Road Trip 2025: Day 16

I didn’t sleep well last night. At 12:12, I was woken up by idiots on an ATV revving their engine and driving too close to the tents.  It took me forever to fall asleep. When I finally did fall back to sleep, I had a dream that our cat sitter quit. We have two sitters. One, a friend of mine, took care of the cats for two weeks. Yesterday, our neighbor took over. In the dream, Beanie (who is so sweet and gentle in real life) bit her so she left. We were upset and concerned because no one was taking care of our babies. At 4:47, the idiots on ATVs returned, waking me up again. There was no reason for them to ride so close to the tents. Nor did they have to rev their engines so close to us. But they were assholes and probably hate tourists, even though it’s our money that keeps this area afloat. I never did fall back to sleep after that.

Our day started with another driving lesson for G3. He was so excited to get behind the wheel again that he broke down his tent quicker than usual and with no grumpiness at all. He practiced K-turns and going up and down the empty road. Driving in New Jersey will definitely be more challenging, but the space out here allows him to build up some comfort and confidence.

Canyonlands is the last of the Big Five National Parks in Utah and it was our destination for the day. It was also my least favorite park in Utah. That, however, may be based more on circumstances than anything else. Canyonlands has three distinct areas: The Maze, The Needles, and Island in the Sky. The Maze is inaccessible unless you plan to backpack in the backcountry or have an all wheel drive vehicle, which we do not. Kati would not be able to backpack in this heat. Plus, G3 is ready for a break from hiking. The Needles is slightly more accessible, but to really see it would require some strenuous backcountry hiking. Neither G3 nor Kati were up for it. Therefore, our visit was restricted to Island in the Sky. I might have been more enthralled with it and the views of the canyon, if there wasn’t a screen of smoke obscuring them. Like yesterday, at Dead Horse, we could see the canyon, but it all appeared dull and flat because the smoke prevented the contours and colors from popping.

Since G3 is getting bored with hiking, we kept our hikes to a minimum today, choosing a series of mini-hikes instead of one long one. We hiked to the Mesa Arch which was only a half a mile. Had we not spent the day at Aches yesterday, I may have found the Mesa arch to be more impressive. Still, the views—even with the smoke—were pretty. Next, we climbed up Whale Rock which was fun. The wind up top was fierce. It blew G3’s hat off his head and I was afraid it might blow my phone out of my hands as I was taking pictures. If it had been a clear day, the views would have been stunning. Lastly, G3 and I walked  along the canyon rim on the Grand View Point Trail.

I originally estimated that we’d spend two weeks in southern Utah. I didn’t want to feel rushed or miss anything G3 wanted to see. After all, he was the reason we came here. He’s wanted to visit Utah for years now. However, my estimate was way off. We have visited everything on our initial itinerary, plus a couple of extra stops, in less time than I allotted. But no, we are not heading home. Not yet. There is still so much we have yet to see in this vast country of ours. So we will detour. I love detours.

We left Canyonlands and stopped back in Moab for a light snack. Kati wanted McDonald’s fries. G3 and I wanted frozen yogurt. Then, we turned the car south.

Since my family—especially G3–loves movies, we drove to mile marker 13 on Route 163. That’s where Forest Gump, after running back and forth across the country, declared, “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.” I didn’t like Forest Gump. I may have been the only one who saw it in the theater when it came out who hated it. I just didn’t get it. To me, it was a dumb movie. But that’s just my opinion. The world loved it, which obviously indicates that there is something wrong with me. Movies in general are difficult for me. But G3 loves them and I think it bothers him that I don’t. Anyway, he was excited to visit the Forest Gump spot, but, apparently, I ruined the moment for him because I wanted to be a part of it with him, which in his mind made no sense because I didn’t share his enthusiasm for the movie. Oh well. Next time we do something involving pop culture, I’ll keep my distance.

Surprisingly, the Forest Gump point is a big tourist stop. Not only is there a sign indicating where Gump stopped running, the speed limit on the road decreases to prevent accidents, and if you type Forest Gump Point into your GPS, it takes you to that location. There was a huge crowd when we got there, many of whom were bikers.

We are doing dispersed camping again despite last night’s misery. Why pay for camping when you can set up your tent for free? It’s not that I’m cheap. It’s that teachers don’t get paid much so we need to stretch our money the best we can. We are camping at the Valley of the Gods, which is off Route 163, about 20 minutes from the Forest Gump Point. It’s a beautiful location. We are surrounded by land formations, many of them similar to those we have seen throughout our time in Utah. The sun set behind one formation that resembled a battlement, and it lit up the clouds, painting them a fiery orange and yellow. In the fading light, the formations all look like ruins. We are in Navajo country, or what was once Navajo country until we stole their land and imprisoned them on a reservation.

G3 and Kati are watching Happy Gilmore II. G3 had been counting down the days to its release, and as soon as it was out he downloaded it to his phone. He set up his phone and speaker on the hood of Kati’s car and they pulled up their camping chairs. G3 has been laughing since it started. I chose to read. Again, I generally don’t like comedies because they make absolutely no sense to me. Instead of entertaining me, they often bore or frustrate me. Of course there are exceptions, but not many. I am liking Of Mice and Men so much more than I did in high school. Steinbeck is just an amazing writer. His characters all feel so incredibly real and he’s descriptions, while never drawn out, always feel intimate.