A bit of a delayed update, but here it goes. What is a good thing to do for Thanksgiving? Well, go to National Parks of course! That's what everyone's first instinct is, right? So that's what I did. Since I did have to work the first half of the week, the plan was to fly into Salt Lake City, work remotely for a couple days, and then go roam the canyons that the state is known for.
Salt Lake City is, well, odd. I only really got to explore it that Sunday, which is not the best option for exploring a city so devoutly Christian. A lot of things are closed. Most, actually. But I still explored the city. As much as I disagree with Mormons (really, why do they walk everywhere in pairs? That would seriously get on my nerves), they do know how to choose a great place for their shiny city on a hill.
Now, for the true purpose of the trip: national parks. Now, we had a well planned trip, starting in Bryce Canyon, passing through Capitol Reef to Moab, then a day each in Arches and Canyonlands. But then, while in SLC, we gambled on trying to win the lottery for Angels Landing in Zion. You have to enter the lottery to win a timed entry permit to hike it. So as we were driving south from Salt Lake, we anxiously waited on the email from the parks department which would determine where we’d be heading the following morning. And Fortuna was on our side - we had a pre 9AM Angels Landing pass. The timing did complicate things a bit. After all, since we’d planned Bryce Canyon, we were staying there. An hour and a half from Zion National Park, where our hike was. And in the morning, the car looked like this:
But you know, things worked out, and we got to the trail head with a few minutes to spare. And it was one of the best hikes I’ve ever done. Awesome combination of scrambling, cliff-side walks, and great views. We did a bit of other hiking in Zion, but really, Angels Landing was by far the highlight. Although the permits are a bit of an inconvenience potentially, it’s probably for the best. Even though it wasn’t peak season, and with permit entry requirements, we had to stop and maneuver around people going in the other direction. If anyone who wanted to could go, it would surely be a madhouse. It’s a valid safety precaution. And contributes to the enjoyment of the trail. Double benefit.
We did stop by Bryce on the way home to look at the stars. It was a bit cold though. And the darkness wasn’t conducive to taking photos. But the next morning, as we set off to Moab, we did stop by for a quick look at first light. I’ll need to come back for a proper visit though.
Then, Capitol Reef National Park was along the way from Bryce to Moab. We stopped there for some hiking. It’s always fun when you gain 500 m of elevation, and suddenly you have enough reception for a phone call for the first time since you left the hotel that morning. Since it was Thanksgiving day, I used the chance to call. There were also some nice canyons. And pictographs, which might be a bit hard to see in these photos (note: image was post processed for better clarity).
Up next: Arches. Now this is where I ran into another fun trail. Apparently, when the NPS calls a trail primitive, they mean that the trail is more wild. And may involve walking on rather steep rocks. I like that. A lot. But not everyone does. It was a bit of an adventure which I, for some foolish reason, did not properly document with pictures. A shame really. Now I need to go back and do it again. I also need to go back for the trail that needs special permits. Arches was a really cool park though.
Last, but not least, for the national parks: Canyonlands. This one definitely needs way more than one day. It’s a sprawling park with 4 main areas, and you can’t even get from one part to the other within the park, you need to leave and go around. But it is absolutely amazing.
After getting back from Canyonlands, we actually drove into Arches for some quick stargazing. I didn’t have a tripod then, but still managed a couple of cool photos. Next time though these should be better.
We drove up to SLC the day we were leaving. But since we had a bit of time before leaving, we also stopped by Antelope State Park. Which is theoretically an island. But it was a peninsula because it was the dry season. They also don't have antelope. They have buffalo though. So why is it called Antelope State Park?
