Colorado River
A couple years ago we took a trip to Utah and it ended up being my favorite state. We were only able to visit two out of the big five parks they have and were eager to go back. As soon as we saw there was a resort close enough for us we booked it. We flew into Las Vegas on 5/11, took a quick drive down the strip and then headed about an hour east to Mesquite, NV. Mesquite is near the Arizona border and is a small town with few things other than casinos.. and it was hot. It was in the 90’s when we got there. We got in earlier than our room was ready so it gave us plenty of time to visit the local Walmart to buy some tennis shoes because someone forgot to pack them (me).
Valley of Fire
After getting settled in and stocking up on groceries, we headed out to Valley of Fire State Park. The park was pretty as the sun was setting. We did a couple hikes there. One of which took us to a sandstone feature called the fire wave and is similar to the famous wave. The next hike took us into a cool slot canyon. The sun was going down and the park was closing so we didn’t have much time to do anything else but we got to spend a few hours here and it was worth it. As we were heading back we saw a couple jack rabbits which are really neat.
Arizona Hot Springs Hike
The next day we wanted to go south of Vegas. I had some hikes planned out but they were long and we wouldn’t have time for both so I picked the one I wanted to do most which was the Arizona Hot Springs hike. You could reach the hot springs by tying it in with the White Rock Canyon hike which is about six miles round trip. The instructions for the hike were minimal and trail markers basically non-existent. At first, I was excited that we were going to be able to do this hike. I wasn’t thrilled that it was going to be 95F that day but the fact that it closed in three days made me happy. The hike gets closed from May 15-Sept 30 due to heat. The temperatures can reach 120F and there have been fatalities. After cranking the air in the car we decided to set out. The hike starts by walking under an overpass then down a washout which eventually leads you to the canyon that is pretty at first but then goes on forever and gets very hot. Of course, we started our hike around noon. Without mile markers, we had no idea how much further and with it being so hot there wasn’t much shade to provide relief. Finally we reached the end of the canyon which was at the Colorado River. The river was beautiful. It was a pretty teal/green and the canyon walls were so high. The river was very cold which was great because we were extremely hot. I was glad we brought out water shoes because we went in.
Arizona Hot Springs
After relaxing and refueling we continued on. There was another couple at the river as well. They decided not to continue on to the hot springs because of rocks you had to climb over. I thought it was odd. They told us there would be yellow markers to tell us which way to go so that was helpful. We then pressed on and started seeing what they meant about the terrain. There would be a wall of rock that you would have climb up and you would have to climb in places that you wouldn’t think the trail would go. Then there would be boulders you would have to work around. Kyle kept asking, what did you get us into? I thought it was funny because it was kind of cool the type of hiking we were having to do. We then got done with the climbing over rocks and got to the portion where you needed to hike up a stream. There were little waterfalls (maybe two feet and less) that you would have to climb up. We then go to the ladder. The hot springs were on the cliff and you had to climb up a ladder to get to them. There were signs posted telling people not to get water up their nose because of the brain eating amoeba that lived there. It wasn’t very reassuring as the water ran onto the ladder that you needed to climb up. So after the climb you came to the hot springs. The springs were not exactly natural pools but a bunch of sand bags piled up to create individual pools. The first one was full of people and off to the right. We then learned you needed to hike through the rest of the springs in order to get to the trail back out. Kyle again started asking, what did you get us into? I thought it was great. We never hiked through a hot spring before! They were definitely hot. One was so hot you couldn’t get out fast enough. Not exactly something to experience on a day it’s 95F out. The rest of the hike went downhill. We were already so hot and running out of water. This trail back had 0 shade and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I kept thinking this is one of the dumbest decisions I’ve ever made and we weren’t getting out. It was so exhausting and to not have trail markers made it difficult. Of course the trail wasn’t great either. There was lots of uphill. It was miserable. It never felt so good to see the overpass we started out at.
Pat Tillman Bridge
After our hiking adventure, we headed to the hoover dam. The dam was full of people and we didn’t want to park and deal with walking to it so I quick hopped out of the car, took a couple photos and Kyle picked me back up. Doing this is apparently illegal but I missed the signs. We then drove over to the Pat Tillman bridge. We got out and walked about half way. Took some more photos and called it good. The view of the dam and lake was really pretty. We then found a place to get some ice cream in the cute town of Boulder City and headed back to Mesquite.
