Tour Diary - Day Three
Nov. 3rd, 2016 02:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanAnd on the third day... the earth opened up before & underneath us
Thursday 6th of October - St George to Richfield
Another early morning - aren't we supposed to be on holiday? Breakfast at the Econolodge buffet, making the natives curious about the black stuff we spread on our toast from a tube... Doing our bit to introduce Vegemite to middle America... then loading up Travis & off to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. As we climbed the winding roads up & out of St George, the imposing mountainsides & drop-offs gave way to vast, high plains with wonderful rock formations. Couldn't believe you'd find all this at the top of a mountain road. At the bottom, sure...
We crossed the border into Arizona again & climbed to an altitude of about 9000ft by the time we arrived at the North Rim. More spectacular rock formations & scenery along the way, but not even a large school group arriving at the same time as us could take anything away from the sweeping vistas of the Canyon. There are cabins & outbuildings, a post office, as well as a late 19th century Lodge - all heavy log construction, timber floors & high ceilings - where the older generation of tourists had taken up just about every adirondack chair on the various balconies & showed no signs of moving. So we wandered down a couple of paths to a couple of lookouts, where we discovered these guys have the same attitude to sightseeing as the Hualapai Nation does at the Canyon's western end - little to no fencing & if you fall, that's your own fault. A healthy perspective, but a little intimidating in certain areas
The geology of the area is well-explained by quite interesting signage dotted around the lookouts & trails - faultlines & the rise & fall of ancient seas all contributing to the size & shape of the Canyon. Apparently the North Rim is covered in snow for at least 6 months of the year - probably the main reason why, of all the visitors to the Grand Canyon, only 10% of them come to the North Rim. Personally, I like it that way, as it makes for easy seeing of sights & photography, but I can see why the operators of the site may find that statistic a little disappointing
A couple of postcards sent from the Post Office there, then back on the road. On our way to the North Rim, we'd passed a place called Judd Auto, that had a sign advertising what they sold... & possibly what they believed in - 'Lotto, Guns, Ammo, Beer'. Passing it again on the road back, it was too intriguing to not stop at, so we did. Judd Auto also advertises itself as the centre of the Universe & who are we to argue - especially with all the guns, ammo & beer around. They obviously know they're a curiosity stop more than a mechanic's these days, so sell plenty of memorabilia featuring their 4 main products & astronomical location. We bought a few t-shirts which are quite discreet on the front, just the Judd Auto logo & a small claim to being the centre of the universe, but on the back... LOTTO, GUNS, AMMO, BEER proudly & largely emblazoned for all to see & either embrace or avoid. I had to get one for myself as well, just to see what the reaction will be across the country. Maybe I should have bought the Beretta semi-automatic as well (only $665.99) - you can't be too careful, especially with the US election going the way it is... & we just had to get some of their alligator jerky. Man (& woman) can't live on bacon jerky alone
Back across the border into Utah & on to Bryce Canyon. Or so we thought... TomTom SatNav mapped us to Bryce Lane, about 50 miles or so away from the Canyon. Corrected by good old Jeeves GoogleMaps, we set off again, arriving at about 4pm, as the sun was beginning to set & the nearby Red Canyon was extremely red & looked fantastic - like someone had taken some formations from Arches NP & carved them into something a little more elegant
Further on up the road, Bryce Canyon itself was also enjoying the beginnings of sunset & displaying its colours, as well as its dazzling array of features. It was a disturbing thought that the path that circled the Canyon was pretty much where the rain, wind & snow's erosion over the millennia had got up to by this time... some day they'll have to rebuild all the walls a few more feet back from where they are now. Fortunately, not today though
Driving up to 'Inspiration Point', we encountered some of the local wildlife - tiny chipmunks & deer families (which weren't tiny), meaning some careful driving & walking. By the time we arrived, the sun was close to being done for the day, so a few last photos & time we started for Colorado. As we climbed into Travis, we were approached by a friendly guy who needed a lift down to the carpark about 5 minutes drive away, to collect his car, so he could collect his 3 friends, who were getting cold, hungry & a little anxious about walking back. Turned out he's a doctor working with the Navajo near the Utah-Colorado border & had been to Australia recently, so wasn't confused by our accents
Leaving Bryce Canyon, we arrived in Panguitch, the closest town where we could get a decent sized meal that wasn't served 'fast'. At our 2nd attempt restaurant, that's exactly what we ordered & received - big steaks & side dishes... the first big American meal for both of us this trip, but a well-deserved one after the amount of walking around 2 National Parks & the long drive between them. That's our excuse & we're sticking to it
After a couple of hours of night driving, with some more unhelpful directions from TomTom, we arrived in Richfield... still in Utah, but we're getting closer to Colorado & the halfway point of the road-trip. Somewhere in the dark, we passed the Big Rock Candy Mountain - known to me because of the song featured in the Coen Bros movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' As far as I could tell though, it's made of dark chocolate, because all I could see was a big dark triangular shape... kind of like a giant piece of Toblerone. A pity we weren't there in the daytime & a pity we couldn't stop... I like dark chocolate!!
