Day - 62 Arches National Park, Utah

A short 5 mile drive from our campsite was Arches National Park. Another scenic wonder and geology lesson. When the Colorado Plateau (which encompasses Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) was forced upward by the collision between the Pacific plate and the North American Plate an inland sea that had dried and filled many millions of times was exposed to the dry arid landscape and monsoon rainfalls. Within this plateau was a huge salt mound from the many times the seas had dried up. This salt mound eventually dissolved from the rain water and exposed the hidden cracks in the sandstone that were created when the plateau was forced upward. As more and more rain fell it eroded the sandstone and continues to this day create more sand sculptures. Arches National Park contains over 2000 naturally formed arches. All of which will some day collapse. New arches are being formed and subtle changes in the surface occurs with every significant rainfall.

Frozen Sand Dunes

Balanced Rock

Elephant Rocks

Arches in the making

Cracks in the sandstone eroded by the rainfall

Day 61 - Capitol Reef National Park in Utah

A much nicer, calmer and less nerve racking day today. We drove the UT-24 to Capitol Reef NP. Not far from our campsite. After attending a ranger talk about the park and it's geology we watched a film about the park and it's first inhabitants. This park is located where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate meet. Forming the rift and the dramatic scenery in the park that evolved when water eroded the sediment and sandstone after it was forced upward for up to 2 miles. Took lots of photos.

Dear eating apples fallen from trees planted by the 1880's Mormon settlers in Fruita, Utah, the current headquarters of the parks administration and beautiful views and campgrounds.

Strata in the canyon walls

Dome that reminded the settlers of the capitol dome in Washington, DC. Thus the name Capitol Reef

Next we drove about 180 miles to Moab, Utah where Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are. As we drove jackie took a few pictures of the geology. Not too shabby for a rookie photographer.

Day 60 - Bryce Canyon National Park and a hell of a drive over Boulder Pass

When we woke up Sunday morning the sun was out and the weather forecast was favorable so we headed back over the mountains we drove over the day before and then drove about 35 miles to Bryce Canyon NP. At Bryce Canyon there is only 1 road you can follow and it is a dead end so you have to drive it round trip. We only stopped to view the overlooks on the way back. I took a lot of photos and 1 video. The video says it all. It has just about the most colorful and dramatic scenery you can imagine. Below is a link to the video.

Inspiration Point at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Leaving Bryce Canyon about 3:30PM we headed in the direction of Capitol Reef National Park along the highway UT-12. This road is a National Scenic By-way. It was a spectacular drive that included driving over Boulder Mountain Pass at 10,000 ft in a blinding snow storm crossing at the pass over a roadway barely 30 ft wide with 1500 foot drops on each side and NO GUARD RAILS with a frightened wife and 2 sleeping dogs. When  we reach a small town at the junction of UT-12 and UT-24 we camped for the night. No photos or videos because we couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of us and we were too scared to think about pictures. That made 2 storms in 2 days over 2 mountains. I hope that is the last I see of snow in mountain passes in storms in my lifetime.

Day 59 - Change of plans

During the night, a pacific storm rolled into the mountain valleys and when we woke up it was pouring rain. We decided to look for a church for services in the afternoon and the closest one was in Cedar City, 59 miles away and over the mountains. We packed up and left for Cedar City about 9:00AM. Come to find out there were only 4 churches within 100 miles of where we were. Anyhow we drove the scenic Highway UT-14 toward Cedar City. At the beginning of the highway was a sign advising snow chains between Oct and April (today was Sept 27). We proceded to start up the mountain. When we got near the midpoint on the highway all hell broke loose. The temperature had dropped to 34 F and it started to pour. Then it turned to sleet. Then it turned to hail. Then the road was completely covered with slush. Then the truck in front of us went off the road and blew a tire. Then flashing lights up ahead and we stopped to see what was happening. The State Trooper advised us that we should not continue because there were boulders in the roadway and we should wait for the Utah DOT to clear them. We pulled over down the road a ways and waited. We noticed several cars continuing down the road, so we proceeded also. About 2 miles down the road there were several cars and campers waiting in the roadway. The heavy rain had left part of the roadway covered in mud and rocks. We shut of the engine and waited. About 5 minutes later we noticed that the trafic started to move again. We started down the road and discovered 3 young men in a camper had taken out their shovels and started to clear the road of mud and rock. As we approached them the water was still crossing the roadway and carrying with it more mud and rock. The 3 young men kept trying to keep it clear. When we finally reached them we thanked them for their help and crossed the raging water on the road. We then traveled the rest of the way down the mountain. When we got to Cedar City it appeared that the weather was not going to break for the evening so we decided to take a break from camping and spend a night in a motel there in Cedar City. Tomorrow, if it all clears up we head back over the mountain and visit Bryce Canyon National Park. That is if the road is open.

2 inches of slush (34 F)

State Trooper and Car off the road

Cars backed up and standing still

3 young men doing a really good deed.

Mud we had to cross to get down the road.

Day 58 - North Rim of The Grand Canyon, National Park

100 miles south of Mt Carmel Jt is the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It took just over two hours to drive there. The North Rim is less popular than the South Rim. There are fewer services and it is much harder to reach due to the roads. We hiked about 1/2 mile out onto Angel Point and took a bunch of pictures.

Day 57 - Utah and Zion NP

We left Vegas about 8:30 and headed for Utah and Zion National Park. An easy drive from Vegas and a picturesque one at that. Zion was magnificent. The landscapes and scenic vistas are spectacular. We camped for the night in Mt. Carmel Junction.

Video of part of our drive (Safe to upload if you want)
 A portion of our drive on UT-9 through Zion National Park

                          Stills

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Day 56 - Las Vegas, NV

We arrived in Las Vegas just after lunch on day 55 and found a campsite right on the strip at Circus Circus. We went out for dinner after walking around the strip for a short time. Today we plan on getting an all-day bus pass and seeing more of the strip and ending the day at Fremont Street (The original location of the Vegas casinos).

Trump Tower & Casino

The Riviera Hotel Resort and Casino

Circus Circus

Ladies, some eye candy

Taking a bite out of a chocolate Lady Liberty

New York, New York

Venician lobby

Venician

Fremont Street Experience