Here are some more pictures that show the diversity of the scenery we are driving through every day.
MARCH 26, 2008
So……….I misdated yesterday’s blog………yesterday was March 26 but I was describing March 25!!! Anyone catch me?
In any case, we left Tropic later than we had intended. The service in Clark’s restaurant was slow………..the waitress said they were waiting for the water to boil for Connie’s soft-boiled egg!!! It IS harder to boil water at a high altitude but that was a pretty lame excuse! Our first excursion of the day was a trip back into Bryce Canyon; although the entrance fee is $25, we could afford to enter two days in a row since we get in FREE!!!! The hoodoos were as spectacular during the daylight as they were at sunset. The amphitheater glowed with all of the castles and gardens in salmon, red and gold. We took a short hike from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point where we could see deeper into the amphitheater. Again we were amazed at the sight of these unique sandstone formations. Peter stopped for a bit to take it all in with the binoculars and commented that this, although hard for him to say, was probably the single most awesome sight so far. Connie decided that yesterday’s drive through the national parks, along Scenic Byway 12, through several national parks and into the Bryce Canyon amphitheater was the most awesome day so far.
Leaving Bryce we continued on Scenic Byway 12 toward Zion National Park. We put the top down, drove through Red Canyon, through red stone arches along the canyon wall: red, red, red!!!! Every time we came around a corner we wanted to stop and take a picture but it’s impossible to capture what we see, especially with our inadequate camera. We turned on UT 89 and saw another convertible with its top down, probably only the third one we’ve seen with the top down…….they don’t know what they’re missing! Believe it or not, on this 65 mph two lane road we were passed by a HUGE Japanese tour bus. We’ve noticed lots of foreign tourists, mostly German and Asian. Given the state of the dollar, traveling in the US is a heck of a bargain these days.
Along this drive we passed through several small towns where the speed limit dropped from 65mph to 35mph. Sure enough, we saw the sheriff waiting at the middle of each town, looking for speeders. In a red convertible, with out of state plates, you have to be very careful to observe the speed limits.
Near the entrance to Zion we passed a herd of buffalo grazing in a field. In the park we drove through some HUGE canyons, a thousand plus feet above us, with striated and weathered walls on each side of the road. Before paying the entrance fee ($25 dollars per car, free for us!) the road changed to the same dark red color of the canyon. Peter commented that it was just as beautiful as he remembered. We pulled off the road, took our blanket, found a spot on the rocks and had our lunch while taking in all of the surroundings.
Approaching the mile-long tunnel built in the 1930s when cars were much smaller, we stopped dead! The large RVs and tour buses have to be escorted through the tunnel because of its size. We didn’t mind waiting; it gave us more time to observe the area. The tunnel is completely dark inside but every .2 mile there was a large opening on one side with a view of the canyon; the only tunnel we’ve ever been in that had windows! As we exited the tunnel we were again surrounded by canyon walls that went straight up a thousand or more feet. We parked at the visitor center to catch the shuttle because cars are not allowed in the main part of the park.
Zion was by far the most crowded national park we’ve encountered this whole trip. It was school vacation week and there were lots of families vacationing there. The double shuttle had people on and off constantly at each stop. The bus itself was fine but we missed the open convertible; it was impossible to see some of the canyon tops from the bus window. We did manage, however, to see two climbers in the second day of a three day climb (they climb about 400 feet a day). The surroundings were very spectacular but it felt crowded and busy and didn’t seem as serene. In the other parks we felt like we needed to whisper because of the natural beauty and aura. In Zion it was all hustle bustle!
We decided to knock off early and stayed in nearby Hurricane UT to do a little laundry get caught up on some chores and get to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Sedona, Arizona.
MARCH 26, 2008
So……….I misdated yesterday’s blog………yesterday was March 26 but I was describing March 25!!! Anyone catch me?
