Utah Vacation–Getting There

Today, we started our two-week Utah National Park vacation. In 2020, we visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park, among others. We wanted to keep exploring but ran out of time. Instead, we vowed to come back and continue the park tour later.

Last year, we were thinking about doing a Utah ski vacation to Park City. We booked a room with WorldMark in Midway. But as time passed, we thought more about the remaining Utah National Parks and the fact that this summer is our last summer with Andrew before he goes off to college. And thus, the planning for this trip began.

The plan needed to include the big three remaining National Parks – Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef. Looking on a map, Moab is the ideal base camp, but everyone goes to Moab. We wanted to be a little further from the crowds, so we expanded our search. We discovered a small rental house in the town of Green River and booked it for two weeks.

This morning, we woke up early, as one would expect for a flight out West. Unlike our typical flights, today’s flight was much later. We left the house at 6:45 – well after sunrise. I can’t recall ever wearing sunglasses on a drive to the airport.

Orlando airport was very busy. The days of small lines limited flights is over. The line to check our bags looped around twice and extended into the common area outside the jetBlue check-in area. This line moved quickly, and we moved on to Security. The security line was much worse. There was a sign indicating that the wait was over 45 minutes. Luckily for us, we were early and felt no time pressure.

Our flight was non-stop to Salt Lake City. Soon after departure, we turned West, crossed over Disney properties, and entered the clouds. The clouds remained for nearly the entire flight. Somewhere over central Colorado, the cloud coverage started to break. We were able to see the small town of Granby, where we stayed a few nights while vacationing in 2019. Soon, we started our descent into the Salt Lake valley. The snow-covered mountains got closer, and the turbulence picked up. We flew over Provo and were on the ground at SLC a few minutes later.

Our plane, parked in Salt Lake City

We exited the plane and headed for Baggage Claim. It was immediately apparent that we were no longer in Orlando, as the air in the jetway was cool and crisp. The airport is under construction, but the terminals are fantastic. The walk was long, but soon we were picking up our bags.

Next “stop” was Car Rental. On this trip, we signed up for Alamo's skip the line service. We walked straight the lot, found the compact SUV section, and chose the one we liked best. This is by far the easiest way to rent a car. There were four vehicles to choose from. I chose the Nissan Rogue with Utah plates.

With the luggage loaded and the seats and mirrors adjusted, we were on our way. It was lunchtime in our home time zone, so we were looking for a good place to stop and eat. During our last visit to the area, we discovered a diner that we liked, and I wanted to stop there again to establish a connection. Andrew looked it up and found several in the area. We chose the one closest to our route and entered it into the GPS. Twenty minutes later, we arrived.

Walking into the Black Bear Diner brought back memories from our 2019 visit to Utah, when we were chasing the Union Pacific Big Boy across the state. But there was one important detail that I had forgotten, and I’m surprised that I forgot it. It was the Huckleberry milkshake. There is just something about being out West and seeing huckleberry on the menu. It just feels friendly, like hanging out with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

David with our Nissan Rogue

After lunch, we were back on the road. This time, the GPS was programmed for our rental house in Green River. The route took us along a familiar path towards Helper. We drove this route during our 2019 visit because we wanted to see Soldier Summit and Price Canyon. Somehow, the drive seemed new, other than a few very memorable locations. The drop down into Helper, through Price Canyon, is dramatic and amazing, as the walls of the desert canyon close in around you.

Dramatic rock formation along the drive through Price Canyon

The remainder of the drive was marked by long stretches of windy, dusty, desert highway. Eventually, we reached Interstate 70. It’s funny to think that this is the same interstate that crosses Ohio not too far south from where I grew up. We headed East on the interstate for a few miles, then got right back off at the Green River exit.

Green River is a pretty small town. Within minutes, we were to our rental house. We unpacked the car and started making ourselves at home. Andrew and I wanted to see the Amtrak California Zephyr train arrive, so we headed back out to the car.

From the map, we found a great spot for viewing trains. There’s a park along the river that extends all the way to the train bridge that crosses the Green River. When we arrived, I was surprised to see that the park was also a campground, and it had an admission fee of $7. I told the attendant that I’d be back every day and asked about an extended pass. He said he didn’t have such a thing. I paid the fee and entered the park, feeling a bit sad that this would be our only visit.

We parked near the boat launch and waited for the train to cross the bridge. Meanwhile, a man was tossing a ball into the river and his yellow lab was swimming out and retrieving it. The water level seemed high and the current swift. Given how dry it was everywhere, I asked the man about it. He told me that they are letting more water flow to help with the lack of water in Lake Powell and Lake Meade. I asked about the current and if he was concerned his dog would be swept downstream. He said that she could swim for hours, if he would let her.

While we waited for the Amtrak train, another train crossed the bridge, then backed across the bridge in the opposite direction. Andrew checked the location of the Amtrak train on the app and saw that it was still at least ten minutes away, so we decided to go find a better spot to watch it.

We left the park and headed along another road to see if we could get closer to the bridge. We were able to get close, but there was no good viewing spot. We continued along the road away from the river and soon arrived at the Amtrak station.

David at the Green River Amtrak station

Andrew checked the Amtrak app again and saw that it was still a few minutes away, so I decided to go find the one and only grocery store in town. It was about two blocks from the train station. We went in, checked it out, then realized that it was closing within the hour. I called Susan to see if she was ready to shop and told her we’d be there to pick her up in a few minutes. Back in the car, we made another quick pass past the train station and there it was. The California Zephyr pulled into the station and stopped.

We picked up Susan and Mom and headed back to the Melon Vine grocery store. Although it is small, it has nearly everything one would want. It doesn’t have the variety nor all the organic options that you would find at a typical Publix, but I was impressed. We filled the cart to the tune of over $200.

Back at the house, we started baking the frozen lasagna and chopping the lettuce for a salad. It had been a very long day and we were all tired and hungry. We are all looking forward to our first full day of vacation tomorrow.

Click the image below to see all pictures from the trip.