Lila Off Leash

We couldn't leave Utah without making it to the last national park in the state: Capitol Reef. Although it was a good 3.5 hours from our house, we planned it out so that we could hit Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument on our way back, killing two birds with one stone.  Our first stop in Capitol Reef was Cassidy Arch, a moderate 3 mile hike where the end destination was a natural arch, yup you guessed it. We decided to do this trail because this we'd actually be able to walk on top of the arch, something we haven't been able to do yet in any of the other national parks.  Turns out this spot is pretty popular for repelling because there was a ton of groups waiting to repel down through the arch.  This was the view from the other end of the ledge, we drove in on the road below. One thing really unique about Capitol Reef was the blue/green sand. I tried to capture the layer in the picture below but like most of the scenery, pictures simply don't do it justice....

 Another adventure through Zion was a canyoneering day that we booked a month or so in advance. I read about a blogger who had done this and highly recommended it so this was on my list from the get-go. Although, I think I built up my expectations a little to high for this one. I thought we were going to be rock climbing up the canyons and repelling down but we ended up hiking up and repelling down. I guess that makes more sense considering the adventure was "for all levels" of experience.  We booked through Zion Mountain School and spent the day with the owner and our guide, Mike and his pup who was a pro belayer at Water Canyon. The pup had his own harness and would wrap his paws around Mike's legs to "hold on" on the way down. Mike set up all the ropes and taught us proper technique. We did about 5-6 belays down the canyon and I got some epic pictures. Not pictured: crashing into the rock wall and falling into the water. On our second to last belay, I got stu...

Zion was full of adventure. After we did Angel's Landing, I knew it wouldn't be my last time in the park. We had a few more hikes planned to get the full experience. The Narrows was the next priority on our list. We actually ended up having a pretty epic experience for this one. We met a guy who guides The Narrows for a tour company. He hooked us up gear from his shop where we rented neoprene socks, shoes, and pants so that we would be prepared for a full day in the water. This was pretty crucial since our shuttle tickets were from 7-8am in the morning and it was going to be in the 30s at that time. By the time we got to the river and in the water it was closer to 9MT and the temp warmed up a bit. Our new friend planned to join us but since it was his day off he wanted to sleep in a bit. He told us to get started and he would find us in the river.  As we began walking it was such a surreal feeling. I kept thinking how cool it is that you can actually do this, walk through the w...

I can finally say I won the lottery! Well, one type of lottery. I may not be a millionaire but my life these days is pretty rich. North Coyote Buttes only allows 20 people a day to obtain a permit for this desert phenomena. Months in advance, 10 permits are given away in a lottery with the other 10 permits drawn the day before. The lottery is everyday at 9am MT.  We submitted an application at least 10 times before finally winning and technically, we didn't even win. Our new friend Jacob put us on his application on Sunday in hopes of winning a permit for Monday and guess what, HE WON! Are we his lucky charms or vice versa? We had just gotten cell service in Zion after hiking The Narrows when we got his text and immediately started freaking out on the shuttle back to the car. We couldn't believe that we finally won, truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I tried calculating it out and there's less than a 4% chance of winning each time you enter. Of course there's a lot...

Our little town of Kanab has some cool spots to explore when you have some spare time. We opted to do these during the week after work to get to know our own backyard. One after work adventure was the Moqui Sand Caves, just 12 miles north of Kanab. These are man-made caves used to harvest sand for glass production in the 1970s. The afternoon sun fills these with light and its only .5 miles from the main road. You just have to scale the rock to get up to reach them so wear grippy shoes. When you touch the walls, sand falls off.  Belly of the Dragon was another spot on our list. This one is about 16 miles north of Kanab on the way to Zion and is super short too. I imagine this is what it feels like to walk down someone's esophagus. The tunnel goes underneath the main road from one side to another and gets really cold and dark. Harlie loved running ahead to explore and it made us feel a little safer with her as our pack leader.  Our last local adventure was Dinosaur Tracks Trail....

When we were in Moab we saw UTVs everywhere and I wished we had booked one so once we got to Kanab I knew I wanted to rent one to explore. We tried booking one for the Coral Pink Sand Dunes but the company that operates in the park was sold out for the rest of 2020. We opted for Kanab Tour Company's UTV tour through the dunes right outside of the Coral Pink SD to Peakaboo Slot Canyon. Turns out, its the same sand.  These off-road vehicles were a blast! I've never been in one before and man are they fun to drive. They hook you up with helmets, goggles, and your own vehicle to follow the guide.  We did a few laps in the dunes, stopped to sandboard, and then made our way to the canyon. My co-pilot drove on the way there and I opted to drive on the way back. Since this was now our 3rd slot canyon, we ohad some fun with the narrow walls. Our guide even showed us this cool photo spot, taking advantage of the natural beams of light into the canyon.  Beam me up Scotty Once we rea...

Turns out Harlie is the best adventure buddy. I mean, I always knew that but now you do too. She doesn't venture too far out of sight, comes when she's called, and knows to stop when she sees other people so I can put the leash back on her. Plus, she is so happy to be included that it makes my heart happy. Most of the national parks aren't dog friendly because they're trying to preserve the natural habitat but I try to bring her on all the other adventures that allow dogs. We took another trip to Mars, a dog friendly one, called the Toadstool Hoodoos right outside of Kanab. This quick 2 mile hike definitely feels like another planet. The ground feels hollow and the toadstools have you looking over your shoulder for signs of aliens. Harlie hopped from toadstool to toadstool, scaled the rocks, and had the zoomies up and down the clay mounds. We tried to blend in as much as possible to avoid an abduction. Another dog friendly adventure was the Buckskin Gulch slot canyon. T...