Day1-
A day in and around Salt Lake City
Still a bit tired after the flight the night before, managed to wake up (@ the Hyatt), have breakfast and get ready for the 9am city bus tour I booked, since time was short and wanted to make the most of it.
Got picked up at 9am from the hotel, the tour comprised of quite a bit of places- including the Temple Square; Brigham Young's bee house (with a beehive at the top signifying unity in working together), and the lion house next to it (he had 26 wives out of which one lived in the bee house, rest lived in the lion house), the entry marked by an arch topped by a huge eagle; Tabernacle (check out the acoustic show if interested); Governor's house; Sanford/Thomas Bingham's house (the guys who discovered one of the largest mines, in in the world); University of Utah, Heritage Park (where you can see monuments of the early settlers, watch a short documentary on the history of the city, stroll through a small museum); Capitol Building etc.
It was pouring that day, and part of our shelter was while we were listening to the acoustics in the Tabernacle. Mormon's Church in Temple Square is not open to the public.
Had lunch at Brigham Young's house in his dining hall :-)
After that, picked up our rental car, checked out of the hotel and started our 2hr drive.
More to see the next time I am there-
A day in and around Salt Lake City
Still a bit tired after the flight the night before, managed to wake up (@ the Hyatt), have breakfast and get ready for the 9am city bus tour I booked, since time was short and wanted to make the most of it.
Got picked up at 9am from the hotel, the tour comprised of quite a bit of places- including the Temple Square; Brigham Young's bee house (with a beehive at the top signifying unity in working together), and the lion house next to it (he had 26 wives out of which one lived in the bee house, rest lived in the lion house), the entry marked by an arch topped by a huge eagle; Tabernacle (check out the acoustic show if interested); Governor's house; Sanford/Thomas Bingham's house (the guys who discovered one of the largest mines, in in the world); University of Utah, Heritage Park (where you can see monuments of the early settlers, watch a short documentary on the history of the city, stroll through a small museum); Capitol Building etc.
In front of the Capitol Building in Salt Lake City
It was pouring that day, and part of our shelter was while we were listening to the acoustics in the Tabernacle. Mormon's Church in Temple Square is not open to the public.
Had lunch at Brigham Young's house in his dining hall :-)
After that, picked up our rental car, checked out of the hotel and started our 2hr drive.
More to see the next time I am there-
Kennecott Utah Copper- one the largest copper mines in the world
The 2 hour drive, in the other direction from Moab, was to see the Bonneville Salt Flats, where everything is white, all you see is a blanket of salt for miles and miles around you. En route we stopped to see the Great Salt Lake, not much left of it comparatively. The famous Speedway on the flats, is located near Wendover. After the spectacular view I witnessed in Bolivia of the 10,000 sq km of white, this was not nearly as impressive, but still enchanting to the eye.
Then we started heading back to Salt Lake City as we had to pass the city to get to Moab, which was about 4.5hrs drive from the city itself (so yeah over all a 7hr drive from the Salt Flats). I missed seeing the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry which is in Price (in between Salt Lake City and Moab) as it closes at 5, and it was way past 5 when we wear around the area.
Arrived in Moab around 1am. Checked in and hit the sack.
Day2-
Arches National Park and Hummer drive, Moab
After catching up sleep, had breakfast and drove to the visitor center in Arches National Park. Was about 10:30am when we got there (should have gone earlier as the Fiery Furnace hike was booked in the early hours, for the next 3 days). Anyways.. picked up maps and stuff and started driving to hit the arches :-)
Stopped at the fol. view points en route (entire drive takes about 4.5hrs if you stop briefly at each viewpoint). We did not do this.. we just stopped at points where we wanted to and thought were most important to cover during the time that we had available-
- La Sal mountain Viewpoint
- Courthouse Towers Viewpoint
- Petrified Dunes Viewpoint
- Balanced Rock (wow!!!)
- Hiked the Garden of Eden trail to get close to Cove Arch, Elephant Butte, Double Arch, Turret Arch and North & South Windows
- Panorama Point
- Salt Valley Overlook
- Fiery Furnace Viewpoint (this is a guided trail only and needs to be reserved online or at the visitor centre)
- Devils Garden Trailhead (includes Primitive Loop)- takes 3-5hrs. We only did a part of this trail and viewed Skyline Arch. The trail to Double O Arch is tedious and tricky so carry lots of water and energy if you want to do this :)
We came back the next day to do the sunset hike to the Delicate Arch.
