Overcast skies started the day, the first, really, on this trip. We listened to the weather channel on our radio and they were calling for cold temperatures and SNOW at the 6,000 feet level.
We headed to Bruce Canyon National Park (6,600 to 9,200 feet!!!) to make our decision for the next few days. It was cold as we boarded their shuttle and enjoyed the heated bus ride to a few locations and took some beautiful photos. Each landscape is different in every place we've visited.
Oh yeah, we learned about Bristlecomb Pines, only found here in Utah, with a strangely shaped cone we had seen in our campground.
At one point, we saw a MH just like ours in the parking lot and approached the people, a couple called Lynda and George from new Mexico via New York and Appalachia. We talked for quite a while, comparing horror stories, happy stories and advice. We enjoyed their company and have a “date” for a future trip.
With weather getting worse, we decided to forgo the original plan through higher mountains travelling east and headed north than east towards Moab, where things looked much better. And we'd be on better highways in case of anything.
VERY different landscape here, more like in Wyoming. We commented on how it looked like we were descending, but the Elevation gauge on our GPS said we were ascending. Very disconcerting.
We said “wow” so many times, and David said pictures and words can't really do justice to what we're seeing. I still cannot imagine people, especially women and small children, living here. Not many did, or certainly didn't stay by the lack of homes, just large ranches now.
We got to the Arches just as the Visitors Centre was closing, and saw that the campground was full. We headed to some Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campgrounds CAA mentioned and found an amazing site, one of only 8 on the Colorado River. Wow (again).
By the way, I find that CAA maps and TourBooks and Campbooks are the BEST resources for this kind of travel. And I have used everything :-)
Here's the spectacular view from my chair:
Remind me to tell you the story of our "snow" day in southern Utah some day!
ReplyDeleteLoving the blog.
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