BBC = Beautiful Bryce Canyon

I am still behind with my posts, so I was actually at Bryce Canyon a few days ago.

I hadn’t realised Bryce Canyon was as high as it is, so I was somewhat caught out by the drop in temperatures as I climbed up from the valley where I had my overnight stop. As I entered Bryce Canyon National Park, the two ladies in the booths that check you pass or collect your money were amazed that anyone would want to visit the park this early on a cold day on a motorbike. “It was cold earlier” one said, “but it has warmed up now to 32 degrees” she chuckled. “I admire your fortitude” she continued. “More like thritytude” added the other and the three of us roared with laughter. I great way to start the day!

I took off my gloves, fumbled for my pass and was grateful for the minute of so I could warm my hands directly on the piping hot heated grips.

Once into the park, I was given an early glimpse of what was to come....

Bryce Canyon doesn’t seem like a canyon. It is more of a plateau where the whole side has been worn away by the weather and lots of time. The main road runs along the top of the plateau and takes you 18 miles into the park and then you turn around and use the same road to go back out. The road leads you to a series of overlooks, mainly facing east, where you can gaze down upon the wonderful ways the sandstone has been worn away to reveal some strange rock formations.

The first overlook is appropriately called Sunrise Point and I loved the way I was above the clouds....

It was actually quite hard to get this picture as I had to find somewhere that wasn’t directly facing the sun and that meant walking quite a distance. I didn’t mind though as the walk warmed me up a little.

As I was leaving Sunrise Point I noticed the sun was warming this wooden sign and the warmth caused the moisture to rise in the cold air....

I thought the first overlook was pretty good, but I was stunned by the next.... this picture was taken at Inspiration Point....

Wow. I hadn’t expected that! I took many pictures here, and these are just a few of them....

These columns of sandstone are marvellous and it is difficult to take in everything you are looking at. There are so many similar shapes that at first, my eyes darted about all over the place, trying to make sense of the scene before me....

Not only are there columns, but many other shapes as well....

Next I went to Bryce Point, at 8300 feet....

Beautiful, beyond words!

Bryce Point and indeed the whole Bryce Canyon is named after Ebenezer and Mary Bryce. Ebenezer was born in Scotland and left his home at the age of seventeen for Utah. He married Mary in 1854 and they moved to southern Utah in 1862, and Bryce built a Mormon chapel. He dug irrigation trenches to water the crops and they moved to Paria Valley, south of Bryce Canyon. He then constructed a road to the canyon area to make collecting wood easier and where the road ended, it became known as Bryce’s Canyon and the name has remained ever since.

I rode passed this tree and had to turn around to take a picture of it. The yellow set against the blue sky is striking....

This rock formation in this next picture is called Natural Bridge, for obvious reasons....

This is Agua Canyon....

I walked to Yovimpa Point, which is an easy short hike from the main road, to see another superb view....

I know that fellow blogger Geoff James liked one of my previous dead tree pictures, so I thought of him and his 1,000 mile ride as I took this....

Bryce Canyon is a stunning, spectacular place. The northern Arizona / southern Utah area has I think become my favourite region in the US. There are just so many fantastic places to see here!

Soon after leaving Bryce Canyon and after resuming my westward journey, I reached Red Canyon. This isn’t very big and it takes only a few minutes to drive through but it is good all the same....

There are two very short arch tunnels over the road. I thought it unusual that the road builders made these tunnels instead of just dynamiting the rocks out of the way. Not that I mind of course, as they add a lot of interest. This is one of them....

Nearby is Navajo Lake....

As I continued along Utah SR 14, I found something I wasn’t expecting – an old lava flow! I don’t know anything about this, but I am determined to research when it happened etc....

A little further on and the elevation began to rise again. I spotted this snow amongst the trees. It had probably fallen the previous night.... It made me feel colder....

As the road climbed many of the trees had now lost their leaves....

The colour of these leaves was pretty special....

I now had a choice to make. I was heading for Zion National Park and wanted to get there before dark. It was no 3pm and I could get there easily if I took the Interstate, or there was another road I had heard of. There is a partially paved road that runs north south just to the west of Zion called Kolob Reservoir Road and it is about 50 miles long. The trouble was, I didn’t know how much of it was paved and what the condition was of the un-paved section was. I had limited time until it would start to get dark, but I liked the idea of riding this road. I decided I would give it a try. It starts by going uphill very quickly on a paved section. I stopped part way up to take a picture overlooking Cedar City....

Very soon the road was made of gravel. It was a wide road and well compacted, so this was no problem. I was enjoying this....

After about 6 miles, the road narrowed and became a dirt road. Still ok to ride on though. I shared this section with a friendly deer (which is on the right side of the road)....

The road then got worse and turned to a muddy track. I rode this section up the hill....

