Day 9: Monday, September 10th

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Today's planned route: St. George, UT to San Diego, CA; Goin’ home is pretty much a straight shot down I-15!

They say that a fool and his money are soon parted… the first stop out of St. George after an hour and a half of crossing the Nevada desert is Las Vegas. In tribute to my cousin Gerry, who retired from the Palace Station sports book 5 years ago, I stop there to try my luck with the slots. OK, well it’s close to the freeway, maybe that’s why I stop, figuring to win the $300K progressive jackpot that will allow me retire when I show up at work tomorrow morning.

Once I plop myself down in front of a slot machine, I become dismayed by the “progress” that gambling joints have made in the digital age. Last time I went through this town for any longer than 15 minutes, I encountered the electric push button changes that replaced the standard levers on slot machines. This time, I find that not only can I not use my spare coins because they’ve covered the coin slots with chrome steel plates (so tell me what’s the sense of putting coins into a jar now?), but if I want to win the progressive jackpot, I have to be a card-carrying member of the Palace Station club.

I slip a twenty into the bill feeder, and only minutes later I’ve played through it. One more attempt, I think, to at least pay for gas on the trip. I saunter over to another likely machine, but that $20 bill goes pretty quickly too. It seems like only seconds ago I walked up to the machine to feed it.

With my $3 winnings on the way to Zion, I am now $37 down. I guess I’ll keep my badge for a while yet and not mail it to the address posted on the back. I’m back on the road in hopes of beating the rush-hour traffic in Rancho Bernardo, four hours away.

There is more traffic between Vegas and San Diego on the drive home than any combination of the Utah and Arizona back roads that I’ve taken over the 7 days of the tour. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many trucks, often slowing down the rest of us by passing one another (you’ve been there!) and at one time through Victorville all three lanes of a three lane southbound track of I-15 have trucks attempting to get ahead of one another.

SIDE TRIP: To pass the time on a long trip, I sometimes mentally keep track of the license plates I see along the way. I won't bore you with the detail, but my count on this trip was 42 states, with Alaska being the star find. I was surprised to see (besides the obvious southwest states' plates) a good number of folk from Wisconsin, out to escape their summer, I suppose. Oh, the humidity of it all!

I thought I learned from the last trip home from Denver, but I guess I haven’t. I elect to take the I-215 south fork towards Riverside off of I-15, especially since the northbound track worked well on the way into Nevada a week ago. And for the second time in a year, I encounter a traffic jam trying to merge off of I-215 onto I-215 (no typo, the southbound freeway has an exit to get onto an on-ramp to a freeway with the same designation where the CA 60 splits it east and west). And again, as I did last year after waiting for 10 minutes in bumper-to-bumper 5 mph traffic, I decide to take the on-ramp to Hwy 60 west to where I know it crosses I-15. So despite Mona’s constant yelling at me to make a U-turn at the next opportunity to get back to I-215, I go the 10 western miles out of the way to avoid the mess I left behind.

One other traffic snarl on I-15 between Fallbrook and Valley Center keeps me in gridlock at 3-5 mph for 20 minutes, with no obvious cause once the traffic gets back underway at speed. Probably the dog-in-the-road theory happening here, the idea that a dog crossing the road causes the oncoming traffic to brake, and then there’s a ripple effect that can last for an hour from traffic that comes up behind.

So maybe there was an accident an hour ago.

Now I’m coming to the end of the road, figuratively as well as literally, home again to San Diego. Some reflections on the trip I’ve just experienced:

I like traveling during the week after Labor Day. There is overall a lack of crowds (except for buses carrying European tourists) because most families with school-age children are back at home in their routine, easing the park population. Additionally, it’s usually a nice time of year seasonally, as the temperatures are going down (well, maybe not in the Southwest anymore), and the chance of precipitation in most areas of the country is sparse.

I have truly enjoyed the scenery in Southeastern Utah. Even the drives between the NPs are exceptionally scenic, yet visually diverse as far as landscape formations and colors and flora. After I got used to the rhythm of going from park to park (and made it past the first day's long drive), I settled into the driving part pretty well.

One good thing about traveling by car is that you can take a lot more stuff with you than when you fly. I was able to pack a sweater for that morning I got up at oh-dark-thirty to watch the sunrise at Bryce Canyon, even though I knew it would be over 85 degrees for the rest of the day. Of course, if the extra stuff is important at all, it means you get to lug more baggage from the car to your lodging for the night.

On several days the timing was such that I didn’t actually have a lunch stop. It was fortunate that I brought along some snacks, as a few of the parks had no place to buy food within the park proper. I guess I could’ve planned the food allocation better, but that would have taken even more research.

"He travels fastest who travels alone." – proverb

“The man who goes out alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter." – Izaak Walton

I’ve been asked how would I have done with someone else aboard. Well, it WAS a preliminary test for the longer road trip ahead, the one where I take 2 months to tour the US. For the most part, I don’t mind being by myself. I think there were times where I would've liked to have someone there, at least at the actual park locations, to share the vistas and the walks and talk about the information on the placards posted along the way. Maybe even on some of the longer driving stretches. But all-in-all, it was a good way to find solitude, and learn some more about how I would deal with encountering strangeness for long periods of time. (I don't mean eerie strangeness, but new and different environments and new people that I may or may not react well to.) One of the good things about "tourist" locations, though, is that if you say hello to someone, especially on a hiking trail, 90% will say hello back.

But yes, not having to allow for a passenger's needs did have its good points. Like, no one to complain that I stopped at McDonald's once or twice and that I picked it up at the drive-in window, then ate as I drove. (It was chicken, honest!)

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Elliot

Almost 2200 miles and 40 hours of driving between stops over 9 days through 5 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, a State Park and a Navajo Tribal Park. I’ve taken almost 1300 photographs (yeah, digital!) of countless rocks, recharging the camera batteries 6 or 8 times in the process. I’ve got a damaged windshield, a dirty car, dozens of travel brochures and tons of stories to carry me through the winter.

It seems like such a long time ago that I set out (late) on a Sunday morning in early September. Like my 7-day, 7-state whirlwind trip to New England in the fall of 1999, now that I’ve got a general view of the Southern Utah National Parks, I can pick one or two spots to come back to and visit more leisurely. But there is soooo much more of the US for me to see yet…so I’ll keep my navigation software up to date.

