Good Evening Pioneers!
What an interesting day we had!
First and foremost, my appreciation goes to our friend Matt and his three dogs for the hospitality we received in Las Vegas.
He made us feel like home, but most of all, he played tour guide with us doing things like going to the strip, that I'm sure for someone that lives there all the time, might sound a little too touristy!
Therefore, thank you Matthew for your cooperation and you hospitality, we miss you and the boys already, and yes, I still can't get over the fact that your dog sneezes at command! LOL
Now I also know how to succesfully perform CPR on a Turtle, as the night we came back home late at night, two of his turtles got stuck on the water pump out in the pond.
We left this morning at around 11AM, with a beautiful sunny day keeping us good company.
We didn't come across that much traffic coasting the strip on I-15, and before we knew it, we were at the border with Arizona!
Here's a picture of it:
But although Arizona was our final destination for the day (we're currently in Flagstaff for the night), our first stop required to cross another border, the one with Utah, in order for us to visit Zion National Park.
Here's the welcoming sign along the Interstate at the border of Arizona and Utah:
Right before entering Zion National Park, visitors go through the nice little town of Springdale, where we stopped to take several pictures of these magnificent domestic elks!
Here's the sign delimitating the boundaries of Zion National Park:
There's a $25 administrative fee to enter the park, unless you have one of the many "Passes" that the US Government offers during the whole year, such as "America The Beautiful" for example.
The park is beautiful, and I'm afraid that with these pictures, if you still haven't been there, it'll be difficult for you to realise how amazingly colorful and majestic this place it.
Here's an example for you. I took a picture of a huge rock wall and I put "The Bug" in front of it on the road so that you can have a reference as to what the scale is:
The drive this morning was breezy and pleasent. Apart from the line at the toll booth to pay the entrance fee, we haven't found any traffic at all inside the park, which allowed us to stop and take pictures on the road, and have a clear view in front of us for some of the other pictures.
This is for instance, a picture to show you the color of some of the rock formations inside the park, isn't it beautiful?
This the INfamous Italian stepping on "Geological History" at Zion National Park:
And this is the famous "Bug" having a blast with the top down (Notice the new Licence Plate!):
The drive through the park is about 20 miles long, and it takes roughly an hour to go through, including two tunnels, the longest being 1.1 miles (It's pitch black inside!).
Although the drive through the park ends after such a short drive, the scenery outside the park roughly stays the same for several more miles.
This is a shot I took right after the sign indicating we were leaving the National Park:
And this is a close up of a rock formation whose bottome was as pink as a San Diego Zoo Flamingo. I don't really know if you can see it from this picture, but it was beautiful, such brilliant colors!
Being that our trip includes a visit to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, at some point we started heading south towards the border.
One piece of advice that I feel like I can give you if you find yourselves traveling south from Utah to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon, is to travel on US89Alt.
It's very easy, once you reach Kanab, UT, instead of turning left towards Page, AZ just like everybody else in the huge line, go south, skip the traffic, and enjoy heaven!
The first town south of the border with Utah is Fredonia, where supposedly, they have a Welcome Center.
There are at least three signs indicating tourists where to turn, and on the way to the little town, there's also what I defined this afternoon, as an appetizer of what we should expect the day after tomorrow once we reach Monument Valley.
Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:
Going back to the Visitor Center for a moment. Although we were running late to get to Flagstaff in time for dinner, we decided to stop at the Fredonia Visitor Center.
This center is also the first one after the border, which obviously mean that every single person crossing the border from Utah will stop at this particular center to ask information about the Grand Canyon State. In a few words, this is Arizona's business card for tourism up there, and that's why I was totally dumbfounded when I came across this sign written on white paper on an A4 sheet:
The guy is what? He's on vacation? Are they trying to tell me that they can't find anybody to replace the ONLY employee at their visitor center? I found this to be totally unacceptable, especially in a state like Arizona, where a big chunk of their tourist flow happens to be in the summer.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the picture as much as I did, although at first I thought it was a bad joke!
From Fredonia, AZ, continue to drive south on US89Alt, following the signs to Lake Powell and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You will go through a totally different scenario from what you were used to at Zion. Pine trees will take the place of the desert like panorama, this is what the North Rim is all about, giving the Grand Canyon a different look, sort of "Alpine" in some ways.
You will also notice a big shift in the temperature that will drop from the 100s that was at Zion, to a much more pleasent 70F.
At some point, after going through these beatiful forests, you will come to a sign that will tell you about the umpteenth panoramic view point coming up in about 300 yards or so.
This was absolutely the most shocking experience of the whole trip, when, all of a sudden, from the beautiful forests we were getting used to, this indescribable panorama showed up in front of us.
Again, I don't think this picture does it any justice, but just believe what I say, you don' find many places like this one in this world.
Here is another one, with "The Bug" and the magical place in the background:
Once you reach the valley that you first see from the top of the mountains, this is what stands in front of you as you continue driving south on US89Alt:
Soon after you pass the spot visible in the picture above, you find yourself in another area that looks like a reduced scale of Monument Valley. This picture in particular, has been take from the Navajo Bridge that allows cars (and tourists!) to cross the Colorado river:
So, here we are, on top of the Navajo Bridge looking down at the Colorado river:
And here's the omnipresent picture of "An Italian Across America"! LOL
We arrived in Flagstaff this evening around 7.30PM, 30 minutes ahead of schedule!
We're staying at a hotel on Route 66, so there you go, one more thing to add to my collection, I've been driving on Route 66!
We had dinner at a restaurant called "Mountain Oasis" at 11 East Aspen Avenue. Wonderful food (they know how to cook pasta here), and excellent service, combined with affordable prices, I would definitely have dinner there tomorrow if I were still here in Flagstaff, that's how good this place is.
All right, time to call it a day again! Tomorrow we have another full day ahead of us, as we will hopefully be able to cover some distance and get as close as we can to Monument Valley, and who knows, maybe even be able to enjoy the ride at sunset.
Good night folks,
Nico
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