by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2015 | Arizona, Blitzkrieg!!!, United States, Utah, What Dreams May Come
Monument Valley
Monument Valley just got served.
Last night in Page, AZ, we stopped by for a drink, live music, pool and a little bout of Western dancing at the Windy Mesa Bar.
2 Chinese Americans, 2 Serbs, and 1 Australian in a group may have made for a curious look, but people were generally friendly and welcoming, teaching us how to dance!
The next morning we left at around 12pm to check out the vistas at nearby Lake Powell, about 5 minutes north of Page, AZ.
Afterwards we checked out Monument Valley, which I never heard of (and few of us on the East Coast have either)…but trust me when I say that when you see it, you’ll know it. So we drove 2 hours onwards towards the Utah border by Kayenta, hoping to catch Monument Valley by sunset.
From the Utah border, we drove about 10-20 minutes inland more to pay the $20-25/vehicle fee to enter the area where you can actually see Monument Valley the way it’s supposed to be seen.
It’s about a 17 mile drive around the Monument Valley circuit, and as you can imagine, it was totally worth the journey to get here. All the epic car commercials finally come to life, and you wonder how places like this really do exist within your own home country.
Afterwards, as the sun finally set below the horizon, we started the 4-5 hour drive back to Phoenix, AZ where I would catch my flight back home to NYC later that night.
Last drink together at Blue Martini in Phoenix, AZ.
- At time of posting in Monument Valley, UT, it was -5 °C -
Humidity: 46% | Wind Speed: 14km/hr | Cloud Cover: cloudy
by Stephanie Quan | Apr 18, 2011 | Camping, Lessons Learned, Nevada, United States, Utah
The next morning I headed over to Bryce.
An hour and a half drive northeast and at an elevation of 8500 ft, it was snowing by the time I got there.
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- At time of posting in Kanab, Utah, it was 4 °C -
Humidity: n/a | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: n/a
by Stephanie Quan | Apr 18, 2011 | Camping, United States, Utah
This two weeks ago, I did a solo camping trip to Zion, Bryce, and Valley of Fire. (In Utah, Utah, and Nevada respectively)
This is Utah:
Zion is a 7.5 hr drive from LA. The drive was made much better by audiobooks I borrowed from the Harvard Westlake Library (They keep the whole english curriculum on ipods you can check out). I finished “The Thing They Carried” and started “The Virgin Suicides” along the way. I seem to be on a depressing book binge. The campgrounds in Zion are cushy. They have plumbing.
I stayed in Watchman campground, which is named after this rock.
The next day I hiked up Angel’s landing (5.4mi. round trip, 1495ft elevation gain, 4 hours)
The last half mile of it looked like this
Just a scramble up the ridge. Totally not scary.
The view from the top:
Here’s a video I made for my parents. Its super short and just a panorama from the top: Spring Break 484
Hidden Canyon was right around the bend (4 mi round trip, 895 elevation gain, 3 hours)
and Riverside Drive was at the north end of the park (2.2 mi round trip, 57 ft elevation gain, 1 hour). The Narrows were closed because of high flood water:
That night I settled in with some Grimm’s Fairy Tales (more depressing literature).
Sunset in Watchman:
- At time of posting in Virgin, Utah, it was 17 °C -
Humidity: n/a | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: n/a
