite in the dark, which would have been a very bad idea. So we stayed in Provo, traveling down memory lane on BYU campus and grocery shopping for our week of camping.

On Sunday we got up early to make 11:00 church in Moab - but the parking lot was empty. Yep, Stake Conference! I feel like that's not the first time that's happened in my life. So our week of frolicking in the Utah National Parks began.

We spent three days in Moab area, taking in the sites at Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. This area was one of Dan's favourite places to holiday before yours truly entered the picture, and we had a really great time checking out some of his favourite hang out spots. We camped along Colorado River in a sweet canyon in a Bureau of Land Management campground. It was primitive, but it was also only $7.50 a night! And when we got hot we cleaned up in a natural spring. Fantastic! The weather was perfect - not too hot or cold and lots of sun. Canyonlands was a bit freaky - 800 ft drops into the canyon everywhere and no guardrails.  We did see the Google car with it's funky 360 cameras at the Grand View Point, so we need to check Google maps in a few months to see if we made it onto street view.

We stayed closer to Moab on our third day, spending some time on Slickrock, a popular mountain bike area. We vowed to bring our bikes back next time we come. We also vowed to get in shape so we could ride our bikes next time we come. (Side note: They have really stellar road bike paths in and around Moab too, definitely want to try those out.)

Arches National Park

 

 Canyonlands National Park

 

 

On Wednesday we packed up camp and drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. We took the scenic route and crossed Capitol Reef National Park and Grand Staircase -Escalante National Monument. At one point we were driving on a ridge with steep cliffs on either side - totally crazy! In Bryce Canyon we hiked into the Queen's Garden, and then continued on to Zion National Park. We were there for two nights and one full day of fun hiking the Narrows and exploring the park.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Zion National Park

On Friday we were tired from all that driving and hiking, so rather than go back into the park we just decided to head to Salt Lake City for 1.5 days of shopping and site seeing at Temple Square. On Sunday we actually parted ways - Dan kindly drove home with out me and I got on a plane to Columbia, Missouri to visit Neha and family. My, how that baby Parth has grown into the most adorable boy you've ever seen.

 

Overall, it was a wonderful holiday. My expectations were completely exceeded by the national parks and I don't think these pictures really show how brilliant they are. It was a wonderful way to celebrate 6 months of marriage, and we're looking forward to going back someday, since we still have so much to see!