the ultimate road trip - Part I
Summer road trips, ain’t nuthin’ like ‘em!
Fueled up and ready for a road trip!
Utah, the road tripping state
Off roading in Utah may take a while to clean up.
When in Utah, you find winding roads and trails to meander along. Stunning scenery that mesmerizes you into getting lost with gusto. Summers are irresistible with the Mighty Five easily accessible and willing to lure you into their realm. In between each you’ll also discover state parks, national monuments, geological features, ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) cliff dwellings and ruins, museums, and more. Today, as we wrap up road trip season and possibly finalize a final trek for Labor Day weekend, I share with you the most incredible itinerary I’ve ever created. So impressive that I deemed it a “Grandiose Tour” and still consider it the most epic road trip I have EVER experienced.
You’ll find my basic outline of the month long itinerary and a few specifics of our grand tour. If it inspires you, please reach out with any questions or let me help you plan your next venture. It’s one of my favorite pastimes!
*Something to keep in mind about timing your trip is weather. As Andre 3000 sings, “You can paint a pretty picnic but you cain’t predict the weather.” So when traveling through Utah or the Southwest at the end of summer, watch the clouds rising in the sky. It is monsoon season and flash floods, especially in washes, are dangerous along with the severe lightning these clouds produce.
Stops/hikes/explorations:
Capitol Reef NP
- Remember that special coffee place I mentioned is a secret? Hint: It’s on the way to the next location. wink winkGrand Escalante
Kodachrome Basin
Bryce Canyon NP
Zion NP
Grand Canyon
Sedona
Albuquerque
Santa Fe
Taos + Taos Village
Colorado Springs
Vail
Rocky Mountain NP
Fort Collins
Cheyanne
Ogden
Capitol Reef NP
Sprite dancing through Cohab Canyon to Frying Pan to pose on top of Cassidy Arch
We booked a night in Fuita Campground through recreation.gov and enjoyed sightseeing where Mormon pioneers raised a homestead and created an orchard. You can still pick the fruit today during harvesting season! Don’t miss the hike to Cassidy Arch named after Butch Cassidy who supposedly had a hideout in the area.
A few things to note:
Torrey is the closest town (groceries!)
From TAJ in our travel journal, “I laughed at LK while on scenic drive (very sketchy road)…”
“…good hike 22-25 mi combined several to make a loop. Ran out of H2O but somehow survived the UTAH heat.”
Grand Staircase Escalante
Canyons of Escalante RV Park
This adventure base camp rests on the edge of nowhere, aka heaven.
If I could live in Escalante, I would. It is by far one of my favorite places on this planet! This trip introduced me to Utah summers and this particular town with its outlying wild spaces stole my heart. There was no cell service in 2018 in this adorable adventure base camp town and all the dirt only roads surrounding it and I. LOVED. it. Anywhere you wanted to go would be hand drawn on a map by a local then handed over with vague directions to play around to figure it out but beware of the washes.
Trail Angel Joey and I searched for dinosaur tracks in Devil’s Garden, explored Pinnacle Pocket and Buckaroo slot, and got stuck in a storm. Grateful that the local Outfitters also serve beer and offer a tiny grab and go grocery, we waited patiently and called the RV park to upgrade our tent site to a cabin. The owner of the rentals laughed and agreed we would be better off in a cabin after that monsoon with high winds and uncomfortably close lightning.
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Originally, Kodachrome was going to be a very short stop for exploring between Escalante and Bryce. Since we saw it while passing by on our way to Bryce we decided to come back after securing our campsite at Bryce. However, I think this state park surpasses Zion in beauty and charm. Bonus: significantly less people. The 13 mi loop covers vastly differing terrain that will indeed make you want to pull out your Kodachrome. We left singing, “Mama please don’t take my Kodachrome away.”
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce is twice as nice as Zion
The geological features of Bryce Canyon shock and awe.
Hands down, my fave park of the trip. Enamored with the colors and geological features, I obviously couldn’t stop taking pics. I’m sure you won’t be able to either. Of significant note is Fairyland Trail where you can walk amidst the features and feel like a sprite in your own fairy world.
Zion National Park
An unfortunate year to visit Zion NP
Too many crowds, too many closures, not enough fun.
Due to a monsoon wiping out part of Angel’s Staircase and most of the main attractions, TAJ and Sprite did not tour much of the park. Also, the crowds made us grumpy. We do not recommend. To me, Zion is the red rock version of Yosemite and the crowds of Disney.
Grand Canyon National Park
We entered through the less visited and much cooler (higher altitude) North Rim where the buffalos roam.
We enjoyed the views from the North Rim after a lovely drive through Kaibab and St. George along the Smithsonian Butte National Back Country Byway. I made sure to rub the nose of the bronzed mule statue in the lodge per legend that it’s good luck if you plan to cross the divide. We did not get much sleep at our campground due to the pack of coyotes (wolves?) howling before we woke up at 3am to hike across to the South Rim.
The 26 mile trail down across and up to the South Rim is stunning! Probably don’t cross it on the hottest day of the year as we did since temperatures at Ghost Ranch can reach up to 115 degrees but it is certainly worth the attempt. Please enjoy these millions of pictures I offer rather than words even though they still won’t offer justice to the views.
Upon arriving at the South Rim we felt the difference in amount of tourists on the trail and Sprite was hangry so celebrating with beers and food became protocol. A shower has never felt so good. The marathon distance across with the high heat lulled our bodies to sleep immediately along with the notion of another 3am wake up call to hike ourselves back to the truck on the North Rim.
Did we make it back across the next day? Come back next week to find out! Part II in this mini series will cover our foray across Arizona, New Mexico, northwards through Colorado, over across Wyoming, and back down into Utah to our starting location of Salt Lake City. Enjoy your week and safe travels to you, my friend! Stay wild, Sprite