Labor Day of 2014 took me to
Arches and
Canyonlands National Parks. Getting to
Arches and
Canyonlands is easy from New York; we hopped a direct flight from
JFK to
Salt Lake City on
Jet Blue. (
Salt Lake City is about a 3.5 hour drive from
Arches National Park.) We arrived in
Salt Lake City close to midnight and drove about a half hour to
Park City where we spent the night at the
Hyatt Escala Lodge. We got a great deal with
Priceline Name Your Own Price; the resort did not disappoint. Our room was huge and gorgeous with multiple fireplaces. We easily could have fit more than just the two of us in there. (The only downside to staying at the
Hyatt Escala Lodge in the off season is that there is no room service. I also regret not bringing my dog; the
Hyatt Escala Lodge is dog-friendly.)
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| Park City, Utah |
We spent the first morning of our trip enjoying our luxurious room at the
Hyatt Escala Lodge and seeing the beauty that is
Park City. The real highlight of the day was visiting
Temple Square in
Salt Lake City.
Temple Square is the seat of the Mormon Church (like visiting the Vatican for Catholics). Non-Mormons (like us) aren't allowed in the temple so we couldn't visit the temple, but we enjoyed taking a tour of
Temple Square and learning about the Mormon religion. The tours are given by Mormon teenagers on their
missions. Our tour guide, Natalie, was great. She and the other tour guide (whose name I don't remember) answered all of our questions. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and we could not have enjoyed the tour more. (The tour gives some background of the Mormon religion, and takes one into the
visitor's center which contains Mormon art and an 11 foot statue of the
Thorvaldsen's Christus (the savior).) A highlight of our visit included talking to a Mormon family whose daughter was celebrating her 12th birthday and therefore a
ble to enter the temple for the first time. (Women are not allowed in all parts of the temple though.)
After visiting
Temple Square (and buying some souvenirs at the gift shop and mall across the street), we drove three and a half hours to
Moab, Utah. The drive, in the dark, was long and boring - if you go, I suggest doing the drive during the day. We checked into the
Holiday Inn Express in
Moab. The
hotel was great - amazing views of the red rocks in the distance and a fun swimming pool and hot tub (which was amazing after hiking)!!
Our first day in
Moab (which is a cool town) took us to
Canyonlands National Park. We signed up for a
guided tour of Horseshoe Canyon with Navtec Expeditions. Our guide was great, and the hike was fantastic (though long). We hiked down the canyon where we traversed the floor until we found r
ock art dating from 2000 BC to AD 500. Our tour guide was great, and the tour was well-organized. That said, we probably could have done the hike on our own. A couple of us hikers made the mistake of not bringing enough water; luckily our guide helped us out, but we should have brought more ourselves. Also, if you do this hike, note that it is a long, all-day hike. (Swimming afterward and sitting in the hot tub felt great!)
The next day took us to the
Moab Music Festival; a great music festival that we read about in a magazine in our hotel room in
Park City. We did a
hike with the
music festival where we hiked with musicians to a nice red rock overlook where we enjoyed a classical music concert. Many of the hikers were elderly people who were slow hikers so we spent a while hanging out on the rocks waiting for the concert to start. The weather was gorgeous though so it was enjoyable. We were also some of the first from the group to return to
Moab afterward.
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| Musicians coming out on the red rocks |
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| Hike to concert |
We spent the afternoon touring some of the arches in
Arches National Park, and we spent the evening enjoying horseback riding at the
Sorrel River Ranch. After horseback riding, we enjoyed more music at the
Moab Music Festival at the
Sorrel River Ranch. (The
Sorrel River Ranch looked great; next time I travel to
Moab, I hope to stay there!)
Our last morning in
Moab was spent hiking in the
Fiery Furnace. One has to hike
Fiery Furnace with the guide unless one has hiked it before. None of us had hiked it before so we had to go this route. The rangers lead free tours of the
Fiery Furnace, but unfortunately we did not sign up in time for one of the free tours. Luckily, we were able to sign up for a last minute
Fiery Furnace g
uided hike with the Moab Adventure Center. This hike was great and a must do for anyone who goes to
Moab.
After hiking the
Fiery Furnace, we drove the 3.5 hours back to
Salt Lake City. En route we stopped in
Provo, where we toured
Brigham Young University and bought some candy and ice cream at
Pop'n'Sweets Candy and Ice Cream Parlor. The
ice cream parlor carries candy from around the world and makes great ice cream floats.
Brigham Young University has a gorgeous campus. We read a number of articles about
women at the university, all of which were quite interesting.
All in all, the national parks and learning about the Mormon religion, made for a great trip. I highly recommend the trip and it can be easily done in a long weekend!
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