spirobulldog

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Link above to my pics

I normally like to spend more time in each spot, but this was a short weekend trip to fill in a few gaps of some places that we had missed on previous trips.

We started out in Arches at 6:00am. My daughter and I had been before, but this was my wife first visit. I decided to see Delicate Arch in the morning rather than at sunset. This turned out to be great. Just us and 2 other families at the top. This allowed us to stand under that arch as long as we wanted to. Plus, it gave us a cool start on the incline. It was my wifes favorite hike of the trip. We also saw Double Arch, The Windows, Turret Arch, Balanced Rock, and Landscape Arch. We were eating lunch in Moab by 12:30 at The Love Muffin. Good sandwiches and salads, but some a/c would have been nice.

We were then off to Little Wildhorse Canyon. We all enjoyed it. This was my 2nd time there, but my wife and daughter hadn't been before. We didn't hike as far as I would have liked because it was pretty deep with water. We did get to see the most narrow portion of it though. We then headed off to Goblin Valley. This might be my favorite area in Utah. Again, it was wife and daughters first visit there. We had burgers and a shake at Stan's Burger Shack in Hanksville which was decent. We then spent the night @ Austin's Chuckwagon in Torrey. That was a lot for one day so we didn't have any problem sleeping.

Day 2 --Drove through Capitol Reef which was extra green and pretty. Had pie at The Gifford House/orchard area under the trees. Dutch Apple and Strawberry/Rhubarb. One pie is enough for two people. Just saw a few deer, not many. We didn't do any hiking at all in Cap Reef.

We then headed down Hwy 12 to Devils Garden in Escalante. The Hogsback will get your attention. The Devils Garden turned out to be a little better than I thought it might be. Very Nice!! Calf Creek Falls was a nice hike. I thought the water was around 75 degrees, so I was suprised that it was in the 40 degrees when we were there. Very Very cold, but I did manage for a short swim in it. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwichess for a picnic at the falls. Man did they taste good after that hike. It was an easy hike, but a little more than what I had expected it to be. We had chicken strips, etc at Ruby's for dinner that evening and got checked into our cabin at Bryce Lodge. We were close to the rim and we did walk a little from Sunrise to Sunset points that eveing. We did run into a bit of snow on HWY 12 a couple of times. Just a few flakes. Very awesome drive!!

Day 3- I was the only one up and going with energy this morning. Sunrise turned out to be very very overcast, so it wasn't a good one at all. I decided to do the "all day" horse ride. This is basically Peek a Boo Loop. It was supposed to last 4.5 hours but really was only about 3 hours. It was good and I was a little sore from the riding, so probably best that it didn't last any longer than it did. My wife and daughter slept in. That afternoon we hiked Navajo Loop and Queens Garden. A very pretty hike!!!! Out of energy, we drove to the end of the park and stopped at several of the overlook areas. Had a nice dinner at the Lodge. Our room had a fireplace and was about a 2 minute walk to the rim, very nice!!

Day 4- Had breakfast at the lodge. Huevos Ranchero for me and wife had oatmeal. Both were good. My daughter just wanted coffee. She is 17 and I would guess that the guy that waited our table was about 20. He went all out with his flirting. He told her that he just couldn't understand why she wanted just coffee. Anyway, he brought the coffee out with piles and piles of whipped cream around the plate and lots of fruits sprinkled on the plate and the cup of coffee in the middle. We all laughed about it, including the waiter. I had hoped to see Cedar Breaks, but it was closed due to the record snow. We did hike Mossy Cave. The cave wasn't really much, but I thought the waterfall was a decent one. We then headed towards St. George to catch our late afternoon flight home. Daughter had to be back for a couple of summer college courses she is taking this summer. We did drive the scenic route(Cedar Breaks road). Lots of trees down from damage as a result of heavy snowfall, I am guessing. We also drove along the road to Kolob Canyon section of Zion. I had no idea it was just 10 minutes from the hwy like that.

A very short but rewarding trip. None of us had seen Bryce before and it certainly is a very pretty place.

mlgb

That part of Utah is so pretty. I wondered how much snow was still there.

Dayle

spiro,

Thanks for posting the results of your quick trip with wife and daughter. I was wondering how they enjoyed it and how you liked the first time spots you visited.

That water in Calf Creek was spring runoff - melted snow! That's what you get in the spring in southern UT. During a big snow year like this one - the cold water will stay cold until mid-summer! Man, I love that hike and the whole area. You can spend your whole life hiking and exploring and never see most of it.

How was the new airport in St. George? Pretty nice, from pictures I've seen. Can't wait until more flights are scheduled in/out from there.

Come back soon! You should put northern UT on your list now!

gnomemom

Great Pictures! Goblin Valley is so cool - I can't wait to take my kids there!

Thanks for sharing your report and pictures!

wrongfoot

Thanks spiro for the pictures and narrative... can't wait to see Bryce in a few weeks.

emalloy

Sounds like a great trip, wonderful pictures. That road to Cedar Breaks was closed at the end of april when we tried to go, enough snow this year to keep it closed for a while.

Thanks for the report.

spirobulldog

Dayle,

I still want to see Lake Powell and really really want to do The Wave some time.

swisshiker

Really enjoyed your report and photos, spirobulldog! Do you live close by so you can just pop in for a weekend? I'm so jealous!

The sequence of photos of the three of you under the arch, starting from furthest away to closest, that was a great perspective. Very trusting to whomever you gave your camera for the shots!

And that water did indeed look refreshing!

