UTAH

Another trip in the books! Jeff and I went to Utah in July to explore some more of the west. Colorado treated us right last year and made us go back for some more mountain views, but this time we did Utah!

We flew into Las Vegas, Nevada, rented a car and headed to Utah from there. Our first stop was for food (obviously). We stopped at a bagel joint called The Bagel Cafe. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also had a bakery with a very delicious selection. We both got bagels to go and enjoyed them in our car, because let me tell ya, that place was poppin! Jeff got a salt bagel with a garlic cheddar cream cheese spread and I got an everything bagel with a scallion cream cheese spread. Bagels are high up on my list of favorite things to eat. The Bagel Cafe did not disappoint!

After we devoured our bagels, we stopped for a picture at the one and only “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, got our picture and headed to the LINQ promenade to do a little exploring and shopping. I had to get my Vegas shirt to take home as a memory. We worked up quite the appetite after walking through Vegas in the hot temps and drove to In-N-Out, because I feel like that’s a must eat when you’re out west. I follow lots of people on Instagram that post pictures of their food from In-N-Out so I’m happy I finally got to taste what all the hype is about! We both got a cheeseburger “animal style” along with an order of fries, also “animal style”. For dessert Jeff got a strawberry shake and I got the vanilla. In-N-Out is definitely worth the stop if you’re ever out west!

Our next stop was the Hoover Dam. It was amazing to see! It’s located between Arizona and Nevada. So technically I can say we’ve been to Arizona too, right? Haha!

By the time we arrived to our Airbnb, it was late. So we got situated, ready for bed and crashed. Our Airbnb was located in a very rural area – Glendale, UT. We woke up early the next morning and went to the closest bakery around. We brought it back to the Airbnb and ate it on the balcony looking over the scenic view we had. We each got a pastry and a coffee.. simple but delicious!

From there, we got all geared up and headed to Bryce Canyon National Park. Jeff picked two trails for us to hike. We hiked the Queens Garden Trail and the Navajo Loop Trail. The mountains were such a pretty array of orange tones. Both trails were beautiful! Although they were intermediate trails, they kicked out butts and gave us a good workout, ha! Of course when I go hiking, I’ve always got my eyes on the ground around and ahead of me to make sure I don’t come across any animals I wouldn’t want to! These trails only consisted of cute little squirrels that would probably eat right out of your hand if you let them. So thankfully there were no run ins with snakes or spiders – that I know of anyway. We headed back to the Airbnb after that to decompress from a very eventful day in a hot tub under the stars; it was nice.

The following day, we woke up early, got ready for the day ahead and were on our way. This day, we went to Zion National Park. The park itself was amazing. The canyons make you feel so small. Here, we hiked The Narrows. If you’re not familiar with The Narrows, you are hiking through water, shallow and deep, all while trying not to slip and fall into the water. The narrows runs 16 miles long; we probably hiked about 2-3 miles in. This hike consisted, a lot, of balancing and patience. But wow, was it beautiful! The fact that we arrived there pretty early in the morning was nice because it was pretty cool outside. Hiking in the water was a bonus too because it kept you cool while you hiked. The Narrows are definitely a must see!

The next day was our last. We had a late flight out of Las Vegas that night so we left our Airbnb late morning and headed back to Vegas to spend the day there. We went at a time where they were experiencing a heat wave, and let me tell ya, it was hotter than hot this day! We walked through the old strip of Vegas “Freemont Street”, got a little taste of what it was like and then spent the rest of our time on the Vegas strip. We walked by and saw the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and then also got to see the Billagio Fountain water show which was something to see! Early evening, Jeff was craving another burger from In-N-Out so we stopped there for dinner and then headed to the High Roller Observation Wheel at the LINQ promenade. Its a giant observation wheel that moves very slow and allows to you look over all of Las Vegas. This ride was about 30 minutes long. It was very cool to experience!

And just like that, we headed to the airport and were on our way back to Michigan!