Lyle @ Capitol Reef National Park.

I bet y’all thought I was done talking about this Utah trip. Nope! I honestly would have been, but I was looking back through my posts and realized I didn’t share any of my instax photos on them. The instant photos I take on my trips are usually my favorite ones too! There’s only one final photo, and all the imperfections in it are what make them perfect. My birthday trip has been over for quite some time now but I just had so much to share!

I get questions on Instagram once in a while, and even in real life, about my instant photos. The basics: I have a Fujifilm Instax Wide 210. Lyle bought it for me for Christmas 3 years ago and it’s definitely my most used camera that he’s gotten me! I buy my film on Amazon because it’s way cheaper than buying it in stores anywhere. I tend to stock up and repurchase every few months or so. I’ve considered getting the Instax Mini for more “fun” shots but I can’t decide. What do you think? Should I get another Instax for fun?

As far as settings, it all depends on the weather and lighting conditions. I never use it if it’s too dark out because even if I use the “Lighten” setting, the flash will most likely fire and it will ruin the photo, in my opinion. I stick to leaving the lighting settings on “Normal” or “Lighten” if it’s a bright day and I’m shooting with shadows. Also, I almost always set it to 3m-∞. Everything I photograph is usually bigger and quite a ways away from the camera. I like to use my instant camera for mostly landscapes or just any kind of iconic shot.

Below are my instant photos scanned in along with the photograph I take on my phone of the instant photo itself. SUPER META. Let me know what you think! Also, I managed to throw together some of the footage we got on this trip. I mostly focused on taking some amazing photos because I planned on making a book for my dad (Don’t worry, he already has it! I gave it to him for Father’s Day.) It was weird not focusing on video so it was a little hard to get enough footage, but I think I managed pretty well. Let me know your thoughts on that as well! As always, until next time xo!

Grand Canyon National Park. Arizona.

Horseshoe Bend. Page, Arizona.

Monument Valley. Arizona.

Monument Valley. Utah.

Under Canvas. Moab, Utah.

Double Arch. Arches National Park.

Hickman Bridge. Capitol Reef National Park.

Scenic Drive Rd. Capitol Reef National Park.

The Amphitheater. Bryce Canyon National Park.

Natural Bridge. Bryce Canyon National Park.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Again, super exhausted. We hadn’t quite caught up on our sleep yet so we slept through alarms (again). However, I found it extra difficult to want to get out of bed this morning. There were no curtains in the room so the light usually woke me up in the morning, but this morning was different. It was still dark and I could tell it was super gloomy outside. I got out of bed and went to look out the window to discover that, are you ready for this? IT WAS FREAKING SNOWING. In May. Snow. In. May. I’m sorry… what?

I was borderline panicking because I was wondering if we were even going to be able to make it to Bryce Canyon this day. But, we decided to take our time and make some breakfast and enjoy the snow falling. I had never seen it snow like this before so I was very excited. I sat by the window and just watched it come down. It was so, so peaceful.

We tried to wait it out and see if it would stop but it didn’t. So, since it was our last day, we decided to brave the snow and head out towards Bryce Canyon National Park. We figured it had to stop eventually. We were sort of right. It was a lighter snow our whole drive out there and it even snowed quite a bit while we were there. After a while, it started to clear up. The clouds opened up and the sun came out to play! It was still super cold though. I’m glad that I decide to pack a beanie wherever we go because I was hardly expecting cold weather, let alone snow!

I was pretty surprised to see how packed it was, despite the fact that it was very cold and snowy. It was nowhere near as packed as the Grand Canyon or even Horseshoe Bend, but there were still a good amount of people here. You know the drill from here. Visitor center, NP patch and on we went!

Our first hike was up to Inspiration Point. Inspiration Point is part of the Rim Trail in the Bryce Amphitheater. Just from walking to the start of the trail from the parking lot, I was already in awe. The spire formations here are called “hoodoos” and I just think that’s the funniest thing. The hoodoos are eroded out of the cliffs of the canyon walls. The melting of the snow and ice eventually create cracks in the walls which in turn create “windows” in the cliffs. As time goes on, the tops of the windows eventually collapse and tall columns are left behind. From further erosion from rain, the hoodoos are born. Well, not born, but you get the idea.

