Further into the galaxy
Trip Start
Nov 12, 2007
1
37
40
Trip End
Aug 01, 2008
Monument Valley,
Arizona,
United States
Sunday, July 20, 2008
We were heading east to explore the weird and wonderful world of Utah and Arizona's canyon country; a busy schedule with four one night stops and plenty of driving. First was Zion Canyon. Basically Yosemite but red and on a smaller scale. A very picturesque valley but formed from red sandstone rather than granite. An excellent shuttle service (no cars allowed) and the small scale meant we could see most of the valley and complete a couple of low level walks.
Then on to Bryce Canyon which was a real surprise.As the (presumably French tourist) who arrived at the same time as us said "Ooo la la!" It is not a canyon as you would imagine it and looks like nothing on earth
Antelope Cnayon
. The amphitheatre which goes on for miles is a mass of orange yellow and red coloured pillars and rock formations (hoodoos) set out in a bizarre often regimented pattern. The views at the top are great but you can actually walk in amongst the hoodoos ." A helluva place to lose a cow" as the original Mr Bryce said.We spent our next night at Page near Lake Powell a massive reservoir created in the desert in the 50's an oasis of blue. There is a massive horseshoe bend in the Colorado river here where the river has cut a deep gorge with more great views. I had never heard of Antelope Canyon but in a chance conversation with an Italian at breakfast(in English) he recommended it so I signed up for a tour. It turned out to be a small cut deep into soft rock only just wide enough to walk through and about a 1/4 mile long. Flooding and other erosion has produced smooth sinuous curves in gold and brown and the sunlight creeps through cracks producing the most amazing patterns.
Soon we were back in the car heading to Monument Valley the famous setting for many a Western. It is dramatic but to a certain extent if you have already seen the pictures there is not a lot more to see. A dramatic formation without the surprise factor.
One of the things we enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand was spending some time away from the tourist areas in "normal towns". We could not do much of that in US on a tighter timescale. However as the hotels around Bryce Canyon and Monument Valley are busy and expensive we elected to stay out of town in Tropic and Mexican Hat respectively. This meant more driving but it was interesting to go to local restaurants and in both places country and western bands were playing. At the latter we ate at the Swinging Steak an outdoor barbecue where the meat was prepared on a large swinging contraption. R
