Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Utah

Bighorn Sheep in Zion National Park

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Desert bighorn sheep are one of the most thrilling wildlife encounters in the American Southwest. Found throughout rugged canyon country from western North America to northern Mexico and Baja California, these remarkable animals have evolved to thrive in terrain that seems almost impossibly steep. We love photographing them because they occupy dramatic rocky ledges with sweeping desert backdrops, are surprisingly tolerant of patient observers with long lenses, and their massive curling horns make for extraordinary portraits. Zion National Park in southwestern Utah is one of the best places in the country to find them — and on this January 2021 visit, we had an encounter we will never forget.

Desert bighorn sheep ram on a rocky ledge in Zion National Park, Utah, photographed by Dr. Michael Huntley physician and travel blogger
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Snow at Bryce Canyon National Park

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Seeing a national park under fresh snow has always been one of those experiences we have chased from a distance — stunning in photographs, rarely practical when you are traveling in a 40,000-pound motorhome. Snow and big rigs don’t mix well without chains or a dumped tag axle, and we have learned over the years that the best approach is simply to stay put and let the Jeep do the work. After the snowfall that hit us in Kanab in January 2021, we did exactly that — loaded Jake into the Jeep and drove an hour north to Bryce Canyon National Park to see whether the hoodoos looked as extraordinary under snow as we had always imagined. They did.

Fresh snow blanketing the hoodoo formations and rim of Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, in January
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Kanab, Paria & Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Kanab, Utah was about an hour and a half drive north from Page, Arizona, and we had been in the area before without ever spending much real time exploring it. The name Kanab comes from the Paiute word for “place of the willows,” and the town sits at the junction of US 89 and US 89A in the heart of canyon country — surrounded by five national parks and some of the most dramatic desert scenery in the American Southwest. We arrived in January 2021, still moving through the COVID-era landscape, and found an uncrowded, strikingly beautiful corner of Utah that rewarded every direction we pointed the Jeep.

Our Willys Jeep parked among the canyon country near Paria, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
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Goulding’s Trading Post & Valley of the Gods, Utah

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Last Updated August 1, 2026

Goulding’s Lodge & RV Park is at 1000 Gouldings Trading Post Rd, Oljato-Monument Valley, UT 84536; (866) 313-9769; full hookups, museum, restaurant, tours, gas station, and grocery; gouldings.com. Valley of the Gods is managed by the BLM Monticello Field Office; (435) 587-1500; free admission; accessible via UT-261 approximately 10 miles northeast of Mexican Hat or US-163 approximately 15 miles west of Bluff; 17-mile gravel loop on San Juan County Road 242; blm.gov/visit/valley-gods. Coral Sands RV Park is at US Route 191, Bluff, UT 84512; (435) 672-2232; office hours Mon–Sat 9–11am & 3–7pm, Sun 3–7pm; check-in 3pm, check-out 11am; full hookups, free WiFi; coralsandsrv.com.

Gouldings is a favorite stop when passing through the area. This is our third visit. The Navajo Nation still had Monument Valley closed because of COVID.

Sandy and Michael Huntley,MD with Jake the dog under Goulding Arch at Gouldings, Utah
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Arches & Canyonlands National Parks, Utah

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Last Updated: July 20, 2026

Arches National Park is located five miles north of Moab on US-191; visitor center open daily except Christmas Day; (435) 719-2299; $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, $15 per person on foot or bicycle; the park itself is open 24 hours year-round; nps.gov/arch. Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky district) is at 2282 Resource Blvd, Moab, UT 84532; (435) 719-2313; $30 per vehicle, $15 per person on foot or bicycle; nps.gov/cany. Both parks are covered by the America the Beautiful Annual Pass ($80). Spanish Trail RV Park is at 2980 S Hwy 191, Moab, UT 84532; (435) 259-2411; full hookups, heated pool and spa; office hours 8 am–5 pm summer, 8 am–3 pm winter; check-in 1 pm, check-out 11 am; spanishtrailrvpark.com.

Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are a favorite because of the striking canyons, arches, monoliths, spires, fins and balanced rocks, primarily composed of Entrada Sandstone. A winter storm left about an inch of snow, making for some scenic photography, even though Arches was closed by the National Park Service the day after it snowed. Luckily Canyonlands was still open. The drive from Dolores, Colorado was scenic.

Light snow covering red sandstone formations at Arches National Park, Utah
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