At the top of the hill I lost my nerve. It was steep going down the other side and most of the width of the track was mud. Not deep mud, but quite slippery. I was now about 10 miles along the road and I didn’t fancy another 40 miles of this, so I turned around at went back. It took a long time to go those 20 miles or so on this road, but it was fun. Much more fun than the Interstate option I now had no choice but to take.

I arrived near to Zion and tried to remember the name of the hotel that one of my readers, James, had recommended. I didn’t want to get my laptop out on the side of the road to look it up, so I carried on riding and as soon as I saw the sign for the Majestic View Lodge, I knew this was the place. I checked in and got to my room just in time to see the sun go down from the balcony....

Well, it is called the Majestic View!

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Was I Teleported To The Moon Without Knowing It?

The end of day 117 and the start of 118 were weird. I was riding south along Utah 24 towards Hanksville and I had noticed a distinct change in the landscape. Gone were the rolling hills covered in poor scrub and what had appeared in its place was very moon-like....

I could see far ahead the weather was going to get bad. There was a big storm and after trying to work out which way the wind was blowing, I reckoned it was heading right for me. I watched it getting nearer and nearer and the wind grow stronger. Much stronger!

We have all experienced this - you are moving along a road, you see something in the distance, but you have no idea what it is. It seems to make no sense as you continue to try to work out just what it is you are looking at. This happened to me as I rode towards the storm. Was that white smoke rising? No, it can’t be as the fire would need to be about 5 miles across. Anyway, what fire made white smoke? Was it low cloud hugging the surface of the land – very unlikely! What the heck is it?

I soon had my answer – the wind was so strong, it was causing a dust storm, but WHITE dust????

As I got closer I stopped the bike to take a picture. These are not the greatest quality, but worthwhile including here....

I struggled on, riding through a white dust storm in fierce winds, trying to ride in something like a straight line. Then, as if someone turned off a switch, the wind stopped and the dust settled. I could hardly believe what I was looking at. It looks like talcum powder....

I have no idea what this white powdery substance was – maybe something like silica from the sand?

I looked for somewhere to stop for the night and found somewhere in a place called Cainesville. I asked the motel receptionist what the white powder might be and she had seen it before, but wasn’t sure what it was. She said that many “strange things happen around these parts” adding to the whole feeling of mystery. She did suggest I park my bike under the canopy right outside my room in case it rained – what a star....

The next morning, I woke early and got on the road quickly, itching to get some miles done.

The strange feeling from the night before was continuing as I rode through some very odd scenery.... had I been teleported to the moon and didn’t know it?....

What sort of patterns are on these rocks?....

Where had these boulders come from?....

How were these rocks formed?....

When I was a kid, this is what I imagined moon rocks must be like. Was I on the moon?.....

The scenery remained odd for a little longer, with weird shaped mountains pushing up into the sky....

All very strange!

Reality set back in when I reached Fruita and I found this old school. Mormon settlers valued education greatly and donated land, materials and labour for this schoolhouse and the money for the teachers pay. The school opened in 1896 with children of 8 different school grade years attending in its one room. The school remained open until 1941....

I know little about geology but I can tell that this rock formation is very interesting. There are at least six different major layers of rock that must have been laid down over millions of years, plus there has been a considerable uplift of the rock as seen by the sloping bands. The very top band looks as if it was created after the uplift happened as its lines are not sloping. Geologists probably love this sort of thing. I simply thought it made for an interesting picture....

I hadn’t seen any trees for a while and then I saw some along the banks of a river. It occurred to me that it is too dry to support trees in this harsh environment, unless they were next to a water source....

Just west of Fruita, this rock outcrop is called the Fluted Wall....

I really didn’t expect to find a deep canyon here with a winding river that flows around many tight bends. This area is called Goosenecks. The river is named Sulphur Creek and it used to flow across a low plain, changing direction with each flood. Very slowly, the land rose until it reached its current much higher level, but the creek was trapped in its channel. As the land rose, the creek became steeper and cut deeper into the land, slicing a deeper trench into the soft rock. Today it looks like this, with the creek flowing 800 feet below the rim....

Having seen trees growing along a river, when I saw this sometime later, I guessed the same was happening in this valley, which is part of the Escalante Canyons area. I really like the colour of the trees as they follow the river, snaking across the almost barren land....

Another great view in the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Momunet....

The roads are pretty good here too, as they follow the changing contours of the land....

More strange land forms, created by uneven erosion....

Very quickly, the clouds became very low and at the same time, the road rose to meet them.... I really like photos in mist / fog / cloud....

Coming down the mountain I met these two on the road.... there had been many “Open Range” signs around to warn of such a thing.... I guess it was lucky I didn’t meet them in the low cloud!....

I stopped for a coffee at a place called Kiva Koffee House and without doubt it was one of the coolest buildings I had seen. The columns to either side of the windows are tree trunks....

When I took the photo I didn’t notice the wonderful reflections in the glass. It was only later when looking at the pictures that I saw them.

As I neared the town that I intended to stop at and look for a motel, I saw these ominous storm clouds and rain approaching. I rode as fast as I could to get there before the downpour came....

