Bryce Canyon- Hi High Altitude

Hello!! We've made it to our 4th National Park on this journey, Bryce Canyon. I'm still surprised at how many National Parks there are that I had not heard of before a few weeks ago!

Bryce Canyon is a more popular park than the others we've been to so far which means more people and more gift shops! I'm enjoying the more commercialization of this park but really compared to most places we are still very much in the wildrness.

Here I am on our first day out in Bryce Canyon-

Here's me about an hour later-

High altitude is rough on my ability to have energy. We hiked about 1 mile and felt like we had gone 10. I'm sure sleeping well in this park that's for sure.

The longer we're here though, the more energy I gain so tomorrow Matt and I plan to conquer a hike in the canyon!

Here are some pretty photos from our big 1 mile hike!

We can do it!

Hoodoos and trees! There's a controlled burn in the distance, apparently forest fires are good for the health of the forest!

Our Campsite

In front of the lodge

This is petrified wood! Can I make a counter top out of this please?

Capitol Reef, Don’t Trust These Park Rangers

Whoa Capitol Reef has totally worn me out. I have gotten a few blisters and learned that some park rangers may think I’m more physically fit than I actually am (more on that in a minute).

So far on this trip I’ve learned that there are way more National Parks than I realized. If you asked me about 2 weeks ago how many Nat. Parks there are in America I would have guessed around 12. Now I know there are 55! We’re in our third National park of our journey, Capitol Reef. The more parks I see the more I appreciate that we have these places in the USA to explore.

This place is an oasis in the desert. Mormon settlers came here at the end of the 1800’s and planted an orchard with apple, pear, apricot, and other trees!! The trees are still here today watered by the clear beautiful river that allows this place to be the unique desert oasis that it is (you can eat the fruit too when it grows). A group of Mormon people lived here until about 1960. There’s a little shop here with pie and ice cream and you better believe I got excited about that! I had ice cream twice. This place is preserved very well and I can just picture the rugged settlers that lived in this remote place 100 years ago.

Now onto the rough part of this experience. Because we’re in the desert walking in and around the river sounded like a great idea and there just happens to be a hiking trail through the water with beautiful water falls. We asked the park ranger at the visitor center how she recommended getting to the trail head. She suggested biking because it was only about 3 miles. Unfortunately that was 3 miles uphill. What do I look like? An Olympic bike rider? I can’t bike 3 miles uphill. After giving it my best effort (3.5 hills into the ride only covered about a mile) we turned around and rode back to the visitor’s center. I'm totally kidding about not trusting the park rangers, you can trust them, just not with bike ride advice.

I at least got a really good workout in while at Capitol Reef. We did end up doing the hike along the water, we just did it backwards until we saw one of the pretty waterfalls. My blisters came from wearing my chacos for the first time of the season, they always take getting a few blisters before they are comfy again.

Our next stop is Bryce Canyon National Park! So far Utah has been more than I expected and is a great place to experience the outdoors. One last thing I’ve been surprised about is the amount of Europeans visiting the parks. Many of them have rented RVs and are traveling the national parks between Moab and California for about 3-4 weeks. I always wondered what the USA had to offer tourists besides NYC and other big cities. National Parks are a great representation of America!

Here are some photos from Capitol Reef-

A home from about 1910 in the town of Fruita which is now in the National Park (this is where you buy pie and ice cream).

A River in the Desert

One of the orchards

Our Campground

A little evening bike ride on a flat road

A Trek Into The Mountains

This weekend Matt and I trekked into the La Sal Mountains which are just 20 or so minutes from our campground. The change from red desert to cool beautiful mountain was lovely for the day!

Look, I even caught a trout in the beautiful lake at the almost top of the mountain! It was such clear water I could see the fish going after my hook!!

Sunday we drove to Capitol Reef National Park! It's really unique and pretty here. I'll post more about it later!

Desert Shoutouts

I’d like to thank my brother for outfitting Matt and I in awesome Patagonia. It really is perfect for being outside all the time. My brother works at a Patagonia store right now and he’s kind enough to send us awesome stuff!

I’d like to give a shoutout to my hat and sunglasses. Without you I couldn’t see anything going on out here in the bright sunlight.

Speaking of bright sunlight, I’d like to thank my sunscreen for protecting my pale skin from the all day sunrays.

I’d like to thank beef jerky and pistachio nuts for the energy they give Matt and I on our hikes. Go protein!

I’d like to give a shoutout to my hiking boots. I didn’t think I needed hiking boots at first because I have tennis shoes, hiking boots are unnecessary. Well, now I believe hiking boots have saved my feet and ankles from un-needed soreness.

I’d like to thank the inventor of travel trailers because I love being out here. However, I would not like to be doing this in a tent. It’s been raining off and on all week (why is it raining in the desert?) and the poor tent campers cannot be very comfortable right now.

I’d like to thank the Desert of Utah for surprising me with how unique and beautiful you are. I would have probably never come here if it weren’t for our RV travels but now I believe this is one of the prettiest places in America.

Lastly I’d like to thank the weather for being cool and pleasant. It’s been nice hiking in 60-70 degree weather. I know these nice temps won't last!