My Travels To: Utah & Arizona

Zion National Park | UT

I've never really had an interest in traveling to the midwest. My impression consisted of tumbleweed and long highways looping miles and miles on end into the desert. It wasn't until I saw beautiful photos of the red-orange layered canyons that I had the urge to see what they looked like in person. This commenced mine and Klara's trip to Utah and Arizona.

Planning for this trip was very last minute. We booked everything a month before and had to figure out how to fit everything into 4 days. So we decided to spend 1 day in Vegas, 1 day in Utah, and 2 days in Arizona.

ZION NATIONAL PARK, UT

We woke up early on day 2 to drive out to Utah from Vegas. We arrived at a small town named Springdale right before the Zion entrance to look for some food and hiking gear. We got sandwiches and a few snacks for our hike later in the day at a small family owned grocery store. Can't remember the name of it but I love how they charged for plastic bags (which I said no to) and extra plastic containers. The cashier was super friendly and told us to go to Hoodoos for parking instead of paying more for all day street parking. The only catch was that we had to spend at least $25 at the store for free all day parking, which wasn't hard at all for us since they had cute souvenirs we couldn't pass on. We then headed across the street to Zion Adventure Company for our boots, socks and walking stick rental which we needed to hike the Narrows. There were shuttles all along the town which made navigating to and from the Zion National Park entrance convenient and easy. We arrived at the park at around 12pm and started our day of adventure.

The Narrows definitely did not disappoint; it was unlike any hike I've ever done. The water was cold, but felt nice in the 100 degree weather and went as high up to my upper thigh. (It's so important to do research before hiking the Narrows because flash floods can cause water levels to rise and it may be unsafe to hike in such conditions). Walking in the water was a challenge with the rocky terrain but the waterfalls and canyons surrounding us were a beautiful sight. We decided to turn around and not complete the entire hike since we wanted to fit another hike in before the end of the day.

Our next destination inside Zion was the Lower Emerald Pools. We really wanted to hike Angels Landing but due to the previous flash floods, the trail was closed. The Lower Emerald Pools trail was relatively easy but with narrow walkways. The trail ended with a beautiful arch with a waterfall about 75 feet high dripping into a lake and misting the air. The path connecting to Upper Emerald Pools trail was closed off so it was a short hike and we decided to end our day.

Horseshoe Bend | Arizona

UPPER ANTELOPE CANYON, AZ

The next day, we got on the road at 6:30am to head to Arizona. Our first stop was our tour at Upper Antelope Canyon. (If you are planning to visit either Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon, keep in mind that you must be with a tour group in order to gain entry). There are several tour options for both the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons but we went with Antelope Canyon Photo Tours. This tour offered 2 different options - one for sightseers and one for photographers. The one for photographers was much more expensive since they went with smaller groups and were allowed to bring tripods. You were still able to bring your camera if you reserved a sightseer tour but they did not allow bags or tripods, and tour groups were much larger. Our tour guide Shawn was extremely knowledgeable and fun - he knew all the right angles to take the best photos and told us about the discovery and history of the canyons.

LAKE POWELL, AZ

After the Upper Antelope Canyon tour, we rented kayaks at Kayak Powell, which was about 2 miles from where we did the Upper Antelope Canyon tour. It was already 2pm when we got our kayaks but it was a low wind day so the conditions were perfect for kayaking. (It's recommended you go kayaking earlier in the day to avoid windy conditions). This was by far my favorite part about the entire trip. The blue-green water was so still and besides a few other kayakers and boaters, we were in total serenity. We were able to park our kayak a few times to rest and take a dip in the water, which was really relaxing. Just be careful though, there are a lot of small lizards and jagged rocks in shallow waters. We kayaked to the Antelope Canyon point where you can park your kayak on the side, get off and hike the trails. The walk-off from where we parked our kayak was extremely muddy so we decided to ditch our shoes and go barefoot (not the best idea if you are planning on hiking the entire trail). Three-quarters of a mile in and we were in awe of the beautiful layered rocks around us and the fact that there was not a single soul in sight besides the two of us. To me, the experience was much more rewarding and exciting than when we toured Upper Antelope Canyon, simply due to the fact that we had the entire place to ourselves (at the moment at least).

SHASH DINE, AZ

After a long day, we settled in to our humble abode for the night - a wagon. So rewinding back a month ago when Klara and I were planning for this trip and figuring out where we were staying, we came across a website called Shash Dine, an eco-friendly glamping retreat in Page, AZ. I am so glad we decided to book this instead of staying at an inn or hotel because this was something I've never experienced before. A family who lives a couple hundred feet from their guests own the land and are the ones who provide this bed & breakfast experience. They have a few different accommodations that you can reserve - bell tents, wagons, cabins, and hogans - that are available depending on the season. All of their accommodations and amenities use solar-power and the owners are extremely environmentally-conscious. We were given a history of the land and the drought conditions upon arrival as we checked in and were reminded to not step on any plants. We went with the wagon that fit 2 people. The wagon was larger than we expected and the bed fit us both comfortably (Klara and I are only 5'2 and relatively petite). Inside the wagon there were snacks, juice boxes, blankets, towels, flashlights and much more. It got really cold at night so I recommend packing a sweatshirt and pants for staying overnight if you are interested in camping/glamping.

There were a few other visitors staying in the accommodations around us, along with the family's two friendly sheep dogs, that were huddled around the fireplace when we got back. We were lucky enough to have the space alone when they decided to call it a night 30 minutes after we arrived and we had the crackling fire and starry night all to ourselves. It was a full moon that night so it was too bright to see the entire milky way but the glowing moon and bright stars lit up the night sky. After putting out the fire, we decided to take a "shower". The bathing area was basically wooden stalls with no ceiling and pails of water with cups in them. The water was still luke warm from being heated in the sun all day but it felt cold against our bodies and we tried to hurry so we could save water and get back into our warm clothes.

Glamping at Shash Dine | AZ

All in all, this trip was nothing short of amazing. There were a lot of first times, and some moments where we were completely alone were a bit daunting, but it felt good to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of back home. There is so much you can do out here and four days definitely wasn't enough but I will definitely be back to explore the rest of Utah and Arizona in the future. For those who have taken the time to read about my adventures, thank you, and I hope you also get to experience the beauty of mid-west. Please feel free to reach out to me if you are planning a trip to any of these locations; my contact information can be found here.