The Scenic Route
June 30, 2024 - Reading time: 12 minutes
Yesterday, a Canyonlands park ranger traced a pathway with a yellow highlighter on a printed map of Utah, enthusiastically encouraging us to travel scenic highways 89 and 12 on a route from Moab to Las Vegas through four national parks in one day. I was completely stoked about this drive, in spite of my fear of heights and her slight warning that one particular section would be, in her words, "a little bit cliffy."
Up first was Capital Reef National Park. Beautiful rock cliffs and hills in layers of colored sand and stone. Hues of pink, white, red and gray.
Next we passed through the verdant green of the Dixie National Forest before entering Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument - both beautiful parks with elevations of 9,000+ feet. Stunning views. At the apex of one particular ridge in Grand Staircase the most terrifying section of highway I’ve ever driven stretched out just below our vantage point at the top. The speed limit dropped to 15 mph as the road narrowed into a catty-wampus, lumpy land bridge with steep cliffs on either side and NO guard rails. Who thought THIS was a good idea? With white knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel, a pounding heart (Surprise! I could still do Lamaze breathing instinctively 27 years since last giving birth) I inched the car forward at a snail's pace ever so gently while my sweet brother in the passenger seat quietly and calmly offered up words of encouragement. “You got this, sis. You’re in control of the car. You can do it.” There are no photos of this. We were trapped in the moment. But I highly suspect there will be post traumatic nightmares in our future. Time will tell.
Above: Dixie National Forest
Upon reaching the turn off to Bryce Canyon National Park, we celebrated our survival with some much needed leg stretching by exiting the car at nearly all of the scenic overlooks along the 36 mile loop of the main road to admire the towering cliffs and hoodoos which appeared constructed of orange cake batter and melted cream. There was a cool arch here as well.
Lastly, we drove through Zion National Park. It was so different than the other parks we'd seen this week. Instead of sweeping views bordered by rocky cliffs and hoodoos, the highway through Zion featured a tightly packed landscape of dense mountains, like hardened swirls of soft serve ice cream in a zig zag pattern. I wish we had taken more photos here, but the ten hours of driving with 3 more to go was beginning to catch up with us. We did slow down long enough to snap a pic of a family of goats ambling along the road. It's a park I most definitely would like to visit again with more time to properly explore.
The driving tour was great, but after 13 hours in and out of the car, Las Vegas on the horizon at dusk was a welcome sight. We checked in to the hotel then spent about two hours walking The Strip, enjoying the lights and sights of the Bellagio fountains, Caesar’s Palace, and the Cosmopolitan before crashing for the night. More on that next time.
Canyonlands National Park
June 19, 2024 - Reading time: 12 minutes
The 2:00 a.m. bedtime from stargazing the night before required a morning sleep in
before heading 30 miles south of Moab to Canyonlands. We were blown away by this park! I never knew another park existed that rivals the majesty of the Grand Canyon, but this one did for sure.
Above: The darker vertical formations in the middle of the canyon are known as "needles."
Because it was already 11:30 with the hottest part of the day in our sights, we opted to start with the longest hike first. Grand View Point was 2 miles round trip and relatively easy with mostly flat rock beds, cut stairs, and desert scrub to navigate. The path itself was less obvious, so we were grateful for the stacked stone markers to guide us (below).
We stopped several times along the trail to take in the sweeping canyon vistas and rock formations below known as needles for their narrow spire shapes. My brother scaled a vertical rocky outcrop at the very end of the mesa point to take in the 360° view of canyons, needle spires and two different rivers far below on the left and right off the point. Having played my “risk it” card yesterday, today was his turn. Not to mention the wind gusts were no joke at our elevation on this particular day and though I knew my feet were on solid ground, I was unsettled by the thought of being too close to any edges. He descended safely several minutes later and it made my heart smile to see him so pumped.
Above: Without a raindrop in sight, on a beautiful blue sky of a day, a rainbow appeared above my brother as he climbed and descended the rocks for a panoramic view of the point. It was wild!
The AC in the car felt great after that hike so we drove the length of the park’s main road to enjoy many of the scenic pullover spots. To further cool off, we took in an air conditioned 20 minute documentary about the park in the NPS Visitors Center.
Above: With a permit, 4x4 vehicles may travel the dirt roads that criss-cross into the canyons.
Then it was back to the trails. We hiked to Mesa Arch and it was stunning! This entire area is approximately 6,000 feet above sea level with canyon wall cliffs that drop straight down to the Colorado and Green Rivers below. The photos won’t do it justice.
Above: Mesa Arch
We capped off the day with a dip in the pool followed by a wood fired pizza and glass of Chianti at a cute little Italian restaurant back in Moab.
