June 1, 2022, Wednesday. Bryce Canyon National Park

We stayed at a recently renovated hotel, but they told us that, due shortage of staff, they will not serve breakfast tomorrow. So I ask, “Where is a good place to get breakfast?” “Oh, there is a nice place about four or five miles up this road, the way you are going. The name is ‘The Shop Coffee.’ It is a strange way to say it, but that is what it is called, ‘The Shop Coffee.’” “Okay,” I answer, “That sounds like a good place. We will look for it.” “It is in an old Sinclair gas station that they renovated, now it is a coffee house,” she said. I ask, “Is the Sinclair sign still up?” “Oh, yes, the sign is still there!” she answered with a big smile. “And the Dino the dinosaur statue is still out front.” I think to myself, this could be interesting.

This morning we get up, pack our things, and leave the hotel. Sure enough, about four and a half miles down the road, in the town of Orderville, Utah, there is a Sinclair gas station with pumps out front, and the former car maintenance bays were converted to a coffee shop. We park and go in. It is clean and nicely done, even the roll-up doors were fitted with glass so it was all windows. They have coffee and make several kinds of sandwiches on croissant. We order. I ask, “Do you still sell gas?” “Yes, we do.” I think to myself, I heard about a place that had a sign out front, “Eat here and get gas.” I guess this place would qualify for that sign. But the coffee is good, the sandwiches are satisfying. With that, we finish our food and drive towards Bryce Canyon National Park.

A distance down the road we turn on to route 12. The route 12 we have read and heard about. Further down the road it passes through some of the most scenic places in the country. But it is curvy and hilly and in places narrow, not for the faint of heart, they say. But that is for another day, not today.

We have not gone far when we begin to see red cliffs, beautiful scenery. We pull into a pull-off, take the selfie our family requested, and soon are in conversation with two young women from Ontario, taking a week to visit some of the national parks in Utah. Then we are on our way to Bryce.

 There are signs, turn right to Bryce National Park. Another sign says, “In-park parking may be full. Park before the gate and take the free shuttle.” We soon see a sign for shuttle parking and we find a spot and board the shuttle bus.

Bryce Canyon is a long, narrow park, about 13 miles long with one road running down the center and a series of viewing stops. There we learn the shuttle does not go the full length, but to a viewing area a couple miles in. We disembark at Bryce Point. There we see the part of the park called the Amphitheater, a large circular area filled with formations called hoodoos, tall, vertical columns bunched together like spectators at a performance in a large auditorium. We decide to walk from Bryce Point to Inspiration Point, about one mile around the rim of the Amphitheater. It gives us views from different angles, all amazing and beautiful. There we board the shuttle again and take it back to where we left the car, because we want to drive to the end of the park.

Thor's Hammer (center)

It takes about 30 minutes to drive the distance. We get out and view the formations, take some pictures, then drive on, stop at a scenic pull-off, take some pictures, drive to the next pull-off, etc., Rainbow Point, Black Birch Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon, Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge, Fairview Point, Piracy Point, Swamp Canyon, to Sunset Point.

A few of the formations are given names. There is Queen Victoria, hoodoo that appears to have a crown on her head and a full skirt, but the hike to see her was too much for our sore knees and feet. But we take a short hike to see Thor’s Hammer, a hoodoo that is shaped like a hammer handle with a larger head on top, like a hammer.

Soon we are on our way to the “hotel” we booked for the night, a small cowboy-themed log cabin. Across the street is Rustler’s Restaurant, also cowboy-themed. Could this possibly be cowboy country?

We are impressed with the appearance of relative prosperity on the ranches and farms, in contrast to some areas we have passed. With irrigation, there is green grass, perhaps for grazing. The farms appear well-kept and recently built. One farm was baling hay. Could they possibly export some to Virginia?*

May 31, 2022. Zion National Park

Court of the Patriarchs
Three white peaks: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.
Brown peak in right front is Moroni, the Mormon prophet

 We get an early start from Kaibab Lodge, the thermometer in the car showing 22 degrees. We are “marching to Zion,” thinking it is better to arrive early and get a parking spot. We are not early enough. There is a long line of cars at the entry station and when we get into the park, no parking is left. The only option is to continue to Springdale, the town just outside the park, find a parking spot and get the free shuttle bus back to the park. We find a parking place, pay the $20 fee for the day, and wait for the shuttle bus. A couple buses pass by because they are already full, so we walk the half mile to the Park.

Inside the Park, we get a shuttle bus that takes us along the scenic drive to the various observation points. Another line of people, but the wait is not so long. We decide it is safer to wear masks because of the crowds of people waiting for buses and also in the buses.

How to describe Zion National Park? It is simply amazing, almost overwhelming, in ways we have not experienced before. The massive size and height of the canyon walls, the beauty of the river running through the length of the park, the white and red color combinations of the various rock formations. The weather also contributes to the beauty, the deep blue sky and white clouds.

