We were sad to say goodbye to our original hire car! It was so lovely and had safely got us around on our 1000 mile mammoth road trip!
On our way to the hire place we saw this RV pulling a car. Its not a common sight for us English folk so it made us giggle!
We stopped off at the grocery store (supermarket! Nats gone abit American!) to buy some lunch. We had exchanged our vehicle and our plan today was to visit Bryce Canyon.
Rach driving our new hire car. She is getting to be quite a pro! We didn't have a sat nav though so had to rely on good old fashioned road signs and a road map! Nat nav was out of holiday mode!
We came across this sign that reminded us of New Zealand! We liked popping into the bakeries!
All was ok....we were on our way!
We were nearly there, along the way we came across Red Canyon. This was a lovely part to pass through. We thought we would stop off on our way back depending on the time. The colours of the rock were such a deep vibrant red. Driving through the arch as you can see in the picture below was a lovely feature!
We'd arrived!! We were lucky and had a pass so we didn't need to pay this price!
We went into one of the lodges and asked at reception what the best view points would be. The kind man explained that we should drive to the furthest viewpoint which was the highest elevation and work back on ourselves.
With the plan in place, we set off. It took about 30mins to get there with the speed limits in place and the distance but by heck it was worth it!
It was certainly very different to the Grand Canyon as Bryce had some lovely greenery and shrubs to it. It was such a contast of colours and went on as far as your eyes could see!
As you can see from above it was a lovely spot to have lunch. It was such a terrible sandwich though!! Absolutely disgusting! We couldn't even just have the bread because it was soggy!
Luckily we had treated ourselves to some cookies so we enjoyed them much more!!! He he.
We stayed there as long as we could and welcomed the view but we had to see the other viewpoints so drove off. At least we were now working our way towards the exit.
It was such a pleasant sunny day, you really got the best views with weather like this!
With each viewpoint we were going down in elevation! You could feel the air getting better with each point.
This stop was one of our favourites. It was just crazy how things can adapt over time.
From the platform we were on it was just a steep slope down through the archway. The fence is there for a reason and whilst there a idiot climbed over. Some people just don't obey rules do they!!
We made our way to the 'best viewpoint'. The speed limits are in place for a reason though due to the wildlife. We slowed right down as we saw this chap at the side of the road.
Next minute he's crossing the road!!
Then we saw this deer! It's so wonderful seeing the different types of wildlife just as your wondering around.
We arrived at Bryce point and it seemed as if you were right in the middle of the canyon. You walked out on to a view point and the views were all over. You didn't quite know where to look.
Time was of the essence though due to us having to to be somewhere at a certain time so we headed off. We had such a fabulous time at Bryce Canyon and we won't forget it in a hurry!
We didn't have time to stop and take pictures but we took them from inside the car which was no problem.
The Red Canyon was just amazing to see especially with the blue sky behind it highlighting the red rocks.
We were heading back to the house and came across this sign! We couldn't believe it! With us living in York, we come across this sign when at home with Leeds been close to us, so it gave us a flashback to driving in England! Luckily we still stayed on the correct side of the road!
Once at the house we had a tour around. It was such a lovely place to live. It's not everyday you see one of these parked in the parking lot (American again!). They may have to work on their parking though!
The rest of the day was spent catching up with our friends and unpacking :)
Day Two
Today was the day we were going to be camping. We got our stuff ready for an overnight camp and a 10.5 hour hike the following day! Yes that's right a 10 and a half hour hike covering 17miles! It was our longest hike we had done, well actually our first!
We set off to Zion National Park which was close by and wondered what the sand was doing in the distance. We got closer and realised that it was a sand devil! A twister of sand! What a sight!
Rach had marked down on the itinerary to see Sand Hollow. It did look quite nice on google images but in real life compared to some of the sights we had seen it didn't look too impressive unless you like watersports or fishing then it's probably right up your street!
We arrived at Zion and were really quite nervous about tomorrow. We were going out for dinner meeting our fellow campers and experienced hikers. There would be six of us all together, I hope they didn't mind two hiker virgins joining the gang!
We spotted this as we had a look around. It was full of padlocks people had locked to it which looked quite pretty and reminded us of Paris.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner with our new host family and fellow hikers. We enjoyed getting to know one another better. They were lovely people and put us at ease for what was in store!
