We left Escalante this morning and are continuing our trip southwest down Utah.  Our first stop was at Mossy Cave in Bryce Canyon where we followed a stream to a waterfall and then a cave.  The kids had alot of fun (and so did we) walking in the water.  We then drove around Bryce Canyon (yes another national park) and John, Kelly and I walked down the canyon and back up again (that was quite a trip) on the Navajo Loop.  It was a little scary towards the end walking up on just a dirt ramp no more than 4 feet wide and I don't know how high up!  Making our way to Hurricane where we are staying the night, we drove through Red Canyon and Zion National Park.  We are going to drive through Zion again tomorrow since we didn't get to finish today.  Zion had tunnels through the mountains which were pretty neat.  Although each park is a national park, they are all very unique in thier landscape and altitudes. 

I headed out of Ely after stopping for fuel and made my way the Great Basin NP, great place, it was over 10000 ft at the summit. I stood looking around and realized this was only the beginning. I would have been happy here.


 

195.2 kph

311 M

I dropped back down to 5000 feet (1524 m) and bee lined it East at a high rate of speed towards Beaver. Outside of Beaver there was a great view that needed saving.




At Beaver I headed South to Parowon and UT143 to head up to Cedar Breaks NP. The ride up was great and I reached over 10000 feet (3048 m) for a second time today at Brian Head. Sadly the road to Cedar Breaks was closed.
 

3185 M.

So it was a ride down to Panguitch and U89. Heading South on US89, I decided to head out to Bryce Canyon NP. This is a great place but touristas were getting in the way, can you imagine that.












Leaving Bryce Canyon I rode South and West to Zion NP. This is another great park but when I got to the long tunnel it was backed up by them damn touristas again. It was slow going getting out of the park but the scenery was fantastic.


















I ended up in Hurricane for the night and here I sit in the Motel Super 8. Tomorrow the big ditch, Grand Canyon and points East.
_________________
Jim Moss IBA #8426 MOA #32559
No account saddle bum. I don't know you Cowboy and you don't know me.
Somewhere Directly Above The Center Of The Earth

This hotel is located on an open part of Highway 9 about halfway between the towns of Saint George and Hurricane. Hurricane is a tiny town that serves as the gateway to Zion National Park. It has places to get gas and pick up lunch and other hiking supplies, but that is about it. Saint George is a growing city that is surprisingly cosmopolitan and has plenty of choices for a nice dinner after a long day of hiking. I used this hotel is a base camp for a couple of days at Zion as well as a visit to Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks. The terrain in this area is truly incredible with many different types of scenery close together. One day I was wearing shorts and short sleeves in desert-like canyon conditions and then after 30 minutes of driving, I was walking around on snow looking over dense green forests and lakes. Even in April, I found some snow covered roads to be quite a challenge for my rental car.

Sodele, gestern war dann der 7.9. und wir sind morgens in Las Vegas aufgebrochen, haben Stopp bei Starbucks (wie immer) und an einer Tanke gemacht, Kät is gefahren (unverschämterweise sind wir am Anfang der Fahrt von einem riesigen Truck überholt worden...die spinnen die Amis)... hatte aber schon nach relativ kurzer Zeit keine Lust mehr, dann bin ich ans Steuer gerückt und hab die kleine Reisegruppe sicher durch Nevada, kurz durch Arizona und dann wieder länger durch Utah geschleust (ich sach ja auch gerne Judda)... Picknick haben wir uns bei Subway geholt (was ein Glück, Tuna-Tag, BARGAIN!!!) und jenes dann genüßlich im Zion NP beim Visitor Center verzehrt, ein Traum. Mein gefühlter Thunfischpegel ist seit meiner Abreise aus Dtl. eh schon drastisch gesunken und tendierte bis dahin beinahe gen 0!
Achja, Zion war nicht ganz unproblematisch, Oli gings nicht so ganz prächtig (die digestion um es mal etwas diskreter auszudrücken), deshalb hat er sich ein Lager auf den Bänken aufgeschlagen und wir ihn schweren Herzens zurückgelassen...
Nein, nicht für immer, nur für ca. eineinhalb Std.!
Wir Grazien sind mit dem Jeep ein Stück gefahren, bis der Overlook Trail anfängt und von da aus, ca. eine Std. gekraxelt. Der Anblick war saustagg! Dieser Park ist auch wunderschön und man kann sich perfekt vorstellen, wie Indianer hindurchgeritten sind (sind auch früher viele), überhaupt hat uns Utah sehr gefallen...