I didn't post anything yesterday since just about everyone I know has driven from LA to Vegas at least once and knows there is nothing to see. Well, other than the miserable Memorial day traffic that was fortunately going the other way.
Kitty & I woke up before 6 and got a simple breakfast at the Starbucks downstairs. Afterward, we loaded up and hit the road heading north on I-15. I had never been further than downtown Vegas before, so everything was new today. The landscape stayed bleak until we got to mesquite and the virgin river brought some welcome green to the scenery just before entering Arizona. That's when things began to get interesting.
A bit further ahead, we entered the Virgin River gorge which was quite dramatic compared to the blasted landscape prior. It was nice to go around some bends for a change. Exiting the gorge landed us in St George where we took a break and fueled up the bike.
Utah has not disappointed thus far. The scenery leading toward Zion (and later Bryce) reminded me of Sedona with all of the red sandstone. Truly spectacular rock formations there. Kitty took most of the photos, so I'll post some links to them later. With the heat rising and no good place to stash our gear, we decided to forego any hiking and move onward to Bryce.
We merged onto US 89 at Mt Carmel junction and headed north. What a beautiful road! The Virgin and Sevier rivers both run parallel to 89 and are such a lovely sight after so many years in drought stricken [southern] California. Trees and meadows flanked us with incredible mesas distant on the horizon and there was little traffic since it was Tuesday.
Finally, we made it to highway 12 and entered Red Canyon. I felt like a kid at Disneyland starting at big thunder mtn, only this time it was much bigger. Again, we didn't have time to explore in depth, so we took photos and rode onward. As the elevation increased, the temperature mercifully dropped and we found a spot to stop for lunch. Since we were so close to our lodging, we checked in and dropped off some of the luggage before going back to check out Bryce.
9115 feet above sea level. I didn't realize how high up we were until we arrived at rainbow point and read the elevation sign. The view eastward from there was breathtaking, with the sun dropping low and lighting up the mesas. The pine forest was cool and the air was so clear, it was a welcome change from yesterday. Time to rest up for tomorrow's journey to Grand Junction.
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