UTAH


Capitalizing on a long weekend built into the school year (over the weekend that once was Teacher's Convention), I headed west to meet up with my favorite guy, check in on my cats and our western residence and finally check a visit to Utah off my to-do list.

While I could have easily skipped the next two weeks of work to get in all that there is to do in Utah, Brian gave me a grand tour in the few short days we had.



Thursday afternoon, after our five hour drive from Boulder, we hiked to Corona Arch.  While there, we basked in the sun and attempted to plan a winter trip.  As we were nearing the end of our stay at the arch, and shortly after having discussed a video we saw where peopled jumped off the arch, we had a brush with fame (of sorts).  You may recall a few years ago when Madonna was gyrating about during the Super Bowl Half Time Show, she was joined by a guy with wild hair doing slackline tricks (aka bouncing about on a rope).  Well, that guy is Sketchy Andy, and he arrived at Corona Arch to take the leap, so Brian and I stuck around to watch.  We had a pretty fabulous vantage point for the show.

That evening, after cleaning up, we headed downtown for dinner.  This was of note only because we were able to sit outside for our meal.  While it was a bit cool on the walk through Moab, a few space heaters did the trick while we ate and drank, and it was the perfect way to end the day.

taking in the sunshine and scenery 

the leap from Corona Arch 

On Friday, we visited both Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.  I wasn't entirely sure it would live up to the name, but I expected to see more than a few arches at the park.  Truth be told, there were farm more pillars and spire than arches, but I very much enjoyed the hike to the Windows, a series of small arches that, as the name implies, look like windows.  After that, we set out on the hike to Delicate Arch; while it was terribly uneventful, it did yield quite the sight.  Iconic and impressive it is.  After that hike, we continued our exploration of Arches for a bit and then drove to Canyonlands, where we hiked a short bit and then watched the jeep excursion below, way, way, way down at the bottom of the canyon.


the Windows


the trail to Delicate Arch 
Delicate Arch




On Saturday, before heading back to Boulder, we returned to Arches for another short hike.  We had no idea that the trail we chose was part of a much longer hike, and we'll surely have to head back to complete the full seven mile excursion.  After our trip to the Landscape Arch, we headed back to the car and took the scenic route back to Boulder. The landscape in Utah is so vast and impressively magnificent.  I didn't know which way to look half of the time and was constantly pointing out sights to Brian, which, considering he was driving, wasn't the best idea....




Landscape Arch 


Our Utah trip was definitely a memorable one, and I already cannot wait to get back there to explore more and actually do some climbing.

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