 By the time we reached Canyonlands National Park — the final stop on our grand tour of Utah’s Mighty 5 — we had officially entered the vacation fatigue but emotionally attached to rocks phase of travel. At this point our bodies were held together entirely by salty snacks, sunscreen and sheer national park loyalty. We had already conquered Zion National Park, survived the sandy chaos of Bryce Canyon, scaled rocks so steep that we had to crawl on our hands in Arches and tested our hiking limits in Capitol Reef. We were ready for whatever Canyonlands had in store for us.😅 Canyonlands is massive, vast and dramatic. It's the kind of landscape that's impossible to capture through the lens of a camera.📸 That didn't stop me from trying though.😅 It was a lot to take in but I'm eternally grateful that I got to see this amazing creation with my own eyes.
We finished out our national park journey with the hardest and steepest hike of our journey yet. We can now check "scrambling and bouldering" off of our bucket lists. 😂⛰️ The hike was hot and difficult but it the views from the top of the mountain made it worth every treacherous step.😆
Standing at the edge of these magnificent mesas and watching the endless canyons stretch into the horizon felt like the grand finale that we had been building toward all week. I could have stood on top of this mountain for hours - party because of the view and partly because I wasn't sure how I was going to get myself down the mountain.🤣
It was hard to see our 1800 mile trek across Utah come to an end but it was good to get home too.🚗 Living out of a suitcase for 10 days got a little tiresome and I was ready to get back in my own bed after our vacation. It was also nice to be back in my kitchen so we didn't have to look for a grocery store or a restaurant for every meal. Having snacks at my fingertips is a blessing and a curse.🤣 Most days on our trip we would pack snacks to eat in between our hikes and park adventures. My lunches consisted mainly of granola bars, cheese sticks and almonds so I was ready for a little more variety in my lunches when I got home. I was craving homemade, healthy and nutritious food. Zucchini oat muffins for the win.  Zucchini Oat Muffins 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 cup finely grated zucchini 1 egg ¼ cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt ¼ cup melted coconut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup oat flour ¼ cup ground flaxseed ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda
 Bake 20 minutes at 350.  Ciao!
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 If there’s one thing Arizona’s slot canyons taught me it’s that I am physically incapable of taking “just a few pictures.”📸 I entered Antelope canyon thinking "I’ll snap a couple of really great photos to post and then put my camera away so I can stay present in the moment while I'm in there."🤣 Forty five minutes later my camera disk was full and my spouse, who I lovingly referred to as my "second shooter" had nearly maxed out the storage on his phone. At then end of our tour, we had nearly 700 identical photos of sunlight hitting rock walls from slightly different angles. And honestly every single one felt necessary. I don't know how to describe the slot canyons in Arizona other than outrageously beautiful. The towering sandstone walls twist and curve like flowing caramel ribbons carved by time itself. Every tiny beam of sunlight felt like a divine performance put on exclusively for my camera roll and every perfect swirl of rock looks like it should be on the cover of a luxury travel magazine. Naturally, this sent me into full-blown wilderness paparazzi mode. Brace yourselves for slot canyon picture overload...
By the end of the hike, my camera roll looked like: canyon wall, canyon wall, canyon wall, canyon wall with shadow, canyon wall in portrait mode, canyon wall with sunlight, husband standing against canyon wall, blurry canyon wall, accidental photo of my shoe, and at least six photos where my finger somehow worked its way over the lens.😅  No matter how many photos I took of the slot canyons, I still don't feel like I was able to truly capture the true majesty of this incredible place. I feel the same way when I photograph an exceptionally beautiful loaf of sourdough. How do I capture the crackling golden crust, the perfect spiral of cinnamon sugar tucked inside soft tangy sourdough and the smell that instantly makes your entire kitchen feel like a cozy cabin. Cinnamon swirl sourdough is layered, dramatic, and deserving of excessive photography.🤣 Every time I make this I tell myself that I'll just have one slice. Next thing you know, I'm standing at the counter eating a third piece while saying things like “I’m appreciating the craftsmanship.”😂 The sourdough journey requires patience, timing and a willingness to accept that things may get a little messy along the way but it's totally worth it.  Cinnamon Sourdough Bread 100 grams active sourdough starter 375 grams water 450 grams bread flour 50 grams whole wheat flour 10 grams salt Cinnamon Filling 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon bread flour pinch of salt
  Bake loaf in preheated Dutch oven for 25 minutes at 450 with the lid on. Remove lid and bake 20 more minutes at 400.  Ciao!
