Bryce to Zion to Vegas

9/17/2008 Bryce to Zion to Las Vegas

Our travels today took us back the way we got here the night before. North on 63 and then west on 12 (through Red Canyon). We then headed south on 89 then west on 9 and finally south on I-15.

Today we saw Horses and Cattle again as we have since entering SD. We also saw deer, elk, llama (or ipaca or both), antelope, bison (or buffalo if you prefer), and turkey.

This morning, while still in Bryce Canyon, I decided to get up at 5:45 to see the sunrise. Of course we have been getting into the park using Carmen's Golden Park Pass we bought last year. Well we are staying outside of the park and I had to use one of the overlooks just outside the park entrance. That overlook is called "Fairyland" and has hiking trails to other parts of the park (beginning at about 3.6 miles one-way). So I decided to be at this overlook for the sunrise.

It is not cloudy overhead, but it is cloudy where the sun is suppose to come up, oh well. I did take a couple of pictures of the sunrise, mostly before getting over the clouds. Carmen says there is some color, but not in the pictures I would have liked.

Anyway, I stay a little while, though a windy and very chilly, take some pictures and get back to the motor home by around 8:30AM. On the way back I see several deer and have to take pictures, for Carmen of course. By the time I shower and unhook everything, we are on the road by 9:45AM. We drive through Red Canyon again, not stopping like we did on the way in, and are on 89 south by 10:05AM.

After several miles down the road, we come to a stretch of the road (10 miles worth) where the road is being ground up and relaid. The process to lay new asphalt is different here. They bring the ground asphalt in large earth haulers, which dumps the contents down under the vehicle onto the road, not like a dump truck which lifts the bed. The truck also has another container which it is towing. The truck and trailer full of the asphalt is released onto the road bed in a long line that is about 2 1/2 feet high. The paver has two other pieces it is pushing, the first collects the asphalt from the road and maybe grind it further before sending it along a conveyor belt, shooting it into a hopper for the next apparatus. I assume this is to heat the stuff and then sends it into the hopper for the machine that lays the asphalt. Nifty to see.

Anyway like I said, 10 miles. About 7 miles of the construction site is one way. Which means we have to wait our turn to go. During the wait, while vehicles are coming from the opposite direction, several stones get kicked up into the windshield and not until much later do we discover a crack.

The rest of the drive to Zion goes fairly smooth. Then we get to Zion. Well we missed, or my understanding of the sign was not fully understood, we have to pay an additional fee to have traffic coming the other way in one of the tunnels. There are two tunnels, one is file and sized appropriately, the other is a little to narrow for vehicles over 7 1/2 feet wide and 10 1/2 feet high. We are 9 feet wide and 11 1/2 feet high. So we pay an extra $15.00 to have Park Rangers stop traffic coming the other direction so we can use the whole tunnel and drive down the middle. Oh, by the way the tunnel is about a mile long.

Besides the height and width of the motor home, we have to disconnect the car and drive it separately, we are too long. So we do not have very many pictures of the trip through Zion, from west to east, on route 9. I'm driving the motor home and Carmen is driving the car, ahead of me by the way. She did take a couple of pictures of the motor home and hopefully those pictures include some of the surrounding mountains. The road is narrow, speed is 25 mph and has a number of switchbacks that almost complete a circle.

Speaking of the mountains along route 9 in Zion, they are unbelievable! If you ever go to Zion from the west entrance and do not follow route 9 to the east entrance, you are doing yourself a disservice. There are very few turnouts along this section of the road and they are all filled with stopped cars. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we did not backtrack along that section of the road to view again and take pictures, so I guess we;ll just have to come back again another time.

We went on the shuttle trams they use in the park to carry people along the section of the park that goes to the Zion Lodge and beyond. Cars are not allowed. I have to admit it was difficult to see anything from inside the trams since the roof is hard with only a few skylights. And with the temperature today around 85, the enclosed trams are not very comfortable, and the windows only open six inches, sideways.

We make our way up the the end, where a stream/river meanders from some source miles in through the mountains. There is a hiking path, about two miles round trip, but when you get to the end you can go into the river (today is did not get deeper then just below my knees) and up stream. Here the walls of the mountain come straight down to the river bed. Carmen did not come up river with me and stayed to watch my shoes and camera, but I brought the small camera, so I have pictures.

We left Zion around 5:30PM and head for I-15. We are hoping to find a rest stop on I-15 for the night. We stopped for gas just before getting to St. George, Utah and that is where I find the crack in the windshield.

While in Arizona, the trip through the mountains is another long drive up hill and another 5 miles of 6-8% grade down hill with 40 mph "S" curves. By the time we get to the bottom of the pass, the sun is beginning to set. Gorgeous! The colors are pinks and yellows and oranges. (Carmen says so.)

We do not find any rest stops in Utah or Arizona. About 60 miles out of Las Vegas (it is about 8:30PM) I pull over into a truck rest area, really only an extra wide section of the roadway. And just as I stop, a State Police pulls up behind me with his lights on. What did I do now? Well, nothing actually, he was looking for a motor home that was broken down about 5 miles further back. That is when we find out that this rest area is the best we can hope for on the highway. So we opt to try for Las Vegas and break out our camp ground book and found a place in Las Vegas to stay.

So we are in Las Vegas for a couple of days until we can have our windshield looked at. Not to had to take.