Wild West day 9

Zion National Park, here we come! As with Bryce, we were here in 1970 and I have several old photos of Zion. We had entered Zion the first time from the west entrance on Hwy 9. This time we approached from the east. So the first notable scene after the entrance was The Checkerboard. Joyce took most photos through the windshield and it was a while before she noticed the reflection off the dash. So, that's the weird ghost-like stuff you see in these photos. Don't worry, it's not some paranormal activity. Heading west on hwy 9. Approaching the first tunnel, right into the non-paranormal activity. Then we got a big disappointment. We found out that private vehicles are no longer permitted on the Zion Valley road. The only way to tour the valley road is by shuttle or on foot and Ditto couldn't go on the shuttle. We couldn't go see the beehive or So, we made our way out of Zion and proceeded on to Hoover Dam.

Wild West day 8

Here is our campsite at Wonderland RV in Teasdale, UT. Another nice park, but boy! Were they busy maintaining it. Apparently, they must water every day and it kept at least one guy busy all day moving sprinklers. Ditto loved the soft grass, though, as she's getting tired or sand and things that stick her. We arrived at Bryce Canyon around 4 pm Wednesday. Since it was early yet, we decided to tour the park and then move on down the road. But, as we started into the park, we came upon a campground that appeared to have vacancies. We stopped and, indeed, there were open spots, so we grabbed one. We got a handicapped hangtag before we left and this site, being a handicapped site, was huge and dwarfed our Lil Pumpkin. But, it was directly across from the restrooms and it was available. Still being early, we began our tour. Next is a series of photos that will probably bore you, but I've done that to folks before. When I remembered, I snapped a shot of the location to help me remember as much as anything. The Grottos I have an old movie (8mm) of this from 1970. I panned so fast it nearly makes you ill. Joyce and Ditto waited in the RV at most spots while I snapped a photo or two. The following is at Sunset Point. I forgot to take a picture of the name post. A couple of grey canyon jays were raising a ruckus above one of the view points and they had more photos taken of them than a lot of the scenery. They even attracted Ditto's attention (Ditto and Joyce got out for Sunset Point). I guess Ditto began to wonder why so many people were looking over the railing. But, all she saw was rocks and she went back to reading the news at old pee spots.  Moving on... Thor's Hammer We got back to the campground shortly before dark, had supper and crashed. It was a pretty big day...at over 8,000 feet. Tomorrow it's Zion.

Wild West day 7

We had another terrific day. We left Moab this morning in the wind, and I do mean wind. We'd forgotten just how windy it can get out here. And dust! Most of the rocks and soil around here are red and now, so is much of the inside of Lil Pumpkin. When I washed the windshield, it was red mud. The dust has stuck to the fresh kill bug splats. We headed south on hwy 191 down to just past Blanding where we took hwy 95 west. Just before Blanding we passed Wilson's Arch. What a specimen! Initially, after turning onto 95, we thought maybe we had made a mistake. We had driven miles and miles and all we were seeing was sparse land covered with scrawny looking cedars. We decided to stop for a snack and found a place to pull off that was obviously used mainly for ATV riding and shooting guns. In the photo, I had picked up a 9mm shell casing. It was just about then the wind kicked up a red dust storm and I scrambled back into the RV. But, it did not take too long after my dust bath for the scenery to change and begin to grab our interest. As before when we had taken the less traveled roads, there were hardly any other vehicles on the road. The world we saw was ours, for the moment at least. And it stretched out before us. We could catch glimpses this beautiful twisting and marvelously carved gorge running along side the highway, sometimes close, sometimes far away. Eventually we came upon a bridge crossing it and discovered it was Glen Canyon. I tried to get some photos, but the only access I had was on a rock overhang beside the bridge that was very scary in the wind. So, my photos aren't as good or informative as they could be. But then, further down the road we came to another bridge. It was over the Colorado River. We were crossing the upper end of Lake Powell. Photo opportunities here were a bit better. After passing the Colorado we hit hwy 24 and headed west through Capitol Reel National Park. We made a rest stop at a pretty little picnic area. Just as we were leaving, a couple of cyclist flagged us down and asked if we had some water. While I filled their bottles, Joyce asked them where they were from and where they were going. They had ridden out from Ohio! They were heading in the direction we had just came from. Holy Cow! There was a 10% grade waiting for them and lots of hard pedaling. I think sometimes I'm glad I'm old. We stopped for the night at Wonderland RV Park at Teasdale, UT. Too late for a photo tonight. Maybe I'll remember to take one in the morning.