Back in January, I created this watercolor painting of Babylon Arch for my friend Shanti and her Hiking My Way Retreats. She had it made into stickers and printed on her business cards and it’s a painting I’m still very proud of.
Cut to this summer, Shanti and her husband, Mark have gone full-force into building a tour business in southern Utah. Wild Utah Tours is your go-to for hiking and driving tours that promises to escape from the crowds. This pandemic has forced loads of people to flood our national parks; Zion National Park for sure. But Utah has a TON of amazing trails that aren’t inside Zion National Park. Shanti and Mark have scouted loads of amazing places to explore.
Hike to find millions-of-years-old petrified wood, shimmy through slot canyons, find petroglyphs and pictographs from Paiute or Ancestral Puebloan peoples, look for lesser-known sandstone arches and waterfalls, or run down sand dunes. They can create adventures for all ages and all abilities, half-days or full-days.
I had the pleasure of reworking the Babylon Arch artwork for them and we also created printed promotional materials to share around town. I’ve been told that postcards can be found at River Rock Roasting Company in La Verkin, UT where they have fantastic coffee and amazing pastries.
Two-sided postcards:
Two-sided rack cards. My son was looking for these at a hotel in St. George when we were there in October.
We created a two-sided postcard that fans could send to friends and family too.
Lastly, we created big car magnets for their vehicles. What a view, right?!
In addition to their tours, they also manage a handful of AirBnB properties in La Verkin, UT; which is a very central location to Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Red Cliffs Desert Preserve, Sand Hollow State Park, and a ton of amazing recreation activities.
To add even more versatility to their offerings, they also have two trailers that you can rent! They’ll drop one of their trailers at one of a handful of local campsites or BLM land and you just show up to camp and explore!
Shanti and Mark are pros at showing off the beauty of southern Utah and doing their best to make it accessible to anyone who wants to visit. Please take a moment to check out their website and consider adding Utah to your list of travels. Even if you don’t consider yourself an outdoor adventurer, they will customize a trip for your abilities. Kids under 12 are free and they offer discounts for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ or BIPOC.
