Coming to the End of an Odyssey

These again are out of chronological order:

                                    Coastal California between Monterey and Pacifica.

 A natural forming lake with no outlet is called Walker Lake. It is fresh water with good fishing but the water level is dropping yearly.

 The Nevada Dessert. Driving through an Inter-montainvalley or trough that spreads for miles between the mountains on either side accompanied us most of the way southeast towards Bryce. The mountains are still snow caped in the distance.

 The different striations of rock structure and the differing times of weathering that each striation takes, makes for some interesting color variations and striking contrasts.

 The Canyon is full of rock formations referred to by the Indians as "Hoo Doos". They are weathered spires that stand alone or in groups all along the fins or outcroppings in the Canyon. The Indians believed man was put on the earth but became bad so they were turned into Hoo Doos to spend eternity here in the Canyon.

From Sunset Point, the Navajo Loop Trail descends through 30 switchbacks skillfully constructed in a "V" shaped corridor between the rock formations. The Navajo Loop Trail connects to the Queens Garden Trail for a nice circular route that comes out at Sunrise Point. A short .5 mile hike along the Rim makes a nice early morning route.

                                         Morning sunrise Bryce Canyon Amphitheater.

                                                           A Survivor at Bryce.

 Coastal cliffs and wonderful waves. The surfing mecca area called "The Mavericks" is along this coast from Monterey to Pacifica.

                                                Along Route 1 from Monterey to Pacifica.

   It is amazing how things can change over a few short days. We arrived at the campground in Pacifica to a foggy/drizzly/windy day and it stayed that way for our two night stay. We never did go into San Francisco but vegged at the trailer. We have had the most wonderful streak of good sunny weather the whole trip. It may have been all different temperatures but it was sunny with the only exception being the cloudy/misty day when we toured Monument Valley. I didn’t care much though, because I got some good pictures.

   While in Pacifica we evaluated the trip so far and our expenses. We had gotten 26 fill ups and prices per gallon were running higher than we estimated and the mileage we got on the Avalanche was less than we estimated. So we took stock and decided to abort the northern half of the trip and head back east. But we decided to head up through Sacramento through the Donner pass and then slog South East across Nevada so that we could visit Bryce Canyon just across the border in Utah. We didn’t visit it when we had the chance when we stayed in Kanab. 

   I was NOT looking forward to the trip across Nevada as I do not have very good memories of my trek across the state the last time I went across the Northern section to get to the Tetons. All I remember was the color dun brown! This time though it was fascinating as we traveled for 100’s of miles down geological troughs, while still stlaying high up on ancient desert plateaus. We traveled down wide sweeping valleys, with salt flats, desert, free range cattle, and snow capped peaks on either side of us. Sometimes it seemed the road did not turn for miles and distances were very deceiving. It was magnificent and ugly at the same time. I gotta say I think the US Government has and still does use Nevada as the great test pit in the country; ammunition dumps, nuclear test sites, missile ranges, flight test ranges just to name a few. We traveled on Utah Highway 319 which the state officially designated as “The Extrarterestial Highway.” So many UFO’s were seen along that one route. But of course the explanation is that it is the northern limits of Nellis Air Force Base. Tony really put his foot to the peddle and we crossed the state in two days, making it all the way from Pacifica, CA to Cedar City, UT in two days. 

   That made an easy and early arrival at Bryce Canyon and afforded us the chance of getting a site in the North Campground in Bryce. We toured the full length of Bryce, went out to dinner and went to bed at 8:30  There was a time zone change in there somewhere. This morning we got up at 4:30 in order to be at Bryce Point for sunrise. The sky was cloudless except for in the east where the exact spot of the sun rises. So the display wasn’t as spectacular as it can be but it was still a great sight. Then we headed down into the canyon for a several mile hike around the various features and stared up at the “hoo doos.”  Pretty easy hike going down 550 ft and up the same, compared to our desert hike into The Wave. On the way down the Navajo Trail, there was one steep section that had 30 switch backs constructed down a steep v shaped groove in the formations. Going down was easy but we also knew we had to go back up at the other end but it was so interesting because it put us up with the level of some of the tops of the formations. 

    After the hike we had to be out of the campground by 11 and get on our way to Page, AZ. We had been at Page on our way going out and saw the Lower Antelope Canyon, but Tony was so impressed with the experience that we decided to come back to Page and do the Upper Antelope Canyon. We have an appointment at 1:30 tomorrow and then will get the oil changed in the truck and head home the next day for real. I know the route will be across US 160 through Colorado and ultimately meet up with I-70 but I don’t know how long it will take us or where we will overnight. We will drive until we feel like stopping. I can see visions of Wally Marts floating in my brain! I have the book “Next Exit” with us and it defines what services and facilities are at every exit on every interstate in the country so it is easy to find Wally Marts and Flying J’s. The problem with Flying J’s is that the truckers keep their generators on all night and it is hard to sleep but then the Wally Marts are always an adventure also. I think it will be worth our sanity to get off the highway and use State Parks wherever possible. With the “America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Land pass” for seniors, we spent $7.50 for our campsite in Bryce! (Of course the site wasn’t level in any direction but that doesn’t count!)

   

    So I will add some pictures and bid you all adieu for this trip. It has been a spectacular adventure in so many ways. This country is truly a Grand Land and there are so many special places to see and explore. We were fortunate to have seen many of these such places. America the Beautiful.