We crafted such a wonderful springtime adventure! I had an extra week off because I rotated to have Christmas off this year and asked for the one week I was supposed to work to make the rotation happen off. Dave picked me up at the airport at midnight from work in Alaska and the following morning, we headed out on a camping roadtrip to our favorite when we first met: Southern Utah!
Tree at the Boise airport hotel in full bloom.
March 25th, our first stop was downtown Helper to stretch our legs.
A great fuel and downtown walk.
Dave loved seeing all the old train memorabilia.
A blossoming tree in Helper, Utah.
We arrived in Moab that night and stayed at a downtown motel. We were shocked by how much the town has grown and how many motels and restaurants now line the Main Street. A lot has changed since we used to go there every weekend in 2001 & 2002. The following morning, 3/26, we drove to the parking area for Corona Arch, a hike outside of the National Park that Dave hiked recently on his drive home from Arkansas.
So happy to be back in our favorite red dirt country.
View from the hike.
Corona Arch in the distance.
The hike even had ladders.
The desert was in bloom!
Dave and Corona Arch.
Corona Arch.
Setting up camp near Fisher Towers off Route 128
Camping near Fisher Towers
After setting up camp, we went for a gorgeous afternoon hike.
We were blown away by the rock formations, especially in the golden afternoon light.
Dave pointing to the top.
March 27, we broke down camp, had breakfast and coffee at an outpost which had this cool solar panel out back and started driving back on 128 towards Moab to head further south on Highway 191.
This gorgeous arch was a roadside sight on the highways south of Moab: Wilson Arch.
Wilson Arch
We drove to Needles Overlook into Canyonlands National Park
On route 211, we drove toward Canyonlands National Park and ran into these Petroglyphs.
Incredibly preserved Petroglyphs, Canyonlands NP.
South of Blanding, we haded West on Route 95 and visited these ancient Cave Dwellings.
Kiva off of Route 95
Inside of Kiva
Natural Bridges National Monument!
We drove the scenic loop and went for two shorter hikes to see the bridges up close.
Incredibly beautiful! We can't wait to return and hike the long loop trail which connects all 3 bridges.
A beautiful sunset and awesome way to end the day. We tried to camp in the Monument but because of staffing cuts, there was nobody to update internet reservations and the camp was sadly full as a result. We drove back to a Motel in Blanding.
Towers in the town of Bluff where we started our day off on 3/28 by visiting an art museum.
Painting on the outside of the art museum.
Mexican Hat, Utah and the rock that gave the town its name. We love this place, even though it's a one gas station tiny place.
Dave and I used to take our Suntrek Tours to Slim & Cody's Cowboy Camp here and have a lot of fond memories of sleeping out in the red dirt, riding horses and shooting guns with Slim.
Dave at the San Juan River in Mexican Hat, Utah.
San Juan River
Goosenecks State Park
We drove the scenic loop at Valley of the Gods (which meets up w/Route 163 and Route 261)
It was such an incredibly beautiful drive, we had to get out and stare a few times.
Loved this rugged drive.
Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area near Monticello
Great views of the Colorado River!
Incredible margaritas.
And a surprisingly healthy delicious lunch for a tiny town: Hanksville.
A gas station in the side of a cliff was pretty cool looking!
Scenic views on our drive to Capitol Reef on Route 24.
Capitol Reef National Park
We went on a short hike and loved the incredible rock formations and views!
A beautiful drive from the National Park in red dirt country on Route 12 to Escalante to stay at the Cowboy Country Inn. We had pizza & beer while Dave watched college basketball finals.
3/29 We started our day with a hike in Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.
This was a 6 mile roundtrip leading to a 126 foot waterfall.
Lower Calf Creek Falls
From Escalante, we continued driving on Route 12 to visit Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce Canyon National Park
After visiting some sights on shorter trails, we decided to head to one of my Suntrek favorites: the Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop combination trail which walks at the base of the most beautiful towers.
We didn't remember all the beautiful Ponderosa pines. What a gorgeous sight!
We started at Sunrise Point and finished the hike at Sunset Point, which was a perfect way to end the day. After the hike, we drove on to Draper, Utah to spend the night and be able to visit the Ikea there before driving home to McCall.
Back to McCall meant back to winter with the recent snowfall.
Dave and I headed to Boise to do some shopping for tools and food.
I had the most wonderful time on a girls' weekend in Boise with Joni & Emily. We laughed, did some door to door civic service getting signatures to add an initiative to the next ballot, and explored our favorite downtown places. We had incredible mussels and cocktails at dinner at the Red Feather Lounge.
Back in McCall, Dave and I drove up to Brundage Resort to see the kids' boxcar races.
I flew to Reno on April 13th to be able to celebrate Dad's Birthday with my parents.
We had an incredibly delicious dinner at the Jazmine Restaurant on Double R Boulevard.
On April 14th, we went to the casinos to play at the Circus Circus.
Photos by the Eldorado fountain.
We ate at Gordon Ramsey's Fish & Chips in the Silver Legacy. So good!
And toasted Dad's Birthday and being together again.
A walk by the marsh with Mom.
At the Circue Alice show at the Eldorado Casino on April 15th for Dad's 76th Birthday.
It was absolutely incredible! We've never seen acrobatics like that.
April 16th, before heading to the airport, we had lunch together again at the Olive Garden.
Back in Boise, springtime had arrived!
I love seeing the dogwood trees in blossom in Boise.
Pink dogwood tree.
Dave and I stayed at the North End in an Airbnb and walked to see everyone's gardens. This was an outdoor vegan lunch at Lost Grove Brewery in Hyde Park. Lion's mane mushroom Bao buns - so good!
At the Sandbar Patio Bar & Grill by the river in Garden City.
A walk near the Sandbar.
We went for a walk on the Boise river greenbelt.
And around the Old State Penitentiary's grounds.
The old gardens behind the Penitentiary were in full bloom.
A beautiful day before heading to the airport to go back to work on 4/20th.
