I
visited the national parks and 2 state parks in Nevada and southern Utah last
fall. Also one national monument in
Nevada. I would like to thank
Eldon Mayer for his research on his trip just prior to mine and sharing his
information on the island web site.
I
only had my kindle fire to take the following photos.
My
trip started in Las Vegas where I drove approximately 45 minutes to Red Rock
National Monument. There is a
beautiful scenic drive with quite a few pull outs. Also, quite a few trails. I only spent a few hours there. IÕm glad I did.
ItÕs hard to believe a place so close to Las Vegas can be so quiet and
scenic.
My
next stop was Zion National Park.
I had no idea what to expect.
I had not done any research prior to this trip. Zion turned out to be one of my
favorite parks. I spent 4 nights
in Zion Lodge which is right in the middle of the park. The entire park is huge. I stayed in this popular section and
hiked the famous trails. Angels
Landing and the Narrows to name a few.
View
from the top of Angels Landing:
View
from behind weeping rock:
The
narrows is a slot canyon carved out by the Virgin River. The hike takes you through the river:
Another
smaller slot canyon
A
natural arch at the end of the trail ŌHidden CanyonĶ
Sun
setting over red rock:
There
was so much of the park that I didnÕt get to see. I was very happy with what I was able to experience with the
few days I was there. IÕm really
looking forward to going back!
My
next stop was Bryce Canyon. Again,
another amazing place and experience.
Tower
Rock
Hat
Shop
Hoodoos: Inspiration Point Rim Trail
In
The Canyon, Looking Up
Next
stop, Capital Reef. This is one of
the lesser known and thus not as crowded park. There are also orchards where you can pick the fruit that is
in season. I almost had the whole
park to myself.
Moving
east to the desert of Moab the final two parks in the ŌMighty 5Ķ Canyonlands and Arches.
I
spent the afternoon in Canyonlands and did a few shorter hikes.
On
the way out of Canyonlands, I stopped at Dead Horse State Park for a couple of
hours.
Horse
Shoe Bend:
About
25 to 30 minutes from Canyonlands is Arches National Park. There are supposedly thousands of
arches in the park.
Fragile
Arch:
Landscape
Arch:
Double
Arch:
Balance
Rock:
On
my way back to Las Vegas, I stopped at Valley Of Fire State Park. ItÕs a very popular park and only about
45 minutes outside of Las Vegas.
Pictures
really canÕt do these places justice.
Thank you for reading and looking.
If anyone has any questions, I would love to answer them. Please feel free to e-mail me at sulzer79@hotmail.com. Stay tuned for part 2.