Arches National Park
June 17, 2024 - Reading time: 11 minutes
To avoid the 115° heat expected midday, my brother and I left the hotel at 4:45 a.m., about 20 minutes before sunrise, to start the first hike - Delicate Arch. We arrived at the trailhead just before 5:30 without either of us researching the trail rating beforehand. Guess what? It’s rated “Difficult” by the National Park Service. For an hour we traversed huge slabs of rock as well as stairs cut into the ground - all going up, up, up. Near the top we hugged a wall with a one foot ledge. Not a fan. But just beyond the ledge the bowl rim of the arch was revealed. It was magnificent! I was feeling brave, inspired by the other hikers who dropped into the bowl to tread over the slanted rock to pose beneath the arch. It was scarier than I anticipated and when I returned from the photo op I promised my brother (and myself) that I would not be playing anymore “Take a Risk” cards for the remainder of the trip. On the way back down we hiked a bit off trail to view some petroglyphs which was also very cool.
Above: The bowl rim walk to Delicate Arch.
Above: If you zoom in, the tiny person under the arch is me. :)
Above: Standing on the ledge near the top of the trail.
Above: Our shadows in the morning sun. If you zoom in, the tiny line of dots above our heads to the left is the parking lot at the trailhead. 
Above: Petroglyphs on the rock at the base of Delicate Arch trail circa 1650 to 1850 A.D.
Riding high on endorphins, and realizing it was only 8:15 in the morning, we drove a bit deeper onto to park to an area called Devil’s Garden (how encouraging) where we hiked an easier trail to Landscape Arch.
Above: Landscape Arch
Our legs were a bit like spaghetti by 9:30, so we went back to the hotel for a cool dip in the pool to stretch out our muscles, showers, Advil and then treated ourselves to lunch in town. That veggie burger and cold draft beer hit the spot like never before.
With the park only 5 miles from our hotel and the sky looking so clear, we headed back to Arches for sunset photos and to scope out a place for stargazing. We found a great area called Panorama Point. Wide open. My brother loves me. He agreed to kick back in a beach chair until the moon set at 1:00 am so we could see the desert sky in it’s entirety with ZERO light pollution. It was amazing. So many layers of stars with the Milky Way ribbon above us. I wish I could have captured it with a cell phone camera.
The rocks are a vibrant red at sunset. 
Moving on to Moab
June 15, 2024 - Reading time: 6 minutes
My brother flew into Denver last night and this morning we began the journey across The Rockies, through Colorado, and into Moab, Utah. We stopped for lunch about halfway through Colorado in the tiny town of Gypsum at The Cowboy Kitchen, a quaint place on the banks of the Eagle River with delicious food and a view.
With time to spare as we resumed our drive, we saw a turn off for Colorado Monument National Park. Why not? The ranger at the welcome station directed us to a short, but curve hugging drive to the top of the mesa about 2,000 feet up, up, up. The view was nothing short of spectacular at the top. And its main attraction was Independence Monument, which is actually an impressively tall hoodoo. Fun fact: I learned that each 4th of July a team of climbers ascends to the top of the rock to raise the American flag.
Once in Moab, we treated ourselves to a good meal and a beer at the Moab Brewery before heading into Arches National Park about an hour before sundown. We got the lay of the land to formulate a plan for our adventures tomorrow.
Kansas to Colorado
June 12, 2024 - Reading time: 2 minutes
Today was mostly a driving day, as I traversed Kansas completely and arrived nine hours later in Denver. I had barely dipped my pinkie toe across state lines into Kansas prior to today, but the traffic was sparse and the weather was gorgeous. It reminds me a little of Montana, with its wide open green spaces and gentle rolling fields. And I learned a little history while passing a sign on Interstate 70 west of Topeka stating “first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.” So that was neat.
The highlight of the day was catching up over dinner in Denver with a dear friend of our daughter who we’ve known since their middle school years. On their recommendation we enjoyed a fantastic meal at Culinary Dropout. Check it out if you’re in the area someday. The service was outstanding and it has a super chill vibe.
Kansas City Play Day
June 10, 2024 - Reading time: 5 minutes
Today we visited the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. It was SO COOL! Housed on the first floor is an extensive collection of dollhouses, tiny furniture and miniature accessories. I was completely blown away by the craftsmanship and man hours that go into each piece with every material and medium imaginable represented including wood, colored glass, ceramics, metals, and even paintings of people and landscapes on the tiniest of scales.
The second floor was a literal blast from past featuring popular toys from each decade over the past century. Oh, the happy childhood memories that flooded back around every corner! I definitely want to visit again. There was just so much to see!
The rotating spiral of toys greets you as you ascend to the second floor.
The sign behind this miniature chess set is about the size of a small index card.
The glassware here is smaller than a quarter if stood on its side.
Magnifying glasses are complimentary and recommended.
This artist opened a violin to create a tiny violin workshop.
Then it was TOY TIME!
The beloved Mrs. Beasley! 
I can still hear the jingle in my head - “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.”
My sister and I played with these in the bathtub circa 1973.
The Fisher Price garage with hand crank elevator was a favorite of ours, too.
And I adored styling Crissy Doll because her hair looked like mine at age 7.
A child in the 90’s, our daughter has fond memories playing Pretty, Pretty Princess with my dad (her Pop Pop).
He would sit crossed legged on the floor with her and race for the most plastic bling.
We all had fun today just being kids again.
