Road Trip!

…and during our “spare” time…we took an incredible road trip! On our four-day mini-vacay, we drove up to Southern Utah, to the National Parks of Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Zion. It was simply amazing to see such breathtaking natural beauty. In a relatively small area, it is surprising to find such differences in the landscape! And can I just mention the stars at night? They are extraordinary in that part of the country!

On our first full day there, we went to Bryce Canyon and were awed by the spire-like geological formations called “hoodoos” (from the verb “hoodoo” meaning “to cast a spell.”). Really, I swear. I looked it up. On the way back to the hotel, we took a little detour to Navajo Lake for some more gorgeous photo ops (you know, fall-colored leaves, cloudless sky, clear-blue water, that kind of thing.)

The next day we drove down to Northern Arizona to check out the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Since 90% of the Grand Canyon visitors go to the South Rim, it was very peaceful, more rugged and had quite incredible vistas. Like a colorful Dodge Viper Club, for instance, consisting of about 20 of them, parked at the Visitor’s Center. A few hours later, after stopping at many spectacular viewpoints, we saw them following us, so when we could, we pulled over. As they passed by, some of their hand gestures changed into pleasant goodbye waves. Just kidding – they were a very polite group of Vipers indeed.

Later that day, we had an adventure! Ever heard of Toroweap? Well, neither had we, until it was described to us as a “bucket list” kind of place, so, of course we were intrigued. Imagine turning off the paved road and driving about 2 hours on a dirt (read: bone-jarring, teeth-rattling) road with no cell service or any other kind of service, for that matter. But, wow, it was totally worth the drive! This is the narrowest point of the canyon, only about a mile across to the other side, but a 3000-foot sheer drop below to the Colorado River, with no guard rails in sight. We belly-crawled to the edge, and oh my, what a sight! Thrilling!

The last day of our trip took us through Zion National Park on the way home. I can’t tell you how immense the mountains look when they are kind of straight up and towering above you. Amazing! We took a short hike where we saw unbelievable rock formations, hanging gardens, and a babbling brook, complete with waterfalls and everything! You know, even OUR pictures can’t do it all justice. You just have to see it for yourself.

What a great road trip! Enough narration now, just take a look, for goodness sake! We have another exciting trip coming up, and will definitely post some more goodies soon, so ya’ll come on back, ya hear?