This Isn't Iceland: Utah

 Just like everyone else, 2020 royally ruined loads of plans for us.  One of those was to spend our 10 year anniversary in Iceland.  We had tickets purchased, a 4x4 camper truck rented and were ready to go when the pandemic hit hardest in early May.  With everything refunded, we held out hope that maybe the world would "normalize" later in the year.  With that not happening, and in desperate need of a vacation, we opted to go camping.

We left mid-morning on a Friday to miss the weekend-escape-the-heat traffic and landed in Mexican Hat, Utah just before dinner.  We scored a sweet camp spot along the banks of the San Juan River, just behind the famous Hat.  With rafting campers flanking us, we all settled in to listen to the river and watch the bats hunt after the sun set.  

The next morning, we sipped coffee while the sun crept into the gorge.  Packed up, waved at the rafters on the opposite bank and slogged our way towards Valley of the Gods.  We do not miss an opportunity to drive through the Valley if we're up here.  It is my favorite place on the planet.  Since we purchased a DJI Mavic drone specifically for Iceland, we got it up and going to hone our piloting and post-editing skills.  

After a leisurely drive through the Valley, we hit slab and pushed north.  While the desert temperatures are icy compared to southern Arizona this time of year, we had better plans: cool fall temps of Colorado.