Utah Travel Guide

Temple Square is well worth the 'free visit'...you'll have access to two visitor centers with as much information as you want to know about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons). The grounds are beautifully landscaped and maintained and the buildings have rich architectural and religious history. Ask about the Nauvoo...

There are Hard Rock Cafes all over the world and they seem to all have the same menu. So, eating at a HRC is not always appealing to me. They have great food. But since we're in a different city, we wanted to try some local cuisine. But....I have to go get my pins. I collect HRC pins wherever I go. I only have 1 pin from Denver where I have not...

Some wonderful hiking trails, all not very long and some very easy to walk from the car. A good mix with some primitive trails and well maintained trails. Entry into the park is only $10 and good for a week. There are over 2000 arches in the entire park. The visitor center is very informative and a few years back was renovated it was nice that...

Cemeteries are usually interesting little pieces of local history so I took an hour or two one morning to look about in this one. All I was able to find about it online before the trip was that it was supposedly established in 1860: an interesting tidbit right there as Moab's first permanent settlement wasn’t until 1877-1878. Although a trading...

They go about their usual daily life. in spite of tourists gawking and looking at them. the animals seemundeterred and go on looking for food and rest.

Zion is a mighty busy place during the warmer months; so busy that traffic and parking eventually became a real headache, and they had to find a way to make accessing the park a lot easier for all concerned. That answer was the Springdale and Zion Canyon free shuttle service. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is off limits to personal vehicles from about...

I stopped last June to take a few pictures and was quite frustrated when I reached the entrance to Monument Valley. They raised the price from $5.00 to $20.00 for starters. Not really an issue. What made me mad was they are not organized - I waited 20 minutes to pay my $20.00 and I was still 10 plus cars from their one person taking money to get...

When you make your way in towards the entrance of Monument Valley, it's easy to pass the monument showing the entrance and what seems an adapted image of the Navajo pepole

There are free shuttles through the park. It is much better when you can look around and take pictures than to have to drive. Not only that but you don't have to pay for gas. The only cost of these shuttles is that you have a park pass. There are 2 different sets of shuttles. One runs every 15 minutes and takes in about 4 to 5 miles of the park....

You get big portions and you get filled up. The food is meant to be about what you would find on a trail drive, only better. But the show and atmosphere is really great. The show starts as the doors open when Sheriff Shaun comes out to great and motivate the crowd. Motivation done with if needed pistols firing blanks. Then there is a short pre-show...

Probably my favorite arch. Follow the main road and turn right at the first intersection. Easy access, you have to walk 10 to 15 minutes >>>> Arches National Park map

These two formations are called The Tower of Babel and The Organ. I can see why these formations got their name better than I do many of the others.

This is such a great little farmer's market! It's small but the vendors are high quality. It's small but good; plan on spending about 30 minutes to an hour here. You'll find a great variety here, with stands like: farm fresh produce, cookies, kettle corn, cheeses, olive oils, breads, German pastries, salsas, spices, clothing, fresh wild salmon,...

That's it, I'm done with this place for good. I'm tired of getting ripped off when I get food here. See my photos of what I was actually served here last week. Yes folks, I ordered beef and broccoli and I got my meal home and separated out the beef from the broccoli -- and the dish was 95% broccoli! I love broccoli but come on! How can these...

These pictures show some of the local labor employment and how they spend their free time so they can earn some beer money for the winter.

This is a cool site. The cave is located right next to the road, just north of Moqui Cave.The cave is located on private property, but most people go through the fence, for a closer look. We stopped on the side of the road, as it got our attention, and took some pictures. There is a small dock, picnic table, and large statue, that closely resembles...

The best place to check backcountry road conditions is at the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center. The rangers here will have the most up to date information. However, they will be the first to tell you conditions can change rapidly. Roads could be washed out or have deep sand. They can also tell you what backcountry roads are passable with...

There is a trailer park located just down the road from the national monument visitor center, on the same side of the road toward the town of Escalante. The showers are clean but beware the hot water does not last long. I found on my last visit they like to boast their four large water heaters but they fail to tell you they are on vacation mode, at...

I have camped many times in this area and on occasion spend many days in the wilderness. When I am done it is nice to take a shower. If you don't want to get a hotel room, your best option is to drive about 30 minutes to Kodachrome State Park which has a public shower for about $2. It is a blessing in the desert.

Friday night the Bit and Spur host local bands which seem to be quite good. I have been their four or five times and it was very good. Along with the pool table and the great beer, it makes for a fine night! Very casual. Shorts are acceptable.

We’re big fans of craft brews so we had to give this one a try. Zion Canyon Brew Pub is in an area called Zion Canyon Village, just outside of the south pedestrian entrance. You have to pass through this area if you’re taking one of the shuttle buses or walking from Springdale. We ordered up one of beer flights to try out all of the options, and...

Situated 2000 feet above the Colorado River, the legend goes that cowboys once rounded up wild mustangs and herded them onto what is now called Dead Horse Point Overlook. After choosing the horses they wanted to keep, they somehow forgot about the rest and, trapped on that waterless point far above the river, the poor things died of thirst. Sad as...

This is a nice formation called the candlestick tower. I guess it looks kinda like a candelabra or something. Who thinks up some of these names?

The Benja Thai and Sushi Restaurant is open from Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, and Sunday’s for dinner only. They have a varied menu, including appetizers, interesting soups and salads, a variety of rice and Thai Noodles, curry dishes, and sushi items. The food is delicious, and fresh tasting. We went early, but it soon filled up....

Whiterocks Trail/Whiterocks Amphitheater is a moderate 4 mile round trip hike, with some rock slopes, and uneven surfaces, and a short spur trail to the amphitheater, which is a natural, sandstone amphitheater. The trail passes through the red, white, and black colors seen in the park. The Whiterocks trail begins at a parking lot north of the park,...

The Sand Dunes Trail is an easy, one-half mile walk, with deep sand, and some small hills. There will be a trail marker telling you the way, but once you arrive you will be at a large expanse of red sand, with some windblown hills, where both adults, and adults with children come to play. When I saw it I thought of a giant’s sand box, and that is...

The decor was nothing that special but the food was good as was the service. Good selection of seafood on the buffet.

Not far out of St. George is Snow Canyon. Very beautiful canyon. Great car ride. Lots of Mtn. Bike trails and hiking.

Vernal, Utah is famous for its dinosaur fossils but it is also home to some of the best white water river rafting in the United States. The Green River and Yampa River both start and end out of Vernal. These trips range from 1 to 5 days depending on the section of river you raft and the time restraints you have while traveling. The one day trip on...

We found this breakfast stop completely by mistake (travelling in the wrong direction) and didn't regret it. A lovely smile as I opened the door, service and food on the same level.$16 for the two of us inc. coffee and tax. Big fluffy pancakes topped off with a couple of over-easy eggs. Yumyum.

Showers are available last time I visited. There is a $6.00 fee to enter the park the last time I visited.Update 2013: The entry fee is now $7.00. Showers are not available to day users, only campers. There are 4 individual shower rooms. My group used all 4 and from what we can tell,, Shower 1 and 3 were the warmest (from left to right, they are...

There is no trail in Goblin Valley. If you venture down into the Goblins, make sure you stay oriented if you do not have a compass.

While standing at the covered pavilion overlooking Goblin Valley, you will see a large gray dome rising up from the canyon floor on the far side of the valley. To reach this side canyon, walk across the valley floor toward the dome. Once you reach the dome, turn left and follow the obvious trail. It enter a little canyon that has interesting...