:: Utah Trip - August 23 - August 31, 2003 ::

:: Friday, August 22, 2003 @ 10 AM::

I'm really excited to finally be going on a Utah Road Trip. I've been looking forward to this ever since Christina first mentioned the possibility of going to Utah. We are leaving early tomorrow morning and we still need to get a lot of things done before we go. One of the things is deciding on a rental car, and the other is deciding on how often we think we will camp. It will all work out.

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I got back a little while ago from picking up the rental vehicle. We ended up getting a silver Dodge Caravan. Christina coined the nickname "silver bullet". Yeah, this is going to be the silver bullet that speeds us off to Utah. Now I just have to get my clothes ready and get some things done around the house. We're leaving really early tomorrow morning!

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It took a while, but we finally got on the road. First, Christina had to get her things ready and then we went over to the Kuan residence to pick up Jenny and Rong. We finally got on the road and on the way out of town we stopped at Lee's Sandwich Shop. Lee's is a franchise that makes Vietnamese sandwiches and other Vietnamese food. It was in an Asian shopping center, and when we went in to park there we saw a bunch of crazy drivers and people that couldn't park their cars properly.

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We made it to Reno and had dinner at Red Robin and then went to the grocery store, got gas, and got back on the road. We made it to Fallon, Nevada and then decided that we would be better off to get a hotel room in Fallon and then get up early and make our way to the Moab area by tomorrow night. We were originally scheduled to be in Ely, Nevada by tonight, so right now we are a bit behind schedule. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

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We finally made it to Ely, Nevada. We stopped and got some gas and then got back on the road. We'll probably stop at the Utah/Nevada border and have lunch there. There are some cool ghost towns along the way and we saw an old school train running on the tracks. It looks like these small Nevada towns are old and don't have much people. As we're driving through right now we are wondering where all the people are. Our guess is that they are in church right now.

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We made it to Salina, Utah. We are now starting to see more of the typical rock formations that you would expect out of Utah. The red rocks and meandering rivers. We are going to try to head for Green River and then determine if we want to camp there or if we want to go all the way to Moab. I'm not sure what we have planned for tomorrow. We might go to Arches National Park or Canyonlands National Park or we might do general sightseeing or do some mountain biking on the slickrock. We'll see...

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It is almost time to go to bed. We made it to the town of Green River, UT and once we got into town we went to Green River State Park and reserved camp spot #32. It cost $14 for the campsite and $4 for some firewood. This is the only campground that I have ever been to that has a golf course. I doubt we'll get a chance to play the course, but it actually looks pretty nice. I wonder what the green fees are? We found out about this campground through a book that Christina got called Utah Camping by Foghorn Outdoors. The part in the book that sold us on this campsite was "All told, this is one of the better tent camping areas in southeastern Utah". And there are hardly any people staying here right now. Once we started getting about 100 miles outside of Green River we started to see the canyons that you would expect out of Utah. It is absolutely gorgeous. Even if we had to turn around right now and go home I would be happy with what I saw. We took plenty of photos already, so that will be online sometime in the near future. Tomorrow we plan to go to Arches National Park and the town of Moab. If we have time we will also check out Canyonlands National Park and do some mountain biking on the slickrock near Moab. I'm not leaving this area until I've Las Vegas. Then we have to be in LA by Friday night, and then we'll spend another night in LA and then head back to San Jose on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. This is going to be fun.

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Today was a really busy day. We got up early and left the campground and went straight to Arches National Park. Once we got there we went straight to the visitor center to find out what we should see while there and left the visitor center around 1PM. Then we went around the park checking out Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, and a host of other things. Once we left Arches National Park we went to Canyonlands National Park and checked out a few vistas there. After we were done at Canyonlands National Park we headed to Dead Horse Point State Park. We checked out a really good view of the ...