Thanks for hanging with me for this long, if you managed to do so. I’d love to hear your comments about the trip, my writing efforts, even my photography skills.

Yours in adventures yet to come,
JT
jtgregory@gmail.com
November 10th, 2007

Today’s drive:
St. George, UT to San Diego, CA via Las Vegas, NV
Just over 7 hours, 443 miles (includes 20 minute freeway logjam north of Valley Center)

Tomorrow:
Back to work!

Day 8: Saturday, September 8th

“Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage.” – Regina Nadelson

Today's planned route: Page, AZ to Grand Canyon National Park’s north rim to St. George, UT

Before breakfast I make the trip down in the elevator with several bags to load in the trunk. A tourist bus is parked beyond the loading zone such that it blocks my exit. I decide to eat first, and then come down with my remaining bags before I go find the driver to complain. Sure enough, he’s gone when I come out with the second load, so I ease the TL on to the roadway and begin my journey south towards my final target, the Grand Canyon.

Like the Arches pages on the National Parks site, the Grand Canyon pages also have some good hints. These are with regard to hiking in the park (take water, duh! Plan ahead, take breaks, eat salty snacks with water to replenish your lost salt…). If you’re interested, these hints can be found by clicking on the following link: http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hike-tips.htm. They’re useful if you’re a novice hiker, and if you’re not, they’ll serve as a good reminder.

Having been to the South Rim a few times, I look forward to the views into the canyon where the Colorado River has exposed the different colored layers of earth and rock that represent the passage of time.

Just under two hours from Page, AZ and after passing more busloads of tourists, and a convoy of three RVs from Missouri, I find myself on the turnoff to the North Rim. A 20 minute drive through pine-filled forests interrupted by the occasional meadow takes you into the park. The park is at around 8800 feet, but of course, there are a few places in the park where that elevation drops off considerably - by around 6000 feet.

At the park entrance I find myself waiting behind a line of cars – and tourist buses. It’s the longest wait I’ve had to get into one of the NPs. Ten minutes later I am following the park road, another 8 to 10 miles, to the Visitor’s Center parking lot, adjacent to a number of log-cabin style bungalows, and a compound that contains the Visitor’s Center, a deli and the lodge.

The world-famous Grand Canyon Lodge overlooks the north rim, and there are some unparalleled views to be found just gazing out into the great pit from the adjoining deck. Several lookouts on ledges that poke out into the canyon are easily accessible, so I follow the short trails and climb down the stairs onto the closest one. My friend vertigo arrives closely behind, and so I step back from the railing to catch my breath. I hang around long enough to take a dozen or so photos (I find vertigo is worse with a lens tucked against your eye!) and then return to the lodge.

From the lodge I follow the Bright Angel Trail out to the point with the same name; the view is not extremely different, but I am able to look down into the canyon, and across the gorge onto the south rim.


More photos. But that’s one of the things I’m here for. In time I take the trail, maybe a half-hour round trip plus photo stops, back up to the lodge, and beyond to the Visitor’s Center. There I spy a note on the white board: The road to the Cape Royal Trail is closed! I have plans for several more stops along that road and a few more hikes, but I’ll have to tuck them away in my backpack for another visit. This has all the makings of a short day. Oh, well, after 8 days on this road, I’m kinda “rocked” out anyway.

More photos of the North Rim can be found at my WebShots site…follow this link:
http://community.webshots.com/album/560954825nDZIYZ

“If we are always arriving and departing it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” – Henry Miller

Here's my comparative assessment of the North Rim, Grand Canyon: for me, it's not as spectacular as the South Rim. But it could be that it just isn't as accessible, with only a few turnouts available for viewing, and they happen to be on the road to Cape Royal, which was CLOSED. So I couldn't take any of the hikes at the end of that road, and so pretty much I stuck around the Lodge, where there were a few lookouts, and a hike or two further along the rim in either direction – and the canyon views from these points seemed to me to be pretty monotonous. I have friends who tell me they like the North Rim better because of the lush growth of forest and meadows on the way to different views, but I am here to look at the canyon.

For me, the subtle color changes and the differences in perspective that you get at the South Rim make the canyon more striking. The South Rim has a shuttle, or you can drive along the rim for miles, and there are a number of places along the road where you can see different perspectives of the many faceted, multicolored rock layers that have been etched over the millions of years that the Colorado River has been at work. And there are easily accessible places where you can get a view of the river itself.

Oh, and the colors don't seem to me as vibrant on the North Rim either, although it could just be the time of day and difference in sunlight and shadows. So I think the pictures won't turn out as good from the North Rim as opposed to the ones I took during my last visit to the South Rim. But maybe this can all be put down to the fact that I've had my fill of seeing rocks in various poses and am ready to leave the desert, and maybe I’m inured to any more formations unless they are Bryce Canyon spectacular. Certainly, north or south rim, the Grand Canyon is nothing short of awesome.

“If an ass goes traveling he will not come home a horse.” – Thomas Fuller

I neglect to stop and check my MS Streets &Trips printout of the route directions before leaving the park. Should I pull over to review it? I dial the St. George, UT hotel information into my Acura navi system, and it gives me back a route, so I decide to just motor on. The navi insists I take UT Hwy 9, which I find vaguely familiar, but can’t fully place in my mind. As I drive through Kanab, UT, I zoom in on a suspicious green shape looming ahead on my route. Too late, I realize that my current route takes me through Zion NP again on the way into St. George. I am frustrated that I have to take the winding one lane road a third time through the park; it’s a good thing I bought the annual NP pass or it might also be an unexpected toll. But it’s too late to reroute now – and of course, there is some good news, I will be able to recover at least some of the photos that I wiped out at Emerald Pool. Once in Zion, I stop at Checkerboard Mesa to take a few new pictures.

I decide not to stop for the other pics I lost, because there are only a few interesting spots on the park’s east end that will come up before the tunnels and 18 miles of switchbacks leading into the visitor's center. I might as well have made the stops. After pulling out of the Checkerboard Mesa turnout I end up behind a Mercedes 300D from Nevada that adheres strictly to the speed limit the entire way to the visitor's center, through Springdale and 10 miles beyond. And there appears nary a passing lane through the whole mess. Finally I find a stretch of road to pass them, and am met by a string of a half-dozen cars ahead. I pass them all one-by-one by the time I reach Hurricane, and then arrive at the I-15 on-ramp.