Well done

spirobulldog

The man that took the photos didn't speak English. He and his wife were the only ones there. We just traded cameras and took photos for each other, but never could understand each other.

I live in Oklahoma,but this is my 5th trip to Utah.

Myer

sprio,
Looks like you had a great little trip.

Too bad about the cloudy sunrise at Bryce.

I'm also glad you liked Devil's Garden Escalante. I view it as a grown up Gobblin Valley. Both are definitely worth a couple of hours stop.

I didn't get to check out your photos until now as I returned today from a trip to Yosemite with my daughter and granddaughter.

utahtea

Great pictures...and OMG..the Strawberry/Rhubarb is one of my favorites!!!! I lost count of how many we ate last October when we spent 6 days at Capitol Reef...and LOL...it wasn't even on our agenda to visit there last year!

Utahtea

spirobulldog

utahtea,
I liked the apple pie best. My wife loved the strawberry/rhubarb. I am not a big rhubarb fan. My wife and mother make fantastic pies. I do a lot of cooking and my mom has even written a cookbook. So, we are pretty picky and very picky about piecrust. I must say that the Gifford House pies and crust get very high marks in my book. They had some interesting looking breads there, that I don’t remember from last time. One had tomatoes and zuchinni on top. We didn’t try it because we had already bought deli items from Austin’s Chuckwagon store. The items turned out to be good. Austin’s has good bread pudding, btw. Their sandwiches are good too. We packed all of that to Calf Creek Falls. Our pie, we just ate in the picnic area at Cap Reef.

myer
I think of you when we are on trips, because usually I am going to some place you have been or vice versa. I even told my wife to expect to see a grownup GV as we were headed to Devils Garden. That cloudy sunrise even had a few snowflakes that it spit on me.

I knew you were going to Yosemite in June and have been waiting to see what you thought of it. Hope it wasn’t to crowded. How did your granddaughter hold up and did you all see the trees? I bet the waterfalls were rolling with all the snow they received this year. Last year was a good year when we were there, but I think this year was even quite a bit more. I hope to go back sometime and do the high country/tuolmne area. Maybe do some tent to tent hiking.

utahtea

spriobulldog,
I'm know for my pies and my specialty is an apple crumb that my family insist I make for every occasion so when I have pies, I enjoy any kind of berry! We shop at Chuckwagon all the time when in the area, but since we have the motor home we make our own meals and sandwiches. We'll check out the bread there tho. Thanks,
Utahtea

spirobulldog

Utahtea,
My mom makes three different versions of apple pie. Double Crust, Dutch Apple Crumb, and one she calls a shoestring apple pie. Apples are sliced very thin and she uses sour cream in it, it is very different, but good. My wife sometimes makes a rum sauce to go with her apple pie. My mother n law made a peach slump last night. Have you heard of that one? It is basically a cobbler, but it is cooked on top of the stove in a dutch oven. It isn't baked at all.

spirobulldog

the other day my wife was reading the fat content on something. it read 0 MG she thought it read OMG. I am still laughing about it.

utahtea

I haven't heard of a peach slump, but it sounds yummmy. I don't dare make a different apple pie or I'd have a family feud on my hands...LOL! I do make a lot of other kinds of pies for the holidays, but there ALWAYS has to be at least one apple crumb...sometimes two! For years we've had pies instead of birthday cakes! My boys & newphew's favorite is my Coconut Cream Pie which is my own recipe.

Utahtea

grendel

You make all these places come alive, I can't believe I will be visiting them with my family in just a few weeks!

Did you enjoy the trail ride in Bryce (apart from the weather)? We are planning to do the same, but we are beginners (I mean REALLY beginners).

I also liked the pictures from your trip with your nephew, amazing caves...

swisshiker

utahtea,

Naughty girl, you have broken one of the Fodor's rules of participation:

Fodor's Rule #642: Whenever posting a favorite family recipe, you are required to also share the recipe with your fellow Fodorites.

I would not want to see you banned, so could you PLEASE abide by the rules and share your recipe for Coconut Cream Pie!

utahtea

swisshiker,

I don't want to get banned so ENJOY!

http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...swisshiker.cfm

Utahtea

DebitNM

Utahtea's other thread caught my eye [love coconut cream pie] and that led me here. Then I saw slump mentioned so:


Peach/Blueberry Slump


TIME/SERVINGS Total: 35 mins Active: 10 mins Makes: 8 servings
Like a stovetop cobbler, the slump and its fraternal twin the grunt combine sweetened fruit with dumplings (in this case, cornmeal), which fall or slump into the bubbling fruit mixture. This old-fashioned dessert is best served warm, scooped into bowls, and drizzled with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.
INGREDIENTS
For the dumplings:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (fine or medium ground)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the filling:
• 5 medium peaches, skinned, pitted and cut into eighths (about 4 cups)
• 3 cups blueberries (about 1 1/2 pints)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS
For the dumplings:
1. Stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon in a large mixing bowl to combine, and break up any lumps. Mix half-and-half and melted butter together in a small bowl until evenly combined. Pour half-and-half mixture over flour mixture and stir until just combined (dough will resemble a cornbread batter). Set aside.
For the filling:
1. In another large bowl, gently fold peaches, blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice together then transfer to a large straight-sided skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit starts to release some of its juice, about 6 minutes.
2. Drop eight large dollops of batter over fruit mixture and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, covered, until dumplings are cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and continue cooking until dumplings are springy to the touch and no longer sticky,