Two-Day Update (Thursday, May 17, 2012)

Cutter Relaxing in the Sun

Yesterday (Wednesday) was sort of a catch-up day....I had some work to do, Dick had a few projects, and Cutter had some 'sunning' to enjoy!

Just like a boat, there are always projects!  One of the drawers in the kitchen was falling apart, so my master carpenter needed to do a re-build.  Have I mentioned that Dick can fix anything???

Here's an interesting fellow we passed along the way to Springdale...a small town just before Zion National Park.  Having searched high and low for a Texas Longhorn in Texas, we finally hooked up with some in Southwestern Utah!

Springdale has many unique and artistic shops.  We ended up having lunch at the place on the right called 'Wild Willies'....Ye Ha!!  Note the awesome backdrop when shopping in this little town!

Today (Thursday), we decided to go to Bryce Canyon....about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive.  The route to Bryce is through Zion National Park....every turn provides views more majestic than the one before.  The grandeur is beyond words.

After passing through Zion, we were treated to passing through Red Canyon National Forest.  Again, the magnificence of the mountain-scape is just not possible to capture.

This is an arch created by drilling through the stone formations in Red Canyon National Forest.  There is a bit of a glare on the pic....I was trying to grab this shot while passing thru...

As we started coming into Bryce National Park, the stone formations started to look very different.  Here, they are like stacked towers, but further into what they call the 'amphitheater' they are more like tall spindles.

Bryce National Park has a shuttle system similar to Zion.  This helps contain the auto traffic, and provides convenient travel throughout the park...with out getting lost! So, we took the shuttle to the top: Bryce Point. Check out the elevation: 8,300 feet!

Aren't these rock-towers amazing??  They are called Hoo-Doo's. They are created by erosion over time, and as the erosion continues, the hoo doo's fracture and separate into 'fins.' They can also take a spindle-like shape called 'spires.'

This shot provides a much better view of the hoo doo's.  The rock material is primarily Navajo Sandstone, created millions of years ago by great sandstorms and floods that covered much of the west as the north american continent was being formed.


So, I could go on sharing more and more pictures of 'rock'....but, gee - how many do you really want to see????  We are buying 'coffee table' books of each of the parks we visit - so when you come to visit us at home in NC, you can gaze at all the pics you like!  We will probably hike Zion one more time before we leave. It remains our favorite, so far.  I will post more in another day or two....stay tuned!