I mean really, three high-school buddies meet up and road trip for a long weekend? How could that not be a great time! I am so thankful for Rachel and Jean, for the laughs and hot tamales, for the wacky pictures and wackier people in some of the establishments we frequented, for the bonding time we had in that amazing scenery, and for Melissa; another dear friend who decided to get married in this gorgeous spot!

Below are the remaining pictures I’d like to share.

The Emerald Pools Hike
There are three pools reachable on this Hike: Upper, Middle & Lower.–each reached by a different trail that included waterfalls both large and small, narrow paths and sheer drop-offs.

Jean & Diana across the canyon at the Upper Emerald Pool–about to be hit by the waterfall spray.

the view when looking up

Diana at the middle pool

one of the stealth waterfalls

gorgeous views at every turn

After the Emerald Pools, we hiked through an area that was more desert than anywhere we had seen so far. Hardly any trees and not as many high peaks. The riverbeds were mostly dry (we were warned about flash floods though) and we were convinced that episodes of Star Trek or Land of the Lost were filmed in the exact spots we were standing!
side note: after getting home and looking up some of the areas we were in, I found that this area of Utah as well as the Eastern part of the state was used for many episodes in various Star Trek seasons.

Rachel’s glamour shot

Diana getting a little running in on the side of the mountain

Made it!

catching some rays

A nearby elk farm

and, the beautiful bride

I first heard it in the British Virgin Islands when the transparently blue/green water and the scores of rainbow fish got to be just too beautiful to see over and over again (yeah, I am really not complaining here…) and one of my travel partners on that trip longed to see “the grayness of Newark” (well, she said that, but of course no one longs to see Newark)… anyway… I uttered the same phrase again while in Zion.

I’d like to think I have visited epic locales– oceans, cities & mountains known for their beauty– but I had not yet seen anything like Zion National Park.
Let me tell you now, any pictures you see, even the professional ones do not capture, in the slightest, what you will witness in person.

The Park, that welcomes three million visitors a year, is divided into 4 sections–all with gorgeous views, scenic drives and hikes for every level of mountaineer.

1.Zion Canyon containing: the Emerald Pools (that Jean, Rachel and I hiked), Angels Landing (the steepest hike in the entire park and upon your completion, if you have the energy to to make it back down, can buy a t-shirt proclaiming your victory ascent and The Narrows which has been voted by National Geographic as in the top 10 of their best 100 hikes in the Nation.

2.Kolob Canyons known for the famous Kolob Arch that is shown in many Zion pamphlets.

picture courtesy of First Light Photographs

3.Kolob Terrace: with the well known, yet challenging Subway hike. Parts of this hike travel through naturally made mountain tunnels and in some parts require partial or depending on the time of year (like last week while I was in Zion) total submersion and swimming into cold water.

photo courtesy of zionnationalpark.com

4. Highway 9 that includes the Tunnel– a spectacular scenic drive that leads to the South side of the Park.

Zion is a massive area and my time there was for exploring the park, but also for my friend’s wedding (which was IN the park and was GORGEOUS) which did not allow me excess time to get all of the hikes in I had wanted. Next time I go back, the Subway hike is first on my list.

Now that you know a little bit about Zion, and my original purpose of the trip… let me display some of my favorite pictures and accompanying stories.

Hiking around various areas of the Canyon we found ourselves in dry river beds full of … sand? Yep. Some of the softest sand to ever have passed in between my toes! The mountain rocks are all Sandstone (some of the largest amount anywhere in the World actually) and the Virgin River, over time, has eroded parts down into, well, sand.

We came across a family of Mountain goats while hiking and I didn’t zoom on this shot–we were this close.

This was the lodge we stayed at, just outside of the Park. The views were incredible and a free shuttle ran every 10 minutes to take you either into town or into the Park (of course we had our stealth Hybrid (see part 1). Us 3 girls shared a giant room with 2 queen beds, a queen sleeper sofa a nearly full kitchen and a deck overlooking the heated pool.

