Kolob Canyon: Taylors Creek Trail & Double Arch Alcove

We are having incredible weather for this time of year; it's insane how warm and pleasant it has been. So off we set on another adventure back to Kolob Canyon to do the Taylor's Creek / Double Arch Alcove hike which we have done many times before but each season brings new beauty to the trail and we always seem to find new things to look at that we hadn't noticed before. The trail is 5 miles round trip, culminating in the most beautiful and natural double arch alcove. When my mum came to visit in June last year, she did the first mile of the trail, but due to inappropriate footwear on her part, we turned back and she didn't get to see the rest of this amazing hike.. so this post is dedicated to Mum so she can see what she missed.


Despite a gorgeous 51f in town, once in the canyon, the sun rarely hits a lot of the trail so there is still quite a bit of snow and thick ice.

The rock formations and textures along the way are so pretty.

Above is the lower arch/alcove and the picture below is the upper arch/alcove.

The Arch is amazing. The lower arch that you can walk in is huge and the walls/rock are lined with all these amazing colors and plant life (in summer) that grows to the porous rock. The second arch is clear up high and not visible when stood in the lower arch, apparently there are very few natural arches of this kind in the world which is why this one is so unique. Once at the lower arch, there is an optional side trail which not many people seem to know about that continues on about a half mile further to a section in the rock that has been carved out, probably over millions of years by this waterfall. It is insane, and these pictures nowhere near do it justice. In the picture below, we are stood inside the lower alcove and the mound of snow next to us is from all the dripping water; it was frozen solid!

Below is the waterfall in the rock.

LaVerkin Creek Trail

The promise of pleasant weather had us lacing up our hiking boots and heading 20 miles South to the beautiful Kolob Canyons area (the Northern section of Zion National Park). We decided to tackle a part of the LaVerkin Creek Trail which we had not previously hiked. When we got there, we were surprised by the amount of snow still laying on the ground - well over a foot in the more shaded areas. We started the hike about 12 noon and the mild sun had already melted some of the snow away to expose the muddy trail beneath.. and as the sun got higher and melted the ground more, the ground got even muddier! The combination of hiking in thick mud one minute and deep snow the next really took its toll on our feet and by the end of our hike, it was quite clear that the 'waterproof' label on our hike boots was a false claim!! The trail was gorgeous - it descends to the Canyon floor for the first 2 hours of the hike... the hike back out was the issue - 2 hours of hiking uphill with sodden boots caked with mud. It was our goal to make it to the Kolob Arch but at 13 miles round trip, best achieved on a very long summer day, we knew this goal was impossible. We made it about a half mile past backcountry campsite #3 before resting near some waterfalls ready to start the long hike back up the Canyon. This is a little over half way to the Kolob Arch. It made for a perfect afternoon hike in gorgeous surroundings. But wow, are our legs screaming with pain today!!

Lunch stop - a little over half way of the total hike trail.

Photos not in order - this below pic is the beginning of the hike.

Below: The hike criss-crosses the creek for a while.

The frozen creek in some places made it easier to cross!

Kanarra Falls

So day 3 of 4 off for us and the day dawned brilliantly sunny and crispy cold; perfect weather for another hiking adventure - this time to Kanarra Falls - about 15 miles south of town. Tag was busting a gut to get to ride in the back of the truck again - this is his new trick - he's a real Utah dog now! and enjoys every minute of his time back there. Given the time of year, I was surprised by how much water was still running, but what was running was icy cold; this however still didn't stop Taggy dog from plunging in and splashing around at every possible opportunity -he had so much fun. The nature of the trail to the falls prefers you to hike through water, so this trail is best done in the summer months for sure but it was possible to pass the water crossings and find other ways round when there were no stepping stones to make the water easily crossable. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike and never saw another person while we were there, it was perfect.

Snowy Hidden Haven Hike

After a miserable week of snow and cold cold weather, we took the first opportunity of a brilliantly sunny day (on our day off no less! yay!) to go for a hike up Parowan Canyon on a beautiful walk called Hidden Haven. I've hiked this trail several times before but never in the winter months and I was really pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the trail was at this time of year and not at all sparse and barren like I expected it to be. What was more surprising was how much snow was on the trail - a good 5 inches in some spots. We took Taggy dog and he had a blast. Seeing no other human footprints on the trail, we took a risk and let him off the leash. He walked like such a good dog the whole way, he'd run ahead for 20ft or more, we'd shout him, and he'd come running back. He was a really happy dog to have so much freedom, jumping and going crazy in the snow. Despite the icy cold water and chunks of ice, he was happy to take a dip and go splashing around. The scenery was gorgeous and the weather perfect - a crisp chill to the air but sunny enough to not make it nasty cold, and the walk proved a perfect activity for a Friday afternoon.

