Reflection Canyon

I started planning this trip the prior year: one week alone in the Mohave Desert and Joshua Tree NP and then another week meeting up with my wife and our son during his college spring break - to spend some family time being a bit more adventurous in the deserts of southern Utah.

As I mentioned, I spent the first week alone, in the California desert: camping, hiking, and photographing to my whim. I spent a few days in Mohave Desert Preserve and hiked through the world’s densest Joshua Tree forest there, climbed a 650 ft “singing” sand dune (Keslo), checked out numerous ancient volcanoes (lava fields and cinder cones), and stopped on a short stretch of Rte 66.

As a side note, driving down a well-worn single lane road from Mohave Desert towards Joshua Tree NP, Interstate 40 bisects both Mohave and Joshua Tree. I stopped near the interstate and was able to finally call my wife - after 3 days of no contact. Once in Joshua Tree there would again be no cell service – for another 4 days. You need to plan accordingly and accept the inherent risks when one travels alone!

Though Mohave and Joshua are 3 hours southwest of Las Vegas and in CA, most March nights were 28-34 degrees and day-time temps around 48 – with several days of +50mph winds. One night of rain.

Joshua Tree is filled with scattered jumbled boulders, more Joshua Trees, creosote bushes, and a variety of cacti, etc.

After exploring Joshua Tree for a few days, I drove back to Las Vegas and picked up my wife and son at the airport. From there we drove 5 hrs north to Grand Staircase Escalante, then another 3 hours down a desert dirt road, parked our rental SUV, donned our backpacks and started our hike. Because there is no accessible water, we had to carry 4 gallons of water, along with our camping gear and my 4x5 camera gear (imagine carrying all this). There is no official trail, and certainly no cell service. We hiked for 5 hours, and 1 hour before sunset I decided to camp where we were. The next morning, we hiked 1 hour or so and finally came to Reflection Canyon! Maybe I called it quicks too soon. Oh well. But overall, well worth it!

The day after hiking out, we did a day-hike - up one slot canyon and down another – Peek A Boo then Spooky Gulch. Some spots were so narrow that even my thin and trim wife of 125lbs had to turn sideways in order to squeeze through! *And she is claustrophobic but was ok since she could see the sky.

After this we drove to Bryce Canyon NP. All the trails and most side roads were closed due to snow, so we could only look down onto the hoodoos. We stayed in a hotel near Bryce and the next morning we woke up to 4 inches of more snow. Being that the car rental was from Las Vegas, there was no snow brush! I asked to borrow another guest's while he was brushing off his snow. We then drove 35mph (vs normal 65) through the snow down to Zion NP. Eventually the snow turned to rain, but when we got to Zion that rain (and the low clouds) blocked the mountain tops around Zion valley. So, we did not get out of the car for any hikes – only a drive-thru. I have been to Zion before, but I thought my son would really enjoy it.

Regardless, my family finally got to see some of Bryce and Zion (and Grand Staircase).

We eventually made it back to Las Vegas and walked the Strip both during the day and night and did the Fremont St Experience at night too. We aren’t gamblers, but we do enjoy watching people. And boy, does Vegas have a variety of people to watch. We also went to Hoover Dam for my son to see (we saw it 25 yrs ago!).

I had a great 2 week vacation (yes, it is still a vacation regardless if I am retired). My wife and son had a fantastic week-long spring break trip! They did and saw a lot of different things!

Additional images coming soon

Additional images coming soon