The Middle of a Utah Day | Snapshots

I love throwing the agenda out the window, filling the car with a tent, stove, and a great friend, and heading to wide open spaces where wildflowers bloom and surprises abound. A trip to Utah this past weekend, a mere five and a half hour drive from Santa Fe, was just the quiet, beautiful weekend adventure I needed. We spent a night stargazing on the banks of the San Juan River at Sand Island Campground, three miles from Bluff, UT. We meandered up 163 to 95, down 261 stopping to explore the terrain and picnic on the side of the road. We hiked into Kane Gulch, through fields of fragrant sage to marvel at the canyons, huge rock faces, ruins and cottonwoods. We held our breath down the Moki Dugway to the Valley of the Gods. We wandered on trails marked by cairns, took in the flowers, the soil, the geological wonder all around. We spent an afternoon at the Goosenecks and walked the slick rock at Butler Wash along Comb Ridge barefoot at sunset. It's hard to make time to do nothing but explore. There is always guilt about the work undone. But, to watch ravens fly overhead, and rivers cut through earth, and see the enormity of rock and stone monuments, feel the strength of the wind and watch the earth change color as the day fades away, well, what can I say...