Road Trippin' California: Part 3 - Yosemite National Park

So after leaving Sacramento, the next stop on our loop back towards home was Yosemite National Park, about 3 hours south east of Sacramento. Wow!!! - that place is amazing! I so wished that we had of had a week to stay there and hike til we could hike no more! The possibilities for outdoor activities in Yosemite are endless. The place is so beautiful and we were blessed with perfect weather. Dogs are very limited as to the places you can take them in Yosemite so we left Tag in the truck and set off for a short 3 hour trip in the park; we rode the free bus to get a basic orientation of the park and then once back at the visitor center, we did a 90 minute round-trip hike to the Yosemite Falls which were flowing good for the time of year and were so pretty. The only downside to our time in Yosemite was the roadworks - they sucked. Yosemite's roads are narrow, very twisty and change in elevation a lot. They were tearing up the roads in the park like crazy. We must have sat in traffic jams for close to 2 hours which really cut into our time there so we decided to stay an extra night in the park and leave early the next morning. One thing I loved about Yosemite is that the majority of the larger trees are covered in this fluffy bright green moss which actually makes them look really attractive I thought. It is bizarre - it reminded me of parsley, lol! We visited the Mariposa Grove of Giant Redwoods in the south east corner of the park. For some reason, I find these giant trees quite magical and special and it felt a real treat to be standing among them, craning our necks to be able to look to the tops. They are insanely huge beyond belief. Their barks are weird - very spongy and soft which surprised me somewhat. Wade wanted to bring an acorn home and start one growing in our garden! I love that idea but we'll be long dead before the hundreds of years it takes for these beautiful trees to gain any real size.

Below - at the yosemite falls. So pretty.

The pinecones from the giant redwoods are huge! It shocked the heck out of us the first time we heard one fall from a tree - it makes quite the sound! Tag was obsessed with them and went crazy whenever they would fall from the tree - he loved us throwing them to him so he could catch them and bat them on the floor with his paws. That doggy had a blast at the campgrounds we stayed in Yosemite. Thankfully we didn't see any bears!
When we left Yosemite, it was pouring it down with rain heavy. We were hoping to stay one extra night to break up the 10 hour trip back home but the torrential rain made camping a very unappealing prospect so we just decided to motor on home. It was a long drive! We had so much fun on our roadtrip and saw so many wonderful and exciting things. I can't wait to see what the next adventure holds!

Road Trippin' California: Part 2 - Sacramento & San Francisco

A couple hours West of Lake Tahoe we finally arrive in Sacramento - the Capital City of California. We stayed here for 7 days with Wade's Dad and his wife Terri. We had so much fun; they are very fun and welcoming people and it was so nice to meet the whole family. Wade hadn't seen them for the best part of 8 years so there was lots to catch up on! We did manage some sight-seeing though!I really liked Sacramento; the downtown area is nice and relatively easy to navigate. The State Capitol building is beautiful, all bright white against the palm trees and hot sun. We walked in the building which is just as beautiful inside as it is out. The building is huge; we got to sit in the part where they make all the important decisions and we also walked by Arnold Schwarzenneggers office which was rather fun.. and no, he wasn't in office on that day, I found out that he doesn't even live in Sacramento, preferring to fly in by private jet every day... alright for some!

Old Town Sacramento is very quaint and nice. It has a lot of charm and was a pleasure to walk around. I was lucky enough to get to visit there twice - the first time we went in the afternoon and walked the area, browsing in all the stores (Evangelines is awesome and so fun!), and then the next night we went back there with all the family for a lovely meal at the Joe's Crab Shack, right on the river, it was so nice. We even got to see the Bridge raise to let a boat go under - quite the sight.. not the Golden Gate Bridge, a bridge that is painted Golden rather bizarrely that raises to let huge cargo ships go under.

