We Remembered Zion

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Zion National Park has a shuttle system and the first one leaves at 6pm. So we set the alarm for 5am (big mistake as we were all still so tired, but at least I got a great night’s sleep which makes a change), so we could get in early and beat the crowds and heat. We were waiting and waiting at the shuttle stop but soon realised that the shuttle didn’t start till 9am from town, but had to drive into the Visitor’s Centre to get the 6am shuttle from there. By the time we figured all this out we didn’t get the first shuttle till 8am so we could’ve had a bit of a sleep in afterall. Sigh! It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by the mountains of the national park. I don’t know what to say to describe it looked to be quite lush with the Virgin River running right through it. But the early Mormon Settlers found it too difficult to farm here with the harsh conditions. To me it looked lush with the river (although small) and pine trees everywhere. It was nice but not overly awe inspiring. We did however see squirrels at the waiting area/picnic area at the end of the Canyon which was exciting We saw what looked to be like wild turkeys and evidence of beavers which had gnawed at the base of all the cottonwood trees near the river. Maybe we were just too tired too appreciate it. We stopped at nearly all the stop within the canyon, before heading off to Bryce Canyon. We heard from Erika in the meantime and she was still in the north part of the Park and was heading our way, but by the time we got the message we were headed out and texted her. The drive to Bryce showed us the real America that you see on TV. The clichéd Antique shops with US flags everywhere, all the junk in everyone’s front and back yards. No one has fences around their homes so you can just see everyone’s mess. Makes our yard at home look really tidy. There was actual farm land and proper small towns we passed through. It wasn’t like the desert as I was expecting. We stopped at Glendale as I saw an antique shop advertising license plates. He had a whole heap in there and reckoned he was the cheapest place in America as most people were selling them for about $20ea. I did actually see an advert somewhere for plates at $20 so maybe he was right. Brendan said we were going to go to a wreckers yard and get some there but the guy said this is getting more difficult to do as the laws are becoming a bit like Australia. He also said that he would get an Aussie a day come into the store for plates but we were the first he’d seen in a month.



We met up with Erika and her kids literally 10 minutes after we got to our motel room. It didn’t take long for them to warm up to each other. And one question after the other was being fired. They gave us a lovely photo book of there life in the last year. Our room is beautiful and so is the lobby with the typical American log cabin type décor in the busy lobby complete with mounted animal heads. Had one of the most awesomest days of my travelling career today. After another 6am start we still managed to miss Fairyland point turn off where I wanted to take some early morning photos. I didn’t mind too much as it was all overcast and wouldn’t have made nice pix anyway. We nearly cleaned up a deer on our way into the Park where Erika was staying. We met them in the lobby of the Bryce Canyon Lodge. After signing all of the waiver forms we wen to the corral which was also so clichéd. The employees were all dressed in their Stetsons, chaps and walked and talked like cowboys. My mule was called Bonny she couldn’t stop eating right from the start including the wooden barriers on the ways into the Canyon. Brendan and I were last in the possie which was bit frustrating as I could’ve got some awesome shots of our cowboy guide with the canyon as a backdrop. Now that would’ve been award winning! I could’ve asked I suppose but sometimes you just get so caught up in the moment that you forget important stuff like that and just miss out. I was scared as I hadn’t done anything like this since about 20yrs ago and the experience wasn’t pleasant one, but after 5 minutes I felt like I had been riding for years. After a while I really did feel like that as my arse and knee ligaments were incredibly sore and I couldn’t wait to get off. When we did get off half way through I was the only old girl who had difficulty getting off the horse. It was like the ultimate American thing to do. To go horse back riding with a guide wearing a Stetson, chaps and the yo’ll demeanor. None of us had hard hats or anything. There were some pretty steep slopes and I was shitting myself at times, but took pictures constantly to take my mind off it. The actual canyon was just amazing. While the Grand Canyon has sheer scale and size, Bryce certainly has beauty that the Grand doesn’t have. After making our lunch in and abandoned gas station lot (again no parks or picnic areas to speak of) we went to waterfalls in another part of Park. Kids went in and had a ball and then tried to dam up the creek with rocks. It got quite warm. Unfortunately we drove straight past Red Rock Canyon without stopping, as that is also supposed to be amazing. Eventually left at about 3pm and had to stop at rock shop for coffee to prevent going to sleep before driving to Kanab where we found a grocery store. A 15 minute job always turns into an hour’s experience, as we find ourselves agonising over each product as there is always a thousand different flavours/options, most of which we just don’t get at home. I placed the kids in front of the chocolate isle and said they could anything they wanted that we couldn’t get at home. Lleyton turned his nose up at everything and I ended up crying back in the car. He’s just not eating enough and will lose even more weight. Hit flat desert/Pilbara type land then surprising a lush looking forest, The place is a dive with no coffee, no microwave and no fridge. We were caught short as we had bought microwavable food. Unfortunately we had to spend 2 nights here. Was raining and really cold and the heater didn’t work.

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Photos

Starving Deer
The US is experiencing it's worst drought in 50 years. Very evident when looking at this skeletal lil' critter