Utah - Life elevated

I had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend. We wanted to go for a long road trip. After considerable debate on the destination, we decided to visit the famous National parks in Utah. We rented a 12-seater and it was fun traveling in it. We started our road trip from Los Angeles and visited 3 National parks in 3 days. On our way back, we even managed to do some Thanksgiving shopping near Las Vegas. So, it was the perfect Thanksgiving break for me and my friends. The first stop on our road trip was Zion National park.

Zion National park is Utah's oldest national park and the most visited. We drove all night and entered Zion in the morning. The closer we got to Zion National Park, the more spectacular the scenery became. The prominent feature of this park is the the Zion canyon, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. It's hard to imagine such a small river carving out this huge canyon. Zion is an ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary and it is definitely a place where you can find solitude. This park is full of red and white sandstone cliffs ranging in from cream, to pink, to red. I think the best way to see Zion is take a trail. Whichever trail you pick at Zion, you're in for a treat. We did couple of medium trails in Zion. I liked the Riverside Walk trail, a nice paved trail which follows the Virgin River along the bottom of a narrow canyon. We stayed at the beautiful Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Resort which is nested away from civilization, overlooking the magnificence of deep red rock canyons and towering Ponderosa Pines. It was a different and nice experience staying in a cabin. We even had a taste of modern adventure by going on a guided ATV tour around the resort.

The next day, we started to Bryce Canyon National park which is a short drive from Zion. Bryce is at a much higher elevation than nearby parks and it was very cold when we went there. Hence, we ditched the idea of hiking in Bryce and just decided to go around the park by road and just stop at the numerous vista points. Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion. The first thing you notice in Bryce is the uniqueness of the rocks. The park is full of famous spires, called "hoodoos". Hoodoos are pillars of rock left by erosion. Hoodoo means to cast a spell. The fantastic shapes of these rocks at Bryce Canyon are accurately known to cast a spell on every visitor. the view of these Hoodoos from Bryce point and Inspiration point was awesome. No wonder, the early ranchers used to describe Bryce as "a helluva place to lose a cow". We spend few hours in Bryce and continued our road trip to our final destination, Arches National park.

Zion is good, Bryce is fantastic, but Arches is simply superb. Arches is my favourite national park in Utah because of its beauty and grandeur. The landscape there was surreal. It's full of amazing rock formations: massive boulders perched precariously on mere spindles of rock, arches of every shape, vast expanses of deep red, stone formations, and old petroglyphs. There are some jaw dropping views including natural sandstone arches galore. We did the popular hike there to see the Utah’s most famous icon, the Delicate Arch. It was a 3-mile round trip, moderate hike to the Delicate Arch. You see images of Delicate Arch everywhere in Utah: on magazine covers, computer screen savers and license plates. But photos do not adequately convey the stunning beauty that hits you as you come over the ridge and see the arch in person for the first time. It's just an amazing feeling to stand under it with the arch towering above your head, slick rock canyons falling away below you and the snow-covered La Sal Mountains in the distance. It is a spectacular sight and its worth the whole trip. Later, we drove around the park seeing the numerous arches in the windows section and did some small hike to see the second best arch there, the Landscape Arch.

The state of Utah is unique. Within this region are canyons, mesas, winding rivers, mountain ranges, prehistoric sites, vast expanses of open space and national parks. The land is so exceptional that you're sure to discover splashes of natural color and unique formations in every turn. Utah surprises you with variety and it is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. On the whole, it was really a memorable experience for me and my gang.

Utah is Nature’s Munificent Masterpiece and it inspires even the non-photographer to pick a camera and capture the beauty. No wonder we took some 7GB of photos.