For the past two years, my husband, adult daughter, and I have visited national parks out west. In the summer of 2023, we visited Yellowstone, our first national park together, and could not believe what we saw there. It was absolutely other-worldly.
Last August, we chose to visit Utah, with its handful of national parks within a short distance of each other. We had heard amazing things about the wild beauty of Utah. We scheduled our trip during Labor Day week, so our daughter would only have to take four days off from work.
Leaving Saturday morning, August 31st, we flew into Salt Lake City, then drove to Kanab, a main hub from which to see several of the parks. Later in the week, we drove to Moab, another city that served as a hub for us for the rest of the trip.
If you’ve been a Glimsen reader for very long, you know that I don’t particularly like car trips. But the drive to Kanab from the airport was only about three hours, and it seemed to speed by, literally, because the scenery got progressively better the further we drove. We saw rock walls of increasing size and different colors as our trusty little rental car (not the SUV we envisioned) huffed and puffed its way up, taking us ever higher in elevation.
After picking up some groceries on the way, we pulled into our VRBO and got settled. It was a nice house, decorated well, with excellent air conditioning. With the summer heatwave that hit all across the country last year, we were so grateful to be cool.
The other best thing about the rental house? The view out the back.
Who has a view like that? Well, we did for the next three nights. And this was just the tiniest taste of what was in store for us that week.
Our itinerary, starting the next day, was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches, and Dead Horse Point. We also threw in a state park where I was the hottest I’ve ever been in my entire life, but it was worth it.
Over the next several blog posts, I’ll take you along with us so you can see the magnificence of the beauty we saw.
And who knows? Maybe someday you’ll find yourself heading to Utah too.
Have you ever been to Utah? What is the best national park you’ve ever visited? I’d love to know. Leave a comment here or email me.
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