On our last stop in Denver, two different friends had told me that this was their favorite National Park out of the five in Southern Utah, so we were excited to see what all the hubbub was for ourselves. We’ve also never been this far into Utah, and new terrain is always an adventure that we are up for.

Upon pulling into the park’s campground we were immediately eager to set up amongst the orchard trees and lounging deer. Large swaths of this park had been farmed and homesteaded by Mormon pioneers in the late 1800’s and their evidence is left in thousands of heirloom trees that are still cared for and harvested to this day. Who knew you could grow such beautiful and robust trees in an arid desert climate? Alongside the orchards, the key geological feature of this area is the Waterpocket Fold which spans some 100 miles north to south. We drove and explored in our unique way. Most memorable here was our hike in Cottonwood canyon, approaching from the BLM side adjacent to the park. We covered a mile distance up a wash then the hike got skinnier with slot canyons and some bouldering. Once again, we pushed our bodies to their limits and accepted the fun challenge until it was no longer feasible to climb. New expectations/requests have been set by the kids for more technical and backcountry hiking.