 If you have a few extra minutes, please enjoy the story of how I ended up spending a day SPITE hiking through Arches National park. 😅 It started innocently enough. We walked into the visitor center looking hydrated, optimistic, and — according to one ranger’s facial expression — deeply unqualified.😅 We inquired about obtaining a permit to do a particularly strenuous hike and after a loooong pause, the ranger suggested that spend our day in the park visiting some of the scenic overlook hikes instead.🙃 She used the unseasonably warm weather as her reasoning behind her recommendation but we both knew that it was because we didn't look like the type of hikers that could handle a strenuous hike.🤣 She even went so far as to pull out a laminated card with photographs of people climbing up rocks as a means of discouraging us from the particular hike that we had chosen. Reasonable adults would hear this and perhaps consider spending the day driving to the scenic overlooks throughout the park but instead, we took it as a personal challenge.🤪 We marched ourselves right our of that visitor center toward the trailhead fueled entirely by french toast, poor judgment, and the overwhelming need to prove ourselves to a ranger in her twenties. Honestly, I get where the ranger was coming from. She's likely witnessed this exact cycle thousands of times: tourists want to do strenuous hike - tourists receive warning - tourists ignore recommendation - tourists suffer dramatically.😂 At one point during our hike, we encountered a steep slickrock incline that required using both hands and what little dignity I had left and I distinctly remember muttering, “That ranger will never know the satisfaction of being right.”🤣 Hours later — sunburned, dusty and held together by pure stubbornness — we finally reached the end of our desired hike and it was spectacular. Massive stone arches framed the desert landscape like something from another planet. The silence stretched endlessly across the canyons while the late afternoon sun turned the rocks into deep shades of orange and gold.
 
 
FYI: There is no food available in Arches national park so if you plan to go... pack snacks. LOTS of snacks - even if you choose to drive to the scenic overlooks instead of tackling the strenuous trails. 😅
I think my husband has been a fan of vanilla wafers since he was a kid so why would I not try and make a homemade version of this classic snack? These tiny cookies were surprisingly easy to make and they were super tasty. I won't go so far as to say that they taste like the Nabisco version of the cookie - but they are still very good - different - but equally good.  Vanilla Wafers 1 cup flour 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 8 Tablespoons butter, melted 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
 Bake 16-19 minutes at 325 until golden brown. Let cool 3 minutes on trays.  Ciao!
 I set out to hike Utah's Mighty 5 National Parks with a suitcase filled with things like reusable water bottles, wool socks, hiking boots, loads of sunscreen, lip balm and body lotion. I was mentally prepared to eat granola bars for survival all week so when we stepped on board our luxury cruise boat for a sunset dinner cruise on Lake Powell, it felt wildly luxurious.🛥️ If I'm being totally honest, I wasn't emotionally prepared for table linens.😅 I also had to dig deep into my bag to find shoes that weren't filled with half the desert. 👟 😂
There’s something magical about eating on the water while canyon walls glow around us like a giant desert fireplace. Peaceful, serene and calming is the best way that I can describe it.  I would be neglecting my duties as a food blogger if I didn't take advantage of the transition from cruise boats to zucchini boats so here we are.🤣 I served my quinoa stuffed zucchini boats alongside some grilled chicken breasts but these veggie boats would make a substantial main course as well. Serve these as a light summer meal or fix them as an accompaniment to your summer cookout.  Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats 2 large zucchini, cut in half, horizontally 2 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/3 cup roasted red pepper 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1/2 cup cooked quinoa 1 Tablespoon shredded parmesan 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon pepper
 Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 20 minutes.  Ciao!
 One of my favorite hikes in Utah last month was a waterfall hike at Calf Creek. Who doesn't love a scenic waterfall hike, right? Scenic desert cliffs. A babbling creek. Towering canyon walls painted in shades of burnt orange that made my amateur photographer heart suddenly believe that I was shooting for National Geographic. 📸 About half way to the waterfall though, the trail got sandy. Not fun, sand castle quality beach sand though - energy-draining, calf-burning sand designed to humble tourists wearing bulky hiking shoes.🥾🤪 There were moments when I felt like I was trudging through a giant litter box and I had to fight the urge to stop and empty the sand out of my shoes every half mile. And despite all that - still totally worth it.🤣 At the end of the hike is a towering ribbon of icy water cascading 126 feet down red canyon walls into a crystal-clear emerald pool like something out of a fantasy movie. Hidden in the middle of the desert was this lush oasis. It was stunning, surprisingly cold and exactly want we needed at after our long, hot, sandy hike.
The hike was relatively short by Utah trails standards - 3 miles each way - but by the time I reached the waterfall I was ready for a snack. Did I mention how many calories I burned walking through sand?😂 It was only 10 am but had burned through my breakfast and was already thinking ahead to what sort of delicious carbs I would consume for lunch.🥖  Crusty French Baguettes are my weakness.🥖 In all honesty - this batch of baguettes did not have the crispy, crusty exterior that I was hoping for. They had a nice chewy, soft interior and really great flavor but I wouldn't necessarily describe them as "crusty." That certainly wouldn't stop me from eating them though.😅  Crusty French Baguettes 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 3 ½ cups bread flour 2 teaspoons salt
 Spray the inside of the oven with water. Bake baguettes 16-18 minutes.    Ciao!
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