Road Trip!!

When my husband Ron and his brother Tim planned their annual hiking trip to Utah early this year, I decided to tag along. Instead of flying to Vegas to meet, we planned a multi-day drive. Our hope was to make it a leisurely trip, including sightseeing along the way. We loved the idea of having the time to burn on a road trip.


The Subaru was packed and we pulled out of Chicago on the morning of May 16th, arriving in Las Vegas on May 19th by way of Springfield MO, Amarillo TX, and Gallup NM.


On the 20th, we met up with Tim and headed north to Utah and Zion National Park. (Me at Zion on right.) We took a short hike together to a scenic overlook, and then went back to the hotel. There was a fabulous Mexican restaurant across the street from the Best Western in Zion. The weather was beautiful, and we ate on their outdoor patio with accompaniment by native flute players. That is to say, the flutes were the wooden, native American type (as opposed to the type you hear in a band or orchestra). There was a flute workshop in town, and some of the artists had gathered on the grounds outside the restaurant to “jam” for the evening. Truly lovely.


The next day, when Ron and Tim took off, I headed to Mesquite, NV for 2 days at a resort/spa. The weather was clear and hot, and I enjoyed a quiet and relaxing couple of days on my own. The guys spent their time doing some serious hiking in Bryce Canyon. We met back up in Mesquite on the 23rd. Tim headed for the airport in Las Vegas, and Ron and I headed back to the Lodge in Bryce for a night. He insisted that I see some of the sights before heading home. I’m so glad we did. Bryce is other-worldly, and a must see for anyone! (Ron at Bryce at below left.)


Our route home took us through Moab UT to sightsee in Arches National Park. Zion, Bryce and Arches are all very different and equally amazing, in their own way. Arches has rock formations that look as though they have been created by giants playing with oversized building blocks. Through the ages, the rock formations have been molded by nature’s forces into stunning geological displays.


After more than a week away from home, we were anxious to get on with the last part of the trip. Our drive home took us over the Rockies, through Denver, across Nebraska into Iowa and Des Moines, and finally back to Chicago on May 27th.


It was a great trip, and exactly the type of thing we looked forward to being able to do in retirement. In retrospect, we would take a little more time so that we didn’t have so many one night stops along the way. But it’s a grand country we live in, and we would like to see more this way. I just need a little time to recover before the next long road trip.