After visiting Dany and picking up Duke from Colorado, Corey and I were so ready for the last leg of our trip back home to Los Angeles! When we originally made the drive from LA –> Fort Collins, we got a late start and decided to spend a night in Las Vegas. This shortened the next leg of the trip by 4 hours and allowed us to make it to Goblin Valley State Park in Utah to camp out for a night.

Exploring Goblin Valley was easily the one of the best experiences of our lives! We had spent hours walking around yet still barely explored the rock formations and trails. Best of all, we experienced our first and best starry night sky! Despite all the reasons to go back, it didn’t make sense for us to camp out so close to the Utah/Colorado border. We decided to look for a camping spot further west so that the drive would be broken up into two 8-hour chunks.

Read about our experience at Goblin Valley State Park

I was set on choosing a destination where we would experience another star filled sky like we had in Goblin Valley. Luckily, this isn’t hard to do in Utah. Regardless of where you are, there are certified International Dark Sky Parks nearby. And yes, that’s a thing! After looking up some Dark Sky Parks, we decided that we’d aim to go to Cedar Breaks National Monument and camp at Point Supreme Campground.

It isn’t far off the path we’d be taking to LA. We’d be camping at a certified Dark Sky Park at over 10K ft in elevation, and it offers beautiful views similar to those found in Bryce Canyon National Park. Three new ‘firsts’ for us: Dark Sky Park, camping at 10k ft, and seeing canyons with hoodoos!

As instructed on the NPS website, I called the park to check if they were open for the season. This was back in early June and although roads are typically clear by this time of year, it’s advised to double check to be safe. Luckily the campground was set to open the day before we planned to arrive! Because of this, I didn’t anticipate a huge rush to score campsites, but since we were arriving without a reservation, Corey and I planned to leave Colorado before dawn to leave plenty of time to explore Point Supreme.

The drive from Salida, CO through Utah was unreal! We were extra cautious while driving because we were expecting to see some wildlife, and what do you know?!? We actually came across deer trying to cross the road on two separate occasions!

Driving through Colorado early in the morning, we were expecting to see some wildlife. I was driving extra cautiously and @prakattak happened to have his phone in hand when this cutie popped out of the side of the road. It tripped once and returned back to right side of the road before making the attempt to cross again… And then tripping again. Hope the little guy is okay! #coloradolife #bambilegs #animalcrossing #roadtrippin #wildandfree #natureisbeautiful #ontheroad #takemeback #riseandshine

A video posted by Tiffany Diep (@tiffle_sniffle) on Aug 3, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT

As a bonus we saw the most amazing sunrise perfectly timed as we were driving around a beautiful lake. I wish I knew the location of this place. Would love to spend some time there…

The terrain changed drastically from Colorado to Utah!

The views from Colorado to Utah are so amazing that the time always flies by. I seriously miss just coasting for hours at 80mph taking in all the beautiful sights. Before long we were already driving through Cedar City! Getting up to Point Supreme was steep but on a smooth well paved road. We arrived at the campground with only a handful of other campers. It felt like we had the place to ourselves. Corey and I picked a site with a huge area of open land behind us. We set up camp and made a quick bite to eat before setting out to check out some hoodoos!

There are multiple trails near the campground that seemed appealing when I was researching the area, but sadly dogs are only allowed on one. Actually, it’s more of a 0.5 mile path leading from the campground to the visitor center than a trail. Although it’s super short, we were already completely exhausted from the drive/lack of sleep and altitude sickness. This little trail was perfect for Duke to explore and burn off some energy yet still manageable for two lazy people who just wanted to sleep.

Again, it was absolutely freezing! We loaded up on firewood which was sold at the campground based on an honor system. So thankful for that!!! We cooked up more food and huddled by the fire for as long as we could manage to stay awake. This night was the perfect way to end our weeks of traveling.

We had been in the Philippines with two of our friends for a month and were bombarded with family obligations during our time at home in Boston. For the first time in about 6 weeks, we had time to sit down as a couple and live in the moment. We enjoyed the crisp mountain air, a blaring fire, and a bright beautiful skyline despite it being 10pm. I cherish moments like these.

Eventually we decided to call it a night with plans to wake up later when the skies were darker. When we woke up, we peaked out of the tent and saw MILLIONS of twinkling stars filling up the sky. The sight still amazes me! In the city you either see a star or you don’t. In places without light pollution, there are stars of all intensities. I felt like the sky was filled entirely- some were intensely bright and others appeared duller in the distance. But they were EVERYWHERE!!!!

Overall, I highly recommend Point Supreme Campground. It’s the perfect balance for a family camping trip or for those looking to escape reality and venture into the backcountry. It was extremely easy to access and everyone we met was overly freindly! It has many convenient amenities like clean facilities, water spigots, showers, and firewoods sold on site. I can’t say for sure what the experience will be like when the campground is full, but I felt like we were completely secluded from the rest of the world which is exactly what we wanted. And the biggest bonuses- the night skies and the canyon views! If you visit during the summer, there are night sky parties where rangers will set up telescopes near the visitor center. Dogs are allowed to attend but cant be near the telescopes just to ensure that they don’t accidentally get knocked over. We couldn’t stay up late enough for the party! Hahaha we’re old…

One thing to keep in mind is the altitude. I felt so tired and had a mild headache throughout our entire stay, but it was worth it! Definitely check it out!