On one of our hikes…

Scenery shot! Too much beauty!!!!

I swear– it was not easy to climb up here even though it looks like it’d be pretty easy…

This concludes part II of the Zion trip… but there is more to come… and take a read of part I if you haven’t yet.

When I got into Salt Lake (an hour early–thank you Delta) I had some time to kill before Rachel flew into town. I had been to Salt Lake about 10 years ago for a Husky football game and had a chance to see some of the city and surrounding area. Salt Lake is small, but it is surrounded by mountains pretty much entirely which makes it look even smaller when viewing it from above–which is exactly what I did!

After picking up my hybrid rental car and taking like hours to start it [word to the wise—hybrids make NO noise --not even at point of ignition--until they are going like 25 mph. Who knew?] I drove to the highest point I could, within reason, and found a hike up to Ensign Peak. This place, as many places in Salt Lake, has religious significance to the large Mormon population, but to me it offered a spectacular view of the mountains and city.

After the hike and the wheezing, breathless reminder that Utah is at a much higher elevation than I have been used to on the East Coast, I caught my breath at a Starbucks then toured the city –drive by style–and saw the highlights.

Below is the Capitol building that lies at the foothills of the mountain I had just climbed–near the University of Utah.

After picking up Rachel, we headed north to Park City — the ski mecca of Utah. Of course, skiing wasn’t really going on while we were there, although snow was in the forecast. We were much more interested in gabbing and cruising the town–and what a cute town it is! The “Main Street” had art galleries, restaurants, shops and outrageously expensive pet clothing stores; needless to say–we were in heaven!

Rachel & Di hanging out on the lift chair

Main Street

Absurdly long staircases which have got to be damn near impossible to climb in the snow

One of 3 enormous resident Park City dogs at the doggie boutique

Rachel scoping out some night spots for when Jean meets up with us.

We drove back to Salt Lake to pick up Jean (only 30 minutes away) and then back to Park City to have some dinner and start our reunion! We ate at what we heard is THE hangout during the ski season: The No Name Saloon. The food was awesome and while we were outnumbered by like 75 to 3 in a men to women ratio — we had plenty of time for ourselves to visit and laugh before stopping off at Lindzee O’Michaels Mixologists (see above pic) for $2 Ladies Night. Did I mention that driving is not necessary in Park City? Everything is within walking distance to the hotels!

At the No Name Saloon we got our first taste of Polygamy Porter: Why have just one?

Relaxing at Mixologists. The place had some interesting people… & I don’t mean just us!

Rachel dancing to, what else? The Beastie Boys! Its as if the Girls Trip Reunion Gods were smiling on us!

to be continued…

1. It is the law, that birds have the right of way on any public highway.

2. In some counties in Utah, daylight must be visible between dancing couples. How is this enforced??

3. Utah has what I think is the coolest state animal: Rocky Mountain Elk.

4. My ancestors settled in Utah in the 1800′s as part of the influx of Mormon’s coming over from Europe (Sweden in my case). While I am not Mormon, some of my extended family is and my previous trips to Utah have been a great representation of geneology. My great-aunt, a Professor at BYU, remained in touch with a family that lives on the property once owned by my great-great-great-great Grandmother and that still has the cabin her son Charles (my ggg Grandfather) built when he was 14 and new to this country. Years ago I visited that cabin in which the current owners have decorated with antiques from the time period of the cabin’s creation. No one resides in the cabin–but it is often used for the current owner’s family Christmas celebrations. Touring the cabin and the grounds is one of my fondest memories and when I saw the Swedish newspapers breaking through the walls that were used as insulation when Charles built the cabin really impressed upon me the reality of the hardships my family had as immigrants: a new country, a new language, a new life.

diana in front of the cabin

diana in the loft of the cabin

5. Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation. Wow. Interesting.

6. Utah is home to two of the largest dinosaur graveyards in North America: Dinosaur National Monument in the northern part of the state and the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry in east central Utah.

7. Utah does not allow alcohol to be served on election day.

More to come…