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We drove west thru northern NM and AZ and spent the night at a campsiite in Page, AZ (near Lake Powell) on June 22. Michelle and I hiked up a bluff behind the campground the next morning and we could see for I-don't-even-know-how-many miles. We made the decision to see the Grand Canyon because we were so close. Again we gave Olivia the keys and she promptly found steep mountain grades with 1,000 foot dropoffs and again handled it like a pro. She did relinquish the helm after an 18-wheeler honked at her. We were nearly to the Grand Canyon turn-off about 45 minutes later when we encountered a forest fire barricade. We were informed that we would have to re-trace our path and go 4 hrs out of our way to see the Grand Canyon. The proficient navigator in me, however, would not surrender that quickly and I opted for us to take a dirt road that was mapped out in faint grey on our atlas. Dumb idea...don't ever try it. (mom, don't read this next part) Smokey the bear says, "Never avoid a forest fire by opting for a faintly marked dirt road, even if advised by a fire
fighter" (which i was). The next 1hr and 15min were some of the most anxiety-ridden of my life. As Michelle and Olivia slept thru the last 30 min of the trip, I was left to imagine strange, cliff-dwelling peoples inspecting our smoking, broken-down vehicle for foodstuffs as the three of us walked aimlessly in the wilderness looking for signs of civilization. There was a lot of audible praying and profuse sweating and swearing involved. After what seemed like an eternity (without seeing one other sole, might I add) we came upon the most beautiful sight - blacktop. Don't worry, mom, I learned my lesson. I'm sure it was quite the site for Liv and Michelle to wake up from their peaceful slumber to see me panting and teary-eyed behind the wheel!
After that harrowing brush with certain death, we decided we were not meant to see the Grand Canyon that day and pushed on to Zion National Park. The drive into the park was truly spectacular. The cliffs rise 2,000 feet into the sky and are brilliant reds, oranges, and greens. You wind your way thru the park passing thru tunnels and essing to the lower elevation and visitor
center. From the visitor center we rode a shuttle to the north end of the park. On the way we observed a treacherous trail leading to 'Angel's Landing,' a point that my friends Des and Jay hiked to recently. Seeing it in person, I couldn't fathom how they came back from the hike alive! It is a sheer dropoff on either side of the trail to a perch on a precipice above the park! We got off the tram at its northernmost point for the Riverside walk. It is one mile of paved trail down to the bank of the Virgin River. From there we began our hike upstream thru the narrows, named for the 'narrow' path the 1,000 foot cliffs that border the river create. In actuality, the river is about 30 feet wide in most places. The water fluctuates between shallow stream to 4 feet deep in some places. The going was slow because we had to walk on large, smooth rocks below the surface. There were many people of all ages hiking along with us. We had a really fun time - lots of laughs.
After spending the evening at a flea bag motel in Southern
Utah, we embarked on the final leg of our journey to San Francisco. This drive was truly like a scene out of the movies. A couple hours in, we came upon the 'extraterrestrial highway' in Nevada. This is a highway where where is nothing for hundreds of miles. At one point, we filled up in Rachel, Nevada, because there wasn't another gas station for 110 miles! It was a little stressful at times when you don't see another car for 20 minutes and you start thinking of flat tires, overheated engines, and UFOs, but we made it thru unscathed. At some point we encountered a truly bizarre sight - a naked cycling group! When we pulled up next to them to take a picture and talk, they asked if we were from Austin (they had seen my bumper sticker). We said wer were and they said they were too! Turns out they are part of the 'Texas 4000' that is riding from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska. They usually ride with clothes on, but had decided to ditch them 3 miles before we saw them. I wonder if it was so they could be cooler? But we were in the middle
of the desert...hmmm...I f your eyes can handle it, check out the picture. Hopefully you'll be able to focus on their 'hook 'em horns' hand gestures rather than other distracting appendages!
stay tuned for california...
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Kathy
non-member comment
Zion
Mel - Did you remember that our son-in-law, Chris, was a park ranger at Zion? We, too, have done the Narrows and saw lots of wild life there. You used to be able to drive yourself through Zion rather than the tram. Did you see the petroglyphs? Oh, I forgot, you saw the naked men instead!! Have fun! Love you!