Girls trip to Utah. Rolling joints and making memories.

In July 2021, Melisa and I decided to treat ourselves to another trip out West. We were heading to Utah to explore Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. We would also be spending a couple nights in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For the first part of our trip, we stayed at Zion Ponderosa Ranch www.zionponderosa.com. It was a little further from the center of town, but I really liked the peace and quiet in the evenings. We rented a small cabin and we had a bunk bed to sleep in. A quick trip to the grocery store for the essentials (peanut butter and jelly, granola bars, bananas, and nutter butters) and we were ready for the next day.

Day one, we drove around in the morning to check out the park. The landscape reminded me of my family trip to Arizona. The red rocks and amazing views at every turn.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park was our afternoon stop. It looked like a sea of red sand. Because of the wind, these sand formations can move as much as 50ft per year. Melisa took off to go watch the people using snow sleds on the hills. I hung back with the bugs and looked for little animal/insect tracks in the sand.

Late afternoon we did our first tour with East Zion Adventures www.eastzionadventures.com. This one was the Crimson Canyon UTV tour and we also got to explore the Red Rock Slot Canyon. This tour reminded me of what Antelope Canyon must looks like. We walked, crawled and climbed through different areas in the canyon and it was so cool inside. I loved the way the light came through different openings in the canyon. A bonus was this cool Jerusalem cricket I found outside the canyon.

We woke up early and had another UTV tour with East Zion Adventures. We chose the East Rim tour. It was a bumpy one hour ride. We traveled through the pine forest to get an amazing view of Checkboard Mesa. Next we went through the bumpiest section and reached Jolley Gulch. The view through the canyon was beautiful.

After our jeep tour, we took a ride to go hike the Zion canyon overlook trail. This trail is listed as moderate and it was a one mile out and back hike. We stopped at the top to have lunch and take in the views. I really liked this hike. It wasn't easy but the views were stunning. We had great views of Tower of the Virgin. It made me feel like I was on top of the world.

This was my absolute favorite day of the trip. We went to Bryce National Park. As soon as we pulled up and I got my first look, I was awestruck. There is something so special about Bryce. I always say Mother Nature is my church and this place was so moving to me. The hoodoo rock formations in this park are beyond anything I have ever seen. We decided to hike the Queens Garden trail leading to the Navajo loop trail. The end was a long switchback and it was not an easy one. We ended at Sunrise point. I felt very connected to this part of Utah. There was a peaceful feeling while walking through. I have heard from people who have visited this park and they have experienced similar feelings. I wish we had two days to explore Bryce.

Melisa's top thing she wanted to do was to hike the Narrows in Zion National Park. The Narrows is a walk through the Virgin River and it a must do for anyone traveling to Utah. I'm not going to lie, I did not want to do it. It comes as no surprise, that Melisa is much braver than me and is for sure more athletic. We decided against renting shoes for the hike and just stuck with our hiking boots. The Narrows is a canyon with flowing water that you wade through. From the start I was not liking it. I didn't like that I couldn't see my feet and was constantly slipping on the rocks below. I had fallen in multiple times and was over it. I decided to quit and I'm so glad Melisa decided to go ahead. I sat on a big rock and waited for her. I had my Pb and J and enjoyed my people watching. She was gone for what felt like hours and I was getting nervous. When she rounded that corner and I saw her I was so relieved. She really enjoyed going further into the Narrows.

We had to hike all the way back through the water and by the time we reached dry land, I was thoroughly soaked. We started heading back to the catch the shuttle. I went to walk down a path to take a picture and I rolled my ankle. I heard the pop and down I went. I fell hard and was immediately crying. Melisa started taking off my soaking wet boot and sock and started examining my ankle. I was being taken care of by an Orthopedic surgeon and an EMT and my personal RN. What are the chances I would wipe out, breaking my ankle and be surrounded by that many medical personnel? I was grateful the doctor had Advil and definitely thought it was broken.

We made it in time to grab the shuttle and head back to the visitor center. While we were on the shuttle everyone's phones started going off. There was a local weather warning that there was a possible flash flood coming through the canyon. The canyon we just walked out of. There were warnings of getting to higher ground and getting to safety. We got back to the parking lot where our car was and Melisa ran inside to get me ice. My ankle was already swollen. I went back to the car to wait for her. I started to strip off my clothes and get changed. Because i was soaking wet from the water when I landed on the ground the dirt was stuck to me and was making mud. She quickly got back to the car with the ice and we began the climb back to our cabin. By the time we made our way to our cabin, the weather was back to blue skies.

I'm so grateful for my girl Melisa. All those years listening to her study to be a nurse really paid off. She knew how to wrap me up just right. I stayed off my feet for the rest of the night, icing my ankle on and off. Good ole nutter butters and a hot coffee helped a bit.

If I had to get hurt, I'm glad it was on the last day of the hiking portion of the trip and not the first day. We were heading out of Utah and on our way to Nevada. I really wanted to see Valley of Fire State Park and it didn't disappoint.

Melisa booked us a great room at the Venetian. We had room service dinner. $$$$ Room service is so expensive. We had tickets to see the show Absinthe. It was at Cesar's Resort on the strip. It was a long walk and my ankle was throbbing, but I was excited to be in Vegas for the first time. We loved the show. It was trippy and cool and nothing like I thought it was going to be. I did discover that Vegas is just not for me. The amount of homeless, substance addicted people just laying across the sidewalks etc. It made me uncomfortable to see. I'm glad I get to say been there, done that and I never need to do it again.

The next day needed to be a rest day. My ankle was so swollen and painful, we decided to stay at the hotel. Access to the pool was limited, so we rented a lounge for poolside seating and decided to drink the day away.

Melisa have taken a few trips trips together and this one was by far one of the best. Over 30 years of friendship and I'm grateful to have her as a traveling buddy. We have seen each other through it all.

Until my next adventure. Thanks for reading all about my Utah trip. I recommend heading there on your own sometime. Stayed tuned, there's always more stories to share.

Later loves

***When I got home I went to the orthopedic and they let me know I had a fibula distal fracture. I had torn the ligament on the side of my ankle and chipped the bone as well. Not the souvenir I wanted.