Tag Archives: Utah

A slick adventure in Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado/Utah

“Road impassable when wet.” I roll my eyes at this statement.  I have been to enough national parks and monuments to know my limits and how cautious the National Park Service has gotten.  Little did I know that park service’s warning was more than the usual overreaction.  I had quite an adventure while camping at Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument. Continue Reading . . .

MatD’s Ultimate Utah Bucket List

Utah Rocks!  That phrase seems to be everywhere nowadays.  I would call Utah the state of rocks.  Its most prominent features are all rocks.  Visitors come from around the world to see Utah’s rocks.  I have been obsessed with this state since long before I before I started my 59 national park quest.  I have wanted to visit Utah (aka Angel’s Landing in Zion) since I was in high school.  I have visited this state several times since I started college.  I took an internship that didn’t really interest me for the solo reason as it got my close to Utah.  I then took the long way home from Colorado to Florida with a trip to Utah on the way.  There are plenty of things to do in Utah.  Here is my MatD’s Ultimate Utah Bucket List Continue Reading . . .

A Year with my America the Beautiful National Park Pass

“Your pass has expired.”  My jaw dropped.  I couldn’t believe it.  My America the Beautiful National Park Pass had expired.  It feels like just yesterday that I bought the pass and now it is expired.  I got over my shock and reached into my wallet and handed my credit card over.  Time to pay $80.00 for another park pass. Continue Reading . . .

A visit with Angels at Angel’s Landing

I sat near a 1,500 foot vertical drop and admired the view.  It had taken me almost 8 years of plotting and planning to make this trip a reality. The view from Angel’s Landing exceeded expectations and was worth the wait.  The early explorers were right. Continue Reading . . .

Completing the Hike the Hoodoos Challenge

I was at the Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor Center waiting for the park movie to start.   I am turning the pages of the hiking guide trying to decide what trail to hike.  A small article titled “Hike the Hoodoos Challenge.”  To complete the challenge, one needs do one of two things to hike at least 3 miles of on benchmark trails and/or collect a picture or rubbing of 3 benchmarks. Once completed return to the visitor center and collect “a special reward.”  It didn’t say what the award was or limit it to only kids.  Therefore, challenge accepted since I planned on hiking more than 3 miles. Continue Reading . . .