Life as a seasonal is a lot of fun, and I want to live every weekend to the fullest, because I know these years will go by quick. Each season, we get about 6 days of leave to use, and I always try to maximize my leave to see the most possible. So, for our second big trip of the summer, Michael and I decided to do a Western Colorado road trip and visit some park sites on the way. We ended up going to 10 park sites in 5 days and had the best quality time together! Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona!

Most of these park sites were smaller in size, so we felt that we were able to have a solid experience visiting each one without rushing through the parks. Day 1 started out sunny and nice at Colorado NM, we saw some great viewpoints, did a nice short trail and saw a bighorn sheep!

We had a gorgeous drive over the Rim Rock Canyon and set out for Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Curecanti next. But then, as we ascended in elevation, it started to rain! And of course, silly me, I forgot to pack a pair of pants. But we still ran out in the rain down to Gunnison Point, took in the viewpoints best we could and ran into an old colleague from Yellowstone, Jameson!

After Black Canyon, we continued our scenic drive down to the bottom of the canyon where Curecanti began. Since it was still raining, Michael didn’t want to get wet, but in true Rachel fashion I ran down to the bridge to get a better view of the dam and see the confluence of the rivers!

We stayed the night in Montrose, ate pizza and enjoyed the cooler weather. Day 2 we embarked on driving the Million Dollar Highway, rumor has it, it cost a million dollars per mile to build, and we stopped in the town of Silverton before swinging by Aztec Ruins and ending our night in Durango.

Day 3 was the busiest and most exciting of them all! We went to Mesa Verde NP and went on 2 different ranger guided tours of Balcony House and Cliff Palace. These were ancient cliff dwellings built into alcoves and absolutely gorgeous. We climbed several 8-foot ladders, crawled through 3-foot spaces and got to hear all about how the Pueblo people lived out here.

After Mesa Verde, we went and saw one of the oldest park sites in history, Yucca House, which is an unexcavated ruin surrounded by private property. This was one of the funkiest park sites we’ve been to, but I guess we had to check it off the list eventually!

We ended up the evening by swinging by Hovenweep and seeing another set of ancient structures. We arrived around 6:00pm and saw no one for the entirety of our drive, at the park site and going to the hotel, it was eerie!

Day 4 was Canyon DeChelly and this was another big adventure. We booked a Navajo guide who grew up in the canyon and had special permission to take us through the canyon. We heard stories of his childhood, all about the history of the area and the establishment of the park. It was really interesting to hear a different perspective and side of history, to open our minds and learn more.

Our guide Adam taught us a lot about the park, and it was a full 3-hour tour exploring these scenic areas. Afterwards we drove the North Rim scenic road and got top down views of where we had just been in the canyon.

After Canyon DeChelly we swung by Hubbell Trading Post, and honestly there wasn’t much to see. We walked around the historic buildings, saw some livestock including sheep and continued on our way.

To end day 4, we camped at Navajo NM, and this is where we spent day 5. Navajo was a stunning canyon with incredible views, and it was a peaceful way to end our trip. We watched the sunset over our campsite, went for short walks and learned about ancient cliff dwellers and the various homes they built.

Work has been good, but nonstop busy. It seems that Zion has a shorter ‘shoulder’ or quiet season compared to the previous parks I have worked at. Nonetheless, I have been having fun continuously giving ranger programs including a Mountain Lion talk and evening program on Wilderness. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet the Director of the Park Service Chuck Sams, for the second time. He came to Zion, and I was able to hear him speak about the park, and the next day I happened to meet him at the museum and he gave Michael and I challenge coins!

One wild thing that happened recently when I was on the clock though was a reported rockfall in the Narrows. A large chunk of sandstone fell from a cliff face above, struck a pine tree and created a large dust cloud about 2.5 miles into the water. Fortunately, no one was hurt but we did close the water for a few hours. It just reminded me how unpredictable nature can be especially in a place like Zion!

In-between big weekends, we try to lay low and get involved with more local activities or events. One night we made Stromboli, per Michael’s request which was fun, but heavy on the tummy later.

During our short weekend, we kept it casual and went to St George one day to run some errands, and then we decided to go bowling. We bowled 3.8 games in an hour, and not to brag but I definitely whooped Michael in 2+ games hehe. It was still so fun and a great way to decompress.

We also set out to complete one of the last hikes on the Zion Day Hike sampler, Kolob Arch. We knew this would be a longer day, at 14 miles roundtrip, but we did not anticipate how brutal, exposed and sandy the trail would be. Let’s just say we’re glad we did it but also won’t do it again.

That same day, I was rushing to get back to a Zoom call with my core college buds: Zach, Jess and KT. We had set the call for 7:15 PST / 8:15 MST, and Michael and I estimated we would be home by 5:30ish. I was planning to have a few hours to chill before the call, but that didn’t happen. Oh well, it was so worth it to talk to my besties for a few hours and just catch up on each other’s lives.

One of our summer goals was to visit every National Park site in Utah while we lived out here in Zion. There are 13 official park sites, and recently we made it to our 12th of 13, Dinosaur National Monument! Now this was definitely one of our more ambitious adventures for a short weekend, it was a 7-hour drive that we split into two half days there, but we still got a good taste of the park! We saw real dinosaur bones, the quarry and scenic views throughout. The only park site we have left is Rainbow Bridge, in the middle of Glen Canyon, and we are hoping to make it out there next month!

On our way to Dinosaur, we stopped in Provo, UT for the night, and I happened to find out that one of my great CODA mentor friends was in the area. I got to meet up with the wonderful Jolene and have breakfast with her and her son Hunter. It was so good to see each other and immediately feel at home because of the special bond we have.

Time is flying, I officially have under a month left before I move to Texas. I have a few more exciting adventures planned, and then it’s off to the next chapter with my high school bud Gia in tow, we’ll make the drive to Big Bend! As always, Ranger On!