Miles so far: about 900
States travelled through: 2
Thursday 6th of October - St George to Richfield
Another early morning - aren't we supposed to be on holiday? Breakfast at the Econolodge buffet, making the natives curious about the black stuff we spread on our toast from a tube... Doing our bit to introduce Vegemite to middle America... then loading up Travis & off to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. As we climbed the winding roads up & out of St George, the imposing mountainsides & drop-offs gave way to vast, high plains with wonderful rock formations. Couldn't believe you'd find all this at the top of a mountain road. At the bottom, sure...
We crossed the border into Arizona again & climbed to an altitude of about 9000ft by the time we arrived at the North Rim. More spectacular rock formations & scenery along the way, but not even a large school group arriving at the same time as us could take anything away from the sweeping vistas of the Canyon. There are cabins & outbuildings, a post office, as well as a late 19th century Lodge - all heavy log construction, timber floors & high ceilings - where the older generation of tourists had taken up just about every adirondack chair on the various balconies & showed no signs of moving. So we wandered down a couple of paths to a couple of lookouts, where we discovered these guys have the same attitude to sightseeing as the Hualapai Nation does at the Canyon's western end - little to no fencing & if you fall, that's your own fault. A healthy perspective, but a little intimidating in certain areas
The geology of the area is well-explained by quite interesting signage dotted around the lookouts & trails - faultlines & the rise & fall of ancient seas all contributing to the size & shape of the Canyon. Apparently the North Rim is covered in snow for at least 6 months of the year - probably the main reason why, of all the visitors to the Grand Canyon, only 10% of them come to the North Rim. Personally, I like it that way, as it makes for easy seeing of sights & photography, but I can see why the operators of the site may find that statistic a little disappointing
A couple of postcards sent from the Post Office there, then back on the road. On our way to the North Rim, we'd passed a place called Judd Auto, that had a sign advertising what they sold... & possibly what they believed in - 'Lotto, Guns, Ammo, Beer'. Passing it again on the road back, it was too intriguing to not stop at, so we did. Judd Auto also advertises itself as the centre of the Universe & who are we to argue - especially with all the guns, ammo & beer around. They obviously know they're a curiosity stop more than a mechanic's these days, so sell plenty of memorabilia featuring their 4 main products & astronomical location. We bought a few t-shirts which are quite discreet on the front, just the Judd Auto logo & a small claim to being the centre of the universe, but on the back... LOTTO, GUNS, AMMO, BEER proudly & largely emblazoned for all to see & either embrace or avoid. I had to get one for myself as well, just to see what the reaction will be across the country. Maybe I should have bought the Beretta semi-automatic as well (only $665.99) - you can't be too careful, especially with the US election going the way it is... & we just had to get some of their alligator jerky. Man (& woman) can't live on bacon jerky alone
Back across the border into Utah & on to Bryce Canyon. Or so we thought... TomTom SatNav mapped us to Bryce Lane, about 50 miles or so away from the Canyon. Corrected by good old Jeeves GoogleMaps, we set off again, arriving at about 4pm, as the sun was beginning to set & the nearby Red Canyon was extremely red & looked fantastic - like someone had taken some formations from Arches NP & carved them into something a little more elegant
Further on up the road, Bryce Canyon itself was also enjoying the beginnings of sunset & displaying its colours, as well as its dazzling array of features. It was a disturbing thought that the path that circled the Canyon was pretty much where the rain, wind & snow's erosion over the millennia had got up to by this time... some day they'll have to rebuild all the walls a few more feet back from where they are now. Fortunately, not today though
Driving up to 'Inspiration Point', we encountered some of the local wildlife - tiny chipmunks & deer families (which weren't tiny), meaning some careful driving & walking. By the time we arrived, the sun was close to being done for the day, so a few last photos & time we started for Colorado. As we climbed into Travis, we were approached by a friendly guy who needed a lift down to the carpark about 5 minutes drive away, to collect his car, so he could collect his 3 friends, who were getting cold, hungry & a little anxious about walking back. Turned out he's a doctor working with the Navajo near the Utah-Colorado border & had been to Australia recently, so wasn't confused by our accents
Leaving Bryce Canyon, we arrived in Panguitch, the closest town where we could get a decent sized meal that wasn't served 'fast'. At our 2nd attempt restaurant, that's exactly what we ordered & received - big steaks & side dishes... the first big American meal for both of us this trip, but a well-deserved one after the amount of walking around 2 National Parks & the long drive between them. That's our excuse & we're sticking to it
After a couple of hours of night driving, with some more unhelpful directions from TomTom, we arrived in Richfield... still in Utah, but we're getting closer to Colorado & the halfway point of the road-trip. Somewhere in the dark, we passed the Big Rock Candy Mountain - known to me because of the song featured in the Coen Bros movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' As far as I could tell though, it's made of dark chocolate, because all I could see was a big dark triangular shape... kind of like a giant piece of Toblerone. A pity we weren't there in the daytime & a pity we couldn't stop... I like dark chocolate!!
Miles so far: about 900
States travelled through: 2