We spent quite a bit of time exploring the rim trail and just sitting and staring down into the canyon. In between our time exploring and admiring nature, we were running back to the car to warm up. Sadie was with us on this trip, but I don’t have photos of her from here because we tried our best to keep her snuggled in the backpack and warm in the car.

The next major stop we made was to Natural Bridge. This was a quick walk from parking lot to viewpoint. It was such an awesome sight to see. This entire trip, I was just so amazed at everything in nature. I was amazed at the fact that this “bridge” was formed through years of erosion and that this is the outcome today. In another million years it could be gone or 10 times cooler! Who knows?!

Also, did you know that due to it’s high elevation, clean dry air, and lack of light pollution, Bryce Canyon is one of Earth’s darkest places? I’m pretty bummed we weren’t able to stay super late, or even make the drive back, to check out just how dark it gets. I’ll just have to save that trip for another time.

We probably only spent about five hours here because it was just too cold to do any serious hiking. We spent our time driving around and stopping where we could but we also didn’t want to exhaust ourselves because we still had an 8 hour drive home the next day. So, after we took in all we could and started to get pretty hungry, we decided to head back to the AirBnb to cook up some dinner and hang out for the night.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the adventures Lyle and I had in Arizona and Utah for my birthday! I know it’s been well over a month since this trip ended but I’ve been so busy and I tried my best to get everything up! I just love having a place to share photos and experiences! If just one post helps someone plan a trip or decided to get out and explore, then I’ve done my job and I’m content. Until next time, xo!

Tuesday, May 16, 2017. We were pretty tired from the past few days of exploring so we definitely slept past our alarms this day. That’s okay though. It’s always important to listen to your body and get rest when you need it! We were only about an hour away from Capitol Reef so we weren’t in a rush.

After getting up and freshening up, we headed to a local country store to grab some groceries for the next few days. It was so nice to be in one place for more than one night and have somewhere to cook meals. We bought enough food to make breakfast and dinner for the next few days and that was the smartest choice because it saved us so much money! Also, it was nice to be able to leave Sadie behind and not have to worry about her while we explored. We headed back to the house to start breakfast and after that we were on our way!

The drive to Capitol Reef was pretty easy and we were usually the only ones on the road for miles. We finally arrived to the park and it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. In a good way though! There was no entrance fee and you pretty much just drive straight in to the visitor center.

Before getting to the visitor center, we stopped at an overlook to catch a glimpse of what we were about to explore. Holy. Cow. Not even 5 minutes into the park and I was already obsessed. The formations surrounding us were so beautiful and I couldn’t stop staring. We sat and took in the view for a few minutes and went on to the visitor center.

This formation is called The Castle. How freaking cool!

At the visitor center, I made sure to grab my patch and we got some sunscreen for Lyle because he had been forgetting to use it the past few days and was already getting pretty toasty. We were about to walk to the front desk to ask for information when I notice the front door opening and hear “LORI?!” I was definitely caught off guard because I was thinking “We’re literally in the middle of nowhere. Who could be calling my name right now?” I turned around and see my friend Sabrina walking in towards me. I screamed and ran to hug her. Her and her husband were taking the exact same trip as us but going the opposite direction. What were the odds that we met in the middle at the same National Park? We had only met a few times during our college years in San Marcos but we’ve kept up through social media. It was a pretty awesome feeling to know that our paths had crossed on our adventures and it made me super happy! We chatted for a bit before heading out and parting ways.

We went on to see what we could get ourselves into here and one thing I had noticed was that there were hardly any people visiting this park. In comparison to the Grand Canyon, it was basically empty. We first stopped at the Fruita Schoolhouse and to see some cool petroglyphs. Our first main adventure, however, was hiking to Hickman Bridge. It was an easy short hike but quite a bit uphill in the beginning. For the parking lot being full, we hardly saw anyone on the hike, so I’m not entirely sure where everyone else had gone.

