Utah's National Parks

We left Utah this morning. Utah is an interesting state. Parts of the state are arid and flat, and other parts are colorful and rolling. Our favorite parts of Utah were the National Parks. Wow. Just spectacular. We visted 3 of Utah's 6 National Parks; Arches, Bryce, and Zion. Since we considered this part of our holiday "side trips", we only spent one-half day at each park, and it left us thirsting for more.

I must say, however, I think the thing that bothered us the most about Utah was the lack of internet and phone access. It just isn’t there, none, zip, nadda. So, we are posting this from our Cali condo. We’ll write more about this little piece of heaven tomorrow!



We visited Arches National Park in Moab first. According to the nice ranger who presented a nice tutorial inside the park, there are two types of stone in the park, stones from clay and stones from sand. The stones erode differently, and the result is beautiful arches in captivating colors.



Our next stop found us at Bryce Canyon. We stayed Best Western Ruby’s Inn, the oldest hotel in the area. It was really nice, and very close to the park’s entrance. Bryce Canyon is fantastic! We loved the Hoodoos and climbed up and down a 700 foot canyon wall.



Our final National Park tour found us in Zion National Park. Zion left us breathless, the walls of the canyon look painted at times, dusted at others, and glowing in other spots. We saw the famous “Patriarch” trio, learned about the water draining from the canyon walls (it takes 1000 years for water to make its journey from the top of the canyon to the spouts below), and learned about the religious history of the area.



We were fortunate to drive through Red Canyon National Forest. We don’t know the difference between National Parks and National Forests, but we will find out before the end of our trip. Billy the Kid had a hideout here in these crimson walls. Who wouldn’t love a getaway that looks like that?!

We all agreed that we would like to return to this beautiful area. We feel that we just got a small taste of what Utah’s National Parks have to offer.