Canyons of the West

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Well the flight from Seattle to San Fran via Salt Lake City was easy enough. San Fran is a nice place but I've been watching my ass with all the shit stabbers around. I have never taken a tour in my in all my travels but this time I decided to take a Green Tortoise tour around the Canyons of the West. There was no way I could do it on my own for the same money and I must admit it was awesome.

This 9 day tour included Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Arches National Park, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. All the parks were extremely different and had great hiking adventures. The bus itself used for traveling turns into a sleeper with 36 beds at night if we were on the road. If we were camping we just took a mat and slept under the stars. There were 25 people on the tour from all walks of foreigner life. Ozzies, Brits, Americans, Swiss, Frenchies, Israelis and Dutch.

Zion was huge and probably my favourite of all. Huge canyons with a lot of greenery and tunnels. Bryce was very different with huge Hoodoos and bright orange colours. The Arches had natural arches which claim to be the worlds largest. All of these parks were created millions of years ago when the colorado plateau was formed when the tectonic plates shifted. Then after a lot of ice, water flow and wind over the years formed all the formations we see today. Absolutely incredible!

We also camped at some great spots but by fuck if I can remember what they were called. Goosenecks rings a bell over looking 1000 ft down at the Green River.

We also went to the Indian territory called Moab. Specifically Monument Valley which is of course famous for old Western movies. Had a cruise in a jeep with an Indian and we chanted in a cave. I never felt the spirits I was supposed to but I did sweat like a bastard!

The Grand Canyon was a great experience but to appreciate it you must hike to the bottom. Its 120 down there so only 5 of us did the overnight trek and I led the expedition. Yes it was difficult but by no means as hard as some other stuff I've done. We set off late to avoid the heat and started the ascent just after 3 am. Not much time down there but that sun this time of year is a fucker.

Las Vegas was fun although it was only for a few hours. So we looked at the hotel outdoor shows and had a few beers over a cheap flutter. I'm not a gambler and I was didn't even know how to bet on roulette! Still I did know how to order a beer so all good.

Then back to San Fran as the Dutch guy Paul I met is a pro skydiver and we are off to an American boogie together in Davis. So watch this space as there is some serious fun on the way with the worlds best!

I unfortunately don't have much access to a computer lately so I'll have to update these entries with pictures soon.

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