We just passed into Colorado. Christina and I got up early this morning and went to Slickrock Bicycle Shop to rent our mountain bikes so we could bike the slickrock trail. I got their standard full suspension bike with disc brakes. Christina got an upgraded version of the full suspension bike. I think the total bill was $65. After we got our bikes and helmets we threw them into the silver bullet and Rong drove us up to the slickrock trail. The trail was about 4 miles outside of Moab. Once we got there I saw a sign that said that people should aim to be done biking the slickrock by about 9:30 AM. We just happened to be starting on the trail at 9:30 AM. Just our luck. Other things that we read about the slickrock trail included that it takes newbies 3 to 4 hours to do the 12.4 miles slickrock trail and it takes veterans about 2 to 3 hours to do it. I didn't believe that at first because when we are back at home it takes me about an hour to bike that far. But I totally understood what they were talking about when we started biking on the slickrock trail. It has to be some of the most challenging mountain biking that I have ever done. Whoever told me that this was one of the most challenging mountain biking trails in the world was certainly not exaggerating. So we started out on the practice loop and I was amazed at how bumpy the trail was and how great the tires gripped the rock. There was no sliding around and there was no room for error. I was definitely glad to have a full suspension bike with disc brakes. Those are necessities here. On top of the challenge of the trail it was starting to get really hot outside. We were sweating a lot and drinking lots of water. We made it around the practice loop and then headed for the main trail. By now it was around 11:30 AM. I couldn't believe that it took us about 30 minutes to bike a mile. This trail really does take a long time. At one point while we were biking in on the main trail Christina fell off of her bike. Luckily she wasn't hurt and it looked like she got a small bruise from it. We kept riding until about 12:30 PM and then decided to turn around and head back. We took lots of pictures all along the way. We made it back to the trailhead around 1 PM. Just as we were finishing up the trail Christina pulled a major wipeout. She was going really fast down the slickrock and then the wiped out when it turned into sand. I was a little bit behind her, so when I saw that I got over there as fast as I could to make sure that she was ok. She has a hefty battle scar on her right leg now. Those bruises will probably take a while to go away. But I would totally come back to do the full slickrock trail and I would recommend that other people give it a try. But I would caution them to be in reasonable shape and to take lots of water with them and go in the spring of the fall. After we finished we had to ride back into town. Once we got back into town we checked out a couple of shops and then decided to have lunch at the wood fired pizza place before meeting Jenny and Rong at the bike shop. The food was ok, but I probably won't eat there again. After we dropped off the bikes we went to take showers at the campground across the street. It cost $5 to take a shower there. I couldn't believe that they could charge that much just for a shower. But I wasn't in the mood to argue so we paid it and then went to shower. But I was impressed that the showers had nice tile in them and the one that I used seemed to be really clean. So I guess the $5 went for a good cause. After we were done with the showers and stuff we headed out of town. We are going to try to stop in Durango tonight so that we can hit Mesa Verde tomorrow.

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We stopped in Durango and looked around downtown before going and finding a hotel room. After we got a room we headed back to the historic downtown area and ended up eating at a brewery. After dinner we went back to the hotel room and went to sleep.

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We got up as early as possible today because we knew that today would be a long day. We got to Mesa Verde a little bit after 9 AM. Once we got there we went to the visitor center and booked two tours. The first tour was for the Cliff House and the other tour was for the Balcony House. When I had been to Mesa Verde before, I went on the Cliff House tour. This time it was much like the first time I went about 15 years ago, but this time the rangers seemed to know more about the Anasazi/Puebloan people. The ruins were really cool and I think Christina really enjoyed it because she grabbed my camera from me and started snapping tons of pictures. After the Cliff House tour completed we went over to the Balcony House for the tour. I enjoyed the Balcony House tour more because we got to climb a 32 foot ladder, walk around inside the cliff dwellings, and crawl through a small tunnel. Rong even got stuck going through the tunnel and had to turn sideways to get through. After we were done checking out the cliff dwellings we drove around to check out the pit houses and scope out other cliff dwellings on other cliffs from the vantage points. We ended up leaving Mesa Verde around 3 PM.

