First Retirement Trip (May 2022)
Las Vegas
We began our first retirement trip just a few days after my official retirement. The purpose of our first trip was to visit 7 national parks. We flew into Las Vegas and stayed three nights at a Hilton resort. Since we aren’t gamblers, we decided only to dedicate one day and evening to sightseeing in Las Vegas. We visited the Bellagio Botanical Garden, Casino, and Fountains; the Flamingo Casino and Habitat; and the Venetian Resort canals and gondolas. In addition, we watched the Mirage Volcano show; rode the High Roller Ferris Wheel and the Las Vegas monorail; and walked the Las Vegas strip.
Red Rock Canyon
While staying in Las Vegas, we also took a day trip to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just outside of Las Vegas. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center, observed the Calico Hills, walked some short trails, observed the Petroglyph Wall, and stopped at the High Point Overlook. It is an amazing area just 35 minutes from downtown Las Vegas.
Death Valley National Park
We took another day trip to Death Valley National Park while we stayed at the resort in Las Vegas. It was a 2 1/4 hour trip by car to Death Valley. Strangely, it was actually warmer in Las Vegas that day (93 degrees) than it was in Death Valley (88 degrees). The views are amazing. The landscape is stark and awe inspiring. And being 282 feet below sea level is unsettling.
Arches National Park
The second part of our trip was to travel to all five of the Utah State Parks. We left Las Vegas and travelled 6 hours to stay the night in Moab, Utah. Our first Utah national park was Arches. We were able to see and walk through, around, or near Double Arch, Skyline Arch, and Black Arch. We did get a distant view of Delicate Arch but didn’t walk the rather long trail to get a better view. We also explored a number of rock formations like Balanced Rock, Park Avenue, and Courthouse Rock. These were some of our favorite views during our trip.
Canyonland National Park
We spent the night again in Moab and the next morning we visited Canyonland National Park which is just a few miles from Arches. When I did the research for our trip I had never heard of Canyonlands. It ended up being one of my favorite national parks. It is a combination between Arches and the Grand Canyon. Because the park is built around canyons, every trail provides tremendous overlooks and photo opportunities. While we did a lot of hiking during our day at the park, the two highlights were hiking to Mesa Arch and hiking up Elephant Hill.
Mesa Arch is the most famous arch in Canyonlands and photographers flock to it to get the early morning sunlight. We got there around 8:oo am so most of the photographers were gone and we had the arch to ourselves for a few minutes then shared it with just a few hikers for about an hour. The photos of this arch were some of my favorite photos taken during our trip. The other highlight for us was a difficult hike up to the top of Elephant Hill.
Mesa Arch, Canyonland National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Our next day in Utah was travelling and visiting Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef has both history and geology to make it interesting. Mormon settlers passed through and later settled in the area. We spent the day visiting a Mormon schoolhouse, hiking, seeing petroglyphs, and walking to Hickman Bridge (a natural bridge/arch).
Bryce Canyon National Park
Our next Utah park was Bryce Canyon National Park. This park is all about the hoodoos (irregular rock formations left after erosion). Besides driving the park’s main scenic drive we observed and hiked at these locations: Bryce Amphitheater, Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Queens Garden, and Sunrise Point. There are many great trails to choose from and the scenery is amazing.
Zion National Park
Our final Utah national park was Zion National Park. For the first time on our trip crowds became a problem. Zion is probably the most famous of the Mighty Utah Five and it is a close (2 hours) drive from Las Vegas. Everything we did involved a shuttle and standing in lines. Because of the crowds we could not park our car in the national park. We parked several miles outside of the park and rode a shuttle into the park. Then we had to ride a different shuttle within the park to get to each site.
Perhaps the number one thing for tourists to do at Zion is to hike the Narrows which is the canyon creek. It involves hiking, wading, and, even perhaps, swimming. Because of the crowds and preparation involved we decided not to attempt the Narrows. We may return at a time of the year that is not a peak time for visitors and then attempt the Narrows.
We did see some beautiful sites, but unfortunately most of our hiking was done with people immediately in front and behind us.
Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim
On our final full day of this trip, we drove to the Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim. My wife had been to the South Rim as a child and I had never been to the Grand Canyon. When you drive into the national park there in nothing to prepare you for the sight you are going to see after you park. The North Rim is much less developed than the South Rim so there is really nothing to see as you approach the lodge and parking lot. But just a few steps away from the parking lot the view is amazing. After visiting the Grand Canyon we drove back to Las Vegas and took a red eye flight back home. Our first retirement trip took 11 days and we visited 7 national parks. We learned what we liked to do and how we would plan our future trips.
