Palmer Springs

Saturday, November 19th – Sunday, November 20th

Saturday I did one last hike in Joshua Tree, the popular (for good reason) Ryan Mountain trail and then headed out and around the park, circling counter-clockwise until I arrived in Palm Springs.  The next day I happily high tailed it out of there and it was up through the mountains and into my destination for the next two weeks: Los Angeles.

Ryan Mountain Trail
Taking a picture of this tree on a mesa near the end of the Ryan Mountain hike is pretty much mandatory.

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Goodbye Mormons, Hello Sin!

Saturday, November 12th – Sunday, November 13th

Ok, so I scheduled a night in Vegas, but let’s be honest and note that the only sinning I had planned was checking out the arts district and probably drinking too much.  Still, I left Utah on Saturday morning, took back roads briefly into Arizona, and then on to Nevada and the Valley of Fire!  Oh, and Las Vegas.

Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire

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Snow Canyon

Thursday, November 10th – Friday, November 11th

Thursday night I had some minor scooter maintenance to do so my exploration was limited to visiting a few sights near Hurricane.  I had Friday off however, so I took the opportunity to explore the amazing Snow Canyon State Park.

Petrified Sand Dunes in Snow Canyon
Petrified Sand Dunes in Snow Canyon

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Zion: Angels Landing & Observation Point

Sunday, November 6th

Since I had a full Sunday to explore I decided to do two longer hikes in Zion National Park: Angels Landing and Observation Point.  This ended up being pretty much my maximum for the day and I stumbled home exhausted and happy.  We now begin The Zion Picture Blitz.

Angels Landing: looks easy enough, start here and just hike up to the top of that!
Angels Landing: looks easy enough, start here and just hike up to the top of that!

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Parowan Gap

Saturday, November 5th

After two weeks in Salt Lake City it was time to take my leave and I headed out in the morning, taking a route roughly parallel to I-15 (mostly on the 6) down South and a bit West to Hurricane (pronounced locally as “hurra-kin”) where I’d be staying for the next week and exploring Zion National Park.  On the way I ended seeing signs for Parowan Gap, and took a small detour to see more petroglyphs!

Petroglyphs in Parowan Gap
Petroglyphs in Parowan Gap

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Salt Lake City Surroundings

Saturday, October 29th and Sunday, October 30th

One of the nice parts about spending two weeks in a location is I have time to explore the surrounding area over the weekend. This meant on Saturday I drove out to see the actual Salt Lake and then on Sunday I went hiking in the mountains before visiting Park City. Rather, that was my original plan.

View from Antelope Island
View from Antelope Island

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