Next stop on the tourist trail was San Francisco.... WOW!!! I was so excited to visit there; the city is beautiful and it was very rewarding to finally see the major landmarks I had previously seen pictures of.. the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fishermans Wharf and Lombard Street - that crazy squiggly street that has appeared in movies... let me tell you, it is a bitch to walk up! but very beautiful because of all the flowers in bloom.

We walked about 15 miles round San Francisco. Contrary to what I previously though, the Golden Gate Bridge is not right there in San Francisco, well it is, but it's not a quick walk away... try a 6 mile walk away! .. we perservered and walked to the middle section of the bridge which was quite an experience. I didn't know the bridge would be so noisy! They have these weird raised things on the bridge to slow the traffic down I guess, but it makes for a very noisy time of it on the bridge. The bridge is also very high and affords the most amazing views of the Bay. Clam Chowder in a sour-dough bread bowl from a fish market vendor for lunch and my San Francisco experience was complete. A long walk back to the boat for the hour ride back home and the perfect end to an awesome day. San Francisco is an amazing city and I can't wait to return there some day soon and explore more of what it has to offer.

Road Trippin' California: Part 1 - Hwy 50

When I googled 'Hwy 50', I was led to believe that it would be the loneliest road that we would ever travel on, given its name 'The Loneliest Highway'.. I think the road is wrongly named; yes there weren't that many cars but it was anything but lonely. It is a hell of a long drive from Cedar City to Sacramento, CA, so we decided to spread the 10 hour journey over a couple of days and so far, we have had a blast and seen some amazing things. The first day we travelled from Cedar City to Ely, NV, making a stop for a few hours at the gorgeous Lehman's Cave, a national monument in the Great Basin National Park. The tour was so cool and the cave was impressive like nothing I have ever seen before; I am so pleased that we made the stop. They estimate the cave is between 1 and 5 million years old and is still 'growing'. It is very cold and damp down there and the limestone stalagtites and stalagmites look almost fake, it is insane. The tour guide was very knowledgable and was full of all kinds of interesting information during our 1.5 hour tour underground. These pictures absolutely do not do the cave justice.

A short 90 minute trip from Lehman's Cave bought us to Cave Lake State Park just outside of Ely, NV. The State Park is an oasis in the middle of a whole lot of nothingness! It is a lovely place to spend the night for us and Taggy dog had so much fun on the walks and he even went swimming in the rather frigid lake water! We were very unprepared however for how very cold the weather would be that night - we woke in the morning to a thick layer of ice covering everything - it was cold! When the sun came up however it proved to be a really lovely day and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cave Lake.

After thawing out from Cave Lake, we drove a couple hours further down the road, through yet more miles of nothingness (seriously, you can look for miles and miles out of all the car windows and see NOTHING!!!... hard to believe but so true). Seeing the worlds supposedly largest 'shoe tree' was a real treat and quite a wonder in itself. This huge tree looms out of nowhere with hundreds of pairs of shoes thrown high up into its branches. An amazing sight and a beauty in itself, standing there baking in the hot sunshine. It's actually really difficult to get the shoes to stay in the tree. There are hundreds of pairs laying on the ground that have fallen off the tree, so there's plenty of opportunity to try and get a pair thrown up in the tree. Wade did really well and threw 2 pairs up there... me, it took about 10 tries but i finally made a pair stay!

A few more miles of nothingness and we arrive at the Middlegate Pony Express Station.. the only bar, sat in the middle of nowhere for hundreds of miles. This place has so much charm. It's a smallish dingy little establishment full of people passing through Highway 50 on their way to wherever. The beer was surprisingly very cheap and it was a realy nice place to spend an hour or so. The ceiling of the bar was covered full of dollar bills that people had written their name and date on. It was kinda cool.

Back on the road through more miles of nothingness and all of a sudden, out of nowhere looms this huge sand dune among all the scrub and bare mountain. It is quite the sight!

Finally at the end of Highway 50 we come to beautiful Lake Tahoe on the California / Nevada border. It is so beautiful; the campground we chose was gorgeous and had it's own dog beach so Tag was well happy to splash in the water and get long walks on the beach. The weather was beautiful and I wish we had of had longer to enjoy Lake Tahoe. I can't wait to go back some day. I was sad to be at the end of Highway 50, it was a far more enjoyable experience than I had been led to believe it would be. Depsite the hundreds of miles of nothingness, there were so many wonders to be seen and I am pleased I saw everything that we did. Next leg of the roadtrip takes us into California to Sacramento!