Missed- Sand Dune Arch, Broken Arch and a lot of other Arches
Got back to the hotel around 5 for the Hummer Drive with High Point Hummer. They picked us up around 5:45, headed to their office to sign a waiver and off we were. Little did we know what we had signed up for :-P I have no words to describe our experience. I will let the video speak for itself.....
Our guide Cliff was awesome.. he was funny and knew what he was doing (Thank God for that :-)). After going through some crazy paths called Hell's Revenge (Devil's Backbone), Lion's Back, Cliff Hanger, and finished off with crazy Baby's Back (Small Lion's Back), there was a point where this crazy guy left us hanging at 55degrees incline. How crazy is that! Well... after all the fun, Cliff dropped off our tired and achy bodies at the hotel around 9:30pm after which we had little energy to pick up dinner and go to bed.
Day3-
ATV ride, LaSal Mountain Loop Road, Sunset hike to Delicate Arch
Woke up at 8 am for the ATV ride.. ATVs are little but sturdy all terrain vehicles that you can drive through cliffs and canyons (now you might thing you are going to fall off.. but trust this man- made vehicle, and you will are in for a sweet surprise). I was nervous initially but eased into it. The ride was fun and we drove through some rough terrain. It was about 3hrs before we got back. We stopped and also took a little hike en route. The guide again was nice and helpful (forgot his name). It was with the same company as we did the Hummer drive, and got a good deal on the combo package.
Now Moab is a city for all kind of adventures and scenic drives. Depending on how much time you have, you have to pick your poison. We chose to drive the less traveled and very scenic LaSal Mountain Loop Road where you still see snow back from winter. It's an amazing contrast to all the red desert that you see at the base of Moab.
We started the drive towards scenic Hwy 128 along the Colorado River and Castle Valley. This 67- mile drive offered a spectacular transition of scenery from red- rock desert to beautiful national forests as we climbed an elevation of 8800 feet. We stopped to enjoy our packed food at the pristine Oowah Lake. I read that this drive is particularly scenic during the first and second weeks of October when the aspen and oak leaves change color.
We got back to the hotel around 5 to change and go back to the park so we could do the sunset hike on the Delicate Arch trail. On the way we stopped at Potash road to view the Indian Writings. We got to the Delicate Arch parking lot a little early as the ranger at the visitor center said it was going to be crowded. And oh boy! It was.
The hike is arduous and we had to go through a few hills and narrow cliffs. And then the arch emerged, standing strong in all its glory. This is a must do for all you nature lovers out there. The delicate arch, is now one of my favorite places on this earth.
It took us a good 3hrs going back and forth and we made sure we had enough time to sit and let the arch sink into us.
Got back to the hotel around 10pm, had dinner and snoozed.
Day4-
Dead Horse Point State Park, Four Corner Monument, Monument Valley and lots and lots of driving (Sigh!)
We were crazy to plan so many places to cover in one day. But it was worth it. I guess we were on road for about 12hrs :-)
First stop was the Dead Horse Point State Park. As stated by the site, the place is so called as cowboys corralled wild mustangs on the Point, then chose the horses they wanted. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on this point where they died of thirst with a view of the Colorado River.
The site offers stunning views of the canyon country and the Colorado River plus has vivid descriptions of the age of Mother Earth.
Our next stop was the Four Corner Monument (about 3hrs from Moab). This is the only point in the United States where the 4 states meet- Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Mexico. Not much around here.. except a few stalls where the Navajo tribe sells hand made jewelry and other small collectibles. I picked up a cute necklace with a pendant of their native God Kokopelli.
Took pictures in all kinds of weird poses :-P
Next stop- Monument Valley. Drive- about 3hrs
We chose to drive the 17mile unpaved dirt road. My heart was skipping a beat throughout the drive as I was apprehensive about the car getting stuck somewhere. Phew! But it was an experience. The drive gave us interesting view points like the West & East Mitten Buttes, Three Sisters etc. Don't miss John Ford's Point which is named after the Hollywood director who made John Wayne famous. Some of his works include, "The Searchers, Cheyenne Autumn, and Stage Coach".
