I kind of messed up with my hiking plans... I wanted to hike at the Fairyland Point, but I could not find it on the map right away and while I was driving and reading the map it read like it but actually it was Fairview Point I stopped first, then when I was there I realized my mistake and so I kept on driving to the end of the road and found some hiking here. It was difficult to to hike on any paths because most of them were snowed in, so I started scampering around the area until I found some kind of direction to climb-up a little mountain to catch more views of this place... Natures wonders at it's best, but it was hard to really enjoy the whole thing, the winds were howling and the temperatures were way to low to be outside without proper clothing, which I was not prepared for, not like when I went to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota.
Yovimpa Point, and other Points and views...
Still two and a half hours later, frozen to the bones I was back in the car driving towards the next attraction. More Points and Canyons to park and get out in the cold again just to hop back into the car and drive to the next one, just like a real tourist.
Ponderosa Canyon, Natural Bridge, more snow and perpetual winds...
Then off the the highlight of the Bryce Canyon, Bryce Point and Inspiration Point, during that time I had to share the view with two busloads of Germans... too funny to overhear the conversations in a familiar language.
Bryce Point and Inspiration Point, the highlights of Bruce Canyon...
There are more photos, kind of like to best ones in another album, but I have to edit all these first and get them uploaded to an on-line album.
All this cold and and wind exhausted me, it's just past 6 pm as I'm leaving the inspiration Point and I decide to look for the nearest cheap Motel. Just past the park entrance is the town of Bryce, with the famous tourist-trap, Rubys Inn, a collection of a bunch of motels, lodges, restaurants and a gas-station. I try the Best Western, but declined to pay 107 bucks for one night, the next place across the street was full, I think I saw the german busses, and so I mosey on.
Not far down the street I found what I was looking for, Motel Bryce Canyon Pines, a lovely lady, on the phone during the whole transaction, charged me 56 dollars with tax, not a bad deal, just about half of what I would have paid up the street, and I not even had to talk to her because she is being busy on the phone...
What a day, 141 miles of driving and about the same amount of time in and out of the car... But now I'm ready to do some catching-up with writing and picture stuff. Boy a real time-consumer but I love it... it's all just for you!!!
This morning the weather improved to sunny with just a few fluffs of clouds in the sky. The temperatures dropped down to 11°F during the night, that is definitely money well spend for the motel-room. At check-out the lovely lady was on the phone again, or maybe still, and didn't think it is necessary to see if all is well with her paying customers, I will have a rant and rave story about that one day. I not even ask for hot water, there is a gas-station not far away form here, and then I can make my tea there, mix a bowl of muessly and move on.
Ready to hit the road for new adventures...
I drive back on 12 to Rt-89, turn south and pass through the town of Hatch, then the Long Valley junction where I had to make that difficult decision about going to Bryce Canyon or..., Now I'm onto the "or" part of this trip. My first one thousand miles go by right after passing that famous junction. Next Glendale, Orderville, would be a great hub for a place like Amazon, and then another famous junction, the one if I would turn right I would get to see Zion NAtional Park, but I decided against it and put my blinders on in order to get to where I really wanna go. The last town I pass is Kanab, there at mile 1037 I fill my tank in order to not run out of gas like I did a couple of weeks ago with Pei and Chris in my car, nope not again.
Houses along the road...
After Kanab, the town with the slogan "Best Earth on Show", the road gets lonely again, just the jagged mountains, high plateaus, called messas, and formations in all shapes make me be glued to the windshield to soak it all up. Passing the entrance to the Staircase-Escalante National Monument and in there it happens that I pass the road I'll turn on later. First I need to go to find the Paria Contact Station and I marked that on my map. But I must not have driven too far. I turn off at this place called Paria Outpost and nobody was home. I use the restroom there and drive back to that turn-off.
Kanab, UT to the Priana Outpost...
Houserock Valley Road. It's ten minutes past one when I hit the dirt-road. I drive about 10 miles in, that took me a bit more that 30 minutes on this rough road. First I turned off at the wrong place, a parking-lot and not a single car there, 2 newer toilet-houses and a little stand with info and warnings. Luckily a Ranger was there, collecting things and checking the sign-in book, I ask him about the place I wanna go and he sends me further down the dirt-road. Ahh I see it now, a big place and almost no more empty parking places, now I must be at the right place!!!
Finally at the right place to park...
I pack lunch, water and warm cloth into my pack, cameras ready and off I go... walking right into a piece of heaven...
I'm walking in the dry riverbed of the Paria River, and then it gets narrower and narrower, the walls get taller and taller and next thing is I'm walking through a canyon as wide as my shoulders and the walls as tall as 50 feet... a slot-canyon!!!
That was on my "Places to visit" list for some-time now and it is as cool as I was imagining it.
Off I go, into the unknown belly of sandstone heaven...
Three o'clock happens right in there, at one point of time I had to take my shoes off to make it through water. The water ws ice-cold and the color of the red sandstone, nothing you can see through, and so it was kind of like feeling with my feet where I could place them, some spots where liquid mud, a fine feeling to go through with bare feet!!!
Whoa, what a place... I'm ready for a good yodel...
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