On the Road Again....

 HEADING TO ZION

Finally getting back to having a few minutes on the computer.  Wish I could say I've been shooting but the only shooting I have done is a stream of cleaner onto a surface to be wiped up as we have moved people around to new living accommodations.  Anyway....lets head down the road to Zion National Park.  (I will try to have this trip finished in the next week or so since I will be taking another one shortly and don't want to get too backed up.)

After another delicious breakfast in the resort dining room we boarded the bus and head toward Zion National park, however there was lots to see along the way.  The post title is because as we pulled onto the highway, Bruce put my man Willie's "On the Road Again" tape on and off we went..

On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way
And our way

Lots and lots and lots of fun and interesting information along the way, absolutely 99% of it I have forgotten unfortunately and the bits and pieces I can share with you may not be totally accurate, nor they may not be in exact order.  You really need to take the tour with Bruce and Paul to hear it all.

We soon left the desert behind but first...

Water has to be brought to the cattle via tanks.

The highest peak in Utah.

And the last of the Grand Canyon Gorge....

Of course there was more beautiful scenery, gorgeous rock formations, and even a creek bed with WATER!!!  Think this was the first creek we had seen since Phoenix's canals.Unfortunately there is also motion blurs, reflections in the windows, and maybe even a sleeping passenger or two (did not understand how they could sleep when this was all around us).

Soon we started down into Kanab.  More kudos to Paul and his driving skills!

Our first stop was in Kanab, Utah.  The county seat of Kane County, named for William Kane, a friend of the Mormons.  Unsurprisingly there is a large Mormon influence, not just in the Salt Lake City area but down here in the southern part of the state as well.

We stopped at Denny's Wigwam (I think that was the name).

think I prefer the modern day coaches ....

There was a walkway (actually scattered in groups) of these type signs signifying the different TV shows and actors that were filmed here.  The draw to me, besides the stardom factor was there was a Geocache in one of them...I added Utah to my list of places I have cached successfully!!  Whoohoo for me!

Kanab, Utah

I liked the facade of the theater in Kanab, but it wasn't the big screen westerns that made Kanab famous, it was the ones on the small screen. Listen, and instead of back road whispers you might hear "Hi Ho Silver!", or Miss Kitty greeting Sheriff Matt Dillon.  As we approached Kanab, we were entertained with theme songs from the good ole Westerns of my childhood (yes they had TV and movies even way back then).  The two brothers traveling together sang along, and if they didn't know the words they filled in the blanks.  Loved the entertainment I got for free. 

Double wide - western style

Saw this on the side of the road and thought it interesting.  Maybe common in the part of the world we were traveling, but I haven't ever seen anything like it in Texas.

I think I need this grocery cart - it was probably 5-6 feet tall

  

There was still an occasional hogan to be seen

Large ranches with cattle and horses were along both sides of the road.

Beautiful horses, scenery and yummy shack.

Irrigation is the name of the game

Proud to be an American souvenir stand.

And this guy was just proud to be a souvenir stand.

Orderville, Utah

Orderville was an early experiment by the Mormon Church in communal living.  Although it didn't work as expected, the town remained.

A wider shot of Orderville on the right.






 


Speaking of Mormons...did you know the state bird of Utah is the California Seagull?  Seems like after Mr. Young proclaimed Utah as the promised land and the Mormons settled in things took a turn for the worse.  A huge invasion of locust came and were eating all the crops and things were getting pretty desperate.  The women gathered together and prayed for an end to their troubles.  Tada, here came the California Seagull to the rescue, arriving soon after the prayer meeting and eating all the locust.  Of course there has to be spoilsports  in anything and they are saying this has been pumped up a bit - I like the original story and I'm siding with them.




This is the hero himself....yay for you Mr. Seagull!!

We saw many different structures along the way, from the Hogan to the Pueblo style mobile home, and even a Geodesic Dome (who was way too blurred to use).  Here are some of those structures.

My personal favorite.  Loved the carport over the boat trailer.  Guess they had the boat out the day we drove past.

I had to do it in black & white since it reminded me of the Grapes of Wrath or something.

 A hotel with horseback riding as an incentive to stay there.




And I'm adding the one below because something or somebody had to have made it a home at some point!

Besides the rock layers are pretty cool.

More ranch land along the way

Finally we made it to the Bryce Canyon area....we came on a bus but many come on a plane.

Truly, the helicopters that give tours of the canyons and the folks, with more money than I, fly in their private planes to the area.  

We actually stopped here on the way back, but it was our teaser to Bryce Canyon, so I put it here.  Red Canyon is in Dixie National Forest and has some beautiful formations.  The name Dixie comes from Civil War times when cotton was hard to get, if get at all, from the South.  The Mormons solved that problem by trying to grow their own.

The two formations on the right are called Salt and Pepper and are part of Red Rock Canyon.

















A stop at Bryce Canyon Lodge for lunch, and for those that wanted to walk over to the edge (we chose not to) the first peek at Bryce Canyon.

The people walking in, Bonnie and Tom,  were some of the nicest people we have met. 

Then we went to Bryce Point so the wimps in the group (raising hand) could take some pictures without having to walk.  I have made them all extra large because they were so fantastic they deserve it.  

 Check out the gray rock perched on the red rock formation just above dead center - talk about a balancing act.  Bet it would be gone if I went back next week.

Looking out across the canyon.

God does such beautiful work.

Tried with this shot to give you a sense of the steepness of the walls of the canyon.

To think wind and rain formed this....wow.

Gasp....pant pant....gasp. If I remember right Bruce said this was the highest elevation we would be at during our tour.

WHEW....I'm worn out....time to really get on the road to Zion now...besides the rain was coming.

That isn't reflections on the right side, that's rain in the canyon forming more hoodoos.

One or two more posts and this vacation will be documented....stay tuned for Fredericksburg with the Girls (had a great time but camera was in the shop and only took a couple of shots with the phone) so next after a couple more on the Grand Canyon trip will be Georgia on My Mind (Cumberland, Sapelo, St. Simon's, and Jekyll Islands).

Listen for the whispers as you travel down the road, you never know what they might be saying.