Boulder, CO/Chicago, IL

On the way to Boulder, Colorado from Arches National Park, we stayed at a KOA campground in Grand Junction, Colorado.  The picture shown above was the sunset right after we crossed into Colorado and it was the most beautiful sunset I have yet to see in my life.  No picture will ever do justice, period.  Grand Junction was only an hour and a half drive from Arches.  We were able to get there early enough to set up camp and then head into town to grab a bite to eat.  We ended up going to Applebee’s where we stayed almost three hours!  They had their first ever trivia night there and of course we played and won every round.  With prizes in hand and belly’s full, we slept like champions to get ready for the 4.5 hour drive over to Boulder, Colorado.

Once in Boulder, we immediately looked for a microbrewery where we could try some local brew and great food.  Thanks to Trip Advisor we stumbled across the Walnut Brewpub in downtown.  They had great beer, great guacamole, and great food; all we could ask for!  While eating, we looked for activities in the area on our phones and Cory hit the jackpot: a bouldering gym.  If you are not familiar with bouldering, it is basically rock climbing but without the ropes and on more difficult terrain (indoors, that is).  Follow this link to get a better visual idea of what it involves.

With our stomachs about to burst with beer and pub food, we decided to go through with it anyways.  Bouldering in Boulder had a nice ring to it.  When we walked in it was like an adult playground, filled with challenging courses and sculptures.  It was only $13 for a full day pass with shoe rental which was absolutely worth it.  After a few easier routes up to the top, we moved onto some more difficult routes to the top that we were failing more than succeeding on.  There was one route that we just couldn’t figure out.  We must have tried 20 times until this girl came over about 5’0″ and showed us how to do it first try.  After getting deflated a bit from that, we were able to finally succeed thanks to her instruction.  It was a very eye opening experience to me at just how much of a workout rock climbing and bouldering is and how it is a great way to stay in shape while having fun!  I plan to get a membership at a gym near us back home that has both rock climbing and bouldering as well.

With another fun experience in the bag, we packed up the car and braced ourselves for the 15 hour drive over to the windy city: Chicago, Illinois!

 

After 15 hours, we got to Chicago around noon time.  The traffic was horrendous to say the least, even mid-day on the weekend.  When we got into the actual city, it was back to the world of jay-walking, fast and furious style taxi drivers, and way overpriced parking.  At first we grabbed a parking spot right outside Millennium Park at a meter for $4/hr. which was pretty steep, but better than $52 overnight parking!  Walking around, we were able to see how massive Lake Michigan is, the Cloud Gate which was a bean-shaped mirror sitting in the middle of the park, and all of the skyscrapers of the city.

Once the pay meter was up, we moved on to find a $14 full-day parking lot after searching forever.  We walked around a little bit more and got onto Michigan Avenue where we found a Potbelly’s sandwich shop.  Anything would do for food, anything.  I had remembered that my friend Andrew from Merrimack who I played soccer with had recently moved to right outside Chicago.  I gave him a call to see what he was up to and if he could show us around the city a bit, but he said he would be discovering just as much as we were because he hadn’t been in the city very much at all.

When we pulled into the city, we checked out Hotel Tonight app to see if there were any good deals to stay in the city for the night and I couldn’t believe the prices, even at the “deals” that they were.  We were getting dangerously close to sleeping in the car for another night.  Andrew was kind enough to ask his parents if they could accommodate us staying there and they were glad to help.  After eating we jumped in the car and head out to Andrew’s house which was only about 30 minutes from the city.

With our things set up at his house and a game plan in mind, Andrew dropped us off at the train station to go into the city to watch the Boston Bruins take on the Chicago Blackhawks on their turf.  Andrew had actually tipped us off to an all New England sports bar that was in the city which was awesome to hear!  When the train rolled up we were kind of excited at the fact that they were double-decker trains because we don’t have those back home, so of course we sat up on the second level.  Once in the city, we got a taxi to bring us directly to Tripoli’s Tap which was the Boston sports bar.

