Live. Travel. Play.

In San Rafael Desert, Utah.

We are not desert people. We are mountain people (and occasionally beach people), but definitely not desert people. We just spent a week driving through four National Parks in southern Utah, where we saw some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen in our lives. But it was so ridiculously hot and dry!

We started off in Zion National Park, where we were wowed by steep river-cut canyons and beautiful sandstone formations. We hiked up the side of Zion canyon in extreme heat and dryness, but were rewarded with awesome views of slot canyons and sheer cliffs. No rock climbing for us here – the walls were just too big for our amateur skills.

White shuttle bus at the bottom of Zion Canyon.

Hiking to Echo Canyon, Zion.

Layered sandstone near Echo Canyon.

Next, we headed east to Bryce Canyon National Park. This “canyon” is not really a canyon because it wasn’t formed by river erosion. It’s actually full of limestone hoodoos, which are sculpted by water running vertically through rock fissures, dissolving the limestone over time. It’s a stunning place to visit, but guess what? It was hot – over 35 degrees C. Thankfully, it cooled down at night for decent sleeps.

Limestone hoodoos in Bryce Canyon.

Hiking trail at bottom right, for scale.

Utah beer.

We continued east through the rocky plateaus of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and camped at Capitol Reef National Park. Along the drive, interpretive signs described the trial and tribulations of early Mormon settlers who built homesteads throughout southern Utah in the late 1800’s. Those early Mormons must have been on crack to have settled in such inhospitable land – there’s barely any water or vegetation here! And it so freakin’ hot!

The highway near Escalante, Utah.

Cool rock formations in Capitol Reef.

We camped in Moab on Friday so that we could visit Arches National Park – our final destination in Utah. We thought we could do some climbing here, but the temperatures rose to almost 40 degrees C by mid-day – impossible. Unlike the other areas we visited, the van didn’t cool off enough in the evening and the mosquitoes were hella-nasty. We’re talkin’ swarming, Winnipeg-grade mosquitoes – the kind that think “Off” is just a tasty seasoning for human flesh. We planned to spend this weekend in Moab but we just couldn’t hack the heat and flies any longer. Plus, we started to bite each other’s head’s off in our extreme discomfort.

Skyline Arch.

Delicate Arch.

It's hot.

So yesterday, we rushed to Aspen, Colorado, where the higher elevation promised mosquito-free nights and more merciful weather. There’s still snow in the mountains – a sight for sore eyes! Aspen feels like Whistler or Banff. It’s a quaint little ski town with alpine character and modern conveniences, like a microbrewery and a Gucci store.

Aspen Brewery draft. Aspen ski hill in the background.

Can you tell which one is Gregor?

We camped in a National Forest campground near Aspen – it’s named “Difficult Campground”. I don’t know why it’s called that because it’s the best campground we’ve stayed in since we started this trip. The sites are rustic and private, surrounded by lots of Aspen trees (surprise!). The grounds are extremely tidy and the pit toilets are the cleanest we have ever seen in North America. The campground hosts are super nice – they found out we were spending a sunny day in camp without any beer so they gave us a couple of bottles of Samuel Adams. We’re back to being happy campers.