National Parks Vacation

Hey there! I’m back from vacation and starting to get into the swing of things. Before I get busy with wedding season, I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures from vacation. We flew into Salt Lake City, rented a car, and visited several Utah and Arizona parks. It was a trip of a lifetime. I have seriously never hiked so much in my life. I was so proud of myself because I actually climbed a mountain! Despite having no upper body strength, I made it work! It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

This was such an amazing trip. Also, in case you’re wondering how I got professional grade selfies: a tripod (or sturdy branch) and built in wifi were my best friends on the trip! Next up on my travel calendar: Honeymoon!!!! Sadly, I have to wait until December.

Bryce

Our first park was Bryce Canyon. Out of all the places we visited, this was probably my least favorite. The weather was snowy and the town was disappointing. It was still in the off-season, so restaurants weren’t open. We spent a day and a half here, and it was more than enough.

Zion

Next up was Zion. I absolutely loved Zion. We had a great time. I climbed several smaller mountains. I was absolutely terrified on one because there was a big drop on one side with no railing. My fiancé made fun of me for being so pathetic and scared. It was all worth it when we got to the top. I even had the chance to take a few star pictures. It’s amazing how dark that sky gets!

Page

Next up, we went to Page, Arizona. We visited Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. We experienced horrible wind and sleet at Horseshoe Bend. We had to run uphill to escape the cold. That was exhausting. Antelope Canyon was incredible! I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was and how it was all naturally formed.

Grand Canyon

Once again, we experienced bad weather. It was perfect the day we explored, but we debated on leaving early because they were predicting from 3-1o inches of snow. Who would have ever thought there would be a snow storm in the desert in March! We stuck it out and were able to witness one last sunset before we took off. Overall, our time in the Grand Canyon was great. It’s amazing how gigantic it is. I was shooting with the widest angle lens I could find and it still didn’t do justice to the canyon. I was bummed because I really wanted to do some long exposures, but it was way too cold and windy. Each time I tried to set my tripod up. the wind would nearly blow it over. You could seriously see all the stars! It was so dark!

New Mexico

This may have been the most important part of my trip since I have now visited all 50 states!!!! New Mexico was my last one to hit and we stopped by the Four Corners Monument on our way back up to Utah. It wasn’t anything exciting or special, but guys, I’ve been to all 50 states! That has been my goal since elementary school and I did it!

Moab

The final stop on our trip was Moab, Utah. We went to Arches National Park and Canyonlands. Arches was probably my favorite experience of the trip. I climbed several mountains, including the one leading up to the famous arch. We stayed for night pictures and hiked back a mile in the complete darkness. It was terrifying, but I was so proud of what we accomplished that day. It was so crazy and different. I don’t think I’ve ever been that adventurous. At one point, my fiancé decided to take a back way around an arch. He swore he knew what he was doing, but we managed to get ourselves lost in the desert. I had to climb a 20 foot boulder to get back to where we were supposed to be. Thankfully he’s super tall and was able to do it in like three steps then pull me up 🙂 We also stayed at an incredible Bed and Breakfast. If you are ever in Moab, stay at Bed and Bagels! The room was amazing and they had fresh bagels for us each morning. It was so amazing to get that type of service and experience.