Another early awake for me, so finished off yesterdays blog, downloaded GoPro Quik video editor, and created a couple of quick 30 second “mash-ups” of videos of our time at Horseshoe Bend and from our journey along Cottonwood Canyon Road.
The internet connection here is crap. I know we are in the boondogs but in a town like Kanab, the supply must be decent, so I suspect it’s just this hotel. It’s a real pain because, jumping ahead to now (10pm), I’ve realised it’s meant that some of my blog uploads have only partially worked with some missing photos that I added or amended, Day 4 in particular is one I have just redone from scratch. Good job I keep the text backed up elsewhere!
Anyway, a shower (its “OK”), and then breakfast. A “Days Inn” Special of a choice of toast. Ok, so there was a bit more, but it was just cereal, bagel or waffle. Not inspiring, is my point, but you get what you pay for of course.
I really wish that the Parry’s Lodge, where we stayed on Honeymoon had vacancies when we were booking. Now that was a great place! Its been here since the 1930’s, and was the heart of “Little Hollywood” in Kanab. Basically if you’ve watched any old or even relatively new Westerns, or some of the older TV series (such as Lassie & Lone Ranger), then you’ll have seen Kanab, its surrounding countryside, or even the inside of Parry’s Lodge if you’ve watched the ’50s who-dunnit “Girl In Black Stockings”.
Each room had a little history sheet with it, that listed which movie stars had stayed there. Even the original “Ratpack” stayed there. Nowadays, I’m reliably informed by my passengers that even the “Pokestops” and “Gyms” are named after visiting actors such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Maureen O’Hara.
Threw a few things in the car, including our trusty cooler (which is doing really well given the heat it’s having to cope with), and then set off back up the road towards Bryce Canyon.
We went through a little town and I noticed that one of the “curio” shops had what looked like a Fallout 4 Power Armour suit on the site of the road, for those gamers out there. Trying to be “down with my kid”, I mentioned that to him. I got a shrug back and a “I doubt that” back. Oh well, I tried.
Its an hour and a half of all uphill from Kanab to Bryce. In fact it prompted a later conversation about what would be the highest point in our trip. I thought it would have been the Tioga Pass, when we cross from Mammoth to Yosemite, given the snow only cleared a few weeks ago. The answers are as follows:
- Mammoth Mountain, if we visit the top at around 11,000 feet
- Tioga Pass at 9,943 feet
- Rainbow Point at Bryce Canyon at just under 9,200 feet
I was surprised at how close it was between Tioga and Bryce, but once we got into the park and drove straight to Rainbow Point, it does become more obvious. You can tell the air is a tad thinner, the temperature dropped to a chilly 21deg C, and you were looking down on pretty much everything else around.
We decided for better or worse to go to Rainbow/Yovimpa Point, because it was the furthest point from the entrance, and then head back. That’s about 18 miles. Yep, miles!
Basically, we drove to a viewpoint, stopped, got out, took photos, back in the car and off to the next one.
Well, we did for the first few we stopped at. Rainbow Point, Yovimpa Point, Black Birch Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon, Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge. You get why our 12 year old is now sick of the word Canyon, especially if its full of red rock!
However, after those, we got out and walked part of each trail. Paria View was some view, but the main attraction is Bryce Point. What a view!
That said, as we arrived, it began to cloud over, and even threatened rain. I wandered down on my own, Nikon DSLR & GoPro in hand as usual. When you get to the viewing point, it’s a panarama of all panaramas! Although the sky was overcast and as such, it left the subject matter a tad ‘flat’, I took a few photos, and then switched to the GoPro.
Right. Let me set this straight. If you saw me with the GoPro you would say its on a selfie stick. Which it is. But only rarely do I ever point it back to the operator. I typically use it to lift the camera either above a crowd, or beyond fence lines, barriers, and ideally over big drops.
However, all of you that hate those with a passion, myself included in most situations, your wishes almost came true. I was doing my ususal of “wafting” the GoPro around on the end of a 4ft metal pole, when I noticed two things; I could now hear thunder, and secondly and most importantly, the metal railing I was near, was crackling with static, when you got near to it. I am not joking in the slightest. The air was electric. As such, I decided to retreat to the car and join the others, before justice was served on the selfie-stick wielding tosspot.
As it turned out, the weather became a big part of today. At Bryce Point, the rain abated after only a few minutes and the pavements were dry within what seemed seconds.
