Day 01: Send it to Utah


Welcome! If you're here it means you probably curiously clicked on a link we posted, or asked to see pictures when you heard about our summer plans. This blog will serve mostly as a picture dump, but we think we do cool things too so we’ll share some of those ventures with you.

For context, Grey is dropping Abby off in CT via the circuitous route. Washington’s on the way to CT right? But yeah, our plan is to hit some cool national parks all around the west/northwest. Not quite a grand tour of Europe but you know, when global pandemics hit you gotta adapt. 

We decided there wasn’t much to see between good ole OKC and Utah, so we opted for a 900 mile day to start our trip. 

We drove...


And drove...


And then kept driving...

Still driving... (missed the Utah sign oops)

And 894 miles later we were camped just outside of Canyonlands. 

The drive wasn’t just a total grind though—here are a few things we learned along the way.

1. Both of our families have way more faith in their non-progeny

We both found the time to jump onto our respective family zoom calls but were rewarded with mockery of our preparedness. Grey's family gave him no credit for the itinerary: "No way you could make a spreadsheet that organized." Abby's family threw her sense of direction under the bus, piling on that "You couldn't even find your way out of the bus if you were under it."

2. “We've got plenty of time” is a bad packing motto

Scrambling around until after midnight to get everything packed is a less than ideal way to spend the night before an early drive. To our credit, we didn't forget anything major. To Abby's credit, she did want to start packing earlier.

3. Double rainbows are doubly worth a stop off the highway 



  1. Dunkin is a great way to start a road trip (read: tolerable -Grey) 


Signing off here, but stay tuned for the first and arguably hardest of our parks!



Comments

  1. UnknownJune 17, 2020 at 5:39 PM

    Love your humor! We have lots of faith in both of you! 💕

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 05: Arches

Image
Today was dedicated to Arches National Park. Hundreds of arches scatter the park, carved out over millennia by the forces of nature. It was like visiting an art museum dedicated to nature's sculptures.  We spent much of the day trying to wrap our minds around how natural forces could construct such intricate and delicate works of art. If a human were to attempt to replicate such structures, they would be challenged not only by the immense scale but also by the small details. They would never think to include the "flaws" of  the rock--the cracks and nuances in texture that are part of what make it so mesmerizing. Featured here are some pretty sweet photos from Grey's new camera and Abby's mere iPhone.  Balanced Rock: A 128-foot tall formation featuring a boulder of Entrada sandstone that is eroding more slowly than the mudstone pedestal on which is teeters. Double Arch: the tallest arch in the park Abby under Double Arch View from D
Read more

Day 08-09: Capitol Reef

Image
After a day off, we were ready to jump back into the wilderness, which we did by backpacking a night through Capitol Reef National Park. Being one of the lesser-known parks, we didn't know quite what to expect from it, but Capitol Reef is vast in the sheer amount of options it has for day hikes and backpacking loops. Definitely not a park one can absorb in a day, but we tried.  We began with a slight detour to see the top of Chimney Rock: Not pictured: The 40-50 mph gusts that tried to knock us off the outlook Such an expansive view with virtually no evidence of humans One of Grey's favorite shots The landscape makes for a cool backdrop for a bright cactus flower We love Utah's color palette: So much red and orange, speckled with forest green bushes set against a brilliant blue sky I'd describe this landscape as "sweeping" Sweeping landscape ft. tree The photographer behind the views Layered cliffs never fail t
Read more

Day 06: Slots

Image
Little Wild Horse Canyon: a name probably more unfamiliar to you, as it isn't found in a national park. When we discovered during our planning a) what slot canyons were and b) that the ones in Zion were closed, we found this to be a necessary detour on the national parks exploration.  Today was an easy, lighthearted day, spent skirting our way through, as you might guess from the name, a giant slit cut into a canyon. We spent the hike hiding around bends and marveling again at the diversity of the beauty of the rocks of Utah.  Grey slipping through what was honestly one of the wider spots in the canyon Abby peeking out from around a bend Awesome views any way you cut it The texture here was so incredible The walls smoothed out by flash flooding ft. Grey Have I mentioned how cool the texture of this canyon is? Abby taking the lead for a bit Abby or Atlas? 
Read more