Discovered more arches on our hike to Hickman Bridge!

Like I said, along the hike we encountered maybe four or five other people. As we approached Hickman Bridge, there were about five people taking photos and exploring. Within a few minutes they were gone, and we had this beauty to ourselves! It was amazing to sit there and stare at what nature had created. While we were there, one other couple came along and left and we were left alone again. It was so different compared to the National Parks we had been to on our trip so far and I absolutely loved it.

We decided it was time to continue on and on our way back on the looped trail, I wandered off and discovered a beautiful view of the park. Once again, we sat and were enamored with the beauty surrounding us. I’m telling you, it was beautiful in every direction you looked.

Once we made our way back down to the parking lot, we decided to check out the scenic drive in the park. It was an 8 mile drive, but we didn’t do the whole drive. We drove maybe a few miles and pulled off to walk around. This part of the park was even further away from any sign of others. We sat in silence and listened to birds chirping and feeling the wind blow in our faces. I was in love with every inch of this park.

It was almost time for sunset and I wanted to catch it at Panorama Point. We tried to brave it as long as we could but it just started getting way too cold. We watched the sun set on the towering cliffs in the distance and then headed back to our Airbnb.

My expectations of Capitol Reef were definitely exceeded and I’m super happy we were able to make it out there. This is one National Park I would advise anyone to visit if given the chance!

Monday, May 15, 2017. Well, technically still Sunday night. We arrived in Moab, Utah. I was pretty bummed we had arrived so late, much later than planned in fact. But, at the same time, I saw it as an opportunity to be surprised in the morning. We stayed at Moab Under Canvas while here and I’m so happy I was able to reserve this place. Glamping is one of my favorite things to do when traveling and I will for sure do it any chance that I get.

Not gonna lie, we thought we were super lost at first. This particular Under Canvas is located a few miles outside of Moab. GPS had told us to turn down this road and we had arrived! However, there was a sign outside that said “Do not enter. Invited guests only” or something along those lines. We obviously panicked and were wondering what the heck to do. We noticed a car coming out from the property so after they passed, we decided to just go for it.

We drove up and found a man walking towards the tents and asked him where to check in. He gladly pointed us in the direction of the main tent and said “I’ll be right up there to help you!” We went on to park, got checked in, and they were super accommodating by offering a wagon to help us take our things to our tent. I was super impressed with how friendly and helpful their staff was!

After getting checked in, we found our way to some hot chocolate and chilled out in the tent. Around 1am or so, I decided it was time to shoot some photos. I forgot to mention that there was zero light pollution in the area so we could see hundreds of thousands of stars above us. It’s my favorite thing to sit and stare at the stars; waiting for a shooting star to make a wish.

We woke up, snapped some more photos and were on our way to Arches National Park. Visitors center, check. National park patch, check. Our first stop after this was Balanced Rock. This rock formation was very interesting because it clearly defies gravity. I mean, it’s a huge rock sitting atop a much thinner base. How has it not crumbled yet?!

Moving on to the main attractions of the park, the arches! We did the longer of the two hikes to the Delicate Arch viewpoint because, well, Sadie. I would have preferred to do the actual hike up to it, but it’s okay. We took a short stroll through a small canyon to Sand Dune Arch. On our way out from here, we came across a baby rattlesnake! That was pretty terrifying but it kept to itself mostly. Our last stop after that was the short hike to Double Arch. I think this was my favorite one. It was so interesting to me that these arches were formed from a waterfall!

We pretty much spent our time in Arches just wandering and exploring what we could. Lyle did his fair share of climbing on whatever he could and we stopped and marveled at all the hoodoos and arches and found some picturesque spots to snap some photos.

When we had spent enough time taking it all the views, we were pretty hungry. It was time to eat so we decided to just grab a pizza and eat in the car in the parking lot since we had Sadie with us. Traveling with pets isn’t always easy, but we make do. I love having my little pup with us, even if it limits us from doing certain things at times.

