Another Country

During the last few years of medical school Chris and I talked about going on a "big trip" after graduation to celebrate his accomplishment. As the light at the end of the tunnel approached we talked about going to Europe, maybe Italy. By the time graduation rolled around it was not a safe time for Americans to travel to Italy. As we started talking about where we could go, Chris recommended. . . .Utah. Utah! I didn't want to go there. That certainly didn't sound as appealing as traveling to another country. After some consideration and planning, I agreed, reluctantly. To add to the adventure we invited our mutual friend, Rance, and his new wife, Vicki.
Now, this wasn't going to be just any trip home. This wasn't a week-long luxurious stay in Beaver, this was a carefully planned trip to include all the parks in southern Utah.
We started our trip in Zion hiking the narrows. After a day-long hike we were exhausted. We spent a cold night in a tent at Bryce Canyon. It had been awhile since I had been there. I saw the canyon with new eyes and wondered how I could have taken it for granted. It was so amazing!
We had a nice drive through Escalante Grand Staircase and picnicked at Capitol Reef. This was new territory for me as was Goblin Valley. Never had I been so close to home, yet felt so far away.
We spent a night in a cute KOA cabin in Moab and visited Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point. I had heard of all of these but had never seen them with my own eyes.
We then started our journey to Arizona. We stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument on our way. Monument Valley in Arizona was . . .monumental.
On our way home we drove through Page and stopped at the Lake Powell Visitor Center where we saw a miniature model of all the places we had just been. It was amazing to see an aerial view of all these amazing places and see how they were connected.
After all was said and done, I felt like I had been in another country. I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to explore my home state so I could appreciate where I came from. We are so blessed to live in this country and to have so many beautiful things to appreciate.