Lepa’s Travel Diaries - Utah
We can thank Covid-19 for leading me to take a journey into the National Parks of Utah. I always liked to think of myself as a more of European – African ‘gypsy’ residing between Cali and NY and I thought I pretty much had seen it all when it comes to the USA. However, little did I know about the mesmerizing beauty of Mother Nature that was right in my ‘backyard’.
Without wasting any more time, my twin sister, my best friend and I decided to embark on this new journey and adventured out to see the five parks in Utah. (Arches – Canyonlands – Bryce – Capitol Reef – Zion.)
This trip came at a poetic time - my best friend is transitioning out of a marriage, my twin is tapped with work stress, and I needed some time in nature to reflect on my new Collections and spend quality time with some of my favorite girls. 2020 has really been a challenging year, both for business and family life. Juggling between the Zoom meetings, my college kids and the hubby, it was time to me to retreat to Mother Nature.
1st day and not even an hour off the plane we were on our way to the Canyonlands.
We spent two days in Canyonland, and wow - it was huge and wild, and there was no way we were going to cover all of the Needles, The Island of the Sky, Maze, and the rivers all in a single day. We went to the Mesa Arch and trekked around not knowing it was a collapsed salt dome or a meteorite impact crater. The Green River overlook was so surreal it looked fake. We sat for an hour staring at the natural formation of this landscape.
Capitol Reef was more diverse. Sandstone everywhere and all I could think about is our new Collection whose colors and composition resembled them (sandblasted gold). The differential color scheme reminded me of mixing white, yellow and pink gold when designing and styling my jewelry and the way it shines against the sun - is mesmerizing. We took advantage of canyoneering in this region of the park, so after repelling and sliding down about five canyons, I was able to get my adrenaline ‘shot’ for the day. Even my sister, who was afraid of heights, was repelling down the 100 ft. ones. I particularly enjoyed our lunches in nature, where we were able to soak up all the beauty Mother Nature has to offer.
Different textures of the sandstones reminded me of our newest Collection – the Misahara Minis that are packed with beautiful warm colors and different shapes and textures. I was able to take some stunning shots of them against the sandstone.
The next on our list was Zion – Narrows of the Virgin River carved by the North and East Forks of the Virgin River.
The water was freezing (travel tip – wear pants that are water resistant). Despite this, it was an unreal experience; from treading through the river and finding our way by moving the rocks around with our walking sticks, to just taking small breaks to stare at the beauty that completely surrounded us.
The Bryce Canyon took my breath away! It truly looked like a fairyland. The intriguing landscape and the series of natural amphitheaters scooped out of the plateau left me in a complete awe. They say it is carved into a fairytale tableau of sunset-hued fins, spires, arches, bridges, windows, turrets and hoodoos.
I was skipping and hopping to the scenic viewpoint trying to catch the sunrise. I love the colors of the sunrise and how the different hues come together. I stood there and imagined how nice it would be to have this land as my own and be far away from the chaotic present – and then I realized: There is no substitute for Mother Nature.
After spending days climbing and hiking, it was the time to introduce a bit of wheels into our adventure, and what better way to do so than to rent some dune buggies! As I said, I thrive on adrenaline, and I take the dune buggies whenever I get the chance. Apart from the adrenaline rush, you cover more of the land faster and at some point I felt like a character from the show “The Breaking Bad”, trying to avoid the campers and going around them 😂 A warm recommendation!
All in all, this was an unimaginable experience, and this blog and me trying to put into words – doesn’t give it justice. It is easy to forget the meaning and importance of nature when you are stuck in your everyday routine and surrounded by city life. Nature is humbling – it reminds you how small we really are and that we represent only a fraction of the whole ecosystem, and as such, should act accordingly. I respect nature more than anything, because it has always been giving to me. There is no piece of Misahara's Collection that doesn’t reflect the beauty and power of Nature. And it always teaches me, over and over again to follow my heart and without conforming.