“Maximum capacity”, the bouncer told us.  Disappointed, we began to walk away and then he called us back as 3 people left the bar.  It was absolutely packed!  It took us almost 20 minutes just to get a beer order in.  Getting a bit claustrophobic, we saw an opening to a backyard setup and made our way over.  There had to have been 100 people out back with 2 big-screen TV’s set up.  We stood out back for the whole game and when the Bruins scored the place was electric!  It felt just like being back home with all of the trash talking, potty mouth Boston accents.  When the Bruins scored in OT, we were working our way back into the bar section and the place exploded in excitement.  I got more hugs and high fives than I can count!  Great bar with a great atmosphere if you are a Boston fan from outside of Chicago.

Getting back to Andrew’s after a long train ride, his mother had set up sleeping mats for us with our sleeping bags, pillows, and left us towels to shower.  I couldn’t thank her enough the next morning when she had a bacon and egg breakfast ready for us with bagels and orange juice.  I can’t explain to you how great it felt to stay in an actual home, have food prepared for us and everything.  The family dog, Fenway, was a great addition to the stay.  He was a 89-pound, fluffy golden retriever with the mindset that he was a lapdog.  He was nothing but a cuddle-bug and I loved every second of it.  Dog’s have such a way of cheering you up, even when you aren’t remotely sad!

With a great stay in Chicago thanks to the Suttle family, we were fully rejuvenated for the final 17-hour leg back home.  As some of you may be thinking, the trip got pretty skewed from the original game-plan, but that was bound to happen.  This trip was all about variability and going with the flow.  We made a decision pretty early on that we were going to be home for the 17th of June instead of the planned 21st of June.  We didn’t tell anyone but our parents because all of us have girlfriends and we were going to give them a big surprise by getting home early.  An especially big surprise was planned by Cory because on the 17th, it was his 6-year anniversary with his girlfriend, Kayla.  My next posts will consist of a list of trip favorites along with what I gained from this whole experience, so be sure to check those out as well!

Check out all of the pictures from Boulder, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

 

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

 

Coming off of a great stay with our good friend Heather and her roommates, we made the four and a half hour drive down to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah for a day trip.  After talking to Tay about going to Arches, she said it is absolutely a must-see while in Utah.  When we pulled into Moab, it was a scorching 106 degrees with about 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts.  We were hoping to do the 3.5 mile round-trip hike out to Delicate Arch, but the elements were going to get the best of us so we played it safe.

We drove around the national park, stopping at different landmark pull-offs that looked interesting.  Getting out of the car was like stepping into a dryer with nothing but scorching hot temperatures and heavy winds.  We tried to see as many major landmarks as we could, including the Balanced Rock, Window Arches, and Delicate Arch.  Most of these you can see from pull-offs with parking lots, but there are also numerous trails that can get you right out to the arch to get up close and personal.  We were on a bit of a tight schedule so we made due with just snapping pictures from a distance.  Seeing them was a great enough experience!

When we got to the Delicate Arch trailhead, there was also two different viewpoints: lower lookout and upper lookout.  The lower lookout point was only 100 yards from the parking lot so we checked it out, but you could only barely see Delicate Arch.  A half mile walk would get you to the upper lookout point and so we went for it.  Getting up there was a much better view, but someday I will go back to Arches and do the hike all the way out to Delicate Arch.

On the walk back to the car, we noticed some sand dunes that were off the beaten path that were aquamarine.  They stood out boldly among the sea of red and orange sands, so naturally we made our way over to one.  I’m not a scientist by any means so I’m not sure why these sands were greenish-blue, but my best guess would be that they were some sort of salt deposit.  However, I still was able to grab an aquamarine rock for memory and make my way back to the car with the guys.

After a few hours of driving around, seeing the land, and snapping some great pictures, it was time to start the next leg of the trip out to Boulder, Colorado.  I never thought I would say this before the trip started, but Utah may just be my favorite state on the trip.  It has so much to offer with the most beautiful landscape I have yet to see, so many action sports and activities to keep occupied with, and Salt Lake City which will give you a city feel within all of the nature.  I will absolutely make it a point to get back to Utah at some point in my life, but for now it was time to move onto the next stop: Boulder, Colorado!

