Red rocks, canyons as far as the eye can see, howling winds, black ice, and more! The second leg of our trip to southern Utah ranks up there with some of our favorite road trips, to date. We’d be hard pressed to find any span of two days quite as cold as this, so pack your beanies and winter coats. It’s time for a little M+J adventure, high desert winter-style…

We decided to stop in Green River, Utah for a decent meal after a few days’ worth of grocery snacking and burger stand salads, but we didn’t find a whole lot more than what we’d been having. Apparently we can’t always bat 1.000 in our restaurant choices, as the “best” spot in town, Tamarisk, was anything but green - we stuffed our face with some Navajo fry-bread to distract from the strange atmosphere and bland flavors, and got ourselves back in the car to head toward our campsite.

After not finding a decent place to sleep until just outside of Moab (and passing through the world famous bright green gas station with all sorts of wild game jerkies), we were absolutely ready to pass out. We got lucky with a 40 degree night time temperature, and headed off to dreamland for day one of our trip’s second leg - in Arches and Canyonlands.

Arches

A Double Arched rock for a Double Arched love.

Can you tell we had some fun at Arches!? One of the more heavily trafficked Parks in the country, Arches is more of a walk and drive-through kind of thing rather than one we’d want to spend more than a half day in. Though we’d both been on prior occasions separately, we found some novel places and sights which we really enjoyed.

Our first stop along the way was to pull off at Balanced Rock, one of the cornerstones (heh!) of the park and one of its many gravity-defying features. We got right up close to and nearly on top of the formation for some fun photos together. We’re getting the hang of our tripod on these not so stable, rocky areas.

Despite the high desert winds whipping right through our layers and almost forcing us to get back in our car, we spent a good chunk of our time at the Windows Section - including the Turret Arch (where we filmed our first ever viral TikTok), the Double Arch, and the North Window off in the distance. Even with the cold conditions, there were masses of people in this area and we were feeling almost forced out by the noise and clamor, so we scooted ourselves along to the wondrous surprise of the trip (and maybe a lifetime), our now top-5 favorite: Canyonlands National Park.

Canyonlands

Shafer Canyon and Point. James had been daydreaming of this moment for a long time - the genesis of the whole trip’s idea to begin with!

Undoubtedly, the most exciting part of travel and of the National Parks is the shock of an amazing panoramic view smacking you upside the head. We lived this out repeatedly throughout our time at Canyonlands, an absolute work of art by Mother Nature. There’s a reason the main plateau from which everything is experienced and seen is called ‘Island in the Sky’, and the road through the park follows this plateau to nearly its very tip. The sensation we got driving along its edges and swerves probably mirrors that of an eagle soaring high above the side of a steep and jagged mountain range. There is no limit to how far the eye can see, it seemed, and the canyons stretch just as far out.

Thinking “what have we just stumbled upon?”

A few of our favorite spots:

Grand View Point and Trail - The magnum opus, if you will, of this vastly underrated National Park was the Grand View Trail. A window to the rest of the world, you can really find your peace and solitude here, where there aren’t many other humans and an easy, 1.5 mile round trip hike will get you all the gorgeous and resplendent views you could ever desire in your life. A top five hike we’ve both ever been on.

Shaffer Canyon Overlook - If you’re a fan of sitting on the edge of the cliff, a lá Taft Point in Yosemite or Troll Tongue in Norway, this spot is for you. We spent a little extra time here off to the side (to avoid other humans) and ate our lunch sourced from Moonflower Coop in Moab. A delicious and healthy lunch overlooking one of the world’s most expansive canyons was a pretty nice way to spend a Sunday, if you ask us!

Buck Canyon Overlook - A short and easy pitstop, Buck Canyon is another awe-inducing viewpoint to take a breath at, dance a little jig at, and open up your heart to the wonders of the natural world. Plus, the namesake can’t be beat…

Grand Canyon

We struck out searching for camping spots anywhere near Navajo Nation lands and a lower lying altitude, so we made the bold move to find our place for the night just east of the Grand Canyon at a much higher altitude. When we arrived at this National Forest pull-off, it was pushing 30 degrees and clouds were forming above us, but we hung tough. As we snuggled up for the night, we noticed a dimmed light coming from outside the tent - our car still had an overhead light on - so James quickly went down to flip it off. As he climbed back up the ladder, snow began to hurtle down at our tent and we needed to make a decision on whether or not to put on the weather proofing for our tent. With ice cold fingers and absolutely no light with which to get it on, we managed to fasten the rain cover on top as the snow blew into our tent in three or four minutes, tops. This, we can easily proclaim, was our proudest achievement of the trip - maybe even of the year, so far. After the adrenaline subsided, it was night-night from inside the cozy confines of our Thule until the next wild and unforgettable day.

There’s something about that white and red contrast that takes a little extra time to comprehend.

We can’t recommend going to the Grand Canyon in the winter seasons enough. You’ll miss most of the crowds, the skies will still open up for you, and you’ll have a little more fun sliding along the roads in your 4x4 car! In all seriousness, the snow does a little extra something special to accentuate the depth and endlessness of the Canyon which brings hundreds and hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Number 15, check!

Thanks for coming along on our journey across the southern Utah highlands for James’s frosty birthday bash! We had an incredible time checking off 11 through 15 of our National Parks together, and we hope you get the chance to someday explore them for yourselves. As always, reach out to us or tag us @m_j_away and we’ll give you all our favorite spots in each locale. The little niche we’ve carved out in the world is extraordinary, and the community we’ve built is inspiring and constantly reinvigorating for us.

We love you.

Solitude and Snow Flurries in Arches, Canyonlands, and Grand Canyon National Parks

Arches

Canyonlands

Grand Canyon

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