Sometimes you don’t have a large space on the calendar to make magic happen. It was Maureen’s 32 birthday and she wanted to visit Monument Valley ever since seeing it in old western movies. We only had the weekend since Maureen works a regular 9-5 job. Having my head up in the clouds most of the time (literally and figuratively), this was a spot I had never been to since there isn’t any flying there. Well you can para-motor, but I opted not to bring mine. Saving that for a boys trip maybe this spring. I picked her up from work on Friday afternoon and off we went!
To split up the drive, we aimed to stop in Torrey, UT and spent the night. The drive was filled with beautiful desert scenery and we stopped often for photos.
Part of the trip was on an open range and we had to keep a sharp look-out for cows
on the road. I’ll take cows on the road over a traffic jam any day.
We arrived in Torrey before sunset and it was pretty much a ghost town. Most of
the tourist traffic passes through between the spring and fall, so it was most definitely
the off season. Luckily there were still some cool animals around and Maureen quickly
made friends with a local horse.
The next morning at breakfast we continued our tradition of collecting “starts” while
we travel. By starts I’m referring to small clippings of a plant that you can take home
and continue to grow yourself. In this case I had to use a pair of scissors because the
tough cactus skin wasn’t sharing it’s offspring without a fight. This doesn’t hurt the main
plant and is a fun way to expand your plant collection. We recommend asking for
permission before snipping so you don’t look like a thief. Ha!
Later that day between Torrey and Monument Valley we ended up on one of the
coolest roads I have been on in the USA. This section is called the Moki Dugway
and is part of UT-261. It’s where the pavement turns into a dirt road that switches
back and forth from the high desert down into a river valley dropping a few thousand
feet. On this day it was a mix of mud, snow, and ice and made for exciting driving.
Always gotta make time for taking dorky couple photos and climbing around off
the beaten trail.
We stayed the night in a spot appropriately named
The View Hotel. It is located on a prominent piece of land overlooking some really cool
rock features.
Sunday morning we got up early to watch the sunrise and were treated to a
memorable view. Mission accomplished, we had breakfast and began the 7 hour drive
back to Salt Lake City.
On the way home we stopped to take some photos on a famous stretch of road on
UT-163 that was in the movie Forest Gump.
On the way home we swung through Moab and goofed off at a pretty cool rest
stop. The had a petting zoo, a house built a cliff, and all kids of unusual artsy kind of
lawn ornaments. We re-stocked on snacks and drinks here before driving the final
stretch home.
That night after getting home, I realized it had been a long time since I went on any kind
of trip that didn’t involve flying. It’s easy to get caught up in habit and routine. For me, I
love flying, but it’s important to try new things, travel different ways, and see the earth
from different perspectives. This was a special weekend spent exploring southern Utah
with my best friend and reminded me that sometimes it’s okay to keep your feet firmly
planted on the ground.
© 2026 KAVU
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