By PAUL RUBIO
Anchored by protected lands that are teeming with extraordinary natural arches and seemingly-otherworldly dimensions of tiered red rock landscapes, Moab (discovermoab.com) has evolved as the gateway to one of Utah’s most impressive and popular parks, the 73,000-acre Arches National Park (nps.gov/arch). Unlike Capitol Reef and Monument Valley, Arches’ accessibility from Salt Lake City and its thriving airport means unleashing your Utah with a helluva lot of other visitors and tourists, who have also traveled from far and wide to witness the 2,000-plus natural sandstone arches, particularly the world-famous Delicate Arch.
From the Visitor’s Center, the heavily trafficked road climbs at a steep grade to the park entrance, ascending through twists and turns to various sightseeing points and hiking trails. These stops are wonderfully mapped out on the National Park’s pamphlet, but those who were savvy as kids in defining cloud shapes will quickly recognize points like “Park Avenue,” a large rock formation that resembles a long block of city skyscrapers. With such an abundance of arches and sights, you have to pick and choose which you’d like to see. What’s not to miss? First, the Devils Garden Trailhead to Landscape Arch is a three-for-one, also passing through Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Fiery Furnace provides a terrific view of jagged and rough rock that resembles volcanic lava. And of course the three-mile trail to Delicate Arch is easily the highlight of any trip to Utah.
Strutting its beauty over a steep precipice, framing the best of Utah’s landscapes within its perimeter, Delicate Arch has rightfully become the icon of Utah, and a beacon for travel to this scintillating red rock country.
Moab
In close proximity to Arches National Park, Moab is Utah’s equivalent to Jackson Hole, Wyoming – an upscale but homey town with plenty of places to stay, from the high-end to the mediocre, a variety of choices of food establishments, and booking facilities for all outdoor activities whether in summer or winter. One of the superlative lodge experiences is to be found at Sorrel River Ranch (sorrelriver.com), north and east of Moab along Highway 128, running contiguously to the Colorado River. Sorrel is a top-notch luxury resort that provides the full throttle “glamping” experience, with swimming pools, rustic-meets-modern-luxe cabins, and haute amenities, nestled among picturesque canyon walls along the path of the Colorado River. The Sorrel River Ranch offers horseback riding from its own stables in addition to providing bookings for river rafting, Hummer drive/rides, ATV rental, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
Salt Lake City
No matter what the middle chapters of your “Choose Your Own Adventure/ Utah” look like, your story will nearly always begin and end in the state’s capital, Salt Lake City.
Fear not, SLC is not nearly as scary in person as it seems on TV. In fact, the city surprises with its pockets of big-city sophistication, including the Sugar House gayborhood, with lots of fab real estate, a 24-hour fitness center that comes equipped with plenty of eye candy, and LGBT-friendly restaurants and shops like Diva’s Cupcakes & Coffee, and the 50-year old Finn’s Café.
While residential Sugar House merits a visit for getting your food and drink on, the city’s best accommodations are to be found downtown. Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City (monaco-saltlakecity.com) is hands-down the best place to start and end your Utah sojourn. Ironically located just blocks away from Temple Square and the spires of the LDS Temple and Mormon Tabernacle (the home of its world-renown Choir), the Hotel Monaco SLC embraces the LGBT community with open arms: It hosts the annual LGBT “Red Party” fundraiser, a benefit for the Utah AIDS Foundation (utahaids.org), which turns into the dance party of the year on the Thursday before World AIDS Day. In summer, the Monaco also hosts the annual “Pink Party” to kick off Salt Lake City’s gay pride, which rounded up 35,000 supporters in 2011. And in any season, the hotel celebrates eccentricity and individuality through its gregarious staff and patrons, whimsical and funky guest rooms, and its see-and-be-seen restaurant, Bambara. An über-cool adaptive reuse of the former First Continental Bank, the Hotel Monaco SLC has retained some of the bank’s original elements including the vault, and the circa-early 20th century gold elevators, while completely re-inventing the interiors. In keeping with the freebie heavy traditions of the Kimpton brand, complimentary WiFi, coffee, and nightly wine hours are an added bonus. Almost every restaurant and coffee house near the hotel distributes Q Salt Lake, the city’s gay rag. If you want to know what’s up in SLC before heading west, check out their website qsaltlake.com. Most gay nightlife options like Jam, Pure, and Metro will require a 10-15 minute taxi, but it’s well worth it.
Finally, in the spirit of open-mindedness and learning about other cultures, take the time to stroll down a few blocks from the hotel to visit Temple Square, the headquarters of the LDS (Mormon) Church. Here, you’ll be approached by young women on mission, eager to show you around the square and tell you about life in the church and the doctrine of continuing revelation. You’ll be staring at larger-than-life photos of the church’s current president, Thomas S. Monson, whom they consider to be a modern-day “prophet, seer, and revelator,” as you listen to “recordings” of Jesus Christ. Honestly, it’s fascinating. They might even try to convert you, as they did me. When the girls asked me to join the LDS church, I told them, “Sorry girls, I can’t join. I am gay.” To this they replied: “That’s ok. We can get you help. And it’s okay to be gay. You just can’t practice it.” Luckily for me, I’ve had plenty of practice, much of it in Utah, unleashed.
To learn more about southern Utah, Monument Valley and Utah in general, visit utahscanyoncountry.com,
navajonationparks.org, and utah.travel
