From the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains - another slideshow (and too much to say)

You are going to need your maps for this one. We have had four days on the road and have reached Estes Park, 70 miles north-west of Denver. You might have thought that the driving is the tedious part between places. I did. Well, the driving and the constantly changing scenery is part of the experience, which is a good thing as we have now covered 4.200 miles (Or is it 5,200?). The Southern part of Utah has the most amazing scenery, with the red coloured rocks, hills, cliffs, and gorges and the Rocky Mountains are like the Alps, but different, if you know what I mean.

Now I am going to have to take this day by day, for my own benefit as much as for your information. I get easily confused. I have a slide show, so you can click here if you get bored with the narrative.
http://picasaweb.google.com/103404285149801869665/JourneyToTheRockyMountains#

(I will repeat this link at the end of this blog)


Monday 13th September – The drive through Northern Arizona is scrub, almost semi-desert, but half way through the day we reached the Navaho National monument for the Navaho Indian Tribe. The photo shows the dwellings carved out of the side of the cliffs. Later that day, the landscape was broken up by towers of rock, that had been left from the erosion of the surrounding rock. Late afternoon, we reached Monument Valley. This really was out of the old cowboy films (“Stagecoach, 1939, with John Wayne, in his first major successful role). We then stayed at Blanding in Utah, a Mormon town, a “dry” town, where alcohol cannot be sold in the town limits, but can be bought at a petrol station, exactly 3 miles outside.


Tuesday 14th – We stayed in the Blanding region. However, remember that “region” is a relative term, as the State of Utah is 50% larger than the United Kingdom. The main attraction of the day was the “Natural Bridges”. It had obviously been raining recently as the Cacti there had seedpods. We must have just missed them flowering. There was also an array of different plants with yellow flowers that seemed to thrive in these arid conditions.


Wednesday 15th – A drive through Arches National Park, full of rock formations with most bizarre shapes, many totally unprintable (who has the crude mind?). Glenwood Springs was our stopping point for the night, where Doc Holliday (remember Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday) has a memorial, which we visited the following morning. He is buried at this cemetery, but it is not actually known exactly where.



Thursday 16th – Before reaching the Rocky Mountains, we shared the small valley carved out by the beginnings of the Colorado River and where the leaves on the Aspen trees are already turning yellow. We now crossed the Rocky Mountains at the highest paved point in the U.S.A. at 3,500 metres (12,700+ feet), which is the highest point that I have ever been (I have never skied at Zermatt). The views (and the wind) are breathtaking, but if you are driving, don’t take your eyes off the road, as in parts, there is only a couple of feet between the car and 1,000 foot drop (and no barrier).

We arrived in Estes Park to stay with Susanne and Thomas. Susanne is the daughter of Joan, one of Hazel’s bridge partners back in Zurich. They run a holiday motel in Estes Park and they put us up in one of their best rooms. I am not surprised that they have been fully booked for the whole of the season.
http://picasaweb.google.com/103404285149801869665/JourneyToTheRockyMountains#