“A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes

Traveling not only stretches your mind but makes you empathetic to others on this planet and gets you closer to being more resilient. The tall mountains, the large waves of the ocean, endless skies, and the long winding roads make us realize how tiny we are as compared to this big wide world.

My hubby loves to travel and as the wise say ‘There is no remedy for wanderlust but to travel more,’ so my family is often exploring new destinations. And I love to get them to you, hoping they help in planning your next destination.

As soon as the school year ended, my family was busy packing bags for a road trip from Phoenix, Arizona to Colorado. As the drive was about 12 hours long, we decided to break it up in Utah. We drove with our luggage neatly packed on the roof of our beloved four-wheeler Subaru Tribeca. We call it ‘Rampyaree’, a Hindi name for our beloved car. 

Thus the story of our summer travel began…

We chose off-beaten destinations instead of doing the typical Moab ARCHES National Park and Monument Valley in Utah. Part of the reason was that Monument valley was still closed due to COVID restrictions, and I’m so glad we chose these destinations over the well-known ones, especially after reading this article about the crowd flocking these famous destinations. https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-parks-are-overcrowded-and-closing-their-gates-11623582002?mod=e2tw

We did not encounter any closed parking or crazy crowds as mentioned in this article. It was an awesome experience throughout— a serene rendezvous between nature and us.

BLANDING, UTAH: 2 NIGHTS

It would not be entirely true if I said our first stop was in BLANDING, UTAH. 

With kids on board, we take a number of pee stops and then some boredom stretching-out stops. So after about 6 hours (+1) drive, we reached Blanding in the evening. 

Before calling it a day we filled up our groceries at Clarks for our stay at a BnB. It was a decent size store with great food options. And that night we did a little campfire in our backyard and roasted marshmallows and corn. Though the sun was hot and bright, the night was cool and pleasant.

NATURAL BRIDGES NATIONAL MONUMENT

The next morning after a scrumptious breakfast of eggs and cereals, we headed off to NATURAL BRIDGES MONUMENT which was about an hour’s drive from our BnB.

So there are three bridges, and all three can be seen from the paved loop drive with trailheads and overlooks.

KACHINA BRIDGE: This was the scenic bridge overlook. We parked our car and saw the view.

SIPAPU BRIDE: We did this short adventurous steep hike of about 1.5 miles to look at the bridge from distance. My kids enjoyed going down and up the ladder.

PRO TIP: If you are short on time, the ranger told us this is the hike to do. It was a fun hike with beautiful views.

OWACHIMI BRIDGE

This was the most easily accessible bridge after an easy 1/2 mile hike. We enjoyed sitting underneath the expansive bridge and doing some photo shenanigans. Unlike the other two, this hike gets you closest to the bridge.

Our next stop in Blanding was the VALLEY OF THE GODS: 

VALLEY OF THE GODS

This was a 15 miles loop on the unpaved gravel road which was quite bumpy. Though very scenic with the natural buttes and formations it is not as magnificent as Monument Valley. We saw trailers and campers throughout this loop, so it looked like good camping site as long as you are well prepared. 

PRO TIP: There are no services on or near this loop, so make sure you have enough gas, water, and snacks. Sunsets and cooler temperatures would make the stops pleasant.

Considering that the geography and the weather in this park were similar to Phoenix, the best time for the hikes would be when temperatures are milder— in Spring or Fall. Keep in mind Blanding is a small town and on Sunday we found all restaurants closed, and even the grocery store, Clarks, was closed. Thankfully we found a Subway that was open though very crowded.

After our two days in BLANDING, we did our next leg of the journey to Steamboat Springs, Co, which was quite a change from rocky and hot weather to lush greenery and cool evenings. All this and more in my next post.

Until then, travel, explore and make more memories.