I’m a Desert Girl

An article by Rachel    4 Comments

I love living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lucky for me, my husband feels the same way. Yet despite my love for my home town and state, I feel like there is so much outside of Utah that I want to see and experience. Due to financial contraints it isn’t possible, at least right now. So I should at least enjoy what I have around me. Right?

About 3-4 years ago, Ross and I spent the day in Zion National Park in southern Utah. While we enjoyed the beauty of the park, I was struck by the hordes of people from all over the world who were visiting the park.  What amazed me was number of people who were willing to spent large quantities of money to visit a site that was only five hours from my home.

This was a huge moment for me. Why should I feel sorry for myself because I can’t visit London when I can visit at least 5 National Parks in my own state? Since this light bulb moment, Ross and I have taken several trips to southern Utah to explore the beautiful red rock desert. I’ve discovered that not only do I enjoy these trips, but I also enjoy a special feeling of being in a place that is truly wonderful. Oddly enough the sage brush, scrub oak, and dry grass are a comfort for me. Perhaps it isn’t accident or chance that I live so close to these places that I enjoy visiting.

Having said that, let me share a little of my weekend. Yesterday, Ross and I returned from a weekend trip to Capitol Reef National Park.  Due to time constraints, we only managed to get in a couple of short hikes, and visit a few points of interest located on the side of the road.

On Saturday we hiked the Hickman Bridge Trail, a short hike to a natural bridge. I thought it was nice hike, not too strenous. Ross wasn’t so happy. He would have prefered a few less rocks to climb over. The rocks didn’t kill him.

On Sunday, we walked the Capitol Gorge wash. I believe the wash actual channels water durning a flash flood. When it’s not channeling water, it makes an easy trail to walk. Towards the end of the wash is a “Pioneer Register”. Starting in 1888 (I believe), pioneers carved their names (and the date) on the wall.  Today we would’d call it vandalism, but because it’s over 100 years old, it’s a historical monument.  It is interesting to see how time can change our perspective.

After the registry, we had another climb over rocks to visit “the tanks.” The tanks are pits hollowed out in the red rock. I can imagine the tanks filling up then people swimming in them. After spending a couple of days in the hot sun, it sounds like a good idea to me.

Of course, I have lots of pictures from around the park. The mosaic links to my flickr account. If you are REALLY interested, you can see even more pictures from our weekend.

Don’t worry, my blog content will return to exciting hand crafted stuff in a few days. Thanks for indulging me by reading about my weekend adventures.