A quick peek at my navi system tells me to take I-15 north, but I soon realize, too late, that St. George lays to the south. Mona, my navi system’s voice, tries to make it up to me (3 times) by telling me to take a left turn off the interstate (at the “authorized vehicles only” service roads) and make a U-turn.

Finally I take the freeway exit (to the right) 5 miles up the road. Since I’d been up that way on the way to Bryce, I ignore the urge to explore, and get back on I-15 southbound. Mona has taken me an extra 10 miles and at least 10 minutes out of the way. If I feel this cranky about the navigation error, I must be looking forward to going home.

“No vacation goes unpunished.” – Karl A. Hakkarainen

From 79° in Page this morning when I left, and the 70° at the Grand Canyon, St. George is baking at 104°. I pull in for gas at a station next to the hotel. While I am scraping the AZ bugs off of my windshield, I find a crack in it, probably from a rock that skipped up somewhere coming out of the Grand Canyon area. It’s been hidden behind the rearview mirror since I heard that loud thunk, but with the heat, is spreading rapidly. I guess I should stay away from the Grand Canyon – the last time I had to replace a windshield it was because of a rock kicked up while driving into the South Rim!

But tonight I will go across the street to the Ruby River Steakhouse and have a big Porterhouse steak, a baked potato and maybe 2 beers. I already know it will be a great meal, since we ate there last year when we stayed in St. George on the way to Denver, and I’ve been looking forward to it since I left Grand Junction. All is well that ends well.

Today’s drive:
Page, AZ to St. George, UT via Grand Canyon NP – North Rim AND Zion NP.
Almost 5 hours, 290 miles (excludes in-park time)

Tomorrow:
Goin’ home to San Diego!

Day 7: Saturday, September 8th

“Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage.” – Regina Nadelson

Today's planned route: Moab, UT to Goosenecks State Park to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park to Page, AZ

On this trip I’ve been going to bed earlier than I usually do. Between the exercise and the altitude and the getting up early to keep my schedule (which I’ve managed to do fairly well, except for day 1), I’m ready for sleep by 10pm. Around 12:30am I hear the first chirp. Minutes later, another. For some reason, I think because I am so bushed from hiking around all day in Arches, I fall back asleep anyway.

In the morning I wake up to the alarm clock, and then a chirp; another chirp; a third. Every 30 seconds the unforgiving sound resonates from the interior wall. The smoke alarm is crying out for a new battery.

My theory about smoke alarms is that they divest themselves of battery power only in the wee hours of the morning. I tell you this from the experience of having to change batteries more than once in the shadowy hours around 2am. Which is why I keep a 9V on hand at home at all times.

I'm normally a light sleeper, and I'm surprised that I’ve slept through this one. I must've been totally out of it. Instead of ripping out the battery in the middle of the night (and who knows what havoc that attempt might've caused), I merely report the problem to the office when I check out.

Today is a mild day, relatively, and I have no hiking venues scheduled. Mostly it’s an interim stop on the way to tomorrow’s visit to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. There are few places to stay that are close to the North Rim, and the Grand Canyon Lodge in the park itself is usually booked for months in advance. I was too late to get a room there, so had to book a room in Page, AZ, about two and a half hours from the park.

On the way I’ll visit Goosenecks State Park and Monument Valley, which is on a Navajo Indian reservation and managed by Native Americans, and then roll into Page and call it an early day.

"The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." – Daniel J. Boorstin

From this definition, I am a tourist, but a happy enough one. On the trip south into Arizona I tire of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, so I change the station to XNPR (XM radio’s version of National Public Radio). Today they are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road with several interviews. It’s been since college that I first read the novel; I recall the worn and wrinkled pages of my copy after I’d finished it. I wonder if I still have that old battered book, and resolve to read it again soon. It should be inspirational preparation for next year’s US tour. Maybe teach me to be less obsessive about schedules!

I reach Goosenecks State Park by taking a minor highway to a minor highway. The park consists of a parking lot and an overlook with a view into a thousand foot chasm carved by several bends of the San Juan River that form the “goosenecks”. The river flows for 5+ miles around these bends, yet linearly is only one mile closer to Lake Powell after all the churning and turning.

No more than five minutes of picture taking and I'm back on the road. Even though it was only 15 minutes out of the way, the lone feature of a river doing switchbacks is interesting but not exciting or awesome, and on a day with no spare time would probably not be worth the stop. But here’s a satellite view courtesy of Wikipedia, followed by a video I took – the only way I could photograph the entire panorama at once. I leave it to you to make up your own mind.





More pictures of Goosenecks are at this WebShots link: http://community.webshots.com/album/560954834kapcSD

Back on the road, I watch the singular silhouettes of Monument Valley start to form on the horizon 20 miles out. I stop in several turnouts to take photos as the figures get closer. By the time I reach the park, many of the famous formations have appeared.

Monument Valley sits at 5500 feet. It’s a comfortable 84° at noon. Here is one place that my park pass does not work, so I pay the $5 entry fee. After taking photos of the monuments, I wander into the gift shop, where there is a surplus of Native American crafts available for purchase, or just to admire. I spring for a couple of vases to add to my collection.

Outside I take more pictures of the celebrated landmarks around the visitor’s center, and then I embark on the self-guided drive to view more rock formations. There is a 2 hour truck tour with a Navajo guide who explains the spiritual significance of the rock forms and other mystical places, but since I was provided with a trail map when I entered the park, I decide to try and save some time and make the drive myself.

The 18-mile hilly road is unpaved, dusty and deeply rutted, and NOT built for low-slung Acura TLs. I turn around after 3 or 4 miles of bouncing axles and scraping undercarriages and leave the park. Still, I am satisfied that I’ve experienced the essence of the place, happy that my car is still intact. Want to see more pics? Follow this link: http://community.webshots.com/album/560955602beTHWu

“You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra

I head south out of Utah and into Arizona towards Page. Some minor observations about the two-lane highways and back roads I’ve traveled over the past few days: Utah makes great use of passing lanes, especially uphill. Arizona not so much. And from the looks of my windshield, Arizona has more bugs than does Utah. Do you suppose it’s the altitude difference?

I am early to my schedule and have time to drive through Page to visit the Grand Coulee dam on Lake Powell. I park on one side of the dam and walk across the bridge to the visitor’s center in the 104° heat. My goodness but I’ve been in a host of visitor’s centers over the last several days. The dam is huge, and there are boats pulling water skiers on the dam side, a huge, deep blue pond in the middle of the desert. I look down into the water in front of the dam and feel the unsettling tug of vertigo, but because I’m looking through a high fence, its pull is minor.

