Day 5 - Saint George, UT - Torrey, UT

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7am and 78F out! My kind of weather! We left St. George to get an early head start. We decided that we would forgo Zion National Park and head out and do a large loop back to Kanab Utah where we would head north to Bryce Canyon and The Grand Staircase Escalante. We knew that Zion would be busy and they bus you in to the park now. One busy park is enough for one day…..We headed southeast towards Pipe Springs National Monument in Arizona. We made the first tour of the day of Windsor Castle. This was a small Mormon settlement in the 1800’s where the only water could be found for miles. It was a large spring that came out of the ground that they were able to water their crops and raise dairy cattle. The Mormons built their fort over the spring so that no one else could get to the water. We asked if they allowed the Paiute Indians to get water and our tour guide couldn’t really answer that question, which I took to mean NO! We were informed that the original spring that was here was plugged when they had an earthquake back in the 1990’s. They had to go in and find another spring and route it back out to keep the water going. We left Pipe Springs and headed southeast towards the Vermillion Cliffs. These cliffs are a white from a distance, but once you get up close they are a deep red. They are spectacular. The scenery is amazing! We came into Page Arizona and over the Glen Canyon dam and Lake Powell. We decided that we would like to rent a houseboat and spend a week on the lake. I can remember going to the lake in my early twenties and camping out for a week. It was free then, it didn’t look free anymore. The kids have gotten a few pieces of Indian jewelry from the roadside booths that are all over this area.
Made it Bryce Canyon without incident except….I had a rock bounce up off of the road, hit the side mirrors on the car and come in and hit me in the face…sheesh only me! By the time we reached Bryce Canyon it was very late and we still had 109 miles to go before we reached our hotel. We made a few stops at some different overlooks, stopped at the visitor center and headed north to our destination. On the way there the sun had moved just enough to the western sky that the colors of the rock became very vibrant. I must say that Utah has a very diverse landscape. We went from dramatic rock formations to high mountain meadows and prairies. I don’t remember it being so dramatic last time I came through, but then again I was in my early twenties. Our hotel had a balcony that overlooked the red rock mountains. We enjoyed sitting out on their and just relaxing (once we got there). I must say our hotel sucked. The internet wasn’t working and food across the street was expensive and LOUSY! Looking forward to a better stay tonight. The first part of our Mystery Tour is coming close to an end and then Megan, Grandma and I head off to Canada for a week on Vancouver Island and to see some of Washington State. We bought a National Park Pass so I will be making use of it for the next year!

Today's Hints:


• I was incorporated in 1934
• I sit at 6830’ in elevation
• My zip code is 84775
• I am in Wayne county
• I am 1951 miles from Washington DC
• My average rainfall is 6.8” per year
• I was settled in 1880 by Mormon Pioneers
• I was originally known as Youngtown
• I was named after one of President Theodore Roosevelt’s rough riders
• I am located on State Route 24

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Photos

Plateau east of Bryce Canyon
Notice the canyon on each side

High Praire outside of Torrey, UT
We are at almost 10,000 feet