We slogged through the winter and finally made it to a much-needed spring break. We felt like we needed a real change of scenery. 19 years ago, Kristie and Jay honeymooned in Utah. It seemed like the perfect place for us to escape to in 2022.
Las Vegas
We woke up early Saturday morning and flew from Charlotte to Las Vegas. The plan was to leave Vegas as quickly as possible. The one-and-a-half-hour line at the Avis counter prevented that. One benefit of waiting though was that Jay got to meet a celebrity of sorts from his hometown of Conway, SC. When he walked up to speak to a Coastal Carolina fan, he quickly learned that the fan was the head coach of the Chanticleers Jamey Chadwell. Figuring that was the end of our luck, we decided it was time to head for the hills. First, we stopped by Fremont street to fuel up at La Comida. From there it was on to Virgin, UT. We didn’t quite make it due to the teenager hunger pains and our need for provisions for the trip. To fix these things, we stopped in St. George. Parker has always wanted to go to In-N-Out Burger. He got his wish. With full bellies, we headed on to the Fairfield Inn in Virgin.
Zion
On Monday, we woke up early and drove to Zion National Park. We had an early reservation to hike up to Angel’s Landing. Jay has told the kids multiple times about the last time that he and Kristie completed this hike. The story includes a woman being airlifted off the peak (the picture above was taken minutes before the helicopter arrived). The hike consists of a two-mile walk with many switchbacks, known as Walter’s Wiggles, followed by a half-mile ascent to the peak. The signs indicated that 13 people have died there since Kristie and Jay last visited. Everyone tackled the hike without problems. We enjoyed the view at the top and then began our descent. We ate a quick lunch at the Red Rock Grill at the Zion National Park Lodge. Afterwards, we caught the bus to the Temple of Sinawava stop and walked the 2.2 mile Riverside Walk trail. We checked into the Springdale Spring Hill Suites, went for a quick swim in the pool, and then headed to the Stage Coach Grille for dinner.
Day 2 at Zion involved a drive through the National Park to the east side where we met our canyoneering guide Brandie with East Zion Adventures. We packed up our things and loaded up in Brandie’s Can-Am UTV. Brandie drove us down the highway at high speeds, then turned down a BLM road never letting off the gas. It was at that point that Kristie dubbed her a wild woman! Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride continued until we reached our destination. We geared up and headed into the canyon. We enjoyed the hikes, rappels, and scenery as we ventured through the canyon. Our drive out of the canyon involved Parker telling Brandie to go faster and Kristie telling Brandie to slow down. Despite the fact that Kristie was paying, Brandie listened to Parker. We capped off the day with dinner at Dulivia Ristorante Italiano.
Our third day in Zion was the coldest. We woke up and drove into the park in below-freezing weather. Once there, Ansel, Parker, Kristie, and Jay saddled up on Murphy, Sundance, Shadow, and Navajo respectively. We had a great ride through the park. Kristie and Ansel both declared this the highlight of our trip. That afternoon, we explored the area some more and dined at Balcony One.
Bryce Canyon
A new day brought a new park for us. We woke up and drove east. Our first stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. It was cold and Bryce had received some snow recently. We hiked the Navajo Loop and then headed to Panguitch, UT for lunch at Kenny Ray’s. Then it was on to Moab. What’s a road trip without a roadside attraction? Along the way, we stopped at Butch Cassidy’s Boyhood Home. Only Jay got out to take a look. From there, we kept driving towards Moab stopping only for drinks at Stan’s Mercantile for drinks (Ansel was thrilled and surprised that they had Starlight Coke).
Moab
We arrived in Moab, checked into our hotel (Springhill Suites), and quickly learned that it was the Easter Jeep Safari week. Jeeps were everywhere! We went downtown and had dinner at The Spoke and then walked around town.
When Kristie and Jay were in Utah before, one of their favorite activities was the hike to Fisher Towers. This was a must do with the kids. The hike was as pretty as we remembered. Jay added another 2.5 miles by doing the Red Onion loop at the end.
Our big activity for that night was a sunset Jeep tour. Brenden, with Portal Offroad Tours, picked us up at our hotel. We thought we were just going to drive off into the desert to watch the sunset. Instead, he drove us to the Hell’s Revenge 4X4 Trail. We had a great time learning about off-roading and the area as the Jeep climbed up and down insane slick rock. We stopped several times to take in the views and finally to see dinosaur footprints and watch the sunset.
Friday was out last day in Moab. We drove out to Dead Horse Point State Park. We hiked the West and East Rim hiking trails. Afterwards we drove back into Moab for lunch at Fiesta Mexicana. Fueled up, we then headed into Arches National Park. We had a really nice hike to see Delicate Arch. From there, we drove around the park and took in the scenery. We ate an early dinner at Spitfire Smokehouse and then walked around town.
It was a great vacation and we all had a good time being together and seeing new and different things.