October 19, 2010 to October 21, 2010 : On our way to Bryce Canyon, we crossed the Capital Reef National Park, which gave us the opportunity to take pictures of some petroglyphs. Bryce Canyon and Zion Parks are both absolutely enchanting, although completely different. First of all, the altitude of Bryce Canyon is high, above the 2500 meters all the way, which means that mid-October , it is fairly chilly. When you drive through Bryce Canyon, you mainly drive on the plateaus, through the forests and have many stops to enjoy the view. The views are beautiful and breathtaking. The rim trail is interesting to follow. I cannot say that we were disappointed by this Canyon, however, it deserves to be viewed by a warmer temperature (End of August or early September is probably ideal) and we also probably should have done a trail down to the bottom of the Canyon. Needless to say that we did not camp that night, as our ride back from the park froze us down to the bones. Bryce Canyon, we will come back ! Here is a short video :
We decided to head to Zion Canyon, about 160 kilometers away. The elevation of Zion Canyon is about 1500 to 1700 meters high. We entered Zion Canyon by the East entrance. This leads you down to the bottom of the Canyon. You start by seeing the checkerboard mesa, then rides down a 1.1 miles tunnel, which was completed in 1930 and after a few curves downhill, you arrive at the visitors Center. Once again, Alain and I are stunned by the organizational skills of North Americans. The road leading up to the Canyon being very narrow, the Park decided back in 2000 to have shuttles going up and down the Canyon for the tourists. The shuttles run every 6-7 minutes, have 7 stops at different key points of the Canyon and you can hop in and out to go enjoy the scenery, as much as you want. This has led to less congestion in the park and a better management of its resources. Alain and I enjoyed thoroughly the walks along the river, to the Emerald Pools. Our second day, we hiked the Angel’s Landing trail, which finishes by a steep walk up, where you have to hold yourself to chains with cliffs on both sides. This time, I chickened out and reminded Alain that some of our trip’s principles are to have fun and to have no stress… Again, we had the opportunity to see deers on the side of the road or on the side of the trails. Tomorrow, October 22, 2010, we are going to Las Vegas… We have had to eliminate North Rim of Grand Canyon (mainly because of the weather) and Lake Powell (because there are no roads to follow on the banks of the Lake).
It has been two months now that Alain and I have been wandering on the roads of the United States and we still feel so fortunate every day to be on this trip and see, learn, discover every day something different. It’s difficult to pass the emotions in our blog and describe the beauties that we are seeing. The words and the pictures are not enough and don’t give credit many times to what we see. However, we keep on making pictures on rocks and waterfalls, so that we can live again ourselves these moments. We have now adopted a new rhythm in our daily life, deciding one day to the next almost what we will do next. Despite some frictions from time to time between each other (which really happens when we are tired), we are happy to say, that after two months of being together 24 hours-7 days a week, we still love each other !
Las Vegas : we have been there once before, in 1986, before we got married. Wow! What a change! We remembered a small town with mainly one street, where the main attraction was Circus Circus. When we arrived from Zion, we discovered a large city with highways. No doubt, you love Las Vegas (like this lady whom I met briefly from Miami Beach who has been coming there 3-4 times a year since 1950) or you hate it. One thing is sure, you cannot stay indifferent to it. Extravagant (Venice in a desert??
Awesome, Surprising, Beautiful, Incredible, Magical. It's Las Vegas and it is American ! All revenue levels are represented and this reminds us that money is King. But we are safe, as you also meet some preachers in the streets ! You also have some girls who lightly dressed try to attract you (especially men in their quest of a fantasm) to make a picture with them.
For Alain and I, coming from the wilderness, we were stunned by the noise around. One thing is sure : Las Vegas is not ready to die : it keeps on renewing itself with new attractions at several billion dollars. You are here to empty your pockets. Alain and I lost $ 2.45. As we did not win, we stopped playing ! This is all we had ! In the end, there is absolutely a sense of moral and psychological distress in the air but it is covered by the fireworks and the fountains of the Bellagio Hotel :
It's October 24, 2010. We are at the stage when we don't know what to do next. We have heard so many things about Mexico that we are hesitating to cross the border. For now, we are heading West towards Los Angeles and think about options. This is put on line on November 1, 2010 only, due to internet problems...
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