Picks and Pans – Between RMNP and Salt Lake City

PICKS: Off the Beaten Path Bookstore and Coffee Shop in Steamboat Springs, CO

Another great independently owned bookshop, with possibly the best children’s book section ever….they built a book reading fort complete with doors too small for adults and pillows properly placed for getting lost in a good book. It will however be eternally linked […]

Picks and Pans – In and Around Moab, UT

Moab is an outdoors recreation mecca. There are mountain bike trails galore, plenty of hiking, a river for rafting and kayaking, mountains for camping and climbing, a lake for swimming. It’s a remarkable spot. Which explains why the town is overrun with sporty looking tourist types during the summer. Even with the tourists, though, Moab […]

Picks and Pans – North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Don’t let the scant information available on the Park Service website fool you, the North Rim is incredible and has plenty of things to keep you occupied. Plus, the majority of people going to the Grand Canyon seem to head over to the south side (est. 90% according to National Geographic Scenic Highways & Byways), […]

Picks and Pans – Zion National Park

PICKS: Driving into Zion National Park from the East entrance

Entering the park from this direction gives you the chance to see Zion starting from the slick rock formation at the top and then descending slowly into the valley where the mythic cliffs tower over you. It’s a very intimate way to enter the park. […]

Picks and Pans – In and Around Bryce Canyon

PICKS: Driving on Utah Highway 12

One of the amazing things about this Utah place is that you can go from sandstone canyon to huge dirt dunes, through a lush national forest and come out into white slickrock that stretches for miles and miles. We did exactly that when we drove on Hwy 12 from […]