Utah: Pretty as a postcard

Fisher Towers along the Colorado River

I never really thought much about Utah. As terrible as it sounds, in my mind, it was just a big, boxy state filled with Mormons. As usual, my assumptions were dead wrong. I mean, there certainly are Mormons, but there's also a whole lot more to this state.

The husband and I drove through on a road trip from Reno, Nevada last summer. We hadn't even crossed the state line yet and we were already in awe of its beauty. From the snow-capped Rocky Mountains around Salt Lake City to the riveting red rocks of the Moab area, this state is as pretty as a postcard.

Armed with sodas and beef jerky (for the husband, of course), we set off across the Bonneville Salt Flats. You'll recognize the scene from pretty much any commercial featuring a fast car in the desert. Mountains give way to a flat expanse of blinding white sands that go on for miles and miles, giving the illusion that you are on a road surrounded by water.

Bonneville Salt Flats

Eventually the sand turns into scrub brush and the mountains return and you hit the Great Salt Lake. You'll probably smell the Great Salt Lake before you see it. The odor of sulphur lingers in the air for quite a distance. I guess there are also brine flies. I don't like the sound of brine flies so we stayed in the car and kept driving.

We stayed in Provo, just south of Salt Lake City that night. Thanks to Yelp, we filled our bellies that night at  Four Seasons Hot Pot & Dumplings - a hole-in-the-wall place that specialized in hot pot and dumplings. I love dumplings. I was really looking forward to dumplings, but seriously, the dumpling guy is never there. Everyone noted this on Yelp and we found the same. He was in China when we arrived. Boo! Hot pot it was...

Mormon temple in Provo

I normally hate having a restaurant all to myself (on the flip side, I also hate waiting for a table in a full restaurant) but this was actually good. We'd never done the hot pot thing before so the owner walked us through the process. It's similar to the Mongolian barbecue concept where you have a bunch of raw meats, vegetables and noodles that you throw together and cook, but in this case, instead of throwing them all on a hibachi, you throw them in a pot of boiling broth.

The timing is crucial on this. The meats go in first based on their density, then the veggies, then the noodles. It's a fun concept that I wouldn't mind trying again. Also, they made their own special dipping sauce there. It was a delightfully tasty combination of  soy sauce, ginger, garlic, peanut and sesame. If they sold that by the bottle, I would have loaded up. But alas...

Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway

The next morning, we headed south, detouring to Arches National Park for the day. The three-hour drive from Provo to Moab is one of the most stunning I have ever been on. The extreme green of the Provo area gives way to dry desert mountains and eventually morphs into this spectacular red rock that is nothing short of captivating. Houses are few and far between out here.

We were on the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway. It wasn't hard to imagine dinosaur bones buried in the hills around us. For budding archaeologists, there are plenty of opportunities to see dinosaur bones along the way. We didn't stop, but perhaps on our next trip...

Arches National Park

The temperature hit 105 degrees that day. Even with low humidity, it was not the most ideal temperature for visiting Arches National Park. Also, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Shade would be hard to come by. My husband- who claims that he can't be cold enough- was determined to stay in the Jeep. I was resolute that we'd brave the heat so we could really see the park. After all, we don't live anywhere near Utah so who knows when the opportunity to visit would come by again. We bought some comically large bottles of water and entered the park.

Photos don't do Arches justice. I know, bizarre rock formations don't sound exciting on paper, but this place just has to be seen in person. And when you're gazing out at the Courthouse Towers or the Towers of Babel, don't be surprised if an image of Indiana Jones appears before your eyes. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was one of several movies that have taken advantage of this stunning backdrop in film.

Tourists congregate
under Turret Arch.

There are over 2,000 natural stone arches at Arches National Park. Most of them are quite large. They don't look that big from the road, so you have to get out of the car to appreciate their size.

Delicate Arch

Arches' signature sight is the famed Delicate Arch. It's so beloved in Utah that it appears on their license plates. Take that McDonald's. After taking a hotel pool break during the intense heat of the day, we returned to the park to see Delicate Arch in all its glory. It's a hike just to get to the upper viewing point for Delicate Arch. We waffled on whether or not to tackle the 1.5-mile trail to the actual arch. It was hot. It was uphill. We were already pretty wiped from the day. Maybe next time.

If you're staying in nearby Moab (really the only city nearby) you can time your Arches visit to take advantage of the best lighting for pictures. Early morning is great, sunset is even better. The reds of the rock intensify and the shadows dance on the formations. It's breathtaking.

The following day we decided to take the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway as we left. It didn't seem like anyone else was on this road so having those sights to ourselves was awesome. The Colorado River raged on our left-hand side. Sometimes we caught a glimpse of rafters tackling the white water. On our right, was red rock as far as the eye could see.

Along the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway

After this brief stint in Utah, I'm bound and determined to come back. For one, I'm going to hike up to Delicate Arch. But I'm also ready to hit the other parks in southern Utah. Canyonlands (which was within an easy distance of Arches), Bryce Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef - consider yourself warned.

I'm coming for you.