From the visitor’s center (5000 feet altitude), I walk across the two-lane highway to the other side and look into a deep gorge where the river meanders hundreds of feet below. The river appears to have a much greener tint than the water pushing up against the dam on the other side. Before I trek back to the car, I turn and note the cluster of towers that occupy the far bank; I can almost see the air vibrating with the electrical power being transferred to the grid.


More dam photos can be viewed if you follow this link: http://community.webshots.com/album/560955109WYYRAg

In Page it has cooled to 95°. The motel in Moab advertised a wireless internet connection, but I had no success trying to log in from my room. The motel in Page (a different chain) allows my connection, but is so slow as to be unusable, my Yahoo home page taking minutes to paint, and even then isn't fully functional. Perhaps the ether in the southwest is weak?

Today’s drive:
Moab, UT to Page, AZ via Goosenecks SP and Monument Valley
Almost 6 hours, 285 miles (excludes in-park time)

Tomorrow:
Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim

Day 6: Friday, September 7th

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” ~Seneca

Today's planned route: Grand Junction, CO to Arches National Park to Moab, UT

I am happy I stopped for a while in Grand Junction for several reasons, not the least of which is that I feel refreshed and ready to go see more rocks!

A good part of the drive to Arches NP is along Interstate 70, so the scenery is fairly bland most of the way. As I turn south down US Hwy 191, the earth turns redder and the rock formations become more pronounced. My introduction to the park is a busload of tourists from Europe. I’m sure I will find them at most of my remaining stops in one form or another over the next few days. Today we mingle at the Park Avenue viewpoint to get our first view of standing rock formations. No arches here, but there will be plenty along the way.

According to the park web site <http://www.nps.gov/arch/>, there are “over 2,000 catalogued arches [in the park], ranging in size from a three-foot opening (the minimum considered to be an arch), to Landscape Arch which measures 306 feet from base to base.” To see as many of the arches as I can, I will have my biggest hiking day so far.

I leave the Europeans behind and head north through the park towards Balanced Rock, named for the perception that there is a rock teetering atop a column. The truth is that they are layers of the same ridgeline that had been eroded away to give the perception that the rock is balancing, because what’s left of the topmost layer is boulder shaped and larger than the supporting column. But it still looks plenty fragile.

Back on the road into the Windows section, I find a place to park for my first hike of the day. I take the trail up to North Window, sizing up Turret Arch across the way. North Window is a good-sized hole in a wall of red rock. Further up the trail is South Window. It is only when I take the final trail to Turret Arch that I can view the two Windows side by side, looking as much like the mask of the Lone Ranger as they do windows.

I hike back to the parking lot and walk the circular connecting driveway to Double Arch. Here there are two giant arch spans which are joined at one end; the rock has eroded in such a way that it looks like the earth sculptors were trying to make a stone pretzel.

Next up is the drive to Delicate Arch. After finding a parking place, I follow the other hikers up a sloping ¾ mile trail, only to find that I’ve reached an overlook that is separated from the arch by a gorge (see the picture below). It turns out that there is a second trail that leads directly to the “best known arch in the world”. But since I have a 10x optical zoom lens on my camera, I don’t feel the need to double back and find the second trail, and hike those three miles as the temperature heats up. There are other hikes and other arches still to go.

Instead, I make the drive to the Fiery Furnace turnout, given the name because the rock walls there look burnt. There’s no hiking here, so I drive onwards to the Sand Dune Arch turnout. Here a short trail takes me to the entrance of a sandy canyon. In fact, the 6 inches or so of loose sand on the canyon floor make it seem like I’m walking on an uphill beach, probably the most difficult footing I’ve faced during the trip. But it’s less than a quarter mile to the arch, and soon I’m on my way back.

From the Sand Dune Arch track, I take a second trail out to Broken Arch, so called because of the notch in the top of it. The footpath through the grassy field takes me past various rock formations that take on human aspects, especially this one that reminds me of a Frenchman wearing a beret.

I find Broken Arch, snap more photos, and instead of looking for the local campground that's advertised, I reverse directions and trek the mile back to my car.

The road ends at Devils Garden Trailhead. As I approach the parking area, I am surprised by a siren and flashing lights behind me. I pull over to let the ranger’s vehicle pass, then follow him into the lot. His short-wave radio is going, but I don’t hear the conversation, only see him putting on heavy duty boots and cramming emergency equipment into a backpack, which he dons and heads out down the trail.

I start out on the 1 mile trek to Landscape Arch assuming that some tourist got himself into trouble because of the heat or the incline, or both. Soon enough I reach a side trail that will take me to a few more arches along the way, so I forget about the ranger and press on to Pine Tree Arch. Here a small arch carved away through a rock wall has a lone pine tree growing up in the middle of it. Would it still retain the same name if the tree died? More photos, reverse direction, hike on back to Tunnel Arch, which is high up a wall, and appears to be more of a hole than an arch.

I am back on the trail to Landscape Arch. It’s thought to be the world’s longest, and is as long as a football field. In 1991 and again in 1995, long sections of it fell down, causing tourists to scramble, so it’s also very delicate. There is no saying whether the arch still has some stone to shed, or if it is stable now, but to be safe they have built a fence down the hill to prevent visitors from climbing up underneath it. Seems to me like there is good enough reason.

On the way back to the parking lot, perhaps an hour after I set out, I pass two more female rangers and another woman on their way out to the trail. They are wheeling an interesting contraption that looks like a gurney built onto a bicycle frame. It’s a perfectly constructed human basket on wheels, created for rescue operations on the trail; I’m guessing that they are there for the same reason the lone ranger (!) was earlier, although I never saw any one that appeared to be in trouble on the trails that I took.

“What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

One thing about hikers is that they are friendly for the most part. (I started to say the same about tourists in general, but I’ve experienced this same phenomenon along San Diego trails, yet I’ve also been at theme parks like Disneyland and not felt inclined to greet anyone.) I think what promotes this is the fact that you are all away from your normal environs and experiencing the same closeness to nature, the same conditions of the environment and the same joy in discovery. So it’s easy to greet each other along the trail, as if to say hello and welcome and aren’t we all having a lovely experience. Not only do I get physical exercise from the walk and spiritual uplift from the surroundings, but also a sort of emotional affirmation from the people I meet.

