I'd like to try the Little AleInn!

Here's a funny thing: If you go to Google maps and drag the little orange man that you use to initiate Streetview mode over the ET Highway, he turns into a little orange man in a flying saucer!

11 Jun 2015 at 5:46am

Bryce was fantastic today. We must have taken hundreds of photographs between us.
The weather wrote off our chances of seeing the sunrise and when we got there a little later in the morning, we were up in the clouds.








Things cleared a bit but there were thunderstorms rolling around in the distance for a lot of the day.




Bryce Canyon isn't really a canyon at all, it's the massively receding front edge of a plateau.  It has some quite unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheatres.  The rocks are mostly eroded from the forces of frozen rainwater wedging out great chunks of rock coupled with the dissolving action of rainwater on the colourful limestone rocks.  This all forms bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called 'hoodoos'.  The hoodoos were thought of by the native Americans to be the embodiment of the souls of fallen warriors.







From the rim, you can often see views of three states and there can be up to 200 miles of visibility.
On and below the rim there are conifer forests including Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and Bristlecone pine.  Just back from the rim there are alpine meadows.  All over the park there is wildlife.

Love the moody shot with the tree.

Aye , the wife's a ' lying around sunbathing ' kinda person . I like to get out and see unnusual things like architecture ( churches and castles ) and scenery like the piccies you have posted . So we have to comprimise and do some of both when we're on holiday .

12 Jun 2015 at 6:34am

It was a bit of a strange day today because there were thunderstorms popping up all over Utah, seemingly at random. Although we never got wet, it was a little disruptive because of the hikes we wanted to do.

The first thing we did was to stop off at Red Canyon for some photos of the amazing geology (we have been doing an awful lot of rock spotting on this trip!).




The Kodachrome Basin State Park was on our list of interesting spots to visit and it only required a 10 mile or so detour, so we went there, paid the admission fee and chose a hike to do. This entailed walking up to a high level and looking down on the basin.



We set off and the thunder started! Very dangerous, so a rethink was required. Ok, so back in the car and walk a low level route in another part of the park. We set out and got about half a mile in and started to see more flashes peeling out of a great big black mass that was moving fast towards us. We were on a flat plain, so would still be the highest objects for a long way around. So it was back to the car again.
We decided to cut our losses and move on. The same sort of stuff happened time and time again, including at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.



But the drive we did was quite incredible. Every single time we rounded a bend there was something new and completely different laid out before us.
We took dozens and dozens of photos but they will do the experience no justice.
More photos of the Grand Staircase...









Crazy placenames!



On from there, we went to Capitol Reef National Park.  More moody, rumbling skies and signs of extreme weather.  In one place, there had been a flash flood and a section of road had become undermined.  Still, what we were able to see was good - more amazing geology, wildlife and primitive petroglyphs.











We drove a lot further than we wanted to because of all the above and also because of finding the two towns we thought we might stay in were not really what we thought. One didn't really exist and the other had motels that were way overpriced.
Here's the day's drive shown on the map.



So, we are staying in Green River tonight. Good motel (and very cheap at $38 for a nice room), great dinner in a local restaraunt that was able to provide Mischa with a proper veggie meal for a change.

Weirdly enough, earlier in the day before we knew we would be staying in Green River, this came on the car stereo.



We are just 50 miles away from Moab, which is on the doorstep of our two last stops in Utah - Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Into Colorado after that!

13 Jun 2015 at 5:41am


We decided not to stay in Moab but to stay another night in Green River tonight.  So we drove down to just short of Moab to visit Arches National Park today.  We did a lot of walking and so stayed there all day. It was incredibly hot so we are totally pooped.
What an amazing place it is though.   The landscape at Arches was strangely familiar and I kept half expecting to see scenes like this going on behind every other boulder.......

And not a large city in sight  . The problem with holidays to America is that they tend to be associated with huge conurbations or theme parks . I for one tend to forget how massive and diverse the USA is . Your posts have certainly reminded me of this Chris . You're putting me in the mood for a similar trip to yours with your wonderful images . Keep up the good work sir , I'm really enjoying this thread .

That's an interesting way of digging out the best eateries Chris . At £1.65 ( used ) I'll buy and have a look at the book . Me and the missus like to do the same here , avoiding motorways and large cities wherever possible.