With the crowds in Colorado, the full parking lots, and the 5 AM wake up calls necessary to find an empty section of a trail, I’ve found myself struggling to enjoy the outdoors to the fullest. I understand with Covid that the outdoors are all we have to keep us sane, but this weekend I was able to reconnect with nature, with spontaneity, exploring a new region, and not worrying about what my exact plan was.
I decided around 4 PM on Friday, 30 minutes before the normal time I clock out of work, that I wanted an adventure. With heavy storms impending my Colorado weekend plans, I decided why not explore a new area? I quickly started downloading offline maps, texted my brother, and began planning my trip to Moab, Utah. Thirty minutes later I clocked out, my brother drove up, and we began loading his car. I booked a motel in Moab, and we started the 5 and a half hour journey to Utah.
The drive was painless, except for the usual traffic in Idaho Springs, and we were engulfed in the podcast, S-Town, making the ride fly by. We grabbed dinner in Glenwood Springs and were pulling up into Moab by midnight. Because we arrived at night, I got to soak up the incredible views of the stars, and did not even know what landscapes I would be treated with when the sun rose.
Early the next morning, after grabbing some coffee, my brother and I were on the road. We headed first to Dead Horse State Park and were immediately impressed with the orangey and red hues surrounding us. I’ve seen the famous Utah rock formations a million times in photos, but to have these incredible structures frame the highway makes the drive utterly gorgeous.
Dead Horse State park costs $20 to enter and while there weren’t that many trails, the stunning panoramic views were worth the fee. We climbed some rocks, explored the trails, and were amazed at the silence of the large canyons beneath us. After this little excursion, we headed to some swimming holes.
Mill Creek is an easy hike that lead to some of the most refreshing water to dip into. This trail was pretty packed and definitely a hot spot for families. Following the path for around 1.5 miles, you get to an impressive waterfall and swimming hole. Some people were jumping in from the top, but the water was way too shallow for me to trust. My brother and I avoided the crowds and followed the trail for another 1.5 miles, finding a nice quiet spot in the creek to sit and drink beers.
Following this hike, we headed back to the car and drove about an hour to the La Sal Mountain region. Despite wanting to go to Moab for the desert views, I am a mountain girl at heart and wanted to camp in a cooler area. The drive up through the La Sals is gorgeous with red and purple hues from the rocks to the left and lush green wild flower covered mountains to the right. The winding road leads to Warner Lake which is a stunning campground. Unfortunately, right as we arrived the final spot was taken, but we lucked out exploring the roads leading to Warner Lake and found the most idyllic campground.
The campground we found had a stunning view of the mountains, bordered with beautiful aspen trees, and wildflowers growing in every direction. Except for one guy camping in his car, we were totally alone in this serene spot. While I was setting up camp, a man in a beat up truck drove up. He let out two beautiful Huskies from his car and while they ran into the fields of wild flowers, he said to me, “You’ve found the best spot to see these mountains.” He was bare foot and had long grey hair to his shoulders. He explained that this was his favorite area in all of Utah, and we were lucky to have stumbled upon such a beautiful and secret place. I had to agree. After so many weekends of crowded Colorado spots, I was so excited to have a basically empty campground that was so picturesque and had the seal of approval from a local.
My brother and I decided to wander on a trail nearby, constantly being amazing by the contrasting horizons of mountains and rocks. We got to a view point where the purple hazy rock formations looked like a painting, melting into the setting sun.
Returning to camp, I ate three too many greasy quesadillas, hung out in the hammock, read my book, watched some running cattle, and slowly fell asleep to the sun setting.
The next day we were up and off, heading to Arches National Park. After getting my fix of an uncrowded nature experience, I knew Arches would be packed. While I was correct, it was still so enjoyable. To see those sights in person is so different from photos. The rock formations, the arches, and the colors are truly unbelievable. We had fun in the desert heat, picking out different shapes we saw in the rocks, wondering what was beyond Delicate Arch and the unexplored regions, and drinking more water than I thought possible in one day.
Hiking up to Delicate Arch at noon was perhaps not the mood and the hottest part of the day, but to see it in person made it all worth it. Arches was so fun and could be explored for hours, but definitely to note in the summer that early morning or sunset is the prime time to go.
After a wonderful morning in Utah, we headed back to Denver, put on Serial Podcast to guide us home and absorbed the views for one last time.
This road trip reminded me the fun in planning last minute. The feeling of wind whipping through your hair while singing to John Denver. The inspiring moment to see a new landscape, and watching rolling hills melt into dreamy shades of red and orange. The moments of silence we take for granted but completely need. And the simplicity of eating a turkey sandwich for 8 consecutive meals and being surprisingly satisfied each time.
Have you ever been to Moab or Utah? What were your favorite spots?
Hailee Boyle Social Media Management 
Nicely written and good pics.
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Thanks so much for reading!
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