Each of the national park specific sites at http://www.nps.gov/ look similar, but have their own content. On the Arches NP pages, for instance, I found some really good guidelines on taking photographs in the park. They prove useful throughout the trip, and will continue to be so for the future. Basic rules such as “keep it simple” and the Rule of Thirds ("...imagine a grid on your viewfinder that sections the frame into thirds top to bottom and right to left. Now, place your subject at the intersection of a horizontal line and a vertical line.”). If you’re interested, you can find these suggestions at http://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/photography.htm

For the record, Arches NP is at around 6000 feet altitude. It was 70° when I left Grand Junction just before 9 a.m. and 79° at the Arches NP Visitor’s Center when I arrived an hour and 40 minutes later. It’s 91° as I leave the park. On some of the dustier trails it felt like it. The drive back through the park to the entrance takes about 30 minutes with another 10 to Moab.

I reflect on the multitude of rock formations at Arches, and appreciate that each of the arches I visited displayed its own personality. The earth sculptors are still talking to me. Here is a link to more pictures from Arches National Park: http://community.webshots.com/album/560955110DHrtMZ

Today’s drive:
Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT via Arches NP
Just short of 2 hours, 113 miles (excludes in-park time)

Tomorrow:
Goosenecks State Park and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Day 5: Thursday, September 6th

"All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost." ~ J.R.R. Tolkein

Today's planned route: NONE (Believe it or not, today is spontaneity day.)

I’ve given myself the whole day to poke around Grand Junction and see what’s there. It will also be nice to spend a day without driving more than 20 minutes. So I skip the interesting sounding areas to the city's east, Grand Mesa National Forest (150 mile scenic drive) and Glenwood Springs (an hour and 20 minutes away), saving them for a return visit. From my notes taken from the Visitor's Bureau web site <http://www.visitgrandjunction.com/global/thingstodo.cfm>:

Grand Mesa, “the world's largest flattop mountain”, is a mass of wild flowers during mid-summer, and at 10,000 feet, boasts lush spruce forests and over 200 pristine stream-fed lakes jumping with trout… Glenwood Springs has hot springs, [and] is the location of two rivers – the Colorado and the Roaring Fork, with a 16-mile trail along the Colorado River.

There are also the Grand Junction area wineries, which are available for tastings, but I don’t want to be thrown in a foreign jail for overloading with grape shot(s). I’ll save these experiences for when I come back with more time (well, maybe skipping the jail visit).

Grand Junction sits at the confluence of two of Colorado's major rivers, the Colorado and the Gunnison. Seeking to explore this facet of the city, I opt instead to find one of the Colorado Riverfront Trails, a trail system that follows the rivers in and around the Grand Junction area.

I wanted to hike along the river, which is what drew me to this town to begin with, because it looked so serene last year as we traveled towards Denver. There is a series of hikes that are part of "the Colorado River Trail" system that look promising. After breakfasting, I scan through my charts, and punch the closest trailhead into the navi system. A 15 minute drive takes me onto a gravel road, the entrance to which is guarded by a large sign stating "a wilderness stamp is required".

As I ponder how to deal with this hiccup, a fellow driving a CO-licensed truck pulls into the area. I motion him to roll down his window, and then ask about the stamp. He explains that it gives permission to enter the wilderness areas, and is like a stamp on a fishing or hunting license. “They’re available at any sporting good store or the like, they’re everywhere,” he says…

Geez, I think, I havta pay to hike along the Colorado River!

I understand that it’s a useful way to pay for the upkeep of these areas. I am just unhappy that I roll into town looking forward to a pleasant stroll only to find such a road bump. But read on, all’s well that ends well!

"It is not down in any map; true places never are." ~Herman Melville

As I cruise the nearby neighborhoods looking for a shop to purchase the wilderness stamp, I come across a Safeway's, and decide to stop to refresh my water supply and get a few apples for snacks. And it’s here that I decide to go to the Dinosaur Journey instead, so I head west back to Fruita where I’d spotted the museum on my way to the Colorado National Monument yesterday.

Evidently the Grand Junction area is part of the Colorado Plateau, which spreads into the rest of the “Four-Corners” states (also including Arizona, Utah and New Mexico); numerous discoveries of dinosaur fossils and bones have been made on the plateau. The museum at Fruita is a collection of bones, fossils, footprints, photos and rubberized models of the dinosaurs unearthed in the area. Some of the models move if you press a button. That’s entertaining – well, until they repeat the same motion for 5 minutes before coming to rest. I soon learn to walk away after a few moments and continue on viewing the rest of the collection.

Overall, and not being a huge dinosaur fanatic – at least not since Jurassic Park III – I think the visit is okay, not outstanding (I’m sure it’s super for the real enthusiasts). It’s probably worth the $7 admission fee though. And there is one very cool exhibit: I stand on a platform, press (yet another) button, and the shaking/rolling feeling of a magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocks me as the earth lights up behind the Plexiglas display, and the ground rumbles and the sound of fire crackles from the loudspeaker.

And where else can I find dinosaur tattoos like the ones in the gift shop?

There are more pictures from the museum at this WebShots link if you are truly interested:
http://community.webshots.com/album/560955703asxShq

Okay, here’s another reason I had decided to head for Fruita. I also remember from the day before that there is a state park just a block or two beyond the Dinosaur Journey; it's called the James M Cobb Colorado River Park, Fruita Branch. A chance to walk along the Colorado River? I grab a sandwich from the Subway on the way, and pull into the park entrance. I ask the lady at the window what the fee is to come in just to walk around. “Six dollars,” she says, and that seems plenty reasonable to me. But then she adds, “But if you want to go back and park outside the Park and walk in, it would cost nothing.”

So I do as I am told.

The park proper is empty of people except for me. I have a pleasant lunch watching the geese play on a private lake and by the little park playground. I walk along the river as far as I can go until I reach a fenced boundary, maybe a half-mile one way. The opposite side of the river path is bounded by another small lake. The sun is out, it’s around 85°, and all is peaceful. A lovely day!

Here’s a link to more pictures from the James M Cobb Colorado River Park, Fruita Branch:
http://community.webshots.com/album/560956298qfdufh

Yet another half mile down the main road is Dinosaur Hill; it’s here that they first discovered Alosaurus bones in 1908. I decide to take 1 mile hike up and down and around the hill to see what it’s all about. It’s really dry and dusty, the temperature has risen another 6 or 7 degrees, and I’ve not bothered to bring water; and for what I see along the way, or perhaps, don’t see, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.

