Quite possibly the best vacation EVER

Capitol Reef National Park

Camelback Mountain, AZ

Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah

(Not my picture).

Grand Canyon, AZ

Bryce Canyon National Park

Allow me to share with you the BEST vacation EVER-

1. For the first leg of the trip, we spent about one week in Scottsdale, AZ at my sister's house- we went boating at Barlett Lake (where the hills around the lake are covered with cactus and desert flowers), swimming, out to restaurants/movies, etc. We also hiked Camelback Mountain, a popular but DEMANDING hike in the area. It's about 2.5 miles round trip, and it is very difficult (you're holding on to poles and climbing and scrambling over rocks the entire time)- but the view is totally worth it. After the adventure, we rewarded ourselves with a Red Velvet cupcake from Sprinkles (a fancy cupcake shop in downtown Phoenix).

2. From Scottsdale, my husband and I drove up to the Grand Canyon, hiked and looked at the sights; then we drove to Kanab for the night. Grand Canyon- not all that grand for me. It was great experience and a beautiful place, don't get me wrong- but the Bright Angel's hike we did (supposedly the "most popular" hike) was boring- switch backs the whole way down. We went down 1.5 miles and then turned back- no need to go the whole 6+ miles down- no, thank you! And the trail is shared with pack mules, so the trail is littered with several of their droppings. Need I say more? We saw some California Condors, though, which was a highlight.

3. From Kanab we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. I read an article that stated that most visitors at Bryce only visit for approx. 3 hours, which sounds about right. It is an AMAZING sight; but thunderstorms can occur pretty often. This park is at 9,000 feet, which made it pretty cold during the storms, which I wasn't expecting. We did hike their most popular hike, the Navajo Trail. TOTALLY AWESOME. I loved the sights; you hike from the rim down into the "hoodoos" (the rock spires for which Bryce is so popular). The walk is beautiful and short (the hike takes about 30-45 minutes to do)- it is not to be missed if you ever visit the place. Another suggestion- take some time in the Red Canyon, which you pass on the way to Bryce- it is a beautiful canyon, and I wished I would have hiked or taken some pictures while we were there.

4. From Bryce Canyon, we drove to the very small, VERY secluded town of Escalante, which has one Subway- and no other fast food in sight (gasp!). We stayed at the Rainbow Country Bed and Breakfast, which is just a small house on the edge of town. Prices are fantastic ($65 a night, anyone?) for a decent, clean place to shower and spend the night, and great breakfast to boot.

5. The next day, we spent some time in Grand Staircase-Escalanate National Monument. I will DEFINITELY go back to this park- I loved it- it is such a GORGEOUS place. We hiked the most popular trail- the Lower Calf Creek Falls. This is a 3 hour (at a fast pace) hike through a beautiful canyon; you can get a brochure at the beginning of the trail that corresponds with markers throughout the trail that tell you about unique things in that area.

The hike is called Calf Creek because pioneers raised calves in the area back in the day. We saw an old barbed wire fence from pioneer times, and some Fremont Indian pictographs.... pretty cool. The hike ends at a 126-foot waterfall; supposedly you can swim in the pool below, but our Escalante bed and breakfast host said it is VERY cold. We saw over 40 lizards on the trail to the waterfall, fish, and some deer. And there are a ton of other hikes to explore in this area as well.

6. I should mention here that the road from Bryce Canyon to Torry, Utah (by Capitol Reef National Park) is nationally recognized as a scenic drive- and that is definitely true! The road is called Highway 12, and you drive through fantastic areas of Southern Utah- I highly recommend driving it if you get the chance. The road travels through a handful of national monuments, state parks, and national parks. After the Calf Creek Falls hike, we took some time in the Petrified Forest State Park (which has EXCELLENT showers, by the way), which has a nice hiking trail, and a beautiful lake that you can paddle a canoe in if you have time (which we didn't). The hike takes you through the petrified forest, and it also has a brochure with markers so you can learn more about what you are walking through (I really liked this educational feature!).

7. After getting cleaned up, we then drove to Boulder, a town of approx. 200 inhabitants, for a nice dinner at Hell's Backbone Grill. I've been wanting to try this restaurant for FOREVER, but never had the opportunity to do so since it is 5 hours out of the way of anything. The place is run by "Buddhists, Mormons, and Hispanics" (per their cookbook, 'A Measure of Grace'). There are prayer flags hung outside the building. The staff is asked not to harm a living thing in the restaurant; thus, flies are captured and then freed outside. They use maple syrup instead of sugar, and they grow their own vegetables in a garden outside the restaurant.

They are all about organic and natural foods. They only use local meats and food products- you won't see salmon on their menu (since it is too far away); local brook trout is used instead. It's a very unique restaurant, widely recognized as a place to try. It is praised in Salt Lake magazine, and it even has the Oprah stamp of approval. Another place to visit in Boulder is the Anasazi State Park, which has an indoor museum with indian artifacts found in the sight behind the building. There is a replica of the homes used there that you can walk around in and explore, as well as a pathway that takes you around the excavation sites of the ancient indian dwelling.

8. From there, we drove through the last stretch of Highway 12 (where we saw over 25 deer) to Torrey, Utah, which is the gateway to Capitol Reef National Park, an unsung national park, in my opinion. Locals usually talk up Zions or Arches, and not to downplay those amazing places, but Capitol Reef is definitely a place to visit if you are in the neighborhood. This park is also a place where pioneers and indians lived. You can visit a small, one-room school house (where school was taught until the 1940s!), cabins, a farmhouse, and fruit orchards, all from pioneer time. If you visit in the fall, you can actually pick the fruit and eat it for free!

There is also a plethora of Fremont Indian petroglyphs, more than I saw anywhere else on this trip. We did the Rim Walk hike there, which is 4 1/2 miles round trip; the halfway point takes you to a 1,000 foot cliff that looks over the valley- absolutely worth the work to get there. I wished we had time to go to a restaurant in Torrey called Cafe Diablo (which only serves dinner), but we had to head home for a family party, so that will have to be saved for another trip.

9. Over all, we hiked about 21 miles, got a tan, and had a wonderful time. I LOVED it!