We finished eating and decided it was time to make our way to our AirBnB in Junction, Utah. We had originally planned to stop at Canyonlands NP along the way, but given our time restraints, we unfortunately had to scratch that from our list. Just another reason to go back! We arrived at our AirBnB around 10pm and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, there wasn’t much to do so we decided to just call it a night and prepare for the adventures the next day would bring.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures in Arches and Moab! I hope my recent posts have been inspiring you to take a trip somewhere new, maybe even to Utah! I’ve got more coming your way so keep your eyes peeled! Until next time, xo!

Sunday, May 14, 2017. We woke up, got ready and checked out of our super overpriced hotel in Page, Arizona. It was Mother’s Day weekend and Lake Powell is very popular, but I honestly didn’t think that every hotel would be booked solid that weekend. This was the one night I didn’t book a place to stay because I figured we would find a place pretty easily. Boy, was I wrong. It’s okay though! It was all part of the adventure and experience!

We had some almond butter bars for breakfast and headed out to Horseshoe Bend. After making sure we had plenty of water for ourselves, and Sadie, we started the hike to this glorious beauty. The hike to Horseshoe Bend was pretty short. However, there is absolutely no shade. Even though we were hiking early in the day, it was still pretty hot considering you’re exposed to the sun the entire time. Make sure you have plenty of water, no matter what time of day it is!

It was only 9am (or 10am? Arizona and their weird time zones, I’m tellin’ ya!) and there were already tons of people hitting the trail to the bend. It’s really interesting to see all the different types of people that come to these places. Some are 110% ready for anything with their hiking gear and what not. Then, there are some that are in dresses sandals and you’re just left wondering “How are you even doing this right now?” To each their own of course!

We walked up towards the edge of the bend and holy cow, I was so amazed. Of course, I’ve seen this beauty all over the internet, but my expectations of it were completely blown out of the water. It was insanely massive and the blue/green water was mesmerizing! It’s hard to believe that places like this exist until you see them for yourself. To sit on the edge of Horseshoe Bend and stare and think that something like this was created after millions of years is just insane to me.

After about an hour or so, we left Horseshoe Bend and headed off for lunch. Honestly, I didn’t plan to stop at any fancy restaurants and nothing during my research really stood out to me, food wise. Except for this place. Big John’s Texas BBQ. TEXAS BBQ, PEOPLE! How could I be in this area and NOT stop there? Luckily, they were also pet friendly, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the cool breeze with Sadie.

I ordered a good ol’ brisket sandwich with a side of potato salad while Lyle opted for some brisket nachos. Also, they had, are you ready for this? SWEET TEA! Yep, they had sweet tea and we drank it all and took some to go! It was all so freaking delicious and so refreshing to have a little taste of home on this trip. If you ever find yourself in this area, I definitely recommend stopping!

After lunch, we were on our way to our next stop: MONUMENT VALLEY! First stop was, of course, the visitor center. We spent a good hour here just marveling at all the monument formations sitting on the valley floor. These are places you’ve seen in western movies and on the Travel Channel and NatGeo and here I am, seeing them with my own eyes for the very first time.

We were now ready to be on our way to Moab, Utah. On our way out and away from Monument Valley, I had glanced in the rear view mirror and told Lyle we had to stop and pull over. The view I was looking at was the iconic long highway leading into the valley. I was very surprised that there weren’t a ton more people pulled over snapping pictures left and right. We had encountered maybe 5 or 6 people while we were stopped. This is the beauty of the desert, no one around for miles.

I’m sure you know this place from the running scene in Forrest Gump as well. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.” Same, Forrest. It turns out that right at the place I realized we needed to stop, was the exact place that Forrest decided to go home. I swear! We found the sign and everything! Is that not a weird coincidence or what?

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After grabbing a few shots here, we were officially on our way to Moab! The time we spent in Moab was pretty exciting and I can’t wait to share those stories and photos! So be on the look out for another blogpost soon! I hope you enjoyed & thanks so much for reading!