I don’t write about every trip I take. Sometimes it’s because I’m using a trip to relax and disappear, as I do almost every summer in the Adirondacks. I think of those trips more as family vacation and less as “Traveling.” I’m really looking forward to heading up there next week, as it’ll be my first vacation in a while.
Sometimes it’s because I’m too busy, and/or away from technology, to spend the time writing in my blog. This was the case last summer when I did a 10-day trip to Utah for hiking, camping, and road tripping with my friend Thomas (the same friend I traveled with to Glacier National Park in 2017). We did a round trip from Salt Lake City in Thomas’s car that he drove down from Montana, stopping in Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument — the later of which we just drove through but were glad to see before 45 un-preserved parts of it.
The biggest excitement of the trip for me was that it was my first time camping since I was little and got terrified by the animal noises (and with the exception of a recent urban camping experience in NYC). We camped outside of Bryce and then in the park in Zion. Thomas was a great teacher in camping protocols and cooking, and even found 2 tents so we didn’t have to squeeze together. I definitely didn’t sleep well, and sounds like wind and animals still frightened me, but overall I really enjoyed the nature-filled experience.
We also did a lot of hiking. We saw amazing slot canyons and hoodoos in Bryce and got caught in a sudden rain storm. In Zion recent storms had washed out some of the popular trails, including the ever-elusive Angel’s Landing, which features a section with a chain to grab on to with drop offs on both sides. (The first time I went to Zion in 2015 with my friend Caitlin I had a stomach bug and had to skip most of the hikes I wanted to do.) Instead, we did the hardest day hike in the park, Observation Point, which took 6 hours round trip and featured lots of sun-exposed uphill in–no joke–100 degree desert heat. I actually almost passed out, and ran out of water toward the top, but I made it and it was beautiful and totally worth it! At the top we had a funny experience where some bros were playing with their drone, which got charged by a hawk. Drone use is illegal in national parks because they disturb wildlife. We also did part of The Narrows, a famous hike that involves wading through an enclosed canyon river throughout, which was amazing and much cooler, though the water was full of silt from the storms and it was hard to see the bottom where you were stepping. This was an awesome trip, and the timing was right as I had just left my job in state politics and was taking a break before starting my new nonprofit job.
(Above: Bryce Canyon, Zion – Observation Point, Zion – The Narrows)
And sometimes I don’t have a good reason, as was the case in January 2019 when I did a solo trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a few days. I did this in the winter in 2014 and have since reflected on it fondly as a time when I sat on an empty beach and read books all day. I did this again, but also walked around a lot, ate some good meals, and did a little nice hiking in a State Park that I could walk to from my hotel–which included running into some wild manatees! And you heard that right — I leveled up from hostels this time and splurged for a nice hotel for a few nights. It helped that the flight from NYC was $130. Black Friday sales are real.
Uncomfortably, Florida was the only actual vacation I’ve taken since starting my job last summer. My travel bug is insatiable, but I’m waiting in high anticipation for a smaller trip in September and a massive solo adventure in November and December. Stay tuned!
travels.of.tara 