There are no bones that I can see, except a cast of some huge spine that looks like a rock layer wrapping around the hilltop; and there is not much in the way of descriptive markers. Halfway up the hill, though, is a nice view of the river below, and around the corner from the summit is the screened off entrance to the tunnel system that was created when they started pulling out the bones – all of which are now in the Field Museum in Chicago.

Two men drive up in a car with AZ license plates as I begin the last leg down the hill to finish the trek. They get out with their dog and go to view the descriptive signs at the trailhead. I suggest that if they are going to do the hike, they should take some water. “Is there anything worth seeing,” they ask?

“Not that I would notice,” I say, “but then, I sure didn't know what I was looking for.”

I climb back into the car and depart for Grand Junction without waiting to see what they decide to do. I still have some sunlight left, and more to see in town. First, I drive east on I-70 beyond the city and double back to downtown, taking a business route that gives me a good feel as to how Grand Junction is laid out, and what some of the neighborhoods are like.

Before I left San Diego, I jotted down a few of the things that were going on in Grand Junction during my stay. The events include The Main Street Farmer's Market, as well as Just a Bunch of Artists Art Show (JABOA). Back at the hotel I stow the camera and water pack, then head back down Main ST on foot. My first stop is a bank on 5th ST, home of the JABOA show.

They advertise the event as their Fourth Annual Art Show, to include “fine art photography, Navaho weavings, crystalline glazed porcelain pottery, watercolor paintings, collages and mono-prints, a visual wealth!” I find the bank, and unshaven and a bit grubby from my hikes this afternoon, I am greeted by a bank employee who asks if I need some help. I say, “If it’s okay, I’d just like to view the art.”

With permission granted, I make a circle around the bank lobby finding only a half-dozen paintings and blown-up photos, a few craft objects and 8 or 9 artist concepts done in watercolor for a new housing tract. I am deeply disappointed…but dinner will be at a Nepalese/Indian restaurant, the farmer’s market will soon be opening and Week 1 of Monday Night Football – New Orleans at Indianapolis – starts at 6:30 p.m. Go Saints!

The Nepali Restaurant on Main ST serves Nepalese and Indian foods. I have an excellent supper of lamb vindaloo with rice, garlic naan (bread) and a glass of a local white wine. The dipping sauces are very tasty and unique. Unfortunately, I feel that I’ve insulted the waiter/owner, or at the least disappointed him, because when he offers me the carrot pudding dessert “on the house”, I politely turn him down because I don’t eat sugar if I can help it. He walks away mumbling to himself and sends his wife to bring the check. Oh well, I figure the next time I’m here, enough time will have passed that I’ll be off his radar. Or maybe I’ll cut my hair and re-grow my beard. I watch from my dinner table as the action unfolds outside.

The town "homeless" character, grey-bearded, thin, tanned leather skin, flashes the peace sign to the town cops as he passes them and ambles down the middle of the street scene, lugging his 2 full backpacks. I think it’s time to join the masses.

I stroll down Main ST to view the Farmer's Market, staged every Thursday evening during the summer. I wonder where the townies park, since there are no cars on Main ST tonight. All of Main ST downtown is blocked off and booths line the avenue on either side. They feature “arts & crafts vendors, children's entertainment, and snack food vendors along with Colorado's finest fruits, vegetables and other food products offered by local farmers”.

A few tweeners ride bikes or push forward on skate boards. There is every sort of people here, all ages, sizes, shapes - but mostly white, in keeping with the demographics of the area. In fact, there are more people on crutches or in wheelchairs than there are minorities. (I'm not attempting a social comment here; I am just struck by the absence of color.)

The booths feature purveyors of produce, arts & crafts, soaps & incenses. Local businesses, radio stations and churches advertise their usefulness. There are political booths, county, state and federal (parks) representatives, along with cheerleaders, street art vendors and bands that play various genres of music from the street corners. I stop to listen to a rock band, members of the grey ponytail set, who blast away on Wild One. Judging by the number of folk who've also stopped to listen, they are a local favorite.

I can't helped but be swept along with the crowd. It is a feel good time, and the streets pulsate with hospitality. Wait, is that pot I smell? No, just the roasting of sweet corn mixed with an occasional fart.

I am back at the hotel in time to watch the Colts trounce the Saints. Well, I guess the day will not end entirely perfect after all.

It’s hard to put into words what it is I like about Grand Junction. I have visited some of the surrounding area, and noted that it has a nice, open feel. It's a good place for the outdoor enthusiast – there is a concerted effort to get people involved in the availability of nature – so there is a host of hiking trails and they advertise their many parks (including the Colorado National Monument), river walks, dinosaur "fields", etc. Oh, and a lot of vineyards!

I like the downtown area a lot, and the atmosphere while I am there is one of community. I love the imaginative feel that the sculptures on every street corner bring to the area. You’re not likely to get lost there either. Grand Junction is small compared to my own experience – the population of the town itself is around 48,000, with another 80,000 in the surrounding area.

I like the idea that it has a small town atmosphere, but it is large enough where you can be incognito and not every one in town knows your business unless you want them to. And the housing seems affordably in my price range.

This is of course, a preliminary scouting stay, much as I've done in other areas. I have other requirements (like an artist/writer community, for instance) that I'll need to research. I'm not even sure yet where the closest airport is to Grand Junction, or how big it is...but my first impression is that Grand Junction should stay on my list (until I seriously decide I don't want to deal with 2 ft of snow a year!).

Some information from the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau's web site: http://www.visitgrandjunction.com/index.cfm

Population:
City of Grand Junction - 48,141
With outlying towns - 126,445
Mesa County - 127,808

Average Precipitation:
Rainfall - 9"
Snowfall - 22"

Elevation:
4,586 feet above sea level

Average Temperatures:
January - 36 / 16 F
July - 93 / 64 F

Today’s drive:
Doesn’t even count

Tomorrow:
Grand Junction to Moab, UT via Arches NP

Day 4: Wednesday, September 5th

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." — Martin Buber

Today's planned route: Torrey, UT to Capital Reef National Park to Goblin Valley State Park to Grand Junction, CO

Today's actual route: Torrey, UT to Capital Reef National Park to Colorado National Monument to Grand Junction, CO

The route I am taking today has been modified since I reviewed the plan last night. Although I don’t expect a change, I’ll stop at the Capital Reef Visitor’s Center to see if the scenic drive has reopened. If it’s still closed, I’ll move on to a few other sites attached to Capital Reef that are on the main highway, UT-24. And instead of Goblin Valley State Park, which is an hour out of the way and an hour back to spend a half-hour viewing a plain of toadstool shaped rocks, I have opted to stop at Colorado National Monument, only 15 minutes off of I-70, and proudly advertised in the tourista literature for Grand Junction.

