It’s hard to believe that in less than two weeks we’ll be back in the Bay Area for a wedding. This phase of our adventure will be over. We will have some work to do to get re-settled in… for now we’ll continue to enjoy our adventure, we can worry about that when the time comes.
General thoughts about Utah
Utah greeted us with green fields and pleasant weather. The abundant outdoor activities are evident quickly as we drove through the small towns along Highway 89. Since we’ve been here the AC on our RV has not been on. The air is clean, the water doesn’t have any funny odors and the opportunities for some of our favorite activities are abundant. There is no doubt Utah is a special place for people who love to hike, bike, off-road, and view breath-taking visual attractions. It is unanimous, so far this is our family favorite.
Bryce Canyon – Hiking the Hat Shop Trail
We arrived at Bryce Canyon this morning and my wife looked over the map as we drove into the park. It seemed like Bryce Point was the ideal starting point and we eventually decided to hike the Hat Shop Trail. The trail is named after the hoodoo’s that have “hats” balancing on top of them. Before we reached the trailhead we got a quick impression of how beautiful this park is:
View of Bryce Canyon from the Bryce Point trailhead.
Once we got onto the trail we quickly settled into a good pace and started to absorb all of the beauty around us. It wasn’t long before we were up close with an impressive array of hoodoos.
Some of the amazing hoodoos of Bryce.
During this trip, I’ve developed a thing for gnarly looking trees. I don’t know why I love them so much, perhaps they draw such a stark contrast against the beauty around them. Or maybe it’s just the fact that they are still there in spite of their obviously tough existence. One thing about Bryce is they have some impressive dead and half-dead trees.
One of the many gnarled trees I couldn’t resist photographing.
Our hike was about 2 miles down (easy) and 2 miles up (moderate) but we managed to make it back without event in spite of the inclement weather that rolled into the area.
See more of my Bryce photos on Flickr.
UTV Off Road Experience
On the way to Bryce, we saw a few places renting UTV’s. They are basically small off-road vehicles that seat 2-6 passengers if you’re not familiar with the term. We decided to give it a try and see what it’s like to hit the trails around here. The high light of the trip was some close-up encounters with the wildlife, the Utah Prairie dog in particular.
Utah Prairie Dog up close. They are no longer endangered, now threatened status.
The rental UTV was a little gutless and they had the governor set to restrict the vehicle to 28MPH. The suspension was surprisingly plush considering the beating it must get. It was a nice trial run, I think the entire family could easily see off-roading as a fun hobby.
Fun ride in a Yamaha UTV.
See more of my UTV Adventure photos on Flickr.
What’s Next
We head over to Zion tomorrow to take in more of the breathtaking scenery. Any hike recommendations on short notice for us? We tend to like the 4-6 mile moderate hikes best. No pressure or anything. 😉