Red Rock Canyon
Mt Charleston Mary Jane Falls Hike
Our next day we wanted to head to Red Rock Canyon. The scenery there is pretty cool. We did one hike there which went to a small waterfall. There was a group of elementary kids there at the same time but they left shortly after we go there so it was nice. You could walk around the waterfall, too. It wasn’t super exciting but it was nice to have a water feature in the middle of a desert. After RRC we went to my friend, Mike’s house. This was the first time visiting him since he moved to Vegas a few years go. We got to see his home which was a new build and it was very nice. He has three doggies and they were very cute as well. We then all went up to Mt. Charleston Lodge and had lunch before we started the hike to Mary Jane Falls. The hike was a 1.5miles uphill with about a 900-1000ft elevation gain. We were already exhausted from our hike the day before so we needed to take several resting breaks. It was nice on the mountain because it was about 30 degrees cooler. Some spots still had snow! We got to the falls and they were very cool. There were actually two and to get to the other you had to hop across a river. Lots of people brought their dogs with them and they had fun in the water. After the hike we had a quick stop off to see an overlook of the valley and check out some Joshua Trees. We then we out to dinner and then had dessert at Cinnaholic which was an amazing build your cinnamon roll place. They were delicious!
Capitol Reef National Park
Tuesday morning we headed to Utah to start our national park visits. Our first stop was Capital Reef which was the furthest away. The scenery driving up to the park was beautiful and there are several stops along the road before you actually get to the park. We did the hike to the Hickman Bridge which was pretty neat. It is a natural bridge that has formed and is huge. Even though this hike is rated moderate there were all types of people doing it and we felt like hero’s as we buzzed past them (finally). We also did the Grand Wash trail that walked through a canyon but this was pretty uneventful and I could have done without it. One of the neat roads we drove to was Capital Gorge where you drive down into the canyon with the canyon walls on either side of you and a very narrow two lane road. One of the things that was neat about the park was the fruit trees they grow there. During fruit season, anybody is welcome to enjoy the fruit. It’s free if you want to eat it while you are in the orchards and there is a small fee if you want to take it out.
Utah Scenic Byway 12
We then left the park and started heading in the direction of Bryce Canyon. The route we took was scenic highway 12 and was really pretty. The road took you up into the mountains where you could overlook the valley and lake. It then wound through another type of valley with different landscapes. It was incredibly pretty as the sun was setting. We stopped for the night in Escalante.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
The next morning we woke up pretty early and headed on to Bryce. We were there by 7AM which was great because there was hardly anybody there and it felt like we had the park to ourselves. The park was very cool with all the different hudu’s. We agreed we thought the park was much cooler in person than it looks like in the photos. We did the hike to the Queen’s Garden where you walk down among the formations which was pretty neat. The best part of the park was of course the prairie dogs! Prairie dogs are my favorite and they were so close you could grab one but I was not allowed to get out of the car. After the park we were pretty tired and starting to get sick. We stopped on the way back to Mesquite at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. The dunes were alright. Fairly small and I didn’t really get the coral pink color but maybe on a different day they look pink. It was a short stop. That evening we enjoyed a semi-delicious casino buffet, did a little gambling and arcade playing and called it a day.
Arcade
PS – Kyle is still amazing at Pac-Man. You should have seen how many tickets he got :)!
Zion National Park
For Thursday, we got up and went to the Zion National Park. We got there about 10AM and the park was already full so we had to park in town and walked to the pedestrian entrance. We were excited for this park, despite fully being sick now and not interested in doing anything. The park carries a big hype which we didn’t get after being there. Some of their most popular hikes were closed so maybe it would have been better. We were not thrilled with the bus shuttle system they have. It felt a little more like being at Cedar Point National Park as we didn’t get the nature feel and there were so many people. We also thought the photos made the park look better than it was. Either way, the park was still neat and pretty.
Our last day was a rest day for us and was well earned considering all the hiking we had done. The trip was good and we got to see more of our countries wonderful national parks and hidden gems.
