You know what GBD…Dez the amazing adventure woman isn’t the only one who likes to go out there and see the world.  Y’all like to do that too.  So Susana thought it would be nice for everyone to be able to share their travel experiences here on the blog.  So to kick things off, here’s Susana telling us about her trip to see The Arches in Moab, Utah.

(You can click on any pic for a larger version.)

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Hey everyone my name is Susana.  I am 17 years old and live in Salt Lake City, Utah.  It is a nice place to live although sometimes there isn’t much to do.  I love the outdoors and traveling a lot, so when my family and I have time, we try to go to as many places as possible.  Utah has a lot of National Parks including The Arches, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and more.  If you like looking at amazing rocks and walking outdoors, Utah’s National Parks are for you.

The ride there was beautiful.  A lot of people think it’s horrible and boring because it’s just plain fields, but I think it’s beautiful – so peaceful and amazing.  Though the ride is very long, it was worth the 5 hours it took to get there.  We started in Salt Lake City and ended in Moab.  Moab is pretty, with mountains surrounding it all around.  Very very pretty although not much to see other than that.  Here is a photo of the plain roadside attraction.  I thought it was pretty because it was dark and rainy so I thought I would share it:

I have only been to The Arches so far in Utah, but I plan on going to more this summer.  I just recently went to The Arches and it was the most amazing site I have ever seen.  I have seen it in movies and thought,”Wow this is beautiful,” but I have to warn you it was a tough walk.  If you want to go make sure you are prepared by taking water and good hiking gear.  I am very athletic - I have been all my life – but I have to admit I had a hard time walking this one because it’s all uphill so it takes a lot out of you.  I don’t recommend it for people with bad hearts, high blood pressure, or who are pregnant.

It is about an hour and a half walking up, and 30 minutes coming down, maybe less depending on you.  But once you get there you feel very good about yourself that you stuck by it and did it.  It was an amazing site and well worth the walk.  My dad thought it would be funny to take photos of us walking, so here is a photo of that:

Another thing I wanted to share was the amazing art and stuff that we found along the walk.  It truly shows you how old this place is.

So if you truly like walking long distances and just challenging yourself, you should really go see The Arches – amazing beautiful structures all around.  And what I liked most was all the people who were around because you could tell they also wanted to do it as much as we did.  So overall The Arches was amazingly beautiful.

I went with my entire family - me, my dad, my mom, my 2 sisters (younger & older), and my cousin.  When we finally got there, my cousin, my dad and I were the only ones who wanted to go under the amazing arch.  My sisters and my mom were too scared to even walk down the path to go see it, but I thought if you walked all this way, you have to at least stand under it otherwise it wouldn’t really be an experience.  So my cousin and I went and stood under it, and I have to tell you I was sooo frightened because you look all around you, and on all sides you can fall.  And the fall is deep, but the Arches were amazing - very tall and beautiful.  It is very dangerous, so I should warn everyone to take the right shoes that don’t slip on soft rock.  Be careful when you walk towards the Arches because you have to bend your feet in weird ways.  So here are the final photos of the beautiful Arches – well worth seeing if you go:

So overall I hope everyone goes to see this amazing beauty that God created.  Also, another thing I wanted to tell you is how many people with different license plates there were.  It was amazing to see how many people came to see this place.  I love this type of stuff and hope to go to more places soon.  When I do I will be sure to share the experience with you guys and the rest of the world.  I hope you enjoyed my little trip to The Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.   If you have any questions at all about it please let me know. 

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Sweet!  A roadtrip through the Southwest is at the top of my list of things to do before I die.  I was actually all set to go several years ago, but then life happened, and now the trip is on hold.  But the route is all planned!

Ask Susana questions in comments if you have any.

Next week Susana’s gonna tell us about her trip to the Grand Canyon, the 4 Corners, Las Vegas, and Bear Lake.  Wow, that’s a lot.

If any of you would like to tell us about trips you’ve taken, send your stuff to me.  Summer vacation’s coming up in a couple months for people in the States, and if any of you are going to travel, we’d love to hear about your trip.  You can submit writing, photographs, drawings, video, or any other creative outlet that inspires you.

Thanks Susana for making this terrific suggestion!