After we got back to the parking lot, the timing was perfect as the sun was setting and it cast it's golden glow on the monuments that stood tall and proud in the middle of the vast desert. Truly breathtaking! Don't know about Kashmir.. but this is heaven on earth indeed...
We then had dinner at a cafe nearby.. I had the local fried bread with beans.. it was a bit like our Indian chole bature :-)
Then we started our dreaded 3 drive back to Moab. We were exhausted but we made it around 1am to get some sleep before we woke up at 5am.
Day5-
A ride in the sky and back home.....
Woke up a at 5am for the much anticipated hot air balloon ride with Canyonlands Ballooning. Signed a waiver (again!) at the office and headed to the gas station where we met the rest of the gang and the guy who drove us to the site. I was a little nervous when the balloon started going up, but was comfortable later on. If you are like me, you will not like this one. The balloon barely drifted in air as there was not much wind.. so all we saw was barren land below (and I was hoping to fly over the arches.. Sigh?!).. Well.. that's for the experience, not doing it again..... Had a boring champagne toast after descent. Then got back to the hotel. Packed, returned car at Enterprise, checked in at the miniature airport :-) and boarded the less than miniature plane that seated about 20 passengers. We were just the 3 of us + 2 pilots in the plane and every small gust of wind felt like extreme turbulence. Never taking the miniature plane again :-P
Got back to home sweet home....
Other things to do in Moab-
- Canyonlands by Night (take a tour on the Colorado River)
- Helicopter tours
- Sky Dive :D
Then we started heading back to Salt Lake City as we had to pass the city to get to Moab, which was about 4.5hrs drive from the city itself (so yeah over all a 7hr drive from the Salt Flats). I missed seeing the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry which is in Price (in between Salt Lake City and Moab) as it closes at 5, and it was way past 5 when we wear around the area.
Arrived in Moab around 1am. Checked in and hit the sack.
Day2-
Arches National Park and Hummer drive, Moab
After catching up sleep, had breakfast and drove to the visitor center in Arches National Park. Was about 10:30am when we got there (should have gone earlier as the Fiery Furnace hike was booked in the early hours, for the next 3 days). Anyways.. picked up maps and stuff and started driving to hit the arches :-)
Stopped at the fol. view points en route (entire drive takes about 4.5hrs if you stop briefly at each viewpoint). We did not do this.. we just stopped at points where we wanted to and thought were most important to cover during the time that we had available-
- La Sal mountain Viewpoint
- Courthouse Towers Viewpoint
- Petrified Dunes Viewpoint
- Balanced Rock (wow!!!)
- Hiked the Garden of Eden trail to get close to Cove Arch, Elephant Butte, Double Arch, Turret Arch and North & South Windows
- Panorama Point
- Salt Valley Overlook
- Fiery Furnace Viewpoint (this is a guided trail only and needs to be reserved online or at the visitor centre)
- Devils Garden Trailhead (includes Primitive Loop)- takes 3-5hrs. We only did a part of this trail and viewed Skyline Arch. The trail to Double O Arch is tedious and tricky so carry lots of water and energy if you want to do this :)
We came back the next day to do the sunset hike to the Delicate Arch.
Missed- Sand Dune Arch, Broken Arch and a lot of other Arches
Got back to the hotel around 5 for the Hummer Drive with High Point Hummer. They picked us up around 5:45, headed to their office to sign a waiver and off we were. Little did we know what we had signed up for :-P I have no words to describe our experience. I will let the video speak for itself.....
Our guide Cliff was awesome.. he was funny and knew what he was doing (Thank God for that :-)). After going through some crazy paths called Hell's Revenge (Devil's Backbone), Lion's Back, Cliff Hanger, and finished off with crazy Baby's Back (Small Lion's Back), there was a point where this crazy guy left us hanging at 55degrees incline. How crazy is that! Well... after all the fun, Cliff dropped off our tired and achy bodies at the hotel around 9:30pm after which we had little energy to pick up dinner and go to bed.
Day3-
ATV ride, LaSal Mountain Loop Road, Sunset hike to Delicate Arch
Woke up at 8 am for the ATV ride.. ATVs are little but sturdy all terrain vehicles that you can drive through cliffs and canyons (now you might thing you are going to fall off.. but trust this man- made vehicle, and you will are in for a sweet surprise). I was nervous initially but eased into it. The ride was fun and we drove through some rough terrain. It was about 3hrs before we got back. We stopped and also took a little hike en route. The guide again was nice and helpful (forgot his name). It was with the same company as we did the Hummer drive, and got a good deal on the combo package.
