Bryce and Zion NPs

We left Moab UT early Thurs and drove to Bryce NP, with a ' few' stops at scenic overlooks. Utah DOT has made a major investment into their scenic overlooks. There are many and they have clean restrooms. As you leave the Bryce NP, there is a stretch of road in Red Canyon State Park that has an overlook every quarter mile. This does have a tendency to extend the travel time to the next destination! What does help shorten the travel time is the 75mph speed limit on Route 70. Often, 75 appears to be the minimum speed allowed, as you have to do that to keep up with traffic. And we did do our part to keep traffic moving. Always willing to do my part!

By Thurs. afternoon, we were visiting Bryce NP. Weather has been FANTASTIC! Temperatures in the high 80's, with 6 percent humidity. We heard a Boston weather report today. Sorry to hear the rain continues. The folks out here in Utah would gladly accept any donations of water.

Bryce NP is covered with with HooDoos. These can be best described as red stalagmites. As you drive through Bryce, you are constantly looking down into valleys containing these not-so-little red mountains. An awesome site!

View from motel - John Wayne slept here!

 

Bryce NP HooDoos

Mule Deer at Bryce NP

Friday was spent in Zion NP with it's 'under construction' roadways. There are major renovations being done to the twisting road system is Zion. We spent a fair amount of time stopped on the roadway while construction equipment was repositioned or the roadway sprayed with water to keep dust to a minimum. The annoyance of the stop was softened by the chance to really get an extended look at the mountain sides, tunnels, and panoramic vistas. While we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would have liked, it does give us a reason to do a return trip.

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Peaks

 

View at Zion

Leaving Zion, we traveled to Cameron AZ and spent the night at the Cameron Trading Post and Inn. The Trading Post was started in 1912 and still functions as a trading post. A descendant of the original owner serves as President of the Post, but it is now an employee (mainly NA) owned business. The complex consists of the motel and restaurant, a gas station, Post Office, and gift shop. Many of the products in the gift shop are manufactured on the Navajo reservation. There was an area devoted to the production of their rug / wall hangings. The looms ranged from 1 foot wide to at least 8 feet wide for a very large rug / wall hanging. The piece being worked on by one woman and was about 20 feet long! Can you say 'big bucks', like more than $1,500 for a 3' x 4'?

George & Nancy - Moving On!