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On our way toward Zion we did a small side trip to Natural Bridges National Monument. I wish we could have had more time to spend there. We saw all three natural bridges in the National Monument and we also spotted some cliff dwellings. We kept talking about how crazy we thought the natives had to be in order to live where they lived. But the cool thing about Natural Bridges National Monument was that they had trails that went to all the natural bridges. Once our speed loop was over we got back on the road and headed toward Zion. We ended up stopping and getting a hotel room in Torrey. We are going to try to hit Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park tomorrow.

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We woke up really early yet again and had the continental breakfast at the hotel. Then we jumped into the silver bullet and rocketed toward Bryce Canyon National Park. We got there around 10 AM. We knew that we wouldn't have much time to spend there because we really wanted to spend some quality time at Zion, so we went in the main gate and to the visitor center to see what Bryce Canyon National Park was all about. I'm sure glad that I bought a National Parks pass for $40 from REI because Bryce Canyon National Park cost $20 to get in. The visitor center there was the nicest that I have ever been to. They had a really nice gift shop, bathrooms, and museum. And they ask that people use the shuttles there to tour around the park. From reading up on what Bryce Canyon had to offer I think I would like to come back and spend a couple of days doing some backpacking or day hiking on some of the trails. They have really cool rock formation called Hoodoos. I'll see if I can add links for information about those later. Before we left the visitor center we made some kick ass turkey sandwiches (turkey, bread, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado). Once we got back on the road it was about two and a half hours before we got to Zion National Park. Zion was also $20 to get in, but my pass covered it. We entered from the eastern entrance and drove through the park until we got to the visitor center. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot and then went into the visitor center to see what we'd like to check out in our time here. From what we saw on the maps we decided that we would take the shuttle up to the Temple of Sinawava and hike to the Narrows, then we would catch the shuttle down to Weeping Rock, when catch the shuttle again down to the Zion Lodge and hike to the Emerald Pools. So we left the visitor center, which was very nice by the way, and put our plan into action. The shuttle ride to the Temple of Sinawava took about 45 minutes. The hike to the Narrows was about 1 mile each way. Once we got to the northernmost part of the trail we walked into the North Fork of the Virgin River and waded up river a little ways. We took some photos and enjoyed the water and relaxed a little bit. After we were satisfied with the experience we hiked back to the shuttle stop and caught the shuttle down to the Weeping Rock. Once we got to the weeping rock trailhead we hiked a quarter of a mile to the weeping rock. The Weeping Rock occurs because the water seeps through the sandstone until it gets to a layer of shale that it cannot penetrate and then works it's way out to the side surface. Once it gets to the side surface it falls, hence the name Weeping Rock. After we were done here we made our way back to the shuttle stop and then caught the shuttle to the Zion Lodge. From there we walked over to the trailhead for the Emerald Pools. We were originally going to limit ourselves to the lower Emerald Pools, but once we got there we decided to keep going. The lower Emerald Pools have three waterfalls that drop into a clear pool that had algae which gives it it's green color. Then we worked out way up to the middle and upper Emerald Pools. I think the round trip hike for this was about 3 miles. So I think we hiked about five and half miles on the trail today. After we were done with the Emerald Pools we got a snack at the Zion Lodge, checked out the gift shop, and then caught the shuttle back to the visitor center where the silver bullet was parked. We got back on the road and are headed toward Las Vegas right now. I think we will try to go to Chinatown and get some good Chinese food once we get into town. I'm looking forward to that.

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Once we got into Las Vegas we went to Chinatown and got some food. The food was ok, but it wasn't as good as I expected. But at least there was some place for us to eat really late at night. After we were done eating we went to the Palms Hotel and Casino to check in. The place where we checked in was right next to where the club was in the hotel. There were a lot of people dressed up in their clubbing clothes and I think it made Christina and Jenny a little self conscious because we had just come in from Zion National Park. I didn't care. But I think the whole theme of the Palms Hotel is young and slutty. It isn't really the kind of place that I would go back to, but the room was nice and the casino seemed ok.