When I arrive, I note that the sign on the Visitor’s Center door announcing the closure of the scenic drive is still in place. I get back in the car and head back to the highway, seeking a turnout for some petroglyphs that were carved into the cliffsides by the ancient native peoples,. There I find a couple of short walkways with railing that separates the visitor from the cliffs, and some heavy duty, pedestal-mounted binoculars like you’d find on the San Francisco wharf facing Alcatraz.

I locate a couple of sets of petroglyphs half-way up the cliff wall, and take plenty of photos. Walking down the trail for a piece, I find a half-dozen more. Here’s an example:


I find these ancient art objects fascinating and intriguing, and wonder, like the experts, what the significance of the pictures was.

From the National Park’s Capital Reef website http://www.nps.gov/care/ :

Pictographs (painted) and petroglyphs (carved or pecked) are depictions of people, animals and other shapes and forms left on rock surfaces. Anthropomorphic (human-like) figures usually have trapezoidal shaped bodies with arms, legs and fingers. The figures are often elaborately decorated with headdresses, ear bobs, necklaces, clothing items and facial expressions. A wide variety of zoomorphic (animal-like) figures include bighorn sheep, deer, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards. Abstract designs, geometric shapes and handprints are also common.

The meaning of rock art is unknown. The designs may have recorded religious or mythological events, migrations, hunting trips, resource locations, travel routes, celestial information and other important knowledge. Many archeologists propose that rock art uses symbolic concepts that provide the observer with important information and that was not simply artistic expression or doodling.

With the mysteries of rock art unsolved, I move on down the road, my mind unchanged that the Native Americans where attempting to document alien visits. My next stop along UT-24 is the Hickman Bridge turnout, also a component of Capital Reef NP, where I hike a bit along the Fremont River.


Before we leave Capital Reef, I know some of you are asking, “What the … is a capital reef?” Again, from the National Park’s Capital Reef website:

Early settlers noted that the white domes of Navajo Sandstone resemble the dome of the Capitol building in Washington, DC. Prospectors visiting the area (many with nautical backgrounds) referred to the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long ridge in the earth’s crust, as a reef, since it was a formidable barrier to transportation.

Follow this link to more photos of Capital Reef National Park:
http://community.webshots.com/album/560877603opgYRh

I follow UT-24 through Hanksville, a small town west of Capital Reef. There along the highway (and the town’s not much bigger than the highway) is and abandoned gas station, and the price displayed on the sign shows 1.499 for regular. I stop to take a photo, and wonder how long the place has been closed!

UT-24 heading east is not as scenic as UT-12. As I approach the I-70 and the Colorado border, I note the increase in low lying scrub bushes and, similar to the border at Arizona, I watch the earth tones morph from reddish tones to muted grays.


I find the turnoff to the Colorado National Monument easily. It’s off of I-70 around 10 miles west of Grand Junction, at Fruita, CO. I stop at Subway and pick up a turkey sandwich to eat at a viewpoint in the park, while gazing at whatever nature presents me there.

My annual pass to the national parks works at national monuments too. The woman who works at the entrance asks if it’s my first visit there, and of course I say yes. Her enthusiasm at what I’ll find is apparent, so I don’t tell her I’ve been to Zion and Bryce Canyon over the last few days.

The scenic drive along 15 miles or so climbs up to 6500 feet (88°) from around 4000, and winds around several canyons that are neither as colorful nor as spectacular as the national parks – but it’s great to have a view for lunch. After a half-dozen turnouts which overlook canyons and distinctive rock formations, I leave the southern end of the park and wind my way back up towards I-70 and Grand Junction.


More pictures from Colorado National Monument can be found with this link:
http://community.webshots.com/album/560926039cbnRcF

I added Grand Junction to this Utah route because on my trip into Denver last year the town nestled in by the Colorado River really appealed to me, and I want to scout around to assess the place as a retirement possibility.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru

Because I missed out on the Capital Reef scenic drive, and skipped the Goblin Valley visit, I arrive in Grand Junction early to plan. Greeting me in front of the Hampton Inn on Main ST is a bronze angel rising amid the flowers. I see another sculpture across the street, and one in front of the hotel next door, and yet another on the corner. I decide to take a walk around downtown after I’ve checked in and unpacked.


Main ST in Grand Junction is about 6 or 7 blocks long. On every corner, and along the sidewalk, are sculptures. Some are modern and streamlined, some are colorful and fun, some are realistic and life-size. Subject matter is all over the map, but many showed off the themes of the city: dinosaurs, bison, bicycling. The display gives the sidewalks, mostly empty of people at this time of day, a festive air and I enjoy my half-hour stroll immensely.

I’ve supplied a link to a representative sample that should give you an idea of the Mains ST atmosphere: http://community.webshots.com/album/560940602WixUXG

Back in the room, I reflect on my trip so far. I am really happy I put the stop in Grand Junction in the middle, because starting out I felt like I might have packed too much viewing and driving into a day, and so was doing nothing but chasing rock formations from one NP to another. I learned a few things about taking long driving trips by myself, even though this was by no means my first. So far I like Grand Junction a lot, too.

I decide to try out a Creole restaurant listed in the hotel’s directory of services. I find the building on a corner across town, but it’s empty. Drat, I was looking forward to mudbugs for dinner. I settle for a Mexican restaurant I passed 2 blocks back, and as I eat the immense and tasty portion of chicken and cheese with mushrooms, onions and olives in a salsa verde, I peruse some literature on homes in the area. It looks very affordable to me.

