USA Southern Utah

USA – Southern Utah – Holiday November 2004

November in Utah has got to be a great time to go. Everything open? No, so be warned about that, but a lot isn’t closed and the rooms are so cheap!

I drove from Salt Lake down to Moab and headed straight to the National Park information station there. The ranger was able to advise on what hotels had good deals and on his advice I backtracked north just out of town to the Best Inn. This is a comfortable chain hotel and my bed and breakfast was a stunning deal of just $28. That’s the delight of travelling off season – the deals are splendid. My room was at the back on the second floor so there was no road noise at all and it was quiet and peaceful with the desert piled up outside. Off season I can recommend this hotel – assuming the deals are as good as this you just can’t go wrong. The downside is you have to drive into town to eat unless you like Denny's. In Moab there was a very nice Italian restaurant and the Brew pub restaurant was excellent.

I was here to visit the National Parks and only had time for a day at each, which gave me a taste and the knowledge that I want to go back big time! Even in November it appeared that the only outdoor activity that was ruled out was rafting, but horse riding and mountain biking were available from the Moab Adventure Centre. Also the Hummer and ATV safari hire folks seemed open too.

But with so little time I was restricted to driving into the parks and some hiking. Even in November it was surprisingly warm around Moab – in the high 60s and sunscreen is advised if, like me, you are affected by the sun.

Arches National Park.
This is just north of Moab and is my favourite. First thing to do is buy a pass for the year. This pays for itself within 5 days. For just $50 it allowed me (and my car) unlimited access to all the parks in the country. I was travelling alone, but had I had someone with me it would have taken half the time to have paid for itself.

I stopped at the visitor centre for some advice from the Rangers – this is always worth doing. They also advised that, despite it being winter, copious amounts of water should be carried – it doesn’t stop being a desert ever. I had a water sack in my backpack as well as a spare bottle of water and some warm Vimto (got to have warm Vimto). That was declared by the experts to be enough.

First stop stayed as my favourite – Park Avenue. It’s only a mile through to the road further along, so a gentle 2 mile trek sets up the day wonderfully. Of course there you can see the Mountain Lion warning (I’ll sum this up by carry a small child or jogger to divert any attack while you escape but I’m pretty sure the National Park wouldn’t see it that way!)

After stretching my legs it was back in the car to move on. I moved from place to place, parking up and going for a stroll at each stop. Each place I made sure I took water with me; just as essential as the camera.

Of course the classic arches were there, further along, with the double arch being my favourite. Onebenefit of visiting in November is there are less folk about. Do take a few of the longer routes anyhow, to ponder on life's eternal verities alone if you wish and then you can stand under the double arches with a bit of gentle scrambling.

So there we leave Arches for the moment. One thing to note (and you’d think McDonalds have missed the beat here) is that there is NO food on sale in the National Parks, so take sandwiches – they taste better outside anyhow.

Islands in the Sky, Canyonlands
This is also is north of Moab (and north of Arches as well). Entirely different from Arches, this is spectacular because you are looking down into deep, huge valleys. I did my longest walk here – not that long at about 6 miles but you could have extended this to much longer. But the walk across the desert, seeing up close a surprising number of different plants, ending at an amazing view was the highlight. And there were plenty more stunning sights to come.

As always, I got advice from the Rangers for ideas of where to go. After this walk I drove from car park to car park, with shorter strolls but you can still get some wonderful views but if you can find time for a decent trek then that gives you a better feel for the place.

Needles – Canyonlands
This is south of Moab. On the way in stop off at Newspaper Rock to see amazing pictograms. Somehow this seemed so much less spectacular in comparison but had my favourite walk – a superb walk around by a cowboy camp and included two ladders to climb. Just how good is that!

Yet again the Rangers were the place to go for great advice. The chap here helpfully told me that if he spotted any vultures circling they’d send someone . . . eventually! I liked the cut of his jib.

Here there are lots of slip rocks to walk over. Although there were warnings to be careful, I found them very easy to walk over. In all three of these parks you must keep to the path, though, otherwise you will damage the delicate desert environment. At one point this day I stopped for lunch, looked over a superb view and though to myself “I can’t believe I’m here!” – and you know, when I look at the photos it’s hard to believe I was.

I had to move on the next day. I’d had a wonderful three days in Moab – but there was more to come. But before I couldn’t resist one more trip to Arches – a three mile hike up to Delicate Arch and back.

Then off I drove to the splendid Ruby Inn at Bryce’s Canyon. And here the weather was much colder, with snow to come. Ruby’s was a bit more expensive, but still very reasonable at less than $50 a night.

Bryce National Park
As always, a stop to chat to the Rangers was essential to getting the most of the trip.

I’d awoken to snow flurries, so my lined trousers were pressed into action and if I’d added too many more layers I could have advertised Michelin Tyres with ease! But no matter, aside from one path that was closed because a rock fall had deposited rocks the size of cars on it, all was open.

I started at Bryce Point and then worked my way back, parking up and pulling on the boots at Sunset Point, walking along the rim and then making my way to the canyon floor via Queen’s Garden trail. I couldn’t come back up via the Navajo or Wall Street trails (as noted before) so instead I diverted along a horse trail along the valley, making my way back up to Sunrise point eventually by returning up the top of the Garden Trail for a 4-5 mile stroll that was in no way spoilt by the snow flurries that prevailed. I just kept adding layers if I got cold, and as I started climbing back up, taking some of them back off again as I warned up.

Another great day. With not too much snow all was open, but that was not to be the case the next day, so it was lucky I'd chosen to "do" Bryce first.

Zion National Park
Heavy snow overnight, with snow showers continuing as I set off for the 70 mile drive to Zion made for a slow journey on slippery roads. But by the time I got to Zion the snow had turned to rain. I did a good 6 mile walk, and it even stopped raining at one point, but after the spectacular parks before this one was just impressive! The drive had taken me a long time (I’d had to keep stopping to clear the snow off the windscreen wipers and it was bad enough remembering which side of the road to drive on without this deep white stuff!) so I made my way back after that.

The next day I had to return north. It had been an incredible trip and I’m very sure I want to return. But before making my way back to SLC I couldn’t resist one more look at Bryce – this time in deep snow.