We were crazy to go to Badwater Basin in the middle of June the week after record-breaking high temperatures in California. We knew we were crazy. But we also wanted to hike Telescope Peak, and since we had to travel…
5 Best Day Hikes in Bryce Canyon National Park
Rock Formations. Hoodoos. Creamsicles. Ever since our first visit to Bryce Canyon in 1997, it’s been one of our favorite parks in southern Utah, over Zion, Cedar Breaks, and Capitol Reef. It gets crowded these days, but it’s…
Echo Bay: In Search of a Dream
I’ve gotten a bit serious over the past few weeks on Jesus Sees the Wilderness, so here’s a story that’s hopefully a little lighter – if also a bit longer. When the sun shines in the desert, it becomes…
Climbing Telescope Peak!
It’s not gorgeous, it’s not all that tall, and it’s not all that easy. So why climb Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park? One reason is bragging rights: It’s quite something to say you’ve been to both the lowest…
The Glory of the Lord Comes from the Wilderness
Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord in the wilderness. He said, “A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare a way for the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God… And the glory…
Epic Day Hiking Road Trip to Southern Utah
Southern Utah packs so much beauty into a small area. Arches, rock formations, turrets, towers, spires, mountains, canyons, cliffs, meadows – there’s so much to see, and often so little time to do it. So here are some of the…
Exploring the Big Crack in Lava Beds
How about a little bit of adventuring? It’s awesome to follow trails, but every once in a while, it’s also really fun to adventure: no trail, no social trail, just a map and a willingness to venture into the unknown.…
15 of the Best Day Hikes in Southern Utah
If I had to pick one desert state to say was my favorite, Utah would almost certainly win. I love the rock formations, the arches, the canyons, the scrubby desert; it’s all lovely in a very rustic sort of way. …
12 Trails that Require Hands & Knees, River Crossings, and Other Adventures
Getting to the most rewarding views can be hard. In fact, it can be very difficult. Sometimes we just have to leave the comforts of a defined trail behind to cross the waist-deep rivers, scramble up scree and talus on…
Hole in the Rock: Scramble to Lake Powell!
I was shocked the other day when I found out that I’d never done a post on Hole in the Rock, at the end of Hole in the Rock Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (one of my favorite parks…