We are sure enjoying our time in Utah. We stayed in Hatch at an RV park for 16 days and today we moved 35 miles down the road to Mt. Caramel Junction. We are staying on BLM land now. The view out our front window is amazing (see above). We have driven in every direction and are just amazed at the beauty of this place. We now fully appreciate why Utah has a picture of red rocks on their license plates.
One of the highlights for me has been the amazing hiking in this area. I was able to do all the day hikes in Bryce Canyon over 4 visits to the park. I was also able to hike Angel’s Landing in Zion which was on my “bucket list.” It was an amazing experience and well worth the effort. The next day I was able to hike in Cedar Breaks National Monument which was beautiful. Because Darrel is working during the week I am learning to adventure on my own…it feels very strange to go do hikes alone as I have always gone with Darrel, our kids or other friends. The benefit of hiking solo is I can go at whatever speed I want and I never inconvenience anyone by stopping to take yet another picture. 🙂 The downside is not having someone else to enjoy the beauty with. Over the weekend Darrel and I drove up to Capitol Reef. Again, the beauty was stunning. There was some smoke that had rolled in so the expansive vistas weren’t as clear as you would hope but the rock formations up close were amazing. We also hiked the Grand Wash through a narrow canyon.
This is a time of discovery and we are still trying to figure out how often we want to move and what reservations need to be made ahead and which ones we can make spontaneously. This last week we made reservations in Benson, AZ for November and Tucson, AZ for December. It does feel good to have a few things on the calendar and a general idea of what the next little bit will look like. It was getting cold where we were staying in Hatch. We had to disconnect the water at night the last 6 nights because of freezing temperatures. By moving south, we have dropped some elevation and it is warmer here. We don’t want to get to southern AZ too soon as they are still in the triple digits!
We sure have met some very nice and interesting people in our travels so far…both in the RV parks and on the hiking trails. We are trying to make it a priority to interact with the people around us. While we are viewing such great natural beauty we also want to “see” the people around us. Our prayer each day is the God would guide us to the people He wants us to connect with.
We feel very blessed to be out exploring this beautiful land that we live in. Yes, it still feels strange to realize that our home moves with us wherever we go. It is awesome to have the comforts of home (own bed, bathroom and kitchen) with us all the time! It is very freeing to have a minimal amount of stuff to take care of. I have gotten pretty efficient at doing our laundry at the laundry mat. Grocery shopping has to be done frequently. I am very thankful for technology which allows us to keep in contact with freinds and family!
More adventure awaits…I am headed to Zion in the morning to hike the Narrows. The strangest purchase I have made so far on this trip is Fishing Waders. I founds a set that happened to be my size in Cedar City at a thrift store for $10. Hopefully they make hiking the narrows a lot more fun. 🙂 I will post pictures on Instagram and Facebook after the hike.
Have a wonderful week!