In any case, we left Tropic later than we had intended. The service in Clark’s restaurant was slow………..the waitress said they were waiting for the water to boil for Connie’s soft-boiled egg!!! It IS harder to boil water at a high altitude but that was a pretty lame excuse! Our first excursion of the day was a trip back into Bryce Canyon; although the entrance fee is $25, we could afford to enter two days in a row since we get in FREE!!!! The hoodoos were as spectacular during the daylight as they were at sunset. The amphitheater glowed with all of the castles and gardens in salmon, red and gold. We took a short hike from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point where we could see deeper into the amphitheater. Again we were amazed at the sight of these unique sandstone formations. Peter stopped for a bit to take it all in with the binoculars and commented that this, although hard for him to say, was probably the single most awesome sight so far. Connie decided that yesterday’s drive through the national parks, along Scenic Byway 12, through several national parks and into the Bryce Canyon amphitheater was the most awesome day so far.
Leaving Bryce we continued on Scenic Byway 12 toward Zion National Park. We put the top down, drove through Red Canyon, through red stone arches along the canyon wall: red, red, red!!!! Every time we came around a corner we wanted to stop and take a picture but it’s impossible to capture what we see, especially with our inadequate camera. We turned on UT 89 and saw another convertible with its top down, probably only the third one we’ve seen with the top down…….they don’t know what they’re missing! Believe it or not, on this 65 mph two lane road we were passed by a HUGE Japanese tour bus. We’ve noticed lots of foreign tourists, mostly German and Asian. Given the state of the dollar, traveling in the US is a heck of a bargain these days.
Along this drive we passed through several small towns where the speed limit dropped from 65mph to 35mph. Sure enough, we saw the sheriff waiting at the middle of each town, looking for speeders. In a red convertible, with out of state plates, you have to be very careful to observe the speed limits.
Near the entrance to Zion we passed a herd of buffalo grazing in a field. In the park we drove through some HUGE canyons, a thousand plus feet above us, with striated and weathered walls on each side of the road. Before paying the entrance fee ($25 dollars per car, free for us!) the road changed to the same dark red color of the canyon. Peter commented that it was just as beautiful as he remembered. We pulled off the road, took our blanket, found a spot on the rocks and had our lunch while taking in all of the surroundings.
Approaching the mile-long tunnel built in the 1930s when cars were much smaller, we stopped dead! The large RVs and tour buses have to be escorted through the tunnel because of its size. We didn’t mind waiting; it gave us more time to observe the area. The tunnel is completely dark inside but every .2 mile there was a large opening on one side with a view of the canyon; the only tunnel we’ve ever been in that had windows! As we exited the tunnel we were again surrounded by canyon walls that went straight up a thousand or more feet. We parked at the visitor center to catch the shuttle because cars are not allowed in the main part of the park.
Zion was by far the most crowded national park we’ve encountered this whole trip. It was school vacation week and there were lots of families vacationing there. The double shuttle had people on and off constantly at each stop. The bus itself was fine but we missed the open convertible; it was impossible to see some of the canyon tops from the bus window. We did manage, however, to see two climbers in the second day of a three day climb (they climb about 400 feet a day). The surroundings were very spectacular but it felt crowded and busy and didn’t seem as serene. In the other parks we felt like we needed to whisper because of the natural beauty and aura. In Zion it was all hustle bustle!
We decided to knock off early and stayed in nearby Hurricane UT to do a little laundry get caught up on some chores and get to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Sedona, Arizona.
3 comments:
Sounds like you're having the trip of a lifetime. Our country is coming alive to me with your descriptions. Keep them coming.
So you guys are pretty excited about your "senior" discount for $10 that gets you into all national parks....being a senior really has its priveleges!! :-)
Tom and I spent a night in Zion Park. We had dinner at the lodge and encountered several deer grazing as we walked back to the (small,really small) cabin(with no TV)we had rented. I remember a lot of wild turkeys milling around. On the shuttle we chatted with parents and three middle school-age children that had flown in from somewhere on the east coast and were hiking in four of the parks in the area. I thought that was so wholesome!
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