Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for utah
Goblins in Utah
By Linda Tancs
It isn’t hard to understand why the otherworldly environment of Goblin Valley State Park makes it one of Utah’s most popular parks. It features hoodoos (sandstone formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as tall as several yards) that are said to resemble “goblins.” Some of them even form a maze, making the 3-square-mile attraction a kid-friendly playground. Canyoneering is popular there, along with a hike to Goblin’s Lair, a beautiful slot canyon.
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A Clone in Utah
By Linda Tancs
Located in central Utah at the Fishlake National Forest (so named for the largest freshwater mountain lake in the state), Pando is an aspen clone that originated from a single seed and spreads over 106 acres, consisting of over 40,000 individual trees. Reputedly, it’s the world’s largest organism ever found at nearly 13 million pounds. It attracts visitors worldwide and was even honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp as one of the “40 Wonders of America.” The clone’s name derives from the Latin phrase meaning “I spread.”
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The Legend of Dead Horse Point
By Linda Tancs
According to legend, Dead Horse Point was used by cowboys to herd wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Even more legendary, though, is the view, one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world. Located a short distance from Utah’s Arches National Park and Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point State Park‘s namesake overlook provides sweeping views of the canyons as well as the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. As if that view weren’t good enough, Bighorn Overlook is a worthy rival, an off-the-beaten trek providing canyon views that most visitors wouldn’t even know existed. The park is about 32 miles from Moab.
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A Wrinkle on Earth
By Linda Tancs
The Waterpocket Fold is a geologic wrinkle on the earth extending almost 100 miles. It formed between 50 and 70 million years ago when a major mountain building event in western North America (the Laramide orogeny) reactivated an ancient buried fault in the region, causing the west side to shift upwards relative to the east side. This geologic wonder is the centerpiece of Capitol Reef National Park in the heart of Utah’s red rock country. Abounding with cliffs, bridges, domes and canyons, the park is also a refuge of pristine dark night skies of the highest quality, garnering it “Gold Tier” status by the International Dark-Sky Association. The most scenic portion of the Waterpocket Fold, found near the Fremont River, is known as Capitol Reef: capitol for the white domes of Navajo sandstone that resemble state capitol building domes, and reef for the rocky cliffs which are a barrier to travel, like a coral reef.
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Moab Giants
By Linda Tancs
The scenery in Moab, Utah, is otherworldly enough, but the prehistoric wonder of Moab Giants adds to it. A dinosaur park, their state-of-the-art exhibits feature the dinosaurs that roamed the area in all their life-size glory. The attractions include a trail with over 100 replicas amidst views of Arches National Park, La Sal Mountains and Moab’s geologically famous red rocks. Below ground, a prehistoric aquarium affords encounters with deep-sea creatures like Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived. The facility is located approximately nine miles north of Moab, on the corner of Hwy 191 and SR 313 (the turnoff to Dead Horse Point).
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Pioneering in Utah
By Linda Tancs
Utah is gearing up for Pioneer Day, a state holiday celebrated on July 24 to commemorate the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in 1847 to escape religious persecution. Their trek now forms the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a route spanning five states where 70,000 Mormons traveled from 1846 to 1869. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established the first route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles.
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Countless Canyons
By Linda Tancs
It’s four times the size of Arches National Park, yet Canyonlands attracts half the visitors. It’s easy to think of them as arch rivals (pardon the pun), considering that they’re located on opposite sides of U.S. 191 outside Moab, Utah, and just 10 miles away from each other. But these two national parks are hardly duking it out, each boasting its own distinct advantages. Canyonlands is less developed, a haven for hikers with a yen for accessibility (like Arches) coupled with a mix of backcountry and hardcore hiking. It offers a wilderness of countless canyons and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into districts, the most accessible being Island in the Sky and the most remote, the Maze. The Maze district offers guided hikes in Horseshoe Canyon most weekends during spring and fall.
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Utah’s First National Park
By Linda Tancs
Located on State Route 9 in southwest Utah, Zion National Park is Utah’s first national park. The 229-square-mile park is rife with history dating back 10,000 years, a land occupied by peoples ranging from prehistoric hunter-gatherers and ancestral tribes to Mormon pioneers. The best way to see an area this vast is to take a classic hike, like the eight mile climb to Observation Point. At 6,508 feet above sea level, you’ll be rewarded with stunning views that may very well include the California Condor. Released in Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona, in the late 1990s, they are increasingly being sighted in the park. Parking is limited inside Zion, and parking lots at the visitor center commonly fill before noon. To avoid parking hassles, park in the town of Springdale and ride the free town shuttle to the park.
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Racing on the Flats
By Linda Tancs
The Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah is a flat expanse of white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin, measuring 46 square miles. Named for area explorer and Army officer Benjamin Bonneville, the area is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks because of its contribution to speed racing. Welcoming trucks, cars and motorcycles, the World of Speed annual racing event takes place from 7 to 10 September.
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Peeling the Layers
By Linda Tancs
The folks in Payson, Utah want you to experience the many layers of their fair city. That includes peeling the layers at the annual Golden Onion Days event. Taking place from 30 August to 2 September, the annual ode to allium will feature the usual cooking contest, parade, food court and boutiques.
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