Remember when I said I have only been to two National Parks? Well, this trip I checked off three more! Just recently, my cousin and I set sail in my Subi for an awesome 1,600-mile packed adventure! Last year we went to Yosemite for her first time, and it was amazing enough to do it again, except this time we switched it up. Throughout this new road trip, we went to four different states and was in four different National Parks within five days!
Day one on the road was filled with excitement right away: speeding ticket. Oops. We had a long drive ahead of us for our first stop, Great Basin National Park. After many long hours of driving through long, straight valley roads then up through curvy mountains we finally came across the grandest of basins. It went on what felt like forever, it went across the Nevada and Utah border. Going into the park was such a different experience than the other ones I went to, it was a lot smaller. There's no entrance fee, the only buildings there was a visitor center, astrology amphitheater, and a bathroom. We drove up the road leading to a scenic route but because of weather the roads were closed. However, we did find a very quaint small campground tucked into the side of the mountain surrounded by tall pines, enough for about twenty sites. In the park there are a couple activities that can keep you busy like hiking, scenic driving and a cave tour! Lehman Caves is a big attraction that brings in people to the park most. Something I want to came back for. Thirty minutes before our campsite we hit a stressful blizzard that left us almost blind on the road! We drifted into our own man-made snow-filled campsite and called it for the night.
Day two was a breeze. We camped in the Dixie National Forest which was quite literally fifteen minutes outside the park. Almost immediately we woke up to drive into our park of the day to get the day started: Bryce Canyon National Park. Our first stop was Sunrise point; being that it was 8am I figured it would be pretty appropriate. I wasn't sure what to expect for the first glance, but I am glad I had no idea. Holy cow! If you don't know what Hoodoos are, google it right now! These red sandstone statues are unlike something I've ever seen before. It's like red balls of sand rolled up like a snowman stacked up from five to one-hundred and fifty feet high looking like it's about to fall on top of you. The colors also really impressed me. You can tell when looking at the Hoodoos the different layers of sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations. These are up to 60 million years old! We hiked the Queen's Garden until the start of the Navajo Loop. This winter has been so wet, so the trails were muddy and was sticking to our boots making it feel lopsided with each step. Three miles really felt so much longer that day! We had a reservation for a glamping trip that night which felt amazing to shower. Our home for the night was a dome! Bryce didn't seem quite finished to us, so we went back another time and set off for some viewpoints. Each stop wasn't far from each other but a view more impressive than the last each time. Dinner that night was the fancy gourmet microwavable mac'n'cheese with a side of hummus and dip.
Day three was jaw dropping. Zion National Park blew me away. Yosemite is hard to beat but this park is a close second. Driving into Zion was astonishing and views that made you want to take you eyes off the road. We came into the East side, so we drove through the historic One Mile Tunnel, which is exactly that. Kinda spooky and creepy, not going to lie. Coming out of the tunnel drops you down into switchbacks leading into the luscious green valley next to the Virgin River. The canyon walls, like the Hoodoo, very red sandstone-y with hues of light tan. You can see trees growing from the side of them. One of my favorite parts was seeing the shadows of the birds on the walls. Let me tell you that parking in Zion is a pain in the butt. We ended up paying for parking the first day at followed the map to the shuttle. Our first hike we ended up doing was Weeping Rock because our original plan was to hike Hidden Canyon. It was a short hike of almost a mile total but a cool view to a light waterfall that was dissipating into air halfway down. To our bright ideas we decided Angel's Landing in the middle of the day was a good idea. It wasn't. Not that it wasn't beautiful, but it was hot as hell! If you aren't familiar with the hike, also google it. It's one of the most dangerous hikes in the country. Towards the end only chains and a tiny cliff edges can save you from going over. We made it up a countless number of switchbacks passing so many people going up and down. The views from even 1/4 the way was insanely gorgeous, and I highly recommend hiking the amount you can do! Looking over the edge definitely can make your adrenaline spike. Cooling off with a local beer by the river with live music playing was my new idea of heaven. With the help of a lovely local woman, we were able to find our dispersed camping site for the night. The views were three-sixty degrees of various mountains. Some that even looked like ones from Sound of Music. With no snow that night, we were able to enjoy the night with drinks, music and food.
