March 2022: Utah Rocks

Hasta Luego Arizona

Our last night in Arizona was spent near Flagstaff in a beautiful meadow lined with trees and mountain views. There was still quite a bit of snow in the area, but we lucked out and found a spot that was not only free of that fluffy white stuff, but dry to boot. After roughly 3 months in Arizona, we were looking forward to the sunshine and (fingers crossed) warmer temperatures in Utah.

If you missed any of the Arizona blog posts click for December, January, and/or February to read more.

Utah, Land of the Still too Cold

Unfortunately, the 5-day forecast changed considerably upon our arrival and our first 3-4 days were cold and windy mixed with a bit of snow and ice rain. Nothing a jacket, beanie, and some gloves couldn’t power through, but our hearts were unquestionably broken. Eric and I were really looking forward to some spring-like weather considering a chilly winter in Arizona.

Grizz on the other hand (as per usual) was more than happy to extend our cold weather streak. With all that fur, I really can’t blame him. If he was more cuddly, I suppose it would help!

Dramatic Skies of Utah

The one positive, besides Grizz’s comfort of course, was the dramatic skies that the wintery weather produced. I never get tired of looking at these red rocks.

Here I Come to Save the Day

The mighty SUN is on its way.

Yes, eventually, the sun made its better-late-than-never appearance and everything in our world was warmer again. Can you imagine living in an environment void of the sun? Hopefully in our lifetime we won’t have to find out if humans could survive such an event!

Explorer Mode

Once thawed from the previous week, Grizz and I were back in longer-term explorer mode at a more comfortable 55-60 degrees. This is where we shine. At these temperatures, we’re likely to be gone for 4+ hours at a time hiking our little hearts out.

Eric’s Two-Nighter Special

Since Eric’s not as interested in the hiking game, he decided to adventure off on a 4-7 day trip of his own making. The goal was to get from the Mesa to Zion then over to Cedar City and then eventually back to St. George creating a 200+ mile loop. Unfortunately, the recent snowfall combined with the accumulated winter snow pack made that trip impossible this time of year. Well, over the course of roads that he wanted to take anyways. I mean, who wants to ride on the road with traffic if you don’t have to?!? Silly roadies 🙂

The trek started off well with fairly quiet but rutted gravel roads.

The first night out, Eric found the perfect, quiet little campsite hidden amongst the trees. Off to Zion National Park tomorrow.

-OR NOT-

Zion National Park, Utah

This is a photo Eric took of what it was like to go to Zion National park before Covid. Each purple dot represents a group of 2-3 people. In reality, when we took this photo, we were actually the only two people here looking at this exact scene. We were able to ride our bikes throughout the entire park and never saw another human (expect the ones being shuttled around by bus). Even the hike to the Narrows was relatively low key.

Well, a lot has happened in 5 short years. I probably should have added about 50 more purple dots, but you get the idea. This is what it was like to get into Zion this year. We had two failed attempts. One in the van (we were just going to ride bikes for the day) and the other was for Eric on his trip. The line to get in was over 100 cars deep and the parking lots were already maxed out. Needless to say, Eric didn’t even go in. It wasn’t even the weekend. Yikes.

Did everyone just discover we have national parks in this country? Well, if they didn’t pre-covid, they do now! Word is out. Thank you Instagram!

It was here Eric also learned that the passage to Cedar City was a no go because the snow pack was still to significant to cross. So, he spent another night out and then came home to ride in solitude with his amazing, lovely wife (yes, that’s me!)

Call it a guess, but by the looks of the photo above, I suppose I was happier about it than he was 🙂

Long story short, we’ll enjoy the views of Zion and the surrounding area from afar. Where there is minimal crowds AND epic views!

Drop Down and Gimme Fifty!

Miles that is! Actually Grizz and I hiked 124.2 miles in March! We were beasts!

This was me at the end of the month…

And this…THIS is my mangy mutt.

Grizz was so cute. Every night he just looked so exhausted. You know, it’s not easy to wear out a Border Collie. So, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I can make this dog sleep like a baby!

St. George, Utah

Of course, being so close to St. George, we had to stop in to visit the Momma. As always, we enjoyed our time there (except for all the noise). A small price to pay for Momma’s home cookin’ and the most delicious cupcakes we’ve ever had. If you ever need fattened up, just go “home”.

Of course, we had to keep our hiking up while in town so Grizz and I took advantage of my Mom’s close proximity to the trails and walk, walk, walked 3-4 hours a day.

Here are some photos of our time there.

Arizona So Soon?

On a hope and a whim, and a forecast that looked pretty great, Eric, Grizz and I headed back to Northern Arizona to spend some time in our favorite forest. Unfortunately, the weather shifted and we were hit with snow, rain, and muddy impassible roads. After a few days we decided to call it quits and head back towards the dry, sunshine of the mesa. But, not before some fun in the snow.

Here area just a few more pics of our time here:

Utah: The Mesa (Repeated)

The Davis family finished off the month of March in Utah on the Mesa. While we were disappointed to leave the pine forests we love, we absolutely can’t complain about where the road had led us. The Mesa is generally quiet, beautiful beyond words (or these photographs), and there are endless biking and hiking opportunities at every turn. Here are just a few more photos of the area.

March, That’s a Wrap

As always, if you made it this far, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this month’s blog post and photos. It’s a pleasure to share the joy of adventuring with all of you.

Any questions or comments, feel free to post below!

Until next time friends….