Grand Canyon

As I was driving to the Grand Canyon yesterday it was rainy and cold and I wasn't sure if this was the best idea. Did I really want to drive all this way to have it be foggy or low visibility when I could go on Monday? I'm so glad I did because the weather cleared up instantly as I parked and the sun was able to stream through the clouds and it was pure magic. It was just amazing to be there, to see something so grand that I had been thinking about ever since I saw my first images of the Grand Canyon as a little one. It's more spectacular and breathtaking and unworldly in person and I couldn't believe that I was actually standing there, able to take it all in. That after driving for three weeks, close to 5,500 miles, that all my planning and traveling and where my tires met the pavement got me here to this place today, to right now being face to face with one of the great wonders of the world. Wow. To end my day, I got to drive through the greatest rainbow ever! Hope you all enjoy the photos and you can feel like you were there with me.  (Click on images for bigger versions!)

Zion

Zion National Park. My dad and I had a quick welcoming to Zion for an afternoon once we got into southern Utah. I like to call Zion the Disney World of National Parks, or at least from the ones I've visited. Zion has shuttles to take you to the most popular spots of Zion Canyon which is great but made it a bit too crowded for my liking. Luckily we were able to find some quieter parts of the park which at the golden hour as the sun was starting to set, made for a perfect welcoming. If you want to feel small, go to Zion. It was an indescribable feeling to be looking up against beautiful red sand stone mountains that reach to the sky thousands of feet in the air. I'll remember the golden hour light reaching the top of the mountains, to the sound of water dribbling down the sand stone to water the hanging gardens that are all around. I'll remember the loud silences all around and the smell of campfire.

I went to Zion for a second visit, after my dad left to head back home. I checked the weather and with it being a small percentage chance of rain I decided to defy the weather. I started climbing up Angels Landing, which is one of the most popular hikes in Zion, where for a good part of the hike you hold on to a chain so you don't fall to your death with drop offs on either side of you. I was planning on hiking half way, knowing I wouldn't be able to reach the top. I was taking in all the beauty around me when it started to drizzle. I continued up and decided to turn back not knowing how the weather would continue. A few minutes after I was making my way down it started to downpour. Of course I didn't have any rain gear so it only took seconds to get completely drenched. I was walking fast and then started to run while trying not to slip on the rock and mud, it was like a real life Tough Mudder my friends! I already can't wait to go back and hike deep into The Narrows and to get a bit higher on Angels Landing, weather be damned.

Canyonlands

Moab, Utah Day 2. My dad and I got to Canyonlands National Park, which is another beautiful place and very different from Arches National Park. Cayonlands is a lot less touristy, more quiet, more spacious. I'm sure it wouldn't be a surprise to any of you that Canyonlands is filled with..... canyons, that are quite colorful at different times of the day and varying weather conditions. When we were there it was mostly cloudy and the canyons took on this deep red, orange, purplish color which will stop you in your tracks.  What's also really interesting about this park is an area that they are unsure how it was formed, "Upheavel Dome". Was it hit by a meteor? Was in naturally forming due to a salt dome from millions of years ago? Geologists are still debating this today but I'd like to go with a meteor because that sounds way  cooler! Here is some more info on the Upheavel Dome incase you'd like to learn more: http://www.nps.gov/cany/learn/nature/upheavaldome.htm