Las Vegas, NV: April  11-12, 2016

This drive should’ve been really straight forward considering our experiences so far, but the timing of a few events made things a little more complicated. Corey and I needed to get to Fort Collins by Friday May 15th, because I wanted to go with Dany and Joe to New Mexico to drop Joe off for his CDT hike. Unfortunately that same weekend, Corey’s company was going to take part in a huge convention in Las Vegas, and he needed to get a lot of work done by Thursday May 14th. In order to pull off both, we somehow needed to find a balance to allow him to work while making the 16 hour drive to Fort Collins through large areas of no phone or wifi connection.

Corey worked as much as he could throughout the weekend. Then on Monday morning we decided to depart LA as soon as he finished his morning meeting. If we chose to drive halfway to Utah and camp out, we risked driving through sketchy places in the dark, missing out on amazing scenery, and arriving at the campsite around 11pm without being guaranteed an available site. Instead, we decided on an impromptu trip to Las Vegas for a night with plans to leave super early to make the most of our time in Utah. Another reason why LOVE Air BnB… I was able to book a dog friendly accommodation in Las Vegas just hours prior to when we were set to arrive!

In about 4.5 hours we were in Vegas! After some socializing with the host and her bestie neighbor, I rested a bit while Corey worked. We then grabbed some food from Crown and Anchor British Pub. I had a Pasty while Corey had Chicken Curry. It was the first time I had English food and boyyyy was it delicious!

We drove down the strip to check out Vegas and then stopped to see the water show at Belaggio. By the time we returned to the Air Bnb, it was midnight. I slept for 2 hours while Corey busted his butt to get some work done.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT: April 12-13, 2016

Our day started around 2:30am. I love being able to travel and drive all over the country, but it does get exhausting. Corey and I started to dread the long drives a while ago, but when the time comes to head to our next destination, we have a pretty good system going. Then once I get behind the wheel, I’m totally at peace just cruising. On that note, I hate driving! LA and Boston traffic = driving. Traveling for hundreds of miles on I-10W or I-25N = cruising.

I particularly enjoyed this drive because the scenery from Nevada to Utah changed so drastically. Despite barely sleeping, I was completely mesmerized by the beauty around every turn (literally) and couldn’t have been more excited to be on the road.

We had to plan very strategically from this point on. Corey had already charged up all of his battery packs to fuel our phones and his laptop to allow him to work. We were hoping to have cell phone reception but planned appropriately just in case we didn’t. When we stopped to get gas 30 minutes prior to Corey’s meeting, we made a decision to stay at the gas station just to ensure that he’d be able to phone in for the meeting. Good thing we stayed, because within seconds of pulling out of the gas station, we didn’t have reliable cell phone signal until the following morning!

The drive through Utah to Goblin Valley State Park was by far the most scenic and enjoyable drive I have ever encountered! The pictures I took look pretty good, but seriously doesn’t even come close to capturing the beauty. Standing at the edge of a canyon and seeing different hues of red as far as your eyes can see before it blends with a perfectly blue sky…. breathtaking! And this was just a random spot I found when I ventured away from a rest stop bathroom!

When I finally took the highway exit towards Goblin Valley State Park, I still had to drive another 30+ miles to the campground. It was literally in the middle of no where! We arrived shortly after noon without any reservations. I held my breath as I asked the ranger if there were any available sites open and let out a huge sigh of relief when he smiled and said there were TWO! Wooooohooo!!!

This campsite was perfect for us! There were stunning rock formations all around! We still felt like we were in the backcountry, but there was running water, a picnic table under a roof-thing that provided shade, and a nice fire pit with grill. It was exactly what we needed! This allowed Corey to get to work ASAP and I grilled up some lunch… hot dogs, sausages, and potatoes!

We then explored the actual state park but opted out on hiking any trails. Instead, we wandered around the valley and had a blast just goofing off with all the “goblins.” Anyone who likes climbing on shit, go play here!

When we returned to the camp site, we decided to cook dinner. I made pouches out of foil to reheat our left overs from the British Pub in Vegas and it turned out perfectly! I normally only think bring hot dogs and such when camping, but I think it would be pretty cool to bring frozen dinners too. Or even chicken pot pies!!!

The weather got chilly fast! After enjoying the camp fire for a bit, we just called it a night!

I wish that I had a camera to take pictures of the sky that night. Corey and I were amazed at the number of stars we were able to see and the intensity at which they shined. Utah is known for many of their dark skies, although Goblin Valley isn’t as popular on the list, it definitely isn’t a let down!

Next stop Fort Collins!