We set off in search for a bit of land where we could set up camp. This was close to where we would be starting so that was good planning. We would be setting off early so we all wanted an early night.
First things first when we got to the camp ground, we set up our tents. This was made easier by help from our experienced hiker host Deb. She showed us the ropes and helped us.
We were very impressed when we saw the tent set up. It would be surprisingly quite spacious!
We had sleeping bags and a padding sheet so we weren't directly on the ground.
We also had our fly on which was a cover just incase it rained. It wasn't forecast but you never know!
We were quite pleased with our land. It had some abandoned farm machinery randomly placed there to add to the outdoors feel. We just hoped there were no bears about!
We were all set up so we gathered around in our seats and talked. Rach has camped once but I haven't. It was all a new experience for me. Where was the toilet for starts? The answer was.....wherever you want as long as it's away from the camp and behind a bush so you have privacy!
Wow this was going to be different.
The stars came out and we decided to hit the hay. We had to be up about 6 and packed away by 7 so it would be an early start!
I quite liked the idea of camping. It was all new to me! It was lovely sleeping under the stars and listening to nature.
At one point though we thought we heard a bear! Oh gosh!!
We had a lovely night! At one point we had to wake up and pull over the fly due to it starting to thunder and lightening!! Luckily it didn't pour down though and with us doing the narrows we didn't want it too!
If it is forecast heavy rain we would have had to call off the hike due to it been extremely dangerous! Many people have died whilst hiking the narrows due to flash flooding and high waters. We didn't want anything to happen!!
We checked the weather, all would be ok. We were all up at 6am. I had a cup of tea intising me out of the tent which was quite nice and warmed me up (not that it was cold!).
We set off and I don't have any pictures apart from the go pro ones due to us definitely gettng wet. I didn't want anything happening to my camera so it was safe in a dry bag and hidden away.
We set off and we came across a stream. I joked with Deb saying 'I don't want to get my feet wet' She replied 'I'm sorry but it's definitely on the cards!' Oh gosh!
We hit it off in good time. We had a map and it calculated what time you should hit the markers and we were hitting them ahead of time!
We came across some cows in the field and they were nervous. We found ourselves talking to them...delusion had hit us early!!
Rach and I were quite worried really, hoping not to drag the team down but we found ourselves doing surprisingly well!
We stopped for a bite to eat to keep our strength up. We were lucky with the weather, the sun wasn't beating down, it wasn't too hot, it was manageable and the weather wasn't forecast to be dangerous!
The views whilst stopping for food were very good. We had to push on. I had a niggle on my ankle from the rock shoes and on closer examination it had already broken the skin! I had to get patched up and we plodded on.
We were hiking with a pro who had just about everything we needed. We were supplied some hiking sticks and these came in extremely handy! We were walking in murky water not knowing the depth or if there were some rocks but also due to keeping us stable!
We headed down into a canyon where people would absail or climb up. We were happy just having our picture taken!
The walls of the canyon were massive! You really did feel like you were an ant. We didn't want any rocks to fall down though so we quickly scurried out.
This was how narrow it can get, 3 people across. It was such a fascinating hike, every corner you had another wow moment. The only problem was you were constantly looking down and checking your footing you had to remember to look up!!
Here we were at the narrowest point, you could see just how dangourous this hike could be if the weather turned and you didn't do your research!
We carried on heading out of the high risk area. Once your feet were wet you really didn't care about going in anymore water! We plodded on and just sloshed about in the water. It was like being little again! :)
This log was random! It was lodged in there and we couldn't move it!
The picture below shows you just how small you look with the towering walls at the side of you!
You feel just like an ant!
We decided we were wet anyway and the heat was rising so we all cooled off in the river.
Off we go again....more water!
Rach and I were still smiling though, absolutely loving this!
All of a sudden after being on our own we started to see more and more people walking down the narrows. We were getting close to the end.
All of a sudden we were hounded with people. They were all over! These people were 'hiking' the short touristy patch. We were hardcore and had done the massive hike!
We were so proud we had done it and Deb and the experienced hikers said we had done so well too! 17miles over 10.5hours....not really a walk in the park and we did it!! We were soooo tired once we finished.
We headed back to car on the shuttle park bus. Once our bums hit the seats we didn't even think we'd be able to get back up again! Ha ha!
Day Four
We woke up and wow it was so nice to settle down and sleep in a proper bed. My gosh we were soooo stifff though!! It was so hard getting out of bed!
