Hello Utah!

Waking up in Grand Junction, CO we stopped at a local bagel and muffin shop to grab a quick bite and a hot beverage. We were in high hopes to see the beautiful Colorado National Monument again and all the beauty Southern Utah has to offer. Instead, a blanket of dense fog and drizzle met us on the freeway. A faint portion of the CNM was recognizable to us, only because we have seen it before. As we entered Utah, I’m certain we missed a lot of scenery due to the fog but we continued south to Moab where we would visit Arches National Park. I was very excited to be going to Arches! We watched a quick educational video at the visitor center and then set out on the scenic drive. Well, I’m still disappointed we weren’t able to see much. It was very foggy and at times drizzling. The first photo op was nice but as we continued on the scenic drive, you could hardly make formations out from the road. I was still holding out hope for the iconic Delicate Arch; however as the road neared...it was closed due to flooding. The rocks that we did see were beautiful and I learned some about the geology of the park. I guess we will just have to make another stop here.

My fellow travelers

Foggy Utah

Arches NP that was visible

Juniper berries

Our original plan was to continue on to Canyonlands National Park, but we were advised by the park staff that we most likely wouldn’t be able to see anything due to the higher elevation there. We decided on a new game plan over lunch in Moab after we let Kobi run out his energy at the Moab dog park!

After lunch we headed back to I-70 and took it to US 24. This was a pretty drive into Capitol Reef National Park.  We were fortunate to see some pronghorn on the roadside too! As we arrived in CRNP, it was still very foggy. We were able to see quite a few deer milling around the campground and some petroglyphs on a rock face. We attempted this scenic road as well and once again it was too foggy and the road to the Waterpocket Fold was closed. I was disappointed in this news too, but I suppose visiting these areas can be a gamble and we can’t complain about our weather outcomes thus far.

We took one of the country’s best scenic drives (voted by Travel + Leisure Magazine), US 12 from Capitol Reef National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park. It was still foggy and snowing quite hard. We passed two plow guys as we continued up the road, I feel like they thought we must be crazy. A woman at Capitol Reef had recommended to me not to take the road tonight due to the weather, however Nate pushed on and there were no troubles. It felt like driving in a snowstorm in Wisconsin…the kind you learn how to drive in! Well, at least my dad took me out to practice during Winter Weather Advisories and Warnings, you know…the kind they tell you not to go out unless you have to! Neverless, I am a better driver because of it! Thanks dad!

Anyways, we arrived in Bryce Canyon City quite late in the evening. We set up at Ruby’s Inn- Best Western because it was just about the only option. A lot of tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels, and even gas stations close in the winter. We settled in and got ready for another day of driving.

Two photos above are Capitol Reef NP, two photos 

below are scenic US 12 in the snow!

Day 4: Black Canyon of Gunnison and Colorado National Park

Waking up in Montrose proved to be a beautiful morning to explore the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. We headed a few minutes east to the entrance to the park. We were both surprised when there was a sign on the park station, "No fees during the winter season". I didn't know that the NPS ever waived fees, even if it was cold. 

We carried on to the visitor center to get a map from the ranger. We followed South Rim Road to 11 lookouts along the way. We were unable to hike with Kobi as dogs are not allowed in the inner canyon, so we stopped at all the lookouts. Some of these has short trails a couple hundred yards long and each one was well worth the stop!

I haven't gone too crazy about the rocks, minerals, or fossils in area of the areas we have visited, however I have to mention a few things here. When the explorers came through this area they called the canyon "black" because of the dark rocks and the fact that part of the canyon only receives 33 minutes of sunlight. The dark rocks are black gneiss, a metamorphic rock. There are also incredible pegmatite dikes running through the canyon like an artist painted stripes on the rock walls. Pegmatites are very cool! These large crystals were formed and are visible because the cooling time was very long, allowing chemicals to form the structure that you see in the large mineral chunks in these walls! There were a lot of micas, both muscovite (light) and biotite (dark). 

The photo directly above is Painted Wall! One of the most beautiful views!!!

The Gunnison River rages below and many rapids are visible. The river cut the canyon deeper than the Royal Gorge. The first outlook we stopped at was ~1700ft down to the river, whereas the last outlook was more than ~2700 ft down! 

The trails around the South Rim Road were dotted with many junipers, pinyon pine, and the gnarly branches and trunks of trees long gone. There were many yucca which I always thought were cacti, however they are actually the lily family. 

A truly beautiful park! We hopped back in the car and headed westward yet again to the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. 

The Colorado National Monument is appropriately named! There are alternating layers of sedimentary rocks that dance in and out of the scenic drive going through the park. The scenery is amazing, not only because of the sedimentary strata (layers), but because you can see the mountains in the distance, and the city below. The structures within the park are beautiful as well and as you will see above, there were rock climbing on that high pinnacle. As we approached the visitor center, we happened upon a herd of Bighorn sheep. There were young and old, male and female, and hungry and not! Nate snapped these great pictures!

After the Monument, we found a little motel and a brewery to watch the Packers completely destroy the Bears!

Next stop: Home! Or at least the closest thing we have right now.