Utah

The Mormons said it first, and now I proudly exclaim "this is the place!" If you’ve ever been to SLC you know why it is so awesome. Where else can you experience so many interesting and different things. Mainly I just like the scenery, its awesome no matter what part of the state you are in. My favorite area though…the southern extremes. These sparsely inhabited areas offer endless backroads full of adventure.

For the last 6 years this part of the country has been calling my name. Finally, I answered back…

Leaving home at 4am gets you to SLC with plenty of time for a full day of adventure.

Once we had our car, we drove south to Zion, then to Bryce (and what we nicknamed "Suicide Canyon"). My favorite road in the world is just to the southeast of Bryce. We then headed up to Capitol Reef and Arches/Canyonlands NP. From there it was back to SLC.

Me, Poco, Matt and our new friend Kaziah (???).
She says its from the Bible and means "cinnamon".

To most, this sign says "Salt Lake City",
but I see "Your Adventure Begins Here".
Okay, that was kinda cheezy, eh?

Crossing over the Wasatch Mountains as we descent
into SLC. This is near Provo, just south of SLC.

Poco spent most of the time sleeping in the car.

At long last I am reunited with Zion Canyon,
my favorite National Park.

Late afternoon in the Canyon. I took this pic
while sister was yelling at me to get away from
the cliff.

Matt on the cliff where the above photos were
taken.

Matt keeping warm at the expense of looking like
a reject.

Driving up towards an old ghosttown called Grafton,
near the southwest entrance to Zion.

An old homestead in the abandoned town of Grafton.

Either the old Grafton Schoolhouse or church.

Our lovely Corolla, which I quickly taught how
to ‘off-road’. This car was pretty dirty by the
time it made it back to SLC.

The old Grafton Cemetery.

Poco was amused that these 2 stones were for
2 wives of the same man. Probably mormon, so this
was not a taboo thing to them.

These old wood head stones (would the really
be called head’stones’?) really didn’t last very
well. I really doubt the are original. Someone
has been keeping the place up somewhat.

This really captivated me. Why aren’t tombstones
this cool anymore?

Apple trees growing in the valley along the river,
just south of Grafton.

Our neat little tent. It really consisted of
Matt hearing ‘noises’, Poco getting scared, and
me going out to check for cougars and serial killers.

Just as it did last time I visited Bryce Canyon
in June, we got snowed on. Not much, but if was
definitely COLD!!!!

Poco decided to see one of the views of Bryce
Canyon. Good thing it was sleeting/raining/snowing
with a 40mph wind. We couldn’t wait to set up
camp!

This is my favorite road of all time. A lonely
dirt road that winds its way through the Grand
Staircase Escalante region of southern Utah. I
discovered it with Grant and Jason a few years
earlier.

It was along this road that I exposed the corolla
to its first creek, where the road went through
it. Corolla enjoyed it, so I took him through
several more.

Poco’s self-portrait at a Pizza place we ate
at about 12 years ago in Tropic, UT. Our cute
waitress invited us to join her and her friends
to watch a movie in their barn that night. I was
all about it, but Poco said we couldn’t.

Driving along backroads again, where we came
across a very troubling discovery. I randomly
stopped to look over the edge of the cliff, and
what we found would change our lives forever…

Yes, these are tire tracks going over the embankment
on the edge of the canyon. This was most definitely
NOT an accident.

Note the car in the bottom of the canyon. We
were the first people to report the scene to the
Kane County Authorities. We still do not know
exactly what played out here, but there is no
way it was good.

This beautiful sight greeted me as I exited the
bathroom near our campsite, why by the way is
one of the most remote campgrounds I have ever
been to.

Waking up after a night in the upper 30s. What
happened to summer in the desert???

The mountain behind our campsite in the early
morning fog. We camped at Kodachome Basin, Utah.

Hwy 12 near Escalante, UT. This section of the
road is known as the Hogs-Back. Its a few miles
of road with cliffs on both sides, no shoulder,
and NO guardrail. It literally feels like you
are flying.

Capitol Reef, as we transition from the Mountains
to the desert.

"Factory Butte" in the weird area near
Hanksville. It really looks like another planet
in some places along this road.

Corolla parked in a random field where we stopped
for lunch. We carried our lunch over to the edge
of the mesa.

A group-shot enjoying a beautiful afternoon and
a great lunch at some place in the middle of nowhere.

The view we enjoyed during our lunch.

The Balanced Rock at arches NP.

At long last I finally get to climb up to the
delicate arch. I have wanted to see this amazing
piece of rock for so long. It was much larger
than i expected. Standing next to it, I would
come up short of the line across the base.

A cool valley that I think was settled way back
in the day. Note the arch way in the distance.
Not sure which arch it is exactly.

In other words "GET GAS NOW!" This
pretty much sums of most of the trip. A lot of
distance, not a lot of civilization. Needless
to say we did our best to keep the gas tank as
full as possible.

Matt checking out one of the many 1000ft+ cliffs
we found ourself in front of.

"Dang you stupid cliff for tempting my brother."

I must now go back to canyonlands to drive the
road in this photo. It’s a 100 mile long dirt
road around the rim of the Island in the Sky region
of the park.