Tour of Utah: Mountains

Chel Owens

Utah has a very diverse climate -all dry, mind you, but very diverse. One thing that runs throughout the entire state besides the interstate, however, are MOUNTAINS.

© Chel Owens

The Rocky Mountains are Utah’s main range, but we also have the Oquirrh, Uinta, La Sal, Wah Wah…. Apparently, there’s a list. I live here, and I didn’t know there were that many ranges.

The Rockies are my favorite. Nearly all of my life, I’ve been able to open my door and see them. We call the part along the edge of the Salt Lake Valley the Wasatch Mountains; they are home to the most popular ski resorts Utah is famous for (Alta, Brighton, Solitude). I know it’s no Switzerland, but the powder’s not half bad. I’ve skied Alta and Brighton and hiked a lot of the other resorts during the summer. (Skiing them is much faster than hiking.)

Image by msrisamarie from Pixabay

Utah’s mountains are iconic. They’re beautiful. They’re a natural compass when I’m lost. In point of fact, I find traveling across America’s midsection to be a disconcerting experience. How do you ever know where you are? How do you know if you’ll ever get out of Oklahoma?

Utah’s mountains are diverse like the temperatures. On a recent family trip to St. George, we hiked around a (hopefully) extinct volcano. Last summer, we camped amidst forested foothills at an elevation of 5,417 feet. The campground I stayed at as a youth rests near 8,800 feet.

© Chel Owens

If there’s one thing I can never be mad at dry, desert Utah for, it’s its mountains. If you want to visit them, pick a direction. Pick a trail. Pick a chairlift if it’s winter. You won’t be disappointed.

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Here’s what I wrote over the last week:

Thursday, April 15: Wrote “Secret Snitch Will Scratch That Itch!” as an example for the poetry contest.

Friday, April 16: Announced the winners of the A Mused Poetry Contest. Congrats to Bruce and Doug!

Monday, April 19: Shared a quote by Robert Schuller.

Tuesday, April 20: Belatedly announced the next A Mused Poetry Contest. Get your campaigns ready!

©2021 Chel Owens

30 thoughts on “Tour of Utah: Mountains”

  2. Beautiful country. I’ve only passed through Utah during the blazing hot summer. I have a goddaughter who is going to school at Dixie St.

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  4. it would be wonderful to wake up and see those magical mountains; I do well too; though I don’t live on the coast it’s a short 10 minute drive to the beach; I walk along the seashore a few times a week 🙂

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  5. How does dry and snow go together? Freeze dried? Or does it depend whether you’re on the western or Eastern sides? Do you have one of those freaky (to a Brit) points where if it rains in one spot the water runs off to the Pacific and a couple of metres the other way it goes to the Atlantic? Just feeling the need to serve my inner nerd…

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    1. ….. let me see. The air is dry, such that you breathe and it is just cold. You wake and feel that your nose has been sucked of moisture. We have humidity in the air, but it’s just the moisture from what is falling.

      I have been to the humid areas of America, so I am trying to compare the two. Heat in Utah is an oven and not a sweat lodge. Cold is an empty mountain summit and not a bone-chilling, permeating ice wind.

      As to the question of Pacific- and Atlantic-Ocean flowing, that happens at the Continental Divide.

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  8. “How do you know if you’ll ever get out of Oklahoma?” Having spent a summer in OKC, that is an excellent question! lol. I grew up in Ohio, which is super flat, but The Lake (Lake Erie) is always north, and, if you are within 5 miles of the lake (90% of my pre-18 life), you always know where The Lake is. Still, I love mountains. Our New England mountains are fine, but I love visiting the Rockies….

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  9. I love mountains too!! Driving in Salt Lake City, I know the roads were hilly, did I see mountains? Don’t remember. It was 17 years ago when my newborn baby grandson was in and out of hospital.

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  11. I’ve got some mountains in my state. We made it maybe more than half up one of the Kittatinny trails though we entered from New Jersey. I looked up our list, I’m familiar with the names of the Appalachian, Allegheny and Blue Ridge. But camping isn’t my thing.

    I like nature, but sometimes nature doesn’t like me. I’m a natural at getting lost. Give me a state park with a marked trail. Once though in CA we took a sort of side road to a park and visited some Sequoia. Now there’s some trees!!! 🌲

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      1. When we went up the trail… it was full of wet slippery leaves (Autumn). We took water and lots of breaks! The park wasn’t expecting the crowd that came that weekend and didn’t have the information center open and limited restrooms… only about 1/4 of all available were open!!!

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          1. We did each have a walking stick and hiking boots though 😉

            I was really amazed at how many folks had come out to take advantage of the ‘great out-doors!” We thought we had arrived fairly early and snagged one of the last parking spots! We had a hike to get to the trail ;D

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