Check out the rest of the pictures from Arches National Park in Moab, Utah on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah

Only a 6-hour drive south was our next destination of Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah.  Sean, Cory and I all know a girl named Heather Thomas that we went to school with in both middle and high school.  Heather moved out to Utah after high school to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional skier.  Keep an eye out for her and all of her edits as she climbs the rankings to get professional!  Heather was nice enough to let us stay there for a couple nights on some air mattresses which was a luxury after sleeping on gravel in Yellowstone.  Heather lived in a great little community in Park City which was about 10 minutes from the mountains, 30 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City, and 5 minutes from some major outlet stores.  She lives in a townhouse-like setup with her girlfriend Tay who is also on the verge of becoming a professional skier, Stoops who moved to Utah from Juneau, Alaska, and finally Mike who moved from St. Louis, Missouri.  It was great getting to know all of them, hear their stories of what brought them to Park City and share some laughs as well.

When we first got to Heather’s, we hung out for a little bit, told stories and tried to start filling in the four-year gap that was there after not seeing her throughout all of college.  She informed us of some awesome places in or near Park City like the Olympic training grounds, Jupiter Bowl and some indoor trampoline gyms.  We went to the Olympic training grounds in Park City first.  We pulled up and it was amazing to see all of the events that you seen on TV in front of you.  They also had more general activities like the alpine slide and ziplining of the premises.  We encountered some young skiers working on their technique while hitting some jumps into a giant pool.  It was very interesting to watch because the ramps and jumps were made of wet turf like the kind you would find on an artificial field.  Also, the pool had piping that went all across the bottom that caused bubbled to come up right as the skier went off the jump to break the flatness of the water for a smoother landing.  It was definitely cool to see in person all of the history that was made there throughout the Olympics and the training that goes on there.  Jupiter Bowl was next and it was by far the nicest bowling alley that I have ever been to.  First off, it was big ball bowling which is something that we do not have very many of around us back home.  Also, they had a full bar for those who are of age.  You can order full meals of just as appetizer while you are bowling as well.  Within Jupiter Bowl, there was also a sit-down, upscale grille restaurant which I was very impressed with.  Overall, this place was awesome!  I highly recommend it to anyone who is going through Park City.

The next day, we went to the wAIRhouse which is an indoor trampoline gym where you can play in a trampoline dodgeball arena, jump into a foam pit, do acrobatics, and if anyone remembers what “SlamBall” was, you can do that too! For those who don’t remember SlamBall, it was an old basketball league that was on TV where they would wear full pads and play basketball on trampolines and slam dunk almost every time they got the ball.  Although the wAIRhouse was a bit more of a younger demographic, I had more fun than any other time on the trip I think!  Heather brought her GoPro camera and we had a blast using that, doing flips, doing crazy slam dunks, playing dodgeball, and acting like 10-year-olds.  If you are ever staying in Park City, I would highly recommend going to any trampoline gym if you haven’t been to one already.

After a long day on the trampolines, we got back to Heather’s and she informed us of some super cheap retail outlets that were less than 5 minutes from her townhouse.  She didn’t want to accompany us due to the amount of money she had already spent there, but we were ready!  I went straight to the Vans outlet and got 2 pairs of shoes for $30 which is an absolute steal!  Also, I picked up an $8 fedora from Old Navy because I was feeling like adding a little pizzazz to my wardrobe.  I could definitely get used to this place!

We stayed at Heather’s for another night to watch the Bruins game as they look to win the Stanley Cup.  After a disappointing triple-overtime defeat, we hit the hay to get ready for the next stop on the trip: Arches National Park in Moab, Utah!

Check out the rest of the pictures from Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page! 

