Travel Diary - West to Utah PT. 3
On Thursday of our weeklong adventure in The West, we woke with Bryce Canyon on our minds. It had been almost 15 years since our first and only visit. That time we were en route to be married in Las Vegas.
We got up early and made our way up Highway 12 to Bryce Canyon National Park. First, we visited the gift shop to purchase a magnet, sticker, pin and patch (we do this everywhere we go) and then headed to Fairyland Point.
View from the Fairyland Loop Trail.
We hiked the Fairyland Loop Trail that morning. It’s a picturesque, 8-mile loop down into the amazing orange hues that has a number of landmark hoodoos and formations including Tower Bridge and China Wall. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to hike. It was super sunny and pleasant with a clear western sky. We snapped what felt like a thousand photos! It seemed like each time we walked around a corner, that view was better that the last. Halfway down the trail, we stopped to eat lunch and had a visit from a very feisty and relentless little chipmunk. He looked pretty well-fed. Not in the mood to share, we told him goodbye and journeyed up the trail to the parking area.
Another view from the Failryland Loop.
Ahead of schedule, we decided to rest in the Vanagon for a bit. We were trying to choose where to go next. We pulled out a map, and, for some reason, Great Basin National Park in nearby Nevada jumped out at us. It wasn’t crazy-far away, and when would we be that close to that part of Nevada again? We researched what the park had to offer, and agreed we would climb 13,065 foot Wheeler Peak the next day. ADVENTURE!
We set our GPS, and off we went. OMG, Utah Highway 21 has some of the longest stretches of nothing we’ve ever seen! Not once but TWICE, the road was completely straight for well over ten miles. You could see the road go on and on and on for what looked like forever. It was a very lonely and boring drive to be quite honest. But, at the same time, we were loving the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere.
A loooooong stretch of Utah Highway 21.
After a four-hour drive, we stopped to camp at Snake Creek Campground in Great Basin National Park. The free campsite was nothing special, but it did have a nice creek nearby filled with multicolored granite rocks. We had the whole place to ourselves, so we took a much-needed shower that evening. We filled our bellies with some chili and turned in early (we had a helluva climb waiting for us in the morning).
Leveled-out on some rocks at Snake Creek Campground.
We rose before dawn, and made it to the trailhead in the park just after sunrise. We packed a lunch and headed down the trail through the pine trees. We came to a spur trail to Stella Lake, but we had our focus on the summit of Wheeler Peak. Slowly climbing toward the summit, we came out of the pines into an open meadow with great views of our destination. We had a long way to go.
On the right is Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park.
From the meadow, we entered into a forest of fir and spruce trees. This hike isn’t just about reaching the summit. There was a lot of beautiful nature to take in along the way. We saw a mother deer and her two fawns!
Baby Nature!
Once we were past the timberline, we saw a number of switchbacks awaiting. Switchbacks are not something we are fond of, but they are a necessary evil to reach the top. This is where the grade started to increase. That combined with the higher altitude made for a tough climb. We went a bit further before stopping for a snack to fuel our bodies.
Hiding our exhaustion on the way up.
Once our breather was over, we continued on. The trail became very rocky near the top. There were no trail markers, so it was up to us to find the easiest and quickest route. When we finally reached the peak, we found a mailbox with a sign-in sheet. Some folks had left snacks and other things inside to help folks who may have not packed the necessary fuel to complete their journey.
The rocky top of Wheeler Peak.
After a long break taking in the exhilarating views, we ventured back down the mountain and back to the van. Climbing Wheeler Peak was quite memorable, especially considering it wasn’t even on our radar until the day before. Memories like this are why we never have a set itinerary when we travel. That’s what adventuring is all about, right?
We drove back east down the long, lonely highway and camped in Dixie National Forest near Cedar City, Utah. It was another uneventful camp, but free nonetheless.
The next day we went to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah. This was a unique place. It contains miles of sand dunes made up of beautiful orange Navajo Sandstone. It’s definitely worth the drive just to see something so spectacular. You can rent or bring your own off-road vehicle to play around the dunes. They also offer sled rentals to try your hand at sledding down the dunes. We chose to just hike around and take photos.
Navajo Sandstone dunes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP..
We left the park after an hour or so, and drove east — essentially beginning our trek home. We headed to the Monument Valley area near the Arizona-Utah state line just to see what we could from the road, knowing the area was closed due to COVID-19. We took a few photos from afar before heading to The Valley of the Gods.
The setup.
The shot.
Before hunting for a campsite in The Valley, we drove the switchbacks of Moki Dugway up to infamous Muley Point. From there you can see Monument Valley from over 20 miles away! Muley Point offers sweeping views of canyons, vistas and valleys. It would be a remarkable place to camp — maybe next time.
From atop Muley Point.
Once we had our fill, we drove back down to The Valley of the Gods. It’s hard to believe a place like that is free. Once part of Bears Ears National Monument before being excluded by the previous US President, Valley of the Gods is still protected and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We drove the road through The Valley until we found a suitable place to stay. While we were setting up camp, we both got the feeling like we were always meant to be there. Sometimes you get to a place and it feels like home. We hiked around the area a bit, and then spent the evening gazing at the stars. We don’t get to do that living in a bigger city like Louisville due to light pollution.
Our home away from home.
Look at that western sky at dusk!
After a cozy slumber, we slowly packed up camp and left The Valley of the Gods. We were officially on our way home. Boo. We said goodbye to Utah and booked it to Colorado. We drove the Million Dollar Highway east through the towns of Silverton and Ouray. Unfortunately, we hadn’t set any time aside to explore these quaint mountain towns. But, we loved what we saw of them driving through and can’t wait to explore them next time we’re in that area.
We found a nice place to camp that night in Gunnison National Forest near the Dillon Pinnacles area. Tired from our long day of driving, we sat by the fire around dusk. We had gotten pretty settled-in and chill when, out of the blue, a little mouse scurried under Becky’s chair and caused quite the stir! That got us pretty spooked 😅. Not long after that, something came hurdling down from the sky and both of us scrambled out of our chairs. Becky knocked it down, and we rushed over to see what the hell it was. It was the most humongous flying cockroach (?) we had even seen! She stopped on the monster, and we looked at each other an said, “It’s time for bed!” 😂 We enjoyed our final night of camp in the wilderness for we knew our next camp would be at a rest area in Kansas.
Our final wilderness camp of our trip in Gunnison National Forest in Colorado.
We slowly packed it in the next morning and drove all day until we reached a rest stop near Grainfield, Kansas. We made our bed and were out like a light after a long day of driving.
Taken the morning after our Kansas rest area camp on the way home.
The next day was nothing but driving Interstate 70 and then Interstate 64, the same highways we drive each time we go to/from The West. The final 12 hours of our western US trips are quite boring. Each city we pass through in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois & Indiana looks exactly the same as the last. However, the boring drive gives us time to recount our journey and all of the great memories we just made. This is also when we make plans for our next trip. We always try to have that next trip planned to look forward to.
See ya real soon!
- Andrew