Travel Diary: Dixie National Forest, Utah!

I spent this past weekend in one of my favorite places, Dixie National Forest in Utah! I stayed in a cabin with my boyfriend and his family and some friends. It was such a beautiful cabin in Duck Creek Village. For those who don't know, Duck Creek is the cutest little town with just one small road filled with stores and such.

Dixie National Forest is very special to me. My family has been camping there since I was about ten, and I go to school just down the mountain from it. I explore this mountain a lot but it never seems to get any less beautiful!

Noah and I spent part of our weekend with a friend from college, who is working for Dixie National Forest this summer. He showed us some scenic areas we had never been to before, like the one above. He also told us a bunch of crazy forest facts, like how a certain tree smells like vanilla and how carpenter ants taste like lemon!

We went riding on four wheelers. I'm not a huge fan as I think they're dangerous, but the one I rode in had walls and seat belts which made me feel better! It was fun to ride to places nearby, like caves and hikes.

Noah loves rock climbing, so I spent one of our days hanging out at a secluded boulder getting bitten by mosquitoes while he tried a few different routes. Bouldering is different than traditional sport climbing. You climb without ropes on a shorter rock (hence, "boulder") and it's focused more on technique than height. Rock climbing is something I never thought I would know about, but college changed everything!

The cabin we stayed at had a lake near it that was so beautiful. Noah and his family spent a lot of time there and caught a lot of fish! 

Even though we were surrounded by beautiful nature, my favorite part of this weekend had to be the moments spent in the cabin laughing with our friends and family. We played creepy night games, stayed up late watching movies, and made s'mores around the fire. Trips like this one continue to remind me that it's not about where you are, but who you're with.

I just noticed that all of my travel diaries have been places in Utah! What can I say? I'm a big fan of Utah. I'm a college student and Utah happens to be the easiest and cheapest place to travel. But besides all that, Utah is honestly one of the most beautiful places in the world. I highly recommend giving it a visit... I'm only a little biased! Check out my Canyonlands and Arches National Park Travel Diary and my Salt Lake City Travel Diary for more Utah beauty!

I'll be back in Dixie National Forest next month for my family's annual camping trip. What do you think, should I do a part 2 to this travel diary? I'm also thinking about doing some other camping-focused posts, like an everyday beauty routine, camping edition and a camping packing list. Let me know if you would like to see these by leaving a comment!

Thank you for reading! This blog has been getting a lot more views and comments in the past month and it makes me so excited!

-Rebecca