Lake Tahoe & Yellowstone National Park

The long drive up the Pacific Coast Highway ended with us sleeping in the car for a few hours until we were ready to move on to King’s Beach at Lake Tahoe, California.  We pulled up and the view was spectacular with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop to a beautiful lake.  It is still crazy to me how I can be on the beach of a lake with 90 degree heat beating down on me with a huge mountain range filled with snow in my view.  The best of both worlds is what I would call it!  The scenery at King’s Beach on Lake Tahoe is tough to match, that’s for sure.  After checking out the beach a little bit, we checked out Trip Adviser for some major attraction and activities within the area and King’s Beach mini golf was at the top of the list.  Someone who wrote a review dared to say that it was the best mini golf course in the country.  Now if you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with mini golf; live and breathe it.  If you don’t know, now you do!

That course was definitely one of the hardest I have ever played in my life and stands as my favorite course in the country right now; well done King’s Beach!  With holes that require “Xtreme Golfing” such as hitting the ball while sitting down or even kicking the ball into the hole instead of using the club, it was a ton of fun.  Also, it was only $10 to play 36 holes which was a great deal for the level of entertainment this course gave us.  If you are ever at King’s Beach, I would highly recommend playing!  Watch out though, your temper may get the best of you on some holes.

Once we dominated mini golf, we got some lunch, relaxed and drank beers on the beach for a while.  Once we felt our time was up, we kept rolling through to work our way up to Yellowstone National Park!

Yellowstone is a land of sheer beauty and serenity with wildlife getting within inches of you.  Pulling into Yellowstone around 7 a.m., we were soon acquainted with the morning commute; a huge herd of Bison taking up the whole road!  There was about 50 of them walking as slow as can be on both sides and in front of the car.  Some were definitely too close for comfort, but it made for some great pictures!  After being escorted in from the local wildlife for a half hour, we made our way to Madison Campground where we got a tent site and finally set up camp.

After getting all set up, we drove around a bit to see some of the natural beauty that Yellowstone is so well known for.  We walked around the lower hot springs and they were just surreal.  The raised, wooden walking path took you through turns of 200 degree surface temperature springs that steamed out a warm sulfur mist from the earth.  The colors were fantastic, too, with deep hues of blue accompanied by orange accents from bacterial growth in the water runoff.

Later in the day, we drove up to Old Faithful and made it in perfect timing because within 10 minutes of being there she exploded about 150 feet up into the air.  Getting to see the power of mother nature was an awesome experience that I will not forget anytime soon.

The following day, we drove around Yellowstone to the Lower and Upper Falls which was beautiful.  A roughly 300 foot water fall accompanied by eroded canyon with a rainbow accent made for amazing pictures and an even better experience in person!  As we were driving around further, we saw a huge crowd that was attracted to something specific, so naturally we pulled over to check it out.  Within 100 yards was a wild black bear cub accompanied by its mother.  The mother was rolling around with the cub playing and teaching the youngin’ how to climb trees as well.  The shutters of all of the cameras there sounded like one of those coin machines in a bank, rattling off noise.  It was crazy to actually see a wild bear, especially so close!

With the day winding down, we went into town to get some dinner and then decided to hit the hay with a big day ahead of us.  Next stop: Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah!

Check out the rest of the pictures from Lake Tahoe and Yellowstone National Park on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook Page!

Yosemite National Park & Rest of Cali

After an amazing stay in Southern Cali, we moved onto Yosemite National Park!  However, we didn’t plan ahead very well… at all.  We got to Campsite 4 which was a major campsite for tenting within Yosemite and it was on a first come first serve basis.  We knew that the ranger running the campground would not be there until about 8:30 a.m. so we got there about 15 minutes early and there was a massive line already!  We drove around all of Yellowstone for two and a half hours looking for any tent sites that were open, but the best thing that we could find was our way onto a waiting list for a tent site with 15 groups ahead of us.  Disappointingly, we had to turn what was planned to be a 2-night stay in Yosemite into a day trip.

