From Snowdrifts to Sandstone
Today marks the official start of our year-long sabbatical! Our close friend Monika is running a marathon at Lake Mead this week, so we’re heading south to cheer her on and kick off our year in the dirt.
The Snowy Escape
We woke up in Crestone to cold, grey skies, eager to hit the Desert Southwest and finally warm up. The universe, however, had other plans. After a bit of a false start, we hit Wolf Creek Pass just as the snow began to dump. By the time we reached northern Arizona, the roads were unplowed and the driving was white-knuckled.
Luckily, things dried out as we approached Page. We pushed through the dark to White House Campground near Kanab, one of our old stomping grounds. We fell asleep tucked into the sandstone hills, just happy to be out of the storm.
Familiar Rocks and Creative Names
Waking up near Kanab felt like a homecoming. A few years ago, Rose and I hiked from this very spot down through Paria Canyon to Buckskin Gulch (one of the deepest slot canyons on earth). This morning, the canyon was silent, save for one other van.
As we hit the highway, we passed some favorite landmarks: the Cockscomb ridge, the road to the Wave, and a small peak “creatively” named Mollie’s Nipple (the early pioneers certainly had a sense of humor… or repression?). We followed the Vermilion Cliffs west before dropping off the Colorado Plateau into Hurricane, Utah.
The Desert Transition
Even in small desert towns, things change fast. Our favorite French bakery in Kanab was closed, and several other drive-thrus had vanished entirely! After finding a caffeine fix on the east side of town, we headed through the Virgin River Gorge. Watching the landscape transition from high plateau into the vast Mojave basin never gets old.
Before hitting the lake, we made a crucial discovery in Vegas: WinCo. It’s like a membership-free Costco with massive bulk bins. We stocked up on pay-by-weight nuts, dried fruit, and snacks. It was the perfect find for the backpacking trips ahead. We need one of these in Colorado!
Destination: Lake Mead
We finally rolled into the Lake Mead recreation area a couple hours after Monika’s fiancé Josh arrived from the airport. We spent the evening catching up with them two, cooking dinner at the campsite, and watching the desert sun go down.
