A Full Day of Driving
There is no easy way to get from Williams Arizona (where we
have been for the last 4 nights) to Hurricane/ St. George Utah. You might be wondering why we are back in
Utah. We want to visit the the fifth of
Utah’s ‘Mighty Five’ National Parks, Zion.
We could not resist one final look at the Grand Canyon. It was just as amazing this morning as it has
been the last few days…imagine that! I
have to admit that we were a little saddened to be leaving it behind, but new
adventures awaited.
We retraced our route from 4 days ago around the ‘Big Hole’
and out of Arizona. We were once again
astounded at the poor living conditions of the Navajo people as we traveled
through their land. The Navajo Nation is
held up as a success story in the United States. I am afraid that this part of their lands is ‘not’
a success. We traveled alongside the
Vermilion Cliffs once again and marveled at their beauty. It almost made us forget about our experiences
of the last 4 days…well, maybe not quite!
Our route took us through Zion National Park on our way to Hurricane/
St. George KOA. What a treat. The views were stunning. Coming into the Park from the East provided
us with a ‘highlight real’ drive. We
have been on many really challenging roads on this adventure, but this just
might be # 1 so far. The road is narrow,
and I mean narrow (vehicles wider than 7 foot 10 inches cannot take this road),
as it descends from a plateau down into a canyon. There were at least 20
switchbacks. What a treat! As for the scenery…well let’s just say that
the rock formations are again different than anything we have saw so far. Today was just a ‘drive through’. Tomorrow we are in for a real treat in the
last of Utah’s ‘Mighty Five’.
Distance Traveled = 551 km.
Wildlife Sightings = Elk, Barn Swallow, House Finch, Western Kingbird,
Turkey Vulture, Lesser Goldfinch, Rabbit.
One last look at the Grand Canyon
Colorado River from the Navajo bridge...Vermilion Cliffs in background
Vermilion Cliffs
Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park
Dropping into the Canyon in Zion
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