Not wasting any more time, we found out one of the best rated attractions within the park which were Yosemite Falls.  This hike gave me a run for my money for sure.  Between the scorching heat and the altitude, my so-I-thought fit body was folding under the conditions.  I slowed the pace a bit and found that to be a lot more accommodating.  The hike to the top of the falls had plenty of stops for scenic pictures and I will say this a millions times throughout these blog posts, but no pictures will do any justice for any of these national parks that we hit.  The beauty and the sheer size of these parks is breathtaking to say the least.

Making the final stretch to the top, a second wind caught on because I wanted to see these falls so bad!  Also not planning too great once again, we didn’t end up grabbing any lunch meats or really anything to eat so we had a long, strenuous hike with just snacks as fuel.  However, the dip in the ice cold water of the falls was completely rejuvenating.  I felt like a new man after dipping my head and soaking my hat for the trek down.  The view from the top was unlike anything I’ve experienced.  Each new national park that I have gotten to explore does not disappoint, and as bad as I wanted to rest and give up at times while doing the hike, getting to the top and experiencing the view is worth is every single time without a doubt.

After a long, hot day hiking the falls, we found a slow-flowing river to bathe in for the time being.  With the brisk refreshment and feeling much cleaner, we started making our way to Sacramento where we stayed at another KOA campground.  The bugs and the heat at night were a new obstacle for us.  However, laying on gravel was ten times more comfortable than sleeping in the car.  In the morning, we closed up shop in Cali and moved onto Yellowstone National Park!

Check out the rest of the pictures from Yosemite and Cali on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

San Diego/La Jolla/Santa Monica, CA

San Diego, California was the next stop on the journey after an awesome weekend in Las Vegas and there is only one word to describe Cali: beautiful.  We ended up getting a great deal from the Hotel Tonight app and stayed in a Days Hotel right outside downtown San Diego for $45 the first night and $20 the second night.  Before check in, we decided to check out the infamous San Diego Zoo and get in touch with our inner child for the day.  Walking with eyes open and heads on a swivel, we were able to see every exhibit throughout the park and were surely not disappointed with the experience.  The Day Hotel that we stayed in actually had discounted tickets which was definitely a nice perk and we took full advantage.  The zoo was sort of disappointing with some exhibits because the animals were either sleeping or out with the trainers.  All-in-all, the San Diego Zoo was definitely what it is made out to be and was an experience that should be had while in the area.  After a long day at the zoo we were finally able to crash in some unbelievable beds instead of a gravel campground or in a 3 ft space in the car.

The next day, we longboarded around Mission Beach and stumbled upon some locals just starting to play some beach volleyball which is one of my favorite things about summer.  We asked to play some three on three and they warmly welcomed us to join in.  After a few games, we were shooting the breeze with them and asked about the best place to go out on a Tuesday night in San Diego and Fred’s bar was unanimous.  They informed us that Tuesday nights were like a weekend in San Diego for the younger crowd.  We made our way to Fred’s later on and enjoyed some unique bar experiences, house margaritas, and the best Taco Tuesday I’ve yet to have in my life.  Very fresh food at solid prices.  I’ll definitely make it a point to go back to Fred’s next time I’m on the West Coast.  After volleyball, we hit the longboards again and made our kick-pushed our way to Pacific Beach (where Fred’s was located) and got an unbelievable view of the Pacific from a pier that shot out into the ocean.

The following day, we worked our way to La Jolla beach which was filled with absolutely beautiful landscapes.  Seal Cove is a must see while in La Jolla; there are seals everywhere!  While driving up the coast we were also able to stop at several beaches including La Jolla, Moonlight State, Laguna, Huntington, and Muscle Beach.  Each beach brought its own flavor to Cali.  The biggest difference between the beaches on the West Coast and the beaches on the East Coast is the cleanliness.  There are trash barrels lining the sands without a single piece of trash around them; everything is inside, how it should be!  Another major difference is the amount of beach volleyball nets.  There were at least 30 in some stops that we made and back home, we have to make it such a production to get people together to have a game, set up the net, and finally get playing.  Also,  the beach officials actually provide most of the volleyballs which is awesome!  If that were to be introduced to the public up at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, the balls would be popped or stolen within the first week.  It is just such a mutual respect held between the officials and the locals.  After a long day of combing the various beaches of So. Cal. we drove further up the coast to Santa Monica.

