Southeast Utah

I had visited Monument Valley back in the early 2000's, back before we had the iPhone and google maps, etc. I did not see all of Monument Valley, so I was determined to see it this trip. We reserved a guided tour with Dineh Bekeyah Tours. We chose the combo tour of Monument Valley and Mystery Valley. Our guide was John and he was Navajo, and full of knowledge! We thoroughly enjoyed John and the tour. The tour departs from the parking lot of The View Hotel, where there is a re

We had reservations for a tour that I booked through Bluff Dwellings, the hotel we were staying at in Bluff. It was the Valley of the Gods Sunset Tour with Wild Expedition. The company is part of Bluff Dwellings, so we just met our guide in the lobby of the resort. Eli took seven of us in a van over to the Valley of the Gods. I'm glad we opted for the tour, because the drive through this valley was another unpaved road that really needed 4WD. It was really bumpy in the van, s

This post is about Capitol Reef National Park. We explored this park in two full days, which we felt was enough time to see Cathedral Valley, the Waterpocket Fold, and drive the scenic drive through the park. The first day, I got up to be in line for pies! So, here's the deal with the pies. The Gifford House is located inside Capitol Reef National Park. It was once the home of several different families, but the Gifford Family were its longest occupants. It is now owned by th

Our third day was a long day! We checked out of the hotel in Moab and made a quick stop at McDonald's to grab something for breakfast to go. Driving Potash Road/Shafer Canyon Road to Canyonlands National Park was on our agenda for today. Get an early start if you decide to do this drive. I underestimated just a smidge, and be sure you have a 4WD rental, preferably one with high clearance. Check for recent or forecasted rain in the area,  because my understanding is this is no

The highlight of our second day in Moab was Arches National Park. From April to October, a timed-entry ticket is required if you are visiting the park between 7am-4pm, and our entry time was between 12pm-1pm. You obtain this ticket through this website,  https://www.recreation.gov/ , and pay a $1 processing fee. Be sure to have this saved on your phone in an email or print out the ticket because the staff at the entrance booth will ask for it when you enter the park. For furt

On our first full day, we had reservations at 8:00am for the Economy Tour of Hell's Revenge with Dan Mick's Guided Jeep Tours. Hell's Revenge is an off-road trail located in Sand Flats Recreation Area. We were fortunate to have Richard, the son of Dan Mick, as our tour guide. Richard's father, Dan, is the pioneer of this trail and many others in the area, and he still does tours with the company. Our tour was 90 minutes and needless to say, I had some white knuckles throughou

The town of Fruita is about 26 miles from the Utah state line and provides easy access to National Scenic Byway 128. This drive is a must do! It isn't a fast drive, but there are lots of beautiful stops along the way. We saw a herd of pronghorn antelope grazing, which excited me as I love seeing wildlife in their natural habitats. I saw antelope in Yellowstone, but from a good distance away. Here's a picture: I recommend setting your odometer to zero when you begin this drive

Colorado National Monument is operated by the National Park Service  and is near Grand Junction, Colorado . Canyons and red rock formations make up the landscape of this monument.  There are scenic views from trails and  Rim Rock Drive . The monument's feature attraction is  Monument Canyon , which runs the width of the park and includes rock formations such as  Independence Monument , the  Kissing Couple , and  Coke Ovens . The monument includes 20,500 acres. One plus to vis

My husband and I just recently visited Southeast Utah from September 25, 2025-October 4, 2025. We had a fabulous time, and I wanted to provide an overview of what we did. You have probably seen a lot of Facebook posts, and You Tube videos about Utah’s “Mighty Five” and people planning one trip to see all five National Parks in Utah. While that seems like a great idea if you have the time, I found it would be easier to break them up into two trips. There are so many other stat