Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Wednesday
This morning started with a yummy 3-egg omelette breakfast at Flanigans. After breakfast I studied my AAA Tour Book for Las Vegas and made lodging reservations for tonight, and then I checked out of my room and hopped the shuttle back into Zion National Park. (I was able to buy a pint glass w/ the Polygamy Porter label design on it, by the way—yay!). The park has a shuttle bus that takes you up the Scenic Canyon Drive; private vehicles are no longer allowed into that part of the park during peak season. I did the full loop, getting off at every stop to gaze at the sights, and doing a few of the “Easy” hikes. Probably walked about 3-4 miles, some of it uphill.
Then returned to my car and drove back into the park. You can still drive through on SR 9 so long as you don’t turn off onto the Scenic Canyon Drive. I did the entire width of the park, and then turned around and came back. On the inbound leg I had to wait just outside the long tunnel for 15 mins or so, as a car had gotten stuck in the tunnel and they had all traffic stopped until the wrecker arrived to pull it out. But there were gorgeous views by where we were stopped so everyone spent the time snapping photos of the scenery.
Decided I needed to also investigate the Kolobs Canyon section of the park, which requires about a 40 min. drive outside the park to reach. It was equally gorgeous and I took yet more photos. I think my digital camera has already largely paid for itself, as I’ve probably taken pics to the equivalent of 15 rolls of film. Figure the cost of the film and developing, and I’m a good part of the way towards the cost of the camera!
Finally pried myself away from Zion at around 6:45 and headed down “The 15” (Californians, at least Southern Californians, preface all freeway numbers with “the”, making freeways into proper nouns), to Las Vegas. An easy, fast drive. And the plunge down into the Virgin River Gorge is very beautiful. Admired a bit of neon as I found my hotel, the Hampton Inn Tropicana.
Random things about the Bryce and Zion region. . . .
I thought I had suddenly been transported to Germany once I arrived at Bryce on Monday. Most of the tourists I saw in both Bryce and Zion were German, speaking animated German (and speaking it very loudly—do they think that because we insular Americans can’t understand them, nor can we hear them, so they can speak as loudly as they want?). Another large percentage were Asian and Pacific Islanders. And a very very few were Americans! One group of Japanese(?) tourists in Bryce had come as part of a chartered bus tour, and they were perched all over the various overlooks w/ their catered lunches—full oriental meals, served hot, on plastic trays divided into various compartments, and all eating with chopsticks.
I have absolutely fallen in love with the Utah canyonlands area. Head over heels in love. I wouldn’t want to live there, but I could visit and stare at the cliffs and ridges and peaks for hours. It was a very contemplative time. Tonight as I drove down the freeway I stopped at a Quiznos for dinner. It was the first time I’d been in a shopping center for over 2 weeks! I’ve been so far away from the urban commercial world I’ve almost felt monastic.
This morning started with a yummy 3-egg omelette breakfast at Flanigans. After breakfast I studied my AAA Tour Book for Las Vegas and made lodging reservations for tonight, and then I checked out of my room and hopped the shuttle back into Zion National Park. (I was able to buy a pint glass w/ the Polygamy Porter label design on it, by the way—yay!
Then returned to my car and drove back into the park. You can still drive through on SR 9 so long as you don’t turn off onto the Scenic Canyon Drive. I did the entire width of the park, and then turned around and came back. On the inbound leg I had to wait just outside the long tunnel for 15 mins or so, as a car had gotten stuck in the tunnel and they had all traffic stopped until the wrecker arrived to pull it out. But there were gorgeous views by where we were stopped so everyone spent the time snapping photos of the scenery.
Decided I needed to also investigate the Kolobs Canyon section of the park, which requires about a 40 min. drive outside the park to reach. It was equally gorgeous and I took yet more photos. I think my digital camera has already largely paid for itself, as I’ve probably taken pics to the equivalent of 15 rolls of film. Figure the cost of the film and developing, and I’m a good part of the way towards the cost of the camera!
Finally pried myself away from Zion at around 6:45 and headed down “The 15” (Californians, at least Southern Californians, preface all freeway numbers with “the”, making freeways into proper nouns), to Las Vegas. An easy, fast drive. And the plunge down into the Virgin River Gorge is very beautiful. Admired a bit of neon as I found my hotel, the Hampton Inn Tropicana.
Random things about the Bryce and Zion region. . . .
I thought I had suddenly been transported to Germany once I arrived at Bryce on Monday. Most of the tourists I saw in both Bryce and Zion were German, speaking animated German (and speaking it very loudly—do they think that because we insular Americans can’t understand them, nor can we hear them, so they can speak as loudly as they want?). Another large percentage were Asian and Pacific Islanders. And a very very few were Americans! One group of Japanese(?) tourists in Bryce had come as part of a chartered bus tour, and they were perched all over the various overlooks w/ their catered lunches—full oriental meals, served hot, on plastic trays divided into various compartments, and all eating with chopsticks.
I have absolutely fallen in love with the Utah canyonlands area. Head over heels in love. I wouldn’t want to live there, but I could visit and stare at the cliffs and ridges and peaks for hours. It was a very contemplative time. Tonight as I drove down the freeway I stopped at a Quiznos for dinner. It was the first time I’d been in a shopping center for over 2 weeks! I’ve been so far away from the urban commercial world I’ve almost felt monastic.
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