Today was our resting day and we definately needed it! Deb was out and about today though....crazy cat! :) We weren't used to the hiking distance so she let us just rest and we were very grateful!
Once Deb was back from her adventures we went for a sight seeing trip around and about. We went to a pie shop and the pie was AMAZING!
I chose the banana cream pie which was very naughty but very yummy!
The scenery when you're driving around is wonderful. Like nothing you have seen before!
We drove to the outdoor theatre which we were told is magical when you're there watching a production under the stars of the night.
We were starring in The Little Mermaid when it came to town! :)
The view points were truly stunning. This is when we went to one where we could look out to the city of St George.
We then went to the shops to pick up some groceries. We didn't want to move as it was so painful to but then again we couldn't stay still as we would stiffen up worse!
We had done enough abuse to our legs and decided to head home and relax some more :)
Day Five
Today we were taken to a place called Cedar Breaks. There was a wildflower festival going on so we thought that would be really interesting.
We arrived and walked to the lookout. These national monuments and national parks are just stunning really! All completly natural too which adds to the wonder of it all!
This flower shown in the picture below was one of my favourites. It's so pretty and delicate.
We all got our chance of gazing up at the sun in a highly powered telescope with a great sun filter on. It was amazing really being actually able to look at the sun.
We joined the tour and learnt about the wild flowers. It was really interesting and informative.
Everywhere you walked you were seeing a fantastic view. It was such a lovely place to visit!
Rach just had to get a jumping picture! :)
We went on a 1.5mile hike and with our legs you could feel it. It wasn't too bad due to them getting better each day but the problem was feeling out of breath. You had to remember you were 10000ft above sea level so this can make you get out of breath easily due to a decrease of oxygen in the air. It makes you think you're so unfit but it's all due to the surroundings and the altitude.
It was a great walk but at some points you had to be careful where you placed your foot. I didn't really fancy sliding off here!
We reached the end of our trail! It was a fantastic view, such a beautiful day too to really appreciate what was in front of you!
Deb all of a sudden said 'I have an idea'. Oh gosh what's that!
Oh fab idea Deb!! :O We got some great pictures though! :)
I didn't want to fall down there! :S
The picture below shows where we were stood, crazy idea really! Stay behind the fence people!
This sign couldn't be anymore true!
We headed back and enjoyed a fab dinner with our hosts and a movie viewing of Kinky Boots. Fantastic British movie and I highly recommend it!
Day Six
It was our last day and we were so sad! We really had had such fun with Deb and Gene!
We still had a day together though so we made the most of it!
Today was a day we were really hoping our legs would be feeling back to normal! We were going to do a nice and easy morning 5 mile hike! This time we didn't have to worry about getting our shoes wet due to it being dryish!
We drove to Zion and did a little 5 mile hike.
It was such a lovely sunny day, not too warm also so we set off! It was nice and early so there wasn't too many people about too which topped it off nicely!
We came across a wooden cabin which was shut off to the public.
Walking along stream this time...not up stream!!!!
At one point we could have gotten our feet wet but it worked out not tooo bad! We just stepped on a few rocks! :)
Here we are at the end of our hike. 2.5miles in and happy to make another achievement! It was time to relax, enjoy a drink and the start the journey back.
I led us back trying to remember the path we choose whilst not heading us to the river! We were catching the greyhound bus that night so I didn't want wet shoes and so stuck to the paths.
We made it....I should be a ranger!
We enjoyed a fabulous last family dinner and thanked our host family so much!! We really did have a blast and such fun. They really did look after us well but I suppose caused us pain....we will never forget that hike though the narrows though!! Absolutely fantastic!
We arrived at the greyhound station at the Mcdonalds in St George. We didn't have long to wait and we'd be on our way to Colorado!
Tickets!
We thought we'd sit down and make then most of it.
The bus came and we jumped on. It was a nighttime bus so at least we could try and sleep and it would go quicker.
Along the way we were stretching our legs and these cows made us laugh. They were dancing and jumping around, such a sight!
Sunset was lovely when we were on the bus. We just caught the end of it but it still looked a sight!
We all hopped on the greyhound and drove off into the sunset.
Next was Denver, Colorado to see our family friend who we class as family, Nora. :) 94 years old but still extremely young at heart <3
Lots of Love, Nat xx
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