Now Moab is a city for all kind of adventures and scenic drives. Depending on how much time you have, you have to pick your poison. We chose to drive the less traveled and very scenic LaSal Mountain Loop Road where you still see snow back from winter. It's an amazing contrast to all the red desert that you see at the base of Moab.
We started the drive towards scenic Hwy 128 along the Colorado River and Castle Valley. This 67- mile drive offered a spectacular transition of scenery from red- rock desert to beautiful national forests as we climbed an elevation of 8800 feet. We stopped to enjoy our packed food at the pristine Oowah Lake. I read that this drive is particularly scenic during the first and second weeks of October when the aspen and oak leaves change color.
We got back to the hotel around 5 to change and go back to the park so we could do the sunset hike on the Delicate Arch trail. On the way we stopped at Potash road to view the Indian Writings. We got to the Delicate Arch parking lot a little early as the ranger at the visitor center said it was going to be crowded. And oh boy! It was.
The hike is arduous and we had to go through a few hills and narrow cliffs. And then the arch emerged, standing strong in all its glory. This is a must do for all you nature lovers out there. The delicate arch, is now one of my favorite places on this earth.
It took us a good 3hrs going back and forth and we made sure we had enough time to sit and let the arch sink into us.
Got back to the hotel around 10pm, had dinner and snoozed.
Day4-
Dead Horse Point State Park, Four Corner Monument, Monument Valley and lots and lots of driving (Sigh!)
We were crazy to plan so many places to cover in one day. But it was worth it. I guess we were on road for about 12hrs :-)
First stop was the Dead Horse Point State Park. As stated by the site, the place is so called as cowboys corralled wild mustangs on the Point, then chose the horses they wanted. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on this point where they died of thirst with a view of the Colorado River.
The site offers stunning views of the canyon country and the Colorado River plus has vivid descriptions of the age of Mother Earth.
Our next stop was the Four Corner Monument (about 3hrs from Moab). This is the only point in the United States where the 4 states meet- Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Mexico. Not much around here.. except a few stalls where the Navajo tribe sells hand made jewelry and other small collectibles. I picked up a cute necklace with a pendant of their native God Kokopelli.
Took pictures in all kinds of weird poses :-P
Next stop- Monument Valley. Drive- about 3hrs
We chose to drive the 17mile unpaved dirt road. My heart was skipping a beat throughout the drive as I was apprehensive about the car getting stuck somewhere. Phew! But it was an experience. The drive gave us interesting view points like the West & East Mitten Buttes, Three Sisters etc. Don't miss John Ford's Point which is named after the Hollywood director who made John Wayne famous. Some of his works include, "The Searchers, Cheyenne Autumn, and Stage Coach".
After we got back to the parking lot, the timing was perfect as the sun was setting and it cast it's golden glow on the monuments that stood tall and proud in the middle of the vast desert. Truly breathtaking! Don't know about Kashmir.. but this is heaven on earth indeed...
We then had dinner at a cafe nearby.. I had the local fried bread with beans.. it was a bit like our Indian chole bature :-)
Then we started our dreaded 3 drive back to Moab. We were exhausted but we made it around 1am to get some sleep before we woke up at 5am.
Day5-
A ride in the sky and back home.....
Woke up a at 5am for the much anticipated hot air balloon ride with Canyonlands Ballooning. Signed a waiver (again!) at the office and headed to the gas station where we met the rest of the gang and the guy who drove us to the site. I was a little nervous when the balloon started going up, but was comfortable later on. If you are like me, you will not like this one. The balloon barely drifted in air as there was not much wind.. so all we saw was barren land below (and I was hoping to fly over the arches.. Sigh?!).. Well.. that's for the experience, not doing it again..... Had a boring champagne toast after descent. Then got back to the hotel. Packed, returned car at Enterprise, checked in at the miniature airport :-) and boarded the less than miniature plane that seated about 20 passengers. We were just the 3 of us + 2 pilots in the plane and every small gust of wind felt like extreme turbulence. Never taking the miniature plane again :-P
Got back to home sweet home....
Other things to do in Moab-
- Canyonlands by Night (take a tour on the Colorado River)
- Helicopter tours
- Sky Dive :D
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