In Santa Monica, a friend of ours named Rachel lives there while working in LA for Rockstar Energy Drinks and she was kind enough to open up a few couches for us.  Cory’s good friend from racing motocross, Jason Blades, is dating Rachel and that is how we ended up meeting her.  Jason currently lives in Florida, but travels frequently for his job at TWLOHA and was in Santa Monica the same time that we were so it worked out well.  The evening that we got there, they took us around for a little while to experience the original Muscle Beach and the boardwalk there with carnival rides and attractions.  A sunset that set the sky on fire welcomed us there and it was unlike any sunset I’ve ever seen before.  There was a pier with carnival rides, the ocean, and in the backdrop, a large hilly area to silhouetted by the sunset.  Long after the sun set, we went back to Rachel’s house where she had two couches and a futon awaiting us with a warm shower.  That makes for one pretty sweet night after an amazing day.

If I had a choice on location to live without any monetary or financial restrictions, it would have to be SOCAL.  San Diego was amazing; the people, the atmosphere, everything about it.  It completely matches my lifestyle with locals playing beach volleyball daily, huge beaches with nice swells, and beautiful weather 99% of the time.  If at all possible, I will make it a point to live in Cali at some point in my life.

The next stop on the trip: Yosemite National Park!  Check out the rest of the pictures from our journey up the Californian coast on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

Las Vegas!

The city of broken dreams: Las Vegas, Nevada!  We got into the city with perfect timing for the weekend.  Cory’s sister provided an amazing weekend for us because she actually paid for a hotel room for the weekend at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino right in the middle of the strip!  After getting to Las Vegas 4 hours ahead of check-in time, the boys were able to get some good ol’ gambling in.  We hit the blackjack tables early at The Quad casino and after only an hour Sean went up almost $200.  I ended up breaking even and unfortunately Cory lost what he put down.

Leaving on a bittersweet note, we walked the strip, but stopped in every place we could because the heat was unbearable during the day.  Getting back to the Flamingo, we stopped by the pool there which held a weekend beach party for the time that we were there; super convenient for us!  The place was absolutely packed with live DJ’s, a dance and limbo contest.  It was unbelievably refreshing, but overwhelming at the same time with people bumping you left and right; a great environment overall, though.  That night, we went to a super expensive all-you-can-eat buffet within the hotel that ran us $30 a piece roughly.  The food was alright, but we were ready to make some serious cash on blackjack.  Sean and I broke even while Cory just couldn’t catch a break and was losing all he put down at each table.

The following day, we had a similar routine of waking up, getting food and jumping on a blackjack table then finding the pool soon after.  The pool was much more relaxed with less people, but still extremely busy regardless.  For the most part we laid low and just gambled throughout the night at various casinos.  Cory was sidelined later in the evening by a bad burger which also got the best of me the next morning.  Never again will I get a BBQ bacon burger from Margaritaville.  In the early hours of the morning while Cory was up in the room resting, Sean and I were still gallivanting around the Flamingo.  It was about 3:30 a.m. when we saw one blackjack table open and decided to try our luck.  As I was walking over to the table, I saw some bills under a man’s chair and I picked it up.  $120 cash was sitting there and I was tempted to take it, but with my conscious calling and the eye in the sky watching ever so carefully, I asked the man if he had brought a lot of cash with him to the table.  With a weird, shocked look he told me that he actually did.  I handed him the money and received endless thanks from the man who was definitely a bit tipsy.  Regardless, he threw down $15 in chips for me to play on a hand and I gladly accepted.  After about 30 minutes, I turned that $15 hand into $175!!  If that isn’t karma, then I have no idea what is!

