Day 67 : September 1 UTAH ( Rvs)
Our visit to Kanab now over, we experienced a pleasant drive through rolling hills, surprisingly green. After traveling along US89, the turn-off to Bryce Canyon took us along Route 12. The hills were still quite smoky but this was no impediment to the views at the Canyon. Once again, we were just so amazed at the beauty of this area, so different from the Grand Canyon yet so very beautiful. Scientists give wonderful explanations of the origins of these pillars of rock left by erosion. One can conjure up all kinds of visions among the many statue-like ‘hoodoos’ - Native American legend has it that the ‘hoodoos’ are ‘Legend People’ whom Coyote turned to stone as a punishment for their wickedness and it takes very little imagination to make out rows of figures in the ‘Silent City’. One can find cathedrals and castles among the many beautifully coloured spires, ranging from pure white to a rich coral pink. We can certainly understand why the tractor group so enjoyed their visit to this Canyon a few days ago.
Once again the clock demanded that we move on, this time towards Zion Canyon. This drive required some back-tracking down the only road between the two canyons, but soon we were off the US89 and onto the road into Zion. Every motorist pays US$25 for his vehicle to take this route across to Washington, Utah, whether they want to stop at the canyon or not and for large vehicles such as ours, an additional charge of $15 to have centre of the road use of the second tunnel which is not wide enough to allow two lanes of traffic larger than a standard car. The scenery once through these tunnels soon made us forget these charges however as the absolutely enormous hills rose sharply on every side. The route to the Visitors’ Centre follows many hairpin bends and the drivers were quite pleased to arrive safely and look forward to a Shuttle bus service first thing in the morning to take in the rest of the canyon.
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| Different Caravan at Hatch |
Sometimes a quotation says it all |
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| The ladies just loved Bryce Canyon |
Looks like a Castle in the valley |
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| This really looks like fun |
Driving out of the tunnel leading to Bryce Canyon |
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| Rugged scenery and hairpin bends at Zion Canyon |
Home for the night at Zion RV Park |
Day 68 : September 2 UTAH - NEVADA (RVs)
The day promised to be hot, so we were off on the 7.15am shuttle bus and were fortunate at the first stop, the Court of the Patriarchs, to see the early rays of sun hit the towering mountains, named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob after the three towering figures of the Old Testament. Then the route wound its way between giant hills of solid rock in many different forms and colourations. Because of time constrains, we did not do any of the longer hikes which would obviously be well worth doing, but we did take the track up to the ‘Weeping Rock’ and were amazed at this incredible place where, even in the dryness of late summer, there was water dripping all along a section of wave formation rocks, with ferns growing from many crevices. A quite fast moving stream flowed through the valley near this spot and our bus guide’s advice was that the whole valley was once a lake, with tests showing up to 300 feet of silt in the base of the canyons. The stream is all that now remains of this large water mass, however the valley is still home to diverse wildlife. From the shuttle bus, we saw several wild turkeys on the road, then two young elk showed no fear when we walked down the path while they were enjoying their breakfast of green shoots. The squirrels are quite brave also, always hoping for an easy meal – a definite no-no from the authorities.
An enjoyable late breakfast cum morning tea was enjoyed at the Zion Lodge and then it was time to hit the road again. After the cool of the morning, the temperature rose quite sharply and by the time we hit the desert country, we were facing century plus heat. The drive was quite interesting with many different land and rock formations but nothing greener than a few cactus for many miles. We looked forward to seeing Lake Mead, but found the levels depressingly low for most of its considerable area – the sign read to the effect that more water is being taken out of it than flows into to, which may explain the very low levels. There were still quite a lot of visitors to the lake however and several boats on one section, but many of the boats were in dry dock, obviously hoping for better conditions at a later date.
Then it was off to see Hoover Dam of which we had heard so much – there were large crowds and the heat was not conducive to sightseeing, but it is an interesting masterpiece of engineering expertise. There is a new bridge under construction, being built into the solid rock. Huge cranes were in evidence – the supporting arch appears to be mostly complete, with the traffic lanes just starting to be constructed. A new road system is in the process of being built and in time the whole traffic system will obviously be streamlined. Once again however, the water level was extremely low with many feet of bleached rock bearing witness to much higher levels at some time in the past.
As we continued towards Las Vegas, the smoky haze looked as though is was enveloping the city, however once arrived, it was a relief to find little sign of the smog except the car dealers advertising ‘Smog Checks and Repairs’ which did not inspire us with confidence! Then it was into the Circus Circus RV Park which seems like a contradiction, being placed as it is next to the Hotel/Casino. Towering skyscrapers appear on the skyline around the park and at night many colourful signs light up the darkness.
The tractor trekkers have been here at the RV Park for nearly a week and members have taken several tours from the city. Our small RV group have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent visiting the canyons and National Parks and now look forward to seeing this city and the obvious attractions.
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| Sunrise at the Court of the Patriachs |
Bush Turkeys in Zion NP |
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| Steam near the Weeping Rock |
Pretty path to the Weeping Rock |
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| The incredible Weeping Rock. |
Breakfast time |
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| Shuttle Bus service at Zion NP |
Hoover Dam. |
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| Hoover Dam with bridge under construction |
Road to Las Vegas |
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