San Juan County

Remember how in the Spring we talked about Monticello? Well, with Fall Break coming you should add this to your bucket list. Here's a complete itinerary for you! We promise you won't regret it. Unlike Western Southern Utah, this will be a cooler climate, so check the weather before. Day 1 Lunch/Breakfast from Peace Tree Juice Cafe Visit The Canyon Country Discovery Center & Grounds Salt Project's Visit here. (Book an outdoor adventure with them! Climbing Wall, exhibits, picnic, Gift Shop.) Drive by Church Rock (You can't miss it, it's right where 191 and 211 meet.) Drive to Newspaper Rock

If you are headed to Monticello be sure to check out Horse Head Grill. Locally owned and recently opened, Horse Head Grill offers some pretty good grub. We'd had a long day of traveling, so we were ready to eat. There aren't many places to eat in Monticello, so this place was hopping. We loved the western theme and chalk wall to entertain the kids. Be sure to check out the little gift shop. I kind of want a whole bunch of these mugs. They're known for their ribs and they did not disappoint! Thanks for Hosting The Salt Project

I've been dreaming about visiting the Canyonlands ever since we visited in May. We didn't spend much time in the park and I've been kicking myself ever since. I feel like this part of the Canyonlands is super family friendly. There were a few hikes that were under half a mile and easy enough for all ages. We did the Cave Springs Hike with our little family and it was perfect. Since we didn't have much time in the Canyonlands, we made one other stop: Big Spring Canyon Overlook. It was beautiful (of course) and easy enough for the kids

Everyone, say hello to the Canyonlands Needles District! It's quite the drive to get to the National Parks Entrance, but the views are worth it. Plus, you can always stop at Newspaper Rock it's on the way. It's red, sandy and beaUTAHful! We didn't have much time (for some reason we decided that we should go to Mesa Verde National Park as well.) So we picked one hike. Cave Springs With a description that included "climbing two ladders," a "cowboy camp" and "prehistoric petroglyphs" you better believe we chose this one. Plus it was only .6 miles and with two

Sadly, it's time to say goodbye to Monticello, for now. Before heading out, I picked up a Christmas Ornament from the Blue Mountain Horsehead Inn and said goodbye! We also stopped by at the Monticello LDS Temple. Wilson's Arch About thirty miles north of Monticello is Wilson's Arch. It's a steep but quick hike. We probably spent 30 minutes total going up and down. We hiked up to the top to gaze down below. Just on the east side of the arch there are houses! Could you imagine waking up every morning and gazing at this arch? Hole N' 'The

"I'm pretty tried, I think I'm done running now." Forrest Gump That's right people. How many of you knew Forrest Gump himself once ran this Utah road? Also...how many of you knew Monument Valley wasn't even in UTAH?! (Well part of it isn't.) Sheesh, the things you learn. I had not done any research beforehand, all I knew was that we were going to Monument Valley to watch the sunset. Next time, I'm going to find some books. (Yes, I still like actual books.) We were trying to find the spot for our epic sunset photos in Monument Valley, but

After driving through Valley of the Gods and Moki Dugway, we headed down to Gooseneck State Park. I'm a little sad that we literally spent maybe 20 minutes here at Gooseneck State Park. We were on a tight schedule see, we needed to be down at Monument Valley for sunset and we were pushing it! We had just enough time to do a short hike down to the rim. It was slightly treacherous but the kids loved every moment of it. We just had to hang on to them for dear life as there were cliffs in almost every direction

Who's heard of Moki Dugway? Or Valley of the Gods? Not I. But now that I've driven through it, I'll never be the same. We'd just seen Natural Bridges National Monument and thought we might as well drive one of the most dangerous roads in Utah. The view at the top is nothing short of spectacular. No photo could really do it justice. "The Mokee (or Moki) Dugway, located on Utah Route 261 just north of Mexican Hat, Utah is a staggering, graded dirt switchback road carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa. It consists of

After waking up from The Blue Mountain Horsehead Inn (Thanks for hosting us!) we did a little town sight seeing. You might find a few places named "Horsehead something" because there is a mountain that looked like a horsehead. Do you see it? First stop, breakfast at Peace Tree Cafe. Try the Autumn Rush Juice. Pretty sure you are going to want the Coconut French Toast. It was the favorite. We stopped by the Monticello LDS Temple. Stopped by some murals. Luckily, they were all on the same building. Then we stopped by the Frontier Museum and Visitor Center. Aiko

After getting some info from the Monticello Visitor Center, I now had a game plan. Part of this day plan included a hike to Butler Wash that let to some amazing Cliff Dwellings. Who even KNEW that Utah has Cliff Dwellings? Not this gal, nor her husband, but we could just be ill informed... This hike is only about 45 minutes away from Monticello. We arrived at the trailhead, ran to the biffy bathrooms, packed up the kids, some water, snacks and we were off! Butler Wash is only a half mile hike one way, so we took our time