Cory’s brother-in law has a best friend for years named Brad.  We met up with Brad at the very beginning of the trip in Connecticut for dinner and he handed us $100 cash and told us to use it in Vegas, so that’s exactly what we did.  Sean was having the hot hand at the time and he threw down the $100 on one hand.  The adrenaline that I had was pumping at an insane rate and it wasn’t even my hand or my money!  The dealer bust and we doubled the $100 that we put down.  Going back to the table where I won big from the generous man who’s money I found: Sean threw down another $100 from the winnings off of Brad’s $100 that he gave us.  The man who’s money I found was impressed, so he decided to join in and threw $100 down on his hand as well.  Once again, the dealer bust and everyone won!  So after 45 minutes between Sean and I at that table, we walked away with $675!  A great end to a great weekend in Vegas.  Not many people can say that they left with double their money, but Sean and I did.  Cory on the other hand was not so lucky, losing quite a hefty amount.  But, with a free room for the weekend and the time of his life, I don’t think he’ll beat himself up too bad for it.  Check out the rest of the pictures from Vegas on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook Page!

 

Zion National Park, Utah

This place isn’t called the Great Temple of Eternity for nothing!  Zion National Park blew all expectations that I could have ever held for a national park.  To think that this stop was not originally on this trip puzzles me.  If there is one place to visit in your life, this is it!  The Virgin River is what you see above, which has helped shape this entire canyon and national park.  With more trails than can possibly be accomplished in one visit, we started our first visit to the park with a simple 2-mile round trip hike up to the Emerald Pools.  The whole park is absolutely massive and the only way to get to a trailhead is by a shuttle that comes around every 7-10 minutes.

After a day of driving up and exploring a little bit of what Zion had to offer, we grabbed a tent site at Zion River Resort.  The price was a bit steep for a tent site at $41/night, but the amenities are the best we’ve had at a tent site yet.  The following morning, we had an early rise to get into the park first thing and hit the trails.  The decision came down to which trail to do for the day: the Narrows trail which was an 8 hour, 9.4 mile round trip hike, or Angel’s Landing which was a 4 hour, 5.4 mile round trip hike.  Both of these trails were labeled as strenuous, which makes it all the fun!  After going back and forth on trails, we decided that the Narrows may be not as enjoyable due to the hike being predominantly through waterways going chest high that are currently sitting right around 42 degrees.  Angel’s Landing was the chosen path!  The reviews were great and pictures looked amazing from the top, so we packed up and hit the trail at 9:30 am sharp.

The trail began with a paved walkway that was extremely steep, gaining elevation fast, but the paved surface definitely helped with footing.  After a lengthy hike up the steep walkway, we hit a flat spot to rest that was all red sand.  Facing us was the toughest part of the hike: the traverse up Angel’s Landing.  The trail consisted of uneven sandstone guided by one chain link rail on one side of the trail, only at some points.  The narrowest point of the trail came in at roughly 2 feet wide with a 1,200 foot drop on both sides of you…don’t look down!  At that point, staring down the half mile of almost straight up rock climbing, the nerves began to set in.  There was no turning back, we had already come this far.  Even more unsettling, a man who reached the top had tore his quad muscle and could not come down.  Adrenaline was rushing through me in unbelievable amounts as I was preparing myself for probably the most intense climb I have done to date.  This was not the White Mountains of New Hampshire anymore!

After each step was taken super carefully, we reached the summit in no time and you couldn’t get the smile off my face if you tried.  A full panoramic view of the canyon surrounded us and it became very clear as to why the name of the summit was Angel’s Landing.  Once the scenery was taken in and thrown in the memory banks for good, we started our way back down, fireman climbing down the metal chains to safety.  The hike back to the trailhead seemed much longer than the hike up, but it was well worth it.  We had the Virgin River awaiting us with its cold waters rushing underneath a bridge that we crossed.  Being the wilderness men that we are, we naturally took initiative to jump right in the crystal clear pools of the river and I have never been so happy to relax in a river.  At that moment in time, nothing could go wrong.  That exact spot will forever be my own peace of nirvana and I absolutely will be going back sooner than later, hopefully to explore more of this beautiful park.  My highest recommendations are to visit Zion National Park whenever you get the chance.  Check out the amazing pictures we got from Zion National Park on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