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We just got into LA from leaving Las Vegas today. We got up and out of our room at the Palms Hotel and Casino around 10 AM. We checked out of our room and got our bags picked up by the bell hop and then went downstairs and ate at the buffet. They told us that they were closing the buffet at 10:30 AM, so we had to get all of our food before they close. After we were done eating we went to check out the pool and then we left to go to Caesar's Palace. Once we got to Caesar's Jenny and Christina decided to do some shopping. Luckily they had a F A O Schwarz so I was able to find a Rubick's Cube and play with that for a while. After a while of dragging us around shopping, Christina and Jenny set us free to go gamble while they shopped. We ended up walking across the street to the Barbary Coast and played some Pai Gow Poker. I lost $10 doing that. Then we walked back over to Caesar's to meet up with the gals and then we left Las Vegas. We stopped at one point along the way and it was 104 degrees F. But we eventually made our way to LA and we got a room at a Best Western near the Staples Center downtown. Overall this hotel is the most ghetto of any that we have stayed in on this trip. The carpets all around the hotel are run down and dirty. There is only one working ice machine in the entire hotel, and the room smells like people that were staying here last night were smoking. But I guess I would chalk it up to being LA. Overall, my opinion of LA is that it is a third world country with pockets of nice places sprinkled about.

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Today we went to The Grove to get some crepes for breakfast. After we were done with breakfast, Jenny and Rong had to get ready to go to the wedding. After they were done getting ready Christina and I took them to the church and then we headed back to the Grove so that Christina could do some shopping. We went to Abercrombie and Fitch once we got to the Grove and Christina bought a couple of tops, but I saw something that was utterly stupid. Abercrombie had two models running around the store. One was a guy that had his shirt off and the other was a girl that was only wearing a pajama top. It had to be one of the stupidest things I've seen in a long time. After we were done there we did more shopping, and Christina got tired. Since she was tired and didn't want to go to the museum we ended up going to the movies and seeing Pirates of the Caribbean. Overall it was pretty good. After we were done there we went to the Universal City Walk. We ended up eating at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant. After we had dinner we went to our hotel in Long Beach and retired for the night.

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Once again I feel implored to describe my feelings about LA. I don't like it. I think it is dirty and smoggy and I am very thankful that I don't live there. I can't see why anyone rich and famous would want to live there. I don't think it is worth it. But moving on, we went to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles this morning and I got half of a chicken fried and smothered in gravy and two waffles. It was damn good. The more of it that I ate the more I wanted to keep eating. It was fantastic. After we had gorged ourselves in the company of Jenny, Rong, Jackie, and Lee, we hit Coffee Bean on the way out of town and drove back up to San Jose. Once we got into town we dropped off Jenny and Rong and then we went home, cleaned out stuff out of the silver bullet, and returned it to the airport rental car office. Our trip is complete.

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Now that the trip is over I should spend a little time reflecting on what I saw and what I did. First, I want to say that I had a blast on this trip. We got to do nearly everything that was on our list, and I enjoyed every bit of it. The only thing that we didn't get to do was go to Grand Junction. But to summarize our trip we drove 2937 miles, visited 5 National Parks (Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Mesa Verde NP, Bryce Canyon NP, and Zion NP), visited 1 State Park (Dead Horse Point SP), visited 1 National Monument (Natural Bridges NM), mountain biked the slickrock at Moab, visited 4 states (Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona), stayed at the Palms in Las Vegas, visited Los Angeles, and made it back to tell my tale. In the future I would like to go back Zion to hike the Narrows. I would also like to go back to Moab to do more mountain biking, river rafting, and canyoneering. And of course I would like to make it to Grand Junction next time.