Kanab, Utah

My family and I went on a trip down to Kanab, UT to visit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Which is a place where unwanted animals, some of whom have severe health or mental problems, can be loved and taken care of until they either find their "forever home" or "cross over the rainbow." It was such a neat experience to see how happy these animals are. However, I would highly recommend to anyone that if they actually want to interact with the animals, you will have to register to volunteer. We took a guided tour, and while it was very informative, interesting and heartwarming, I was hoping for a bit more animal interaction. We did the walk around the horse corrals and pig place, and that was HOT! Not alot of shade around there, but really great to see all these animals happy.

We ate at the Canyon Bistro one night, and it was amazing. More pricey than other places around, but everything on my plate was delectable! Would definitely recommend this place to anyone going to, or through, Kanab.

We attempted to win the lottery to go hike the Wave, as you typically have to put in for permits a year in advance. They give away something like 6 or 8 (I think) tickets in a lottery each day, but we didn't win any. So we just did some slot canyon hikes instead. It was beautiful there. Then we ate lunch at a lovely little park called Jacob Hamblin Park, it had a large grass area, picnic tables, a water pad to get wet in, and nice restrooms. Such a great place to pick up sandwiches and eat at!

The only strange and awful thing that happened to me during my stay in Kanab, would be one crazy lady. I was standing on the road's shoulder, taking a picture of a restaurant sign, when I hear this car honk really long down the road. It is this lady, honking at me to move out of the way so she can park on the side of the road! I couldn't even believe it, so I move forward about 10 feet thinking she'll pull forward and then back up like any normal parallel parker would do. No, she just sits there, and makes me move all the way off the road so she can pull forward... to a spot she could have easily gotten to without me moving from my original picture-taking spot!! We just sat there and stared at her. She sat in her car for a good 3 minutes, thinking we were going to walk away. She must have been late for her hair appt though, because she finally gets out and waddles to the salon down 2 doors down. Ahhhhh, some people. Other than that, I loved Kanab, very quaint and quiet, and beautiful red rock!

Grandeur Peak: Night Hike

At 2 a.m. some friends and I decided to hike Grandeur Peak. We arrived at the camp ground that houses the trailhead but the gate was locked. So we parked on the road and walked in from there, which added probably an extra mile to the hike.

The beginning of the climb is easy/moderate and then as you traverse across to climb towards the peak, it gets more strenous.

The last stretch of the climb to the peak is the hardest because it's more vertical and rocky. But anyone would be able to complete it if they just took their time. We hiked by flashlight (3 people to 2 flashlights=bad idea) and made it to the top in about 2 hrs.

But the view from the top was amazing! We decided to stay until sunrise, which would have been more enjoyable had we brought warmer clothing in order to spend 2 extra hours on the top...



But the wait was worth it, the sunrise was glorious and hiking down just after the break of dawn while others are barely hiking up was another plus!