This weekend..UTAH!!!

Well, again it has been a while since my last post. A lot has been happening, business has been good but this weekend will hopefully prove FUN!!

I won a free roundtrip ticket and am flying into Las Vegas, renting a jeep and driving through the backcountry of southern Utah.

Utah is one of my most favorite places to visit. I remember my first trip driving through on my way to Los Angeles. I thought Utah was just incredible. I took my friend Brandon here and together we went backpacking, hiking and camping in the backcountry. The one big difference in this upcoming trip..... I am going alone!!! Yikes, I have never done this before.

I have been trying to make the safety provisions like renting a satellite phone because there is no cell phone service or paved roads. Would hate to get a flat tire with no way to get a hold of anybody. There are places that are not always visited, so with any type of emergency, you are on your own.

I also will be bringing a large can of bear spray. This is a large canister containing pepper spray that shoots 20 feet to deter bears. So why am I taking it with if there are no bears... one word.... Mountain Lions!! Thats right, mountain lions inhabit southern Utah. This happens to be one of my greatest concerns since I will be alone because mountian lions stalk their prey. If you dont see any, doesnt mean there are no lions.

So what is the itinerary... arrive in Vegas on Thursday morning, drive to hanksville Utah. I will be spending the night near a place called Burr Point . Burr point is a very remote area near the Dirty Devil River. From the cliff edge down to river is a 200o ft drop straight down. Very surreal.

I am still having a conflict of whether to visit Cedar Mesa near Blanding where there are ancient Anasazi indian dwellings. The drive one way ris 95 miles. If I do not, I will travel south to Hite Utah, then take the dirt road northwest through Capitol Reef National Park to Boulder Utah. Then head south to Escalante and take (if the weather cooperates) Smoky Mountain road through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

Saturday I will head to Price Arizona and visit Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon before traveling back to Vegas. I will be camping out near Desert National Wildlife Range Saturday night before heading in to Vegas and catch my flight Sunday.

Once I return from this trip, you can bet I will be posting those photos in the Utah gallery.

Until then, I'll blog to you soon.