"Land of Sandstone" a Utah Travel Page by ZanieOR

I've always loved the red sandstone of Utah. Next to the mountains where I live and the Oregon coast, to my eyes it forms one of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States.
When I was much younger I had the chance to visit breathtaking Bryce and Zion National Parks, but this fleeting visit in August, 1996, was just a road trip to Colorado Springs, where sister No. 2 was living at the time. Sharing the journey was my son Matt, then 12; niece Grace, 11; and sister No. 4, Caroline, who shared driving duties.
Our chariot was my very trusty four-wheel drive 1983 Toyota Tercel; it had no air conditioning, and believe me Utah in August was hot. Our means of keeping cool was water squirt bottles; we'd just say "squirt me" when we got unbearably hot. It worked fine.
Driving from Eastern Oregon, we spent our first night in Salt Lake and meant to spend our second in Moab, but didn't have reservations, and ended up driving into the night to across the border in Colorado before finding a place to stay.
The highlight was Arches National Park, but even that was a fiasco of sorts, cut short because I was running low on gas, the kids wanted to go to a water park and we thought maybe we ought to find a place to stay in Moab.
All in all it was a wonderful trip. I love road trips through Utah!!!