I feel like there’s a lot of pressure in visiting Arches National Park. It’s seemingly not enough just to go and take skillfully-composed pictures of the arches – no, you’ve got to go to the right arches at the right time.
Canyonlands plays second fiddle to Arches when it come to Moab’s national parks, but you know what? I don’t think that’s well deserved. Plop this stunner anywhere east of the Mississippi and it would easily be the most visited (and most beautiful) national park.
Fresh off the plane in Vegas, we rented a car and drove straight to California. It was the start of our week-long whirlwind roadtrip through California, Utah, and Arizona in 2010.
It was a happy little accident that I came upon this oft-unheard of park in Moab. Desperate for a campsite during the overcrowded mayhem that is the Easter Jeep Safari, I took google’s recommendation and drove about 10 minutes out of Moab town center and up-up-uphill to the park entrance.
Moab is an outdoor adventure playground. I planned my recent long weekend trip to Utah around this desert town, intent on taking advantage of everything it has to offer that I can’t do at home in New York City.
Doing good on my goal to take more long weekend trips, I spent this past Easter weekend out west in Utah. After a tumultuous transition from winter to spring in New York, all I wanted was to feel the heat from the sun again, to be able to enjoy nature outside of the city grid.
At 6 years and counting, my love affair with New York City is the longest commitment I’ve (willingly) made. We’ve been out of the honeymoon phase for awhile, but there’s still plenty to love about this city I call home.
A week from now I’ll be in UTAH, frolicking around the desert and doing all the things that life in the big city does not afford: hiking, star gazing, climbing real rock.
If I actually had a bucket list, seeing the cherry blossoms in Washington DC would most certainly hold a spot on it. It’s one of those unique, location-specific experiences that’s worth planning a trip around.
What’s it like to have pride in where you’re from? I wouldn’t know – I’ve spent my whole life hating the state of Connecticut and the small town I grew up in.