The lengthy drive to Bryce Canyon took the team north into southern Utah. Soon after leaving Monument Valley, the team entered a landscape that could best be described as lunar or Mordor (take your pick). Populated centres were few and far between with highlights including Mexican Hat and Hanksville (seemingly the wakeboarding capital of Utah due to its proximity to Lake Powell). On board fuel reserves were also limited at this point, so the team made full use of cruise control.
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| Ang is happy to be there |
Monument Valley Road |
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| Follow that RV! to Mordor |
The stretch of drive through the Glen Canyon Reserve, including the crossing of the Colorado River and views of the upper reaches of Lake Powell was particularly harsh and alien. So much so that Ang remarked soon after leaving Hanksville “not more spaceland!”, which Simon agreed with, as there is only so much barren waste land you can look at and still be interested.
Luckily, the terrain changed again as the team first entered the Capital Reef National Park and then climbed 9600 feet over the range to Boulder and on to Escalante. There they spent the night in the Cowboy Country Inn. The highlight of Simon’s stay was the brief moment when “two local hoons blasted through town on what could only be described as a recreation of American Graffiti”. Ang’s highlight was “the fishing themed room that had a bear on the bed that scared me”.
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| There is a bear in there… |
Workin’ on the land |
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| Old School |
But this was not a pit stop, so early-ish the next morning, the team set off to Bryce Canyon. Arriving they commenced a survey of the park’s ‘scenic turn-outs’. The main features of the park are a multitude of spires and eroded canyon gullies. Ang said “it looks like Cappadocia
in Turkey”. Simon thought that it kind of looked like those sand castles you make with wet sand.
There are a few walking tracks within the park, and the team set off to complete a circumnavigation of the area to receive the clue to their next destination. They were able to cover the 4 mile circuit in about half the national parks service allotted time and were soon on their way to Zion National Park.
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| Rock on at Byrce |
Crumble rocks at Byrce |
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| ARRch at Bryce |
Driving to Zion, the team stopped at the Thunderbird Cafe, Mt Carmel Junction, which was mainly notable for its ‘Ho-Made’ pies (which of course has an apparently innocent explanation). After lunch Ang tried one of these pies, “delicious”, and the team was soon back on the road.
Getting briefly off track for the first time of this trip, the team entered Zion national park on dusk. Spectacular is a word perhaps used a little too often, but both Ang and Simon agreed, the drive through the park in the fading light was spectacular. They spent the night near the exit to the park and were rewarded the next morning with views that Simon called “comparable to the Grampions, but much bigger”.
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| Zion at Dusk |
Zion, sponsored by Toyota |
With the rental car return deadline fast approaching, the team down the Colorado Plateau and back to Vegas. They then flew back to LA for an afternoon and evening in Hollywood and some much needed rest, completing this leg of the race.
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| New casino soon to open in Vegas – the Sesame Street Exprience |
Airport slots while you wait |
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| Everything is better in Hollywood, but the signs are tiny |