Day three was a lot of fun. We made sure to get an early start on the day so we could get a free parking spot back inside the park. Making a stop at the visitor center is always necessary. We wanted to hike The Narrows but being that the river was dangerously high we had to save it for next time. The shuttle was waiting to take us to our hike of the day: Emerald Pools. They are beautiful but very different than the ones in the Northwest. The hike was very moderate even though it still was scorching hot. The amount of cacti we saw was so awesome! It was cool to see each of their flat spiky body stacking on top of each other, even the flowers blooming on top of them. The flowers around us were blooming like crazy, it was amazing to see all the colors of the rainbow in nature. Thankfully, the hike wasn't too long. We started to descend into the base of the waterfall that misted us while walking behind. I wish that I could have swum in the tiny little oasis that was there. One thing I really like about Zion is that it's super accessible, a lot of the trails are well maintained, and some are even paved. After an exhausting 24 hours, we decided to start making our way to our next National Park: Death Valley. Right before the entrance there is a very strange park that seems to sit in the middle of nowhere. If you have seen any Burning Man art pieces than you can picture something like it. The one that caught my eye the most was the Lady Desert. She is a large twenty-five-foot tall Leggo-like statue of a woman with bleach-blonde hair, bush and was on her knees. Don't believe me? Look at the picture below! There was also a Last Supper life-like statutes that were covered in plaster. There's a bunch of more wacky things to see here but you'll have to come see the rest for yourself.
Day four was jammed packed. After a good night's sleep, we headed into Death Valley for the day. Death Valley gets its name for many reasons one of them being that it holds the hottest temperature recorded in the world, 134°F. The landscape of this National Park is so different than anything I've seen before. Devil's Golf Course was a large portion of the playa that's ground was almost intolerable to walk on. The ground felt like sharp coral, one slip up and you would be bleeding for sure. Sometimes you can see the "golf balls" that form and crack when it heats up or someone steps on it. Badwater Basin has been one of the coolest places that I've been to, being that it's below sea level on land. As you walk out on the dry dusty man-made path you can turn around and see the "sea level" identification sign disappear. The reason it's called Badwater is literally that, it's so salty that the burros traveling long ways wouldn't even drink from it. Zabriskie Point is one of my favorite places in Death Valley too. The views are always changing with every way you look; the colors range from layered bright tan to dark red sandstone. Sunrise or sunset is the best time to see it. There's no way that we could go to this park without seeing Artisan Pallet. You've probably seen pictures of it, it has hues of pink, blue, and green that naturally changes the color of the mountains. You can go hike around willy-nilly because there really isn't no path, but you can't really get lost which is a high pro. Another favorite place to go in Death Valley is Mesquite Sand Dunes. When driving basically on the only road in Death Valley the sand dunes look so out of place. There was just a patch of mounds for about a mile radius. Hiking in sand is so miserable because you don't go very far per step, and you have to work harder. It's so worth it though! Make sure to go when it's not super-hot in the day because the mounds contain so much heat that you will be so exhausted even just walking for five minutes, trust me. Water! Water! Water! Being dehydrating while in the desert is not a fun combination. As the day was heating up, we decided to save ourselves and head back to homebase.
Thankfully, with time to spare before the sun went down, we got back into town. Looking back on what we just did made me so happy. I did it! I saw some of the National Parks that I have been on the edge of my seat waiting to see. Now I can say that I have added to my list of National Parks to a grand total of five parks: Yosemite, Death Valley, Great Basin, Bryce Canyon and Zion! The year is still early so I know that I will be able to check more off my list. I'm thinking Lassen National Park. If you could teleport to a National Park, which one would it be?
April 2023