When my husband told me he had a business trip in Utah, I got all excited about the possibility of coming along for a photo tour because there are so many places to visit in Utah. I didn't need much convincing, so we made plans to do the road trip and booked a few places along the way.
We drove from California across Nevada, which took us a whole day, but I knew there was a reward at the end of that day's journey- the Salt Flats! At first, I had planned to go to the rest area along hwy 80 west, but we would have had to drive a long way and then turn around to come back. There are no exits going east to easily get to this area. So I thought I was settling for the Bonnieville Salt Flats, but I was pleasantly surprised. I brought some dresses to wear on the white salt fields and decided on the black one since it would make an awesome contrast. What I didn't plan for was the heat! It was over 100* even at sunset! We checked into our hotel, then drove out to the salt flats and when we got there, we weren't sure if we could drive out on the salt, but we saw lots of cars in the distance, so we slowly made our way to a spot with some beautiful views! There was plenty of light since we got there an hour before sunset. As the sun started dipping, the sky started changing and as it went below the mountains in the distance, we got the mosts breathtaking sunset as you will see in the photos below. I still can't believe how pretty it was!
The second day we drove out to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake, stopping at some state parks along the way. We had ice-cream at the only restaurant on the Island and watched wild buffalo roam the lake's edge. The colors were so dreamy and I loved the peaceful atmosphere.
I always love visiting churches when we travel, but the main temple in town was under construction, so I did not get to go see that this time. We ended up at the state capitol building downtown Salt Lake City and I was so impressed with the marble staircases, the painted ceilings and the historic rooms which were open for viewing. We even got to witness a wedding photoshoot and of course, I snagged a couple of photos to remember the occasion.
We drove to Bryce Canyon the next day and walked all around the state park. I was blown away by the beauty and magnitude of this park and the hoodoos (rock formations) in orange/red hues were such a beautiful contrast against the blue sky. At one of the stops (Fairytail point) a terrible wind and rain storm almost blew us off the rim trail, but we snapped a couple of pictures before running back to the car with thunder and lightning flashing around us. The storm passed by quickly with a few sprinkles and that night we stayed in beautiful campground and slept under the stars. The place we stayed at was called Under Canvas Bryce Canyon which is a glamping campground. Our site had running water (hot shower), real toilets and a beautiful king bed with a sitting area. We had a little stove in our tent which heated up the room so well! The little restaurant at the main checkin area had delicious food so we really didn't need to bring much with us.
The next day we drove all the way to Zion and checked into our hotel right outside of the park. We took the bus to the Zion Canyon and hiked all the way in to the Narrows. This is a trail where you have to hike through the Virgin River. It had rained the day before, so the water was really muddy. We were unable to see the big rocks in the river and it made me nervous about falling with my pro camera strapped to my back. The water was so refreshing since the temperatures were in the 100's. Thankfully we had a whole day to drive back home the next day with no hiking in an air-conditioned car to recover.
So thankful for the memories and these beautiful pictures to remember our trip!
