Day 9: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Brrrrrrrrr!
Woke up to mid 30’s temperatures, easily the coldest night of the trip. I wanted to get up to Sunset point in Bryce to catch the sunrise, and we were up plenty early for it. It was the first and only time I was glad I brought a winter hat and gloves along for the trip! We grabbed the tripods and headed up to Bryce and were, I believe, the 2nd car there. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful with the clouds still looming from the day before, and the hoodoos of the Bryce Amphitheater started to glow when the rays of the sun hit them. It was a great sight and though I got some ok pictures, I’m not sure they did it justice!
Following the sunrise, we decided to drive the length of the park down to Rainbow Point and stop at all of the points along the way. The park reached 9500 feet, I believe, by the end of the drive, and it was still chilly but was starting to warm up. The overlooks/viewpoints down the 15 mile road to Rainbow Point were much different than the Amphitheater as the hoodoos and groups of them were much more spread out. More of a grand view, but still awesome, and impressive… The clouds made me really wish they had been there throughout the trip, as my photos would have been more impressive!
We got back to the tent and packed up for what would be the last time and headed on our way to Zion National Park, the final destination on our adventure.
Along the way, about a 2 hour drive, we talked about our options as it was clear Winger was still recovering from Thursday, and the temperature was quickly rising. She said instead of camping at the park (I had reserved a site at Watchmen Campground in Zion) that she would spring for a hotel and I could drop her off and explore the park.
We reached the park and drove in through the East Entrance, and it was a stunning view. The road is under construction and traffic picked up as we reached the big tunnel. The drive through the tunnel and into the canyon was spectacular. We stopped at the visitors center which was mobbed, and parking was at a premium. The park runs a shuttle service, mandatory to visit the scenic road into the canyon during peak months.
After checking out the book store/visitor’s center (the temperatures had reached mid 90’s), we left the park into Springdale, the town just south of the park, to see if we could find a reasonable priced place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, we learned there was a Marathon in St. George, and a big Red Bull event, along with a ton of families visiting the park, so rooms were at a premium. There was nothing within a reasonable price range.
I decided that I’d suck it up and we’d drive back to Vegas that afternoon. It wasn’t an easy choice because Zion was one of the places I really wanted to see, but Winger was hurting, and I didn’t want to leave her behind. I appreciated her offer to spring for a hotel and let me go up there by myself, but I didn’t feel right about it, and honestly, the place was so packed, and hot, I came to terms with it, and made the decision to head back a day early. Softening the blow was the news that the day before, according to our email, we got permits to hike the Wave in Arizona in January. If we can put a short trip together to do that and then visit Zion (in the winter!) that would make up for it 10 fold!
Other than the temperatures reaching triple digits (according to the car thermometer), the drive back to Vegas was uneventful until we got within 15-20 miles of the city and saw a crazy storm sweeping across the desert. The wind picked up and was extremely strong. Winger, already ill, was getting nervous, and we hit rain for the first time on the trip. Didn’t expect to see that in/near Vegas, but it was quite a site seeing blackness heading right towards us!
We made it to Vegas and checked into an Extended Stay suite thing east of the strip, and not in the best neighborhood, but it was a really nice room (actually rooms, separate kitchen/living room, etc) and cheap. Unwound and had some pizza for dinner and that was that….
Brrrrrrrrr!
Woke up to mid 30’s temperatures, easily the coldest night of the trip. I wanted to get up to Sunset point in Bryce to catch the sunrise, and we were up plenty early for it. It was the first and only time I was glad I brought a winter hat and gloves along for the trip! We grabbed the tripods and headed up to Bryce and were, I believe, the 2nd car there. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful with the clouds still looming from the day before, and the hoodoos of the Bryce Amphitheater started to glow when the rays of the sun hit them. It was a great sight and though I got some ok pictures, I’m not sure they did it justice!
Following the sunrise, we decided to drive the length of the park down to Rainbow Point and stop at all of the points along the way. The park reached 9500 feet, I believe, by the end of the drive, and it was still chilly but was starting to warm up. The overlooks/viewpoints down the 15 mile road to Rainbow Point were much different than the Amphitheater as the hoodoos and groups of them were much more spread out. More of a grand view, but still awesome, and impressive… The clouds made me really wish they had been there throughout the trip, as my photos would have been more impressive!
We got back to the tent and packed up for what would be the last time and headed on our way to Zion National Park, the final destination on our adventure.
Along the way, about a 2 hour drive, we talked about our options as it was clear Winger was still recovering from Thursday, and the temperature was quickly rising. She said instead of camping at the park (I had reserved a site at Watchmen Campground in Zion) that she would spring for a hotel and I could drop her off and explore the park.
We reached the park and drove in through the East Entrance, and it was a stunning view. The road is under construction and traffic picked up as we reached the big tunnel. The drive through the tunnel and into the canyon was spectacular. We stopped at the visitors center which was mobbed, and parking was at a premium. The park runs a shuttle service, mandatory to visit the scenic road into the canyon during peak months.
After checking out the book store/visitor’s center (the temperatures had reached mid 90’s), we left the park into Springdale, the town just south of the park, to see if we could find a reasonable priced place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, we learned there was a Marathon in St. George, and a big Red Bull event, along with a ton of families visiting the park, so rooms were at a premium. There was nothing within a reasonable price range.
I decided that I’d suck it up and we’d drive back to Vegas that afternoon. It wasn’t an easy choice because Zion was one of the places I really wanted to see, but Winger was hurting, and I didn’t want to leave her behind. I appreciated her offer to spring for a hotel and let me go up there by myself, but I didn’t feel right about it, and honestly, the place was so packed, and hot, I came to terms with it, and made the decision to head back a day early. Softening the blow was the news that the day before, according to our email, we got permits to hike the Wave in Arizona in January. If we can put a short trip together to do that and then visit Zion (in the winter!) that would make up for it 10 fold!
Other than the temperatures reaching triple digits (according to the car thermometer), the drive back to Vegas was uneventful until we got within 15-20 miles of the city and saw a crazy storm sweeping across the desert. The wind picked up and was extremely strong. Winger, already ill, was getting nervous, and we hit rain for the first time on the trip. Didn’t expect to see that in/near Vegas, but it was quite a site seeing blackness heading right towards us!
We made it to Vegas and checked into an Extended Stay suite thing east of the strip, and not in the best neighborhood, but it was a really nice room (actually rooms, separate kitchen/living room, etc) and cheap. Unwound and had some pizza for dinner and that was that….
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