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| Do you like the idea of spending a weekend here? If so, read on. If not, well, please read on anyway! |
Now compare the above scenarios with sleeping in a tent on the ground, cooking on a gas stove, eating at a picnic table, and using an outhouse. That's how the girls—okay, middle-aged women—in my outdoor adventure group spent our end-of-June girl's getaway weekend.
Warner Lake Campground is situated in an aspen grove in the Manti LaSal National Forest, southeast of Moab, Utah. The 9,200 ft. elevation makes the campground cool in the evenings and comfortable during the days. The group campsite—at the outer edge of the campground loop with views of the lake and surrounding mountains—is one of the prettiest mountain campsites I've been in.
While the setting for this getaway was spectacular and the nine women on the campout shared an easy camaraderie, it was the perfect weather which made this vacation a resounding success. Each morning we relaxed with coffee, then ate breakfast, hiked a mountain trail, took afternoon naps in the tents (for those who needed them), had wine and hors d' oeuvres in the late afternoon, cooked tasty dinners and, finally, relaxed around crackling campfires at night.
I have nothing against Aspen, Key West, or New York City and I'm sure I would enjoy myself in any of those locales. But this primitive alpine getaway to Warner Lake Campground proved as invigorating as a spa treatment, as relaxing as a day at the beach, and as enlightening as an evening in the Big Apple. The perfect "girl's getaway".
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| Women of the Castle Country Canyoneers prepare for a morning hike. |
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| View from the top of the appropriately named "Mountain View Trail". |
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| "Dog-tired" after a morning hike. Two girl dogs—Lucinda on the left and Teva on the right—accompanied the women on this getaway. |
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| Here's where we cooked and ate. Can any NYC restaurant compare with this? |
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| Evening campfire in the group campsite. |
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| This is the view that greeted me from my tent each morning. What a way to start the day. |
Wow, Rita! Well, I’ll begin with your last photo . . . what a view to be greeted with each morning! Simply spectacular!! It’s easy to understand why you would say that the Warner Lake Campground is one of the prettiest mountain campsites you’ve visited.
ReplyDeleteAnd regardless of whether it would be a girl’s getaway, or a guys getaway, this would be a perfect place to do it!
And like you, I have nothing against places such as Aspen, Key West, New York City, etc, but given the choice, my preference would be for an alpine getaway such as this, each and every time!
And, rather than eating in a cooped-up restaurant in NYC, I’d much rather dine around a campfire, eating home-cooked meals, and where no reservations are required! :-)
John
John, I knew you would share my views about comparing this getaway with a more "traditional" type of vacation!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about preferring dining in the great outdoors—much better than enduring the noise and lack-of-atmosphere in most restaurants.
And, finally, yes this spot would make a great guys getaway too. When we returned home and shared stories and photos with our husbands most of them asked: "Can we come too next time?"(!)
What a delightful time that must have been, Rita, in such a magnificent setting with a group of like-minded women including two girl dogs. I hiked in the Manti LaSal National Forest when I was attending Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. I spent Easter break weekend with a roommate/friend from the area and we did lots of hiking. I thought it was grand country. We didn't have wine before dinner, but we had fun.
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