I spent most of the day on the road, with a hike or two to break up the monotony of driving. Well, if you can speak of monotony along the roads here, that is. I left the Grand Canyon just after sunrise and made my way up north, in the direction of Utah. I stopped on the way for the short hike to Horseshoe Bend, just outside of Page, AZ. At Horseshoe Bend the Colorado makes a nice 180 in a small canyon, and if you go up to the edge - and I mean right up to the edge - you can see the river down below, making its way towards the Grand Canyon. I spent some nice, quiet time out there, again completely alone.
I made a short stop at Glen Canyon Dam but not long enough to take a tour because I didn't want to wait until the next one started. The road was calling to me, and so I turned my car north again, and shortly after Lake Powell I crossed the border to the Mormon State.
After getting a room for the night I headed towards Zion Canyon, according to many guide books I've looked at the most beautiful canyon in the area. And beautiful it is. Breathtakingly so, in fact. The waitress at the diner tonight said that "Zion Canyon is as close to heaven as you're ever gonna get down here, honey" as she served my food. It's lush and green, deer are roaming freely ... and on the way there I actually spotted a herd of buffalo.
I feel like I'm beginning to repeat myself over and over again but everything here IS awe-inspiring, beautiful, and gorgeous. The road into Zion must be one of the most beautiful and bizarre roads I've ever been on, and it's designated a scenic drive for good reason. You're surrounded by red and white cliffs and buttes as the road wends its way down into the canyon.
The main difference to the Grand Canyon is, perhaps, that you experience Zion from the river at bottom of the canyon instead of from the rim. To get there, the road switchbacks down one side of the canyon in hair-raising turns with grand vistas. You also have to drive through a long, very dark tunnel they built here in 1930. Being the claustrophobic that I am, that was not the fun part of the afternoon - both times I had to go through it.
The weather, unfortunately, wasn't as great as it had been at the Grand Canyon, and the sun went down rather early today. And as I left the canyon, the first snow started to fall. Then a storm set in - luckily without snow - and it's now heavily blowing outside my room.
I'm staying tonight in the middle of nowhere. Literally. The place - Mount Carmel Junction - consists of two motels, one of which I'm staying at, and a gas station. And the requisite gift shop that sells everything from shark teeth to Indian jewelry. The motel is a little run-down but cheap, nice, and empty, and there's a nice little diner right next to it where I had dinner. Now I'm posting this before the power cuts out completely - it already went for short moments a couple of times.
Tomorrow I'm heading for Bryce Canyon. The weather forecast is for the low 20s (F), so about -10C, and an 80% chance of snow. Gulp.
Horseshoe Bend
Zion Canyon
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