The Grand Canyon: North Rim

After leaving Carlsbad, NM at around 3:00 p.m., we started the drive up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The reason for choosing the North Rim was due to the fact that it was so much closer of a drive to the next destination, Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah.  Driving through the night, we decided to pull over in a random little rest area on the side of the road about two hours outside of the Grand Canyon.  Sleeping in the car for a few hours, we got up with the sun and the view was absolutely stunning!  Pulling in at night, we couldn’t see a damn thing around us, but when that sun came up it was beautiful.

Getting to the North Rim before any centers or the main campground opened, we took a stroll around the canyon.  No picture or description of a sight will ever do justice to this amazing landmark.  You HAVE to see it yourself.  When you are standing on the edge of that canyon, you have a new appreciation for life.  All of your problems, or so thought problems, begin to wash away and you are focused on the sheer size of the canyon that lies in front of you.  After a bit of exploring, we found some awesome lookout points that were pretty dangerous to get to, but no guts no story!

I visited the Grand Canyon when I was in middle school and it is a sight that you can never forget.  However, I only saw the South Rim.  The North Rim was completely different!  With greenery embedded into the rock siding, the North Rim has a lot more of a nature feel with trees and hiking trails surrounding the rim.  After setting up camp we made our way back to an awesome rock spot that Cory found while taking a little walk for the sunset over the canyon.  With a clear sky, it was impeccable.  It was a perfect ending to a great day at the canyon.  In the morning, we packed up camp and hit the road to the next stop: Zion National Park!  Check out all of the pictures from our time at the Grand Canyon on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

The only thing worth seeing in New Mexico, after driving through the entire state, is most certainly the Carlsbad Caverns.  This was a request that my mom made to me while on the trip; to stop at the Carlsbad Caverns.  We got into Carlsbad, NM in the evening at a small RV camp that was $20 for the night to camp.   Nice and cheap, that’s what we like!  As we were checking in, we actually met Cody Ross’s (from the Red Sox) in-laws who ran the site.  Definitely a small world we live in.  The man running the desk told us to give him the money and leave ASAP for the bat flight.  Looking pretty puzzled, he explained that every night around 7:45 p.m. the bats of the Carlsbad Caverns leave the caves to hunt for the night.  Only about a 7 minute drive away from the caverns, we shot up there as fast as we could and got there at perfect timing.  No photography was allowed, so no pictures, but seeing 400,000 bats leave a cave is pretty insane.  Wave after wave of bats was mesmerizing, watching them fly off into the sunset.

We left shortly after as the sunset was falling over the hills of the open plains surrounding the caverns.  As you will see in the pictures, that sunset was one of the best I have seen in a very long time.  It will definitely be one for the books and one that will stay with me forever.  As for the rest of New Mexico, fly right through because there is nothing but borderlands and oil pumps for hundreds of miles.

The following day we got to the caverns first thing in the morning to do a self-guided tour of the caverns.  It was about 96 degrees out that day, so we were ready for some shade.  The caverns have a very stable climate, sitting right at 56 degrees.  The mouth of the cavern was definitely intimidating.  It looks as if you are going to walk into the opening of hell; a gaping hole probably 100 feet across welcoming you into the depths of the earth.  Once inside, the lighting is very poor which makes it tough for photography.  However, I turned off the flash mode and just let the aperture catch all of the natural lighting down there and some of the pictures came out great.  A place like the Carlsbad Caverns makes you truly appreciate how beautiful the works of mother nature can be.  75 foot columns of minerals formed over hundreds of millions of years surround you.  It is seriously other worldly down there and I would highly recommend it.  The entire time we were down there our heads were on a swivel, soaking in all of the unique sculptures made simply by dripping water.  After about 3 hours in the caverns, our time was up in Carlsbad and were ready for the next stop: the Grand Canyon!  Check out the rest of the pictures from the Carlsbad Caverns on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!