Natural Bridge from the Trail Below - Natural Bridges National Monument (All Photos Credit: Lisa Miller) |
A few Labor
Day-weekends ago, my husband and I decided to stay closer to home rather than
venturing hours and hours away. The year before, we were at Glacier National
Park, and this past year we went to Alaska for the long weekend. We have been
to Moab, Utah many many times and thought about traveling just an hour further
south to the Blanding, Utah.
Utah is a very
rural state with 80 percent of the population living along the Wasatch Front
mountain range near Salt Lake City. Moab is about a four hour drive, usually a
bit longer for us because we are hauling our big, heavy camper over steep
mountain passes.
We chose to go to Hovenweep National Monument on the
recommendation of a good friend and were not disappointed. Unspoiled cliff
dwellings, uncrowded and completely worth exploring. Hovenweep would be hard to
beat. Then, we went to Natural Bridges National Monument.
Driving up the
narrow sort-of paved road to access the site, I did not have high hopes. It
looked pretty desolate and unimpressive, actually. So we started our trip at
the visitor center and I was once again underwhelmed. A small shack with a map
or two on the walls and some friendly park rangers who I thought probably told
every visitor about the same one or two trails. We chatted with them and said
thanks and went on our way. At the trailhead, our whole opinion changed in the
blink of an eye.
Natural Bridges National Monument - Utah (All Photos Credit: Lisa Miller) |
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