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Published: July 15th 2007
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I said in our last post that Tuesday would be a marathon day on the road, and boy, was it ever! We were up early once again, this time to head off to Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah. The visitor center greeter recommended we take the more scenic route through Cedar Breaks instead of using Highway 20, which normally is a little quicker. Apparently the fires further north were causing some traffic to be rerouted onto 20, leading to possible slow-downs. By then our stomachs were calling, so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel, where we also realized we had lost an hour due to the time change. We were quickly getting behind schedule, but Cedar Breaks National Monument enticed us into making stop anyway. We were at an elevation of about 10,000 and the temperature (about 70 degrees) and scenery were lovely. We really enjoyed the opportunity to stretch our legs too.
The drive between Cedar Breaks and Bryce was quite scenic too, as we meandered through peaks and valleys, scattered with creeks and lakeside ranch-style lodges. Along the way we had to slow down for a deer crossing the street and we were able to
snap a picture. At Bryce Canyon we didn’t really have time for any hiking, but we drove through the park, stopping at a few of the overlooks. The hoodoos and Natural Bridge were quite a sight to behold. At Bryce we also saw some rather funny looking creatures called mule deer.
Now we were ready to drive onto Zion Canyon National Park. We came in through the east entrance, and what a treat that was! Some amazing sites along that drive included the Checkerboard Mesa, the winding switchbacks, two tunnels, and towering rock formations in colors of tans, browns, and red. Our hotel was just outside the park, so we would be able to catch the shuttle and be in the park in no time. We had a nice spacious room with a refrigerator so we were also able to freeze water bottles and keep snacks cold to take with us hiking. Of course, we'll have more on Zion in the next post.
For dinner that night we had Elk burgers at Blondie’s Diner, which ironically was situated right next to a domesticated Elk ranch. We had a good laugh with the waiter about just how fresh the
burgers were, and then he explained that his uncle raised the elk there and then released them on a hunting preserve when they got older. After dinner we wandered around the town shops, where we (mostly Joanna) gawked at all the beautiful handmade pottery. Nick has been asking the locals everywhere we go where there is a good place for arrowhead hunting, but so far he has only found them in the gift shops!
So this concludes another one of our vagabond tales. To be continued if we survive our hiking exploits in Zion . . . Hmmm could this be a hint of what will be in my next post??? Be sure to turn in next time . . . same cyberplace, time to be announced.
P.S. Thanks again to everyone for your comments and messages. We are really enjoying hearing from you and it's nice to know someone else besides us is reading it! We don't have time right now to respond to everyone, but I'll try to if we ever slow down our pace. In real time we are back in Phoenix now, in recovery mode for a day or two! BTW, for those of
you who travel, this is a great way to document your vacation memories. It's taken some time, but it's great to know the whole trip is being documented while it's fresh in our minds. Even though I (Joanna) am doing most of the writing, Nick is giving me a lot of input, especially on the parts we hope will make you chuckle. So it's been fun, and all we will have to do when we get home is post the rest of our pictures on Picasa.
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Mom
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We have enjoyed your travel log so much and look forward to it. We check it each day. You sure have packed in a lot. It's fun to see you at the same spots we visited. However we didn't go into Cedar Breaks. We ate at a wonderful restuarent in Cedar City. On our trip there it snowed so bad we had to turn around and go in another way. We pretty much had the same reaction to Las Vegas as you did. Pro and con. I am saving all your pix and journal. We are really happy for your exciting travels........Our Love, Mom and Dad