(Slight aside here, but it was whilst it was raining, that I was in a Facebook Messenger conversation with my sister. Just think about that. I’m 9,000ft up in the back of beyond and yet I’m getting 4G data, and conversing with someone over 5,000 miles away. Instantly. What a world we live in!)
As it was dry, sunny and warmer, this time, all three of us disembarked our Monster Vehicle and headed to the viewpoint. This time the weather was good enough for me to retake my photos and do some slightly safer wafting with the GoPro. You lot don’t realise the risks I take, in delivering these blogs! (Insert the crying-laughing emoji, here or if not imagine it was here).
The thunder inevitably became more visible in the form of lightning, but a safer “further off”. As such, I have some of it on camera somewhere in amongst todays 1000’s of photos/video clips. One day, I may even find them!
A few more stop-offs, and then we called at Sunset Point. Charlie had “had enough” of canyons, so abused the 4G, whilst Jane and I went for a wander. We took the trail up to Inspiration Point, and then headed back down to Sunset to follow the Navajo (Loop) Trail. We had overcast with intermittent sun, so we got some great opportunities to take photos, with the ever-changing light, as we headed down into the canyon.
Many of the spires are named after what someone thought they looked like or a silhouette that they saw. To be honest, I think many of these were named by pot-smoking, high-as-a-kites, as some take a large leap of imagination to grasp. However some are actually pretty good. In one photo, we managed to capture three of the better ones; Thors Hammer, The Presidents (think Mount Rushmore, not Obama/Trump), and Queen Victoria, in her bustled pomp.
After which we saw the switchbacks down into the canyon, realised that meant there must be the equivalent going up, and so used Charlie being on his own as a convenient excuse to bottle it and go back up to the car!
Realising we hadn’t had anything to eat since our epic toast breakfast and that it was now getting on for 5pm, we decided it was going to have to be a “Subway” tea from the outfit about 5 miles down the road, as Charlie was “starving” apparently. The idea was, pick up a take-out Subway sandwich and then go back into the park to Sunrise (yep, not Sunset), and eat with a view.
Back at the car, we all nipped to the loo, and on our depart came out to a downpour. A “sprint” across the car park back to the Explorer, and off to Subway. 8 minutes later we parked up in front of the entrance. 20 minutes later we drove off back to Kanab without having had an opportunity to get out of the car!
As we pulled up, it began raining heavily. Then the wind picked up as well. Then there was lightning – very near by, given the thunder clap was almost instantaneous. Then we were bombarded by hailstones the size of a marble (just the normal sized ones, not the bigger tollies). Then it carried on raining heavily. After 20 minutes the executive decision was taken to “Bugger this! Lets go home!”.
So we did. Only to find that within 5 minutes of heading south the temperatures were up by 8/9deg and it was cracking the (very dry) flags. (Translation: The pavements were dry and warm).
We passed Fall Out Boy, and this time Charlie was on the lookout. I was delighted that I’d struck a chord. When we passed it, he actually guffawed, and told me it was nothing like a Power Armour Suit! Oh well. As I said, I did try.
We ended up having a McDonalds in Kanab, and then headed back to the hotel, via me calling at a “Gas Station” to buy a 2 pack of AAA batteries and a six-pack of weak (3.2%) ale.
The batteries are for a set of portable clippers I brought with me. Being a man of few follicles, I shave my head (a “Number One”) every two weeks. On a Friday. Or Saturday. I like to mix things up. But not too much. Anyway, I’m two weeks since my last cut, so decided it was time for a trim.
New batteries in, just to be sure of rapid oscillation of clippers, and in I went.
And then I had one of those moments when you realise you made a grave miscalculation. Three 1″-wide, totally “down to the scalp” tramlines later, and the clippers packed in. I sit here now having had to fully razor my hair off. It feels weird. It looks weird.
And the evening didn’t end there, because I nipped in to the shower to rid myself of itchy hair bits, and then came back to the desk to write this blog. You may not wish to know this, but I’m sat here typing this with just my boxers on (even with the aircon on, its still warm).
So, I pity the lad and his mam and dad, who somehow, just put a roomcard in the door, opened it (not exactly filling me with confidence, that bit), to walk in on some very, very bald, almost naked, fat bloke hunched over a laptop, typing frantically with an impassioned expression on his face. Goodness only knows what they think I was doing!
Hopefully one day, when his therapist declares his trauma over, he will read this blog and understand.
Night all!
