Thus far I have been on a trip to Peru that was posh and in fancy hotels. Then I go completely opposite and backpack in Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks, sleeping on the ground and holes for bathrooms. I wanted a happy middle for my next trip. I again was perusing REI Adventures trips online and found one in Utah at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. These trips were in two of REI's "signature camp" locations. It seemed like a good cross between a hotel and backcountry primitive camping. Each campsite has "spacious REI tents loaded with fun extras to enhance our camping comfort" and the cooking, cleaning and setup are all handled for you. Sign me up!
Zion National Park Bryce Canyon National Park
We started the trip in Las Vegas. I have never been there before so I decided to see a show on my first night prior to meeting the REI Adventures group the next day. I scored a cheap seat for Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson ONE show. I took a cab from the hotel (not on the strip) and headed out on my quick Vegas adventure. Boy, was the city sensory overload for me; lights, noises, and lots of things going on every direction you looked. The show was magnificent. I love Michael Jackson songs and sang to almost every one of them in the show. I'm sure my seat neighbors hated me but I had a blast. I thought since I was a single ticket, that it would be weird and awkward, but it wasn't. If you every get a chance to see a show by yourself, do it! It was so freeing and made me realize my own company is quite fun and exciting.
The next day, I met up with the REI Adventures group. This group was totally different than the other REI trips I took. We had 2 couples, one were police officers and the other were artists, a single women close to my age from Miami, two women friends from Pennsylvania, and one single guy from Washington state and who also worked at REI. It was a great mix of individuals. The two guides and participants loaded the van with a trailer and their brown bag lunches and headed off to Zion National Park. It truly was like going to summer camp. It took about 3 hours to drive and then we start to see the peaks of Zion rise in front of us. Our only hike for the day was called 'Watchman Trail'. It was a nice 2.7 mile round trip hike. The landscape was beautiful and unlike any I had seen thus far in the US. Fair warning though, it is HOT AS HE double hockey sticks in Zion in June.
After the hike, we loaded the van and started our trek to the camp site. We pulled up this long unpaved drive. It opened up to a campsite with bathhouse, tents scattered around, firepit area, cooking/kitchen area, and group tent. The bathhouse was run on solar power. The tent was large with two cots and sleeping pads. There was an area in the tent to hang your clothes and a porch out front to sit and have your morning coffee/tea. After settling into the tent, we had some light appetizers and abundant dinner spread. With a full belly, I sat and stared at the camp fire as well as got to know my fellow campers. It is amazing how a camp fire can bring people together. So simple.
I woke up the next morning, sat on my porch with my tea and watched wild turkeys eating in the grass in front of me. I even pulled out my travel yoga mat and did some yoga asanas on the front porch of my glamping tent. After breakfast we loaded the van again and started our day hiking one of the most famous hikes in the Southwest, Angels Landing. Luckily, we hiked down instead of up. This hike is a long, steady climb with exhilarating pieces along an exposed sandstone ridge. We spent a good amount of time at the top with the stunning views of the canyon below. The canyon was out of this world beautiful and with the clear blue sky we had that day, it was breathtaking. We then started hiking down to the Narrows. It was so hot and I felt so bad for the people hiking up to the landing. I was so very happy that we hiked down it. Once we got to the bottom we had a second hike in the Narrows, a deep, water-filled chasm carved by the Virgin River. We travelled upstream, carefully walking on rock or even wading in shallow water. The Narrows had steep sandstone walls. It was nice and refreshing to be in the cool water after being in the sun and heat for so long. After we hiked our arses off, we went back to camp, had dinner, and went to bed. What an amazing day in Zion.
After another wonderful night in camp, we packed up, had breakfast (I think it was blueberry pancakes and sausage) and bid farewell to our Zion campsite. We drove for 2 hours to Bryce Canyon National Park. Our first views of the park were at Fairyland Point. I had never seen scenery like this before. The brightly colored red/orange "hoodoos" were so tall and intricate and looked like they went on for miles and miles. I learned that erosion shaped the limestone, sandstone, and mudstones into thousands of spires, fins, pinnacles and mazes. It was designated a National Park in 1928. After we took in the views, we started our hike around the rim and down into the canyon itself. We walked past a formation called 'Tower Bridge' and saw other well-known landmarks like Sinking Ship and Chinese Wall. Little did I know that we were hiking to our campsite. How cool is that??
The REI Signature Camp in Bryce Canyon National Park was wonderful. All our stuff was already in our tents prior to our arrival via foot. The tents were the same as the Zion camp with two cots with sleeping pads, a place to hand your things, and a porch; however, this time we had awesome views of the outside of the park. We had a campfire area, cooking/kitchen area, and most amazing, luxurious bathhouse. The shower was huge and 20x better than my shower at home. After we settled our tents the camp manager had big pots with hot water to soak our feet in. It was a spa out in nature. It was one of the best parts of the campsite experience. We ate a spectacular dinner, again, and hung out by the campfire until we decided it was time to retire to our tents.
The next day we started out hiking in Bull Valley Gorge. This slot canyon in Grand-Staircase/Escalante National Monument is deep and less visited than most. It is infamous for being the location of a 1954 accident where three locals died after their truck slipped off a muddy road and plunged into the canyon. The vehicle got wedged in the upper heights of the slot. The slot canyon was not as tight as the second one we visited called Antelope Canyon. We had to fit in tight spaces and pretty much climb the walls like spiderman to work our way through the canyon. The sun beaming down made for some great photos. The scenery was very impressive and amazed me as to how they formations were made by nature. I felt like a shrunken human inside the canyons. They challenged the mind and body but I was not going to miss such stunning pieces of nature. We ended the day back at camp eating a yummy meal and watching the stars overhead. The nights were so clear and the sky was astonishing.
We woke up early the next morning, for good reason, a sunrise hike on the Timber Creek Overlook Trail. I'm not much of a morning person and was thinking of skipping the hike but I am sure glad I didn't. My mind was changed once I saw the sun peaking over the 'hoodoos'. I did a little yoga with the sun in my face and sat down to take in the astonishing views of nature. This was our last day, which was sad, but we ended it on the most amazing note. We loaded the van one last time and headed back to Las Vegas. Boy was a dreading it because this trip was so peaceful and we could end the night watching the stars. Vegas is going to be quite the shock to the system.
The people on this trip were great. I still keep in touch with the majority of them on social media and even met one on another solo travel trip to Delaware. It is awesome how nature can bring such different individuals together into a community and build lifelong friendships.
What I learned on this trip:
First impressions / judgements are typically always wrong. Give people a chance. Show up to every event as your true authentic self and others will be themselves as well. Thank you to nature and the friendships that are built during REI Adventure trips.
Challenge yourself to get outside your comfort zone regularly. It helps you grow and see the world in a different light.
Thank Mother Earth for giving you so much in your life. Give back when you can.
Your body can do more than you think. Take care of it and try to perform daily self-care to keep it happy and joyous.
What I will bring to Glamp GVL:
Some sites at Glamp GVL will be similar to the ones at REI Signature Camp. You bring your own tent and sleeping bag and we will provide cots, a platform, and decks with chairs. This will be our more affordable option to glamp with us.
I strive to have a super fancy shower as the one at Bryce Canyon Signature Camp. We will have a bathhouse that is nice (and better than an RV park or porta potty).
We will provide opportunities for people to perform daily selfcare. The spa experience was so nice after the long hikes we had during this trip. I would love to teach campers easy and effective self-care practices.
Nightly campfires are a must at Glamp GVL. They bring campers together and hopefully will build a community and lifelong friendships.
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