Another gorgeous start to the day and nice and warm again. We actually managed to watch a stream of the movie Broken Arrow last night from you tube and it was interesting to see an old western movie again. The ending was a bit of a surprise but I wont do a spoiler in case anyone wants to watch it but it did have some nice footage of the Sedona area we had traversed a few days ago before the tourists discovered the region.
We missed the opportunity to see the Horseshoe Bend whilst we were in Page which is a shame but the reviews said you had to be there in the middle part of the day to get the best views and we had 2 tours back to back yesterday so it just did not work for us, but if you have not seen this place before check out some pictures online at this amazing natural bend in the Colorado River just downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. To be frank, we are still in awe of the spectacular Antelope Canyons we saw yesterday and after looking at the 30 odd photos it was a challenge to pick just
We had breakfast in the hotel and I would have to say it was the worst we have had so far. I had some scrambled eggs on toast and the eggs were so firm it was like they had been sitting there for hours (so dry !). It certainly makes you feel good when you stay somewhere where they cook it fresh for you but given this was a budget style hotel (probably the cheapest on our whole stay) it was not really surprising. The other negative thing about our stay here was how noisy it was in the rooms with what seemed like paper thin walls.
We were soon on the road again and a bit of a drama when I locked in the route on google maps as it did not want me to take the route past Kanab and Mt Carmel Junction to enter Zion NP from the eastern entrance but go the long way around to the southern entrance. Turns out I have google maps set to avoid tolls and it detected a NP entrance fee was payable hence the different route so we fixed that issue
I know I keep on mentioning how spectacular the views are whilst driving but today was no different. As you drive along the scenery keeps changing and is so different to back home where we see so many gum trees everywhere you drive covering the landscapes. We arrived at the park entrance at 1.11 pm (we lost an hour on the drive as Utah are on Daylight Savings Time) and paid the $35- weekly NP entrance fee. Not long after we drove in, we stopped at a pullout to take a photo of the canyon and we saw a herd of desert bighorn sheep near the roadside and then they all crossed the road blocking it for 20 minutes to all traffic. There are only about 500 of these in the park so good to see some wildlife so early on.
Further down the road we approached the first of the two tunnels which was not very long but the second tunnel they closed to only one lane so we waited a few minutes before entering and it goes for just over a
mile and was built right through the mountain in the 1920s which was an amazing engineering feat for that time when they did not have the equipment they use today.
Once we came out of the tunnel the views down the canyon were amazing with such high and steep rock walls and we navigated about hairpins to go down the canyon road. The lower the road became the more impressive and majestic the views became. Our initial plans were to drive out of the southern entrance of the NP direct to our hotel in the town of Springdale and leave the car and then take the shuttle back into the park but decided that would waste time so we parked the car at the visitors centre inside the park.
Cars are only allowed on the main road that separates Springdale and Carmel Junction most of the year as the main Canyon Road is closed off and they operate shuttle buses from the visitors centre up the one way canyon road where there are 9 stops to the end that you can get off to explore various views and hiking trails.
