The Pyramid




Las Vegas Strip




Caesars Palace

 

Passing by Las Vegas Motor Speedway.




Heading to Utah.




Entering the 7th state on our trip.

 

Hotel view at Zion




Wildcat Willie's

 

What a country, nice pics.

 

We are 1 week into our western adventure. Partly cloudy skies over the Zion La Quinta Inn in Springdale, Utah this morning. We headed to the lobby to get an expected fantastic breakfast. After all, everything else about this hotel had been superb. I was so disappointed. No meat. No eggs, other than boiled ones. The food area was so small that it was congested with people. The toaster so slow that I stepped away to get another item and when I turned around, my toast was coming out and another lady got it. Argh! We finished our oatmeal and then went back to the hotel to get stuff to ship home. That was a pleasant experience. There was a huge black and white cat named Louie laying on the desk in the post office. We love animals, so that was nice to get a "fix." Then we took a shuttle to Zion National Park and caught another shuttle going through the park. I wish we had more time to do more hikes. We chose to go to the Emerald Pools. It had started out cool and I had long sleeves and a fleece vest on. As we walked along, the sun came out and it was very pleasant, almost on the warm side. The hiking path was very nice. Loved the little waterfalls. There really wasn't much to the pools. Mule deer walked past us with not concern. Our hotel check out time was fast approaching, so we returned to the shuttle pick-up area and went back to the hotel. Departing Springdale, we motored back towards the park to connect to the Zion-Mt. Carmel road. We negotiated the hairpin turns up the mountain to the 1.1 mile tunnel. We had to stop and wait for our turn to go through. That was a fun thing. Cool and musty in the tunnel. Tons of bikers here today. From that tunnel, we rode the twists and turns to a shorter tunnel and then more twists and turns. Great road!! I was freezing at this point. We descended to the Mt. Carmel 89 junction and fueled up. A local guy on a Harley struck up a conversation with us and when we told him we were headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, he told us not to go, that it would be cold. We went across the street to grab a bite of lunch at the Golden Hills restaurant, and then we continued on our journey. At Kanab, we put on our rainsuits. I hate those things, but it was necessary. Further on, we pulled over at a rest area briefly. There was light rain and it was cold. My hands were like ice. I asked David where was the snow? As we neared Jacob Lake, we spotted mule deer here and there along the roadside. Jacob Lake Inn was bustling. The rain then did something that got my attention...... It DID turn to snow. The farther we went, the heavier it came down. It was sticking to my face shield! Okay, got to nix that part of the trip. We turned around and headed back to the Inn. Inside was a huge crowd of folks. We went over by the roaring fire to try to warm up. A gal who had ridden her bike in to the North Rim earlier in the day, before the snow told us that she was having to stay in the track of a tour bus on the way out, and that her temp was showing 32. We never did really warm up, but knew time was passing, so we headed back out in the snow. As we motored east through the mountains, it turned to a cold rain. We continued on the curvy road eventually coming to the valley and the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs. The road became very straight and we cruised between 65 and 70. The sun began to peak out briefly, making the colors even more vivid. We continued on to Marble Canyon to the old and new bridges across the Colorado River and the Navajo Market. We strolled around stretching our legs and warming up, taking pics of the beautiful scenery and the California condors. Gee, they are ugly creatures! Back on the great surfaced road, we headed to Page, Arizona, some 35-40 miles away. A mix of sun and clouds, cool temps, great scenery carried us to the brand new Sleep Inn in Page. We settled in and relaxed for a bit before riding to the Dam Bar and Grill in town. That was a really good meal with great service! Back in the hotel room, I wrote in the journal, listening to David breathing heavily before joining him. So much done today, but only 175 miles. Pics to follow.

 

Shuttle stop view in Springdale, Utah.




Scenes from Zion NP

 

 

The walking trail to the Emerald Pools.






Court of the Patriarchs

 

Waiting our turn to go through the 1.1 mile tunnel.




Rainy weather ahead!

 

It came down harder as we went along....




....and we heard the road conditions had become slick.