That was another successful day at playing Dodge-Rain. Sort of like Dodge-Ball, only more fun!

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Arches National Park, Utah

I had intended to see Arches National Park at the end of the previous day, but I am learning that each of these major parks in southern Utah need, as a minimum, about half a day each to visit and take photos. You could easily take 3 or 4 days in each, but my time is limited.

I felt there was just not enough time on the previous day, so I set out on the morning of day 117 to see what was in this park. Like all of the National Parks in northern Arizona and southern Utah, it was truly impressive. Geologically speaking, these areas are fascinating with some of the most spectacular rocks formations I have witnessed anywhere in the world.

Almost as soon as you enter the park, things start to get interesting. This is part of what is called “Park Avenue”, presumably named after Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York....

These rocks are known as the “Courthouse Towers”....

Of course, I needed to get a picture of the Leading Ladies somewhere....

There are some bizarre structures here. It is difficult to imagine how this was formed, but I would guess water eroded almost all of the rock in this area but left this column alone....

This is perhaps the most odd rock in the park. For obvious reasons it is called Balanced Rock. I estimate it is 60 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It will of course eventually fall due to the erosion of the pedestal rocks supporting it. I walked right around it, pleading with the rock gods that it didn’t collapse at that very moment....

Very occasionally, I have met someone I find truly inspirational. I did on this day. I saw a woman hobbling along a path in the Arches National Park and I couldn’t help but noticed that seemed to be really struggling walking on her crutches with a broken leg. I wandered around for a while taking pictures and when I walked back along the path she was sitting down and resting. I asked her how she broke her leg. “ A rock fell on me when I was mountaineering” was the answer. Okay, I had to find out more so I joined her and the guy with her and listened to her story.

She told me her name is Teresa and she has enjoyed mountaineering for a long time. “Well, I prefer to call it peak-bagging”. I am not sure if I have remembered this next part correctly: “I am the first woman to have climbed all of the 1,000 peaks in Colorado over 10,000 feet”. I was amazed. Teresa told me that had taken 10 or 11 years and later I did the calculation. That is 100 a year or two a week!

But, her climbing was on hold at the moment because of her leg which was badly broken 10 weeks ago. She was coming down a mountain in Wyoming and walked around a large rock and pushed it to make sure it would not move when she walked in front of it. As she passed the front she used the rock to steady herself and it suddenly fell. “I jumped quick enough to save my head and back, but it got my leg” Teresa added. She had to stay on the mountain overnight (I think she said it was snowing) after others bought a tent up for her. They splinted her leg with her ice-axes and in the morning Teresa had to bum-scoot down the hill a way to a place where a helicopter could rescue her.

She told me the rock was reckoned to weigh 1,000 pounds.

That was ten weeks ago and just two days ago the plaster cast was removed. She told me she was worried about the rest of her “mountaineering muscles” wasting away while she laid in a bed for 10 weeks, so she was determined to start getting exercise as quickly as possible to regain her fitness. “Walking with these crutches is difficult on rough ground as one small stone can cause you to slip”. She did however relate it to mountaineering when she said “But that is just like being very careful where you put your feet when climbing”. This is Teresa walking with her crutches....

Yes, I think that is some climbing equipment being used to support the weight of her leg from her shoulders! I wish Teresa a speedy recovery and hope that she is soon able to bag a few more peaks! As I walked away, I promised myself to do more exercise when I get back home. If Teresa can climb two peaks a week, then I should be able to walk our dog even further each day!

There was obviously going to be a climbing theme to this part of my day because as I walked at the next place I stopped and parked the bike at, I spotted a climber on this rock. If you look carefully, you can just make him out....

He was climbing the rock using the crack as his route up....

A short while later as I rode away, I turned and looked back at the same rock which from where I was, now had the sun behind it. I could just see the climber standing on the top of the rock....

Some of the rock formations are in very strange shapes....

These are the North Window and South Window arches....

Very close by is the Turret Arch. I have included here a photo which has people in, so you can see the scale of this arch....

This is an area known as the Fiery Furnace, named for the warm glow seen on the rocks in the late afternoon. I was there too early to see that....

The Leading Ladies in front of a cluster of vertical standing rocks....

These fin type rocks were near the Devils Garden area....

Finally, this is Skyline Arch....

Overall, I think I did about 50 miles riding inside the park. It is a big place!

After leaving the park I had a decision to make. Do I travel north on US 191 before then travelling west, or do I take the much slower, but probably more interesting Utah SR 128. I chose the slower road and am I pleased I did. I have seen many impressive roads on this trip and this is certainly one of them. It mainly hugs and runs alongside the Colorado River and the views as you ride along at about river level, are stunning. The road and river are in one long canyon and I spent a lot of time looking up, forwards and sometimes backwards at the canyon walls. If you are in this area of Utah, DO NOT miss this wonderful road. Here are some of the views....

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