Today’s drive:
Torrey, UT to Grand Junction, CO via Capital Reef NP and Colorado NM
215 miles, just short of 3 ½ hours (excludes in-park time)

Tomorrow:
Hanging around Grand Junction

Day 3: Tuesday, September 4th

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine

Today's route: Tropic, UT to Bryce Canyon National Park to Torrey, UT

The experience of watching the sun come up at Bryce Amphitheatre is said to be an awesome one, so I have checked on the time for sunrise (7:06 a.m., not too bad for a non-morning person like me) and set the alarm accordingly. I’ve chosen to watch from Bryce Point, 4 miles south of the Visitor’s Center. The drive takes 20 minutes, and I’ve allowed for 45, so I park in the dark, the second car there.

Light starts to spread across the horizon, and as other cars arrive and empty out, I realize that there is a viewing point a few hundred yards off of the parking lot. I march down the trail in the mild 57° dawn to find a dozen people, several with cameras set up on tripods and aimed at the center of the back wall, where the light is starting to reflect on rock formations in the large open bowl below.

An older couple arrives several minutes later and the woman edges into a space next to me, and then beckons her husband to set up his tripod there. I slide closer into the rail so he can’t set up where it blocks my view. The tripod remains 3 inches off of my left foot, but I stand my ground, and the remaining stay goes without incident.

For 20 minutes before the scheduled sunrise, light continues to stray over the top of the ridge opposite the canyon wall where we hold our focus. I snap pictures continuously, thanking the inventors of digital photography for the ability to load up my 1Gbyte memory card without fear of missing a photo while changing film.

A single cloud hangs over the ridge, slowing the sun’s assault. As it finally clears the cloud, the back wall of the amphitheatre begins to glow in yellow and orange hues. The tall rock spires and hoodoos below slowly come out of the shadows row by row, gleaming in the charging daylight. Finally, 45 minutes and perhaps 100 pictures later, I head back to the parking lot content that I’ve had the ultimate Bryce Canyon experience.

But my day is not done here. I drive back up to Inspiration Point and hike a short segment of the Rim Trail to Sunset Point and back, loading up my camera’s memory card with images along the way. At spots where I encounter inclines on the trek, I find myself huffing and puffing after only 50 yards. Considering I’ve altered my diet recently, I am concerned that I have become ill due to the change. (Two days later I realize that it was because Bryce is at 10,000 feet, and I had been affected by the altitude.)

I’ve sensed you wondering, so now a short interlude to insert a word about hoodoos, spires and fins. I’ll paraphrase from the National Park’s Bryce Canyon web site <http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm>:

[During the erosion process], thin walls, or fins, composed of soft sedimentary rock are left standing under capstones made of harder rock. These capstones act like umbrellas, protecting the fins from the elements and slowing the process of erosion. Eventually erosion wears through the sides of the fins leaving isolated pillars or “hoodoos.”

Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands… In common usage, the difference between hoodoos and pinnacles or spires is that hoodoos have a variable thickness often described as having a "totem pole-shaped body." A spire, on the other hand, has a smoother profile or uniform thickness that tapers from the ground upward.

There are 15 viewpoints along Bryce Canyon’s 18-mile scenic drive on the way south towards Rainbow Point. I leave Sunset Point and head down the scenic drive, where a family of wild turkeys streams across the road in front of me. I am slow getting the camera started, so have only a picture of the tom as he darts down the roadside ravine.

At Rainbow Point I hike a short while on a loop trail amid pine trees harboring darting nuthatches, and gaze occasionally into the canyon when the trail permits. The return drive towards the Visitor’s Center brings more photos of more hoodoos and fins, and also an arch or two. One last stop just outside the park at the Fairyland Point overlook brings me a nice view of The Sinking Ship. Time to head on and it’s only 10:25 a.m. – but it’s now warmed all the way up to 69°.

Here’s a Quicktime movie of the amphitheatre that I hope gives a good perspective of its scope. (You may have to click the play button twice before it runs.)

Follow this link to more photos of Bryce Canyon National Park. Link here
http://community.webshots.com/album/560878671sdSlzd

"The journey not the arrival matters." -- T. S. Eliot

I’m on the road again. I’m starting to feel like I’ve packed in too many sights in too short a time. Essentially I drive a half day, and visit a half day. Out by nine, into the motel by five.

Utah Hwy 12 was not on my mapping software, or on my navi system either, but after finding the route on Yahoo Maps, and verifying it to Rick’s route during my planning sessions, I take it anyway. I am soooo glad I did. UT 12 is such a beautiful hidden secret. As the car icon floats along the navigation display between Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Parks, no road beneath, the environment changes with altitude from scrub oak to elegant aspens to scented pine.

Utah, at least the southeast portion, has spectacular landscapes. The scenery changes mile upon mile. God has definitely been here. At one time, while the earth was forming, he sent down his angels, who sculpted fascinating shapes in the cooling terrain. Then he arrived with his palette and proceeded to apply broad strokes of dark chocolate browns, pale grays, vibrant oranges, deep reds and pastel greens.

The temperature in the desert is rising again, but in the mountains west of Capital Reef, I hit a rain squall so severe I have to slow to 25 mph. The temperature cools from 98° to 83° in minutes, and several lightning strikes brighten the gloomy horizon. I stop to take a picture of a lowland lake from an overlook, but my hair stands on end, so I get back in the car and drive. Here’s a link to more photos taken along UT 12: http://community.webshots.com/album/560877004CDHyzD

Due to the early start to my day, I am three hours ahead of plan arriving at the motel, so I drive the remaining 8 miles to the Capital Reef NP Visitor’s Center. There I discover that the hard rains have caused flash floods, and the scenic drive is closed. On the way back to the motel, and despite the still threatening skies, I stop at four or five turnouts to take pictures. I also follow a dirt road to a trailhead leading to a short hike, and a panoramic view of Sulphur Creek Canyon, fashioned by what is now a dry river. Still, I have a short day, and it’s back to Torrey to unload for the night.

To accompany my dinner at the motel restaurant I order a brew called "Polygamy Porter". The maker, Wasatch Breweries, has a sense of humor. The label states "Why Have Just One?" under a drawing of an (Mormon?) elder surrounded by three young serving wenches. The brewers are even natives, associated with the Utah Brewers Co-op, Salt Lake City!

I go back to the room and surf through the TV channels. It seems that Utah TV allows "The Closer", but "Saving Grace" is not part of the programming schedule. A fan of both shows, I don’t even wonder why.

Today’s drive:
Tropic, UT to Torrey, UT via Bryce Canyon NP and Capital Reef NP
165 miles, around 4 hours (excludes in-park time)

Tomorrow:
Capital Reef National Park and Goblin Valley State Park