Our first stop is at the Court of the Patriarchs, three pointed rocks named Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and a fourth in front of the other three named Moroni, for the great Mormon prophet.

The second stop is at the Zion Lodge, where we take the trail to the Lower Emerald Pool, 1.2 miles round trip. There is a waterfall at the Pool, but the water is very low so the waterfall is barely more than a trickle. But still a nice walk and a beautiful setting.

The third stop is at the end of the road, where we take the Riverwalk Trail, 2.2 miles round trip. The

Riverwalk Trail ends at the beginning of the Narrows Trail, a further 6-mile trail, one-way, that is walking through the water part of the way. Needless to say, we did not take the Narrows Trail.

It has been a long day, we have walked several miles and our feet (and knees) feel it, so we board the shuttles, return to our car, and go back through the tunnels of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway, to our hotel.

May 30, 2022, Monday. Grand Cavern North Rim

Today we see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. True to what we have heard, it has a different feel than the South Rim. Both are amazing but in different ways. The views of the formations from the North Rim seem closer than the South and are more of the upper parts of the Canyon.

The North Rim is about 8,000 feet elevation, 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim. There are Ponderosa pines and aspen trees, with green meadows along the road to the park. It is also cooler. This morning was about 37 degrees and we saw light snow flurries while eating breakfast. Tonight the temperature is forecast to dip to 25 degrees.

We start at the Visitor Center and walk to Bright Angel Point, which faces the South Rim. The variety of formations and colors are impressive, many of which we had seen from the South Rim, but we see them nearer and from a different side. There also appears to be less haze, the formations are clearer.

Then we take the road to Point Imperial and Roosevelt Point, which provide views of Vermillion Cliffs and areas to the east, and Cape Royal, which faces southeast. Each of these includes a short trail to the best view point, and there are numerous other pull-outs for more viewing, including the Angels Window and several that look like castles or temples.

We decide against longer hikes. We are also treated to sightings of a coyote, a Kaibab squirrel, a red-tailed hawk that had just made a kill and flew off with a mouse in its claws, and numerous other birds.

We also enjoyed chatting with people we met along the way. Beginning with a family of four from Detroit we met at the entry sign where we had stopped for a selfie-picture as requested by our families at home, an elderly couple from Maryland who were on the road for several weeks, and a couple from Charlottesville who were visiting parks on their way to Montana where they have relatives.

We did not encounter crowds, even on this holiday. Camping places and campers were numerous. By mid-afternoon we are satisfied and return to the Kaibab Lodge. Tomorrow we will drive to Zion National Park.

May 29, 2022, Sunday. Page, Arizona

 Today is Sunday so we attempt to connect with the Christiansburg Mennonite Fellowship worship by Zoom. It begins 10 am eastern time, which is 7 am Arizona time. The connection works, but the sound is not coming through and we hear nothing, so we sign off and go to breakfast.

The way to the North Rim goes through the park, so we get one more glimpse of the Canyon South Rim as we leave. Then it is the road east until we connect with route 89 north. Looking at a map, we see that Page is only 25 miles from our planned route, or 50 miles going and coming, so we think we have the time and still get to our hotel for the night. Besides, it is time for lunch, and maybe there is a laundromat in Page. We are on our way to Page.

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River

The town of Page began in the 1950’s as housing for the workers building the Glen Canyon dam. When the dam was finished, some decided to stay and incorporate the settlement as a town. Today it has a population of over seven thousand.

We stop at Horseshoe Bend and pay the ten dollar parking fee and view the Bend. That did not take long. On in to town to the Burger King, and sure enough, there is a laundromat not far away. Now we have clean clothes and satisfied stomachs and we are on our way to the Kaibab Lodge, a few miles from the North Rim entrance gate.

Vermillion Cliffs

The road takes us through the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Red sandstone cliffs and buttes everywhere, and the landscape is about as barren as one can imagine. The only thing that grows is sage brush. At one point a clump of tumbleweed bounced across the road in front of us. This is probably what Mars looks like, except for the sage brush. It is hard to see that the land is profitable for anything. And it is windy, windy, windy, blowing red dust across our paths. Glad we do not have one of those high RVs or campers to pull and try to keep on the road.

From 5,000 feet elevation, the road slowly climbs past 7,000 feet to about 8,000. The landscape changes from red, barren hills and buttes, to forest of pine and aspen. Some parts show signs of forest fire. Large trees mostly dead, new growth coming. We are entering a different world. It is still windy, but the temperature is in the low 70’s or less.

Arriving at the Kaibab Lodge, we are told there is no electric. “The wind has wreaked havoc with our power lines. We will have the generator running in a moment.” The power outage also delays the evening meal, but that comes around eventually.

May 28, 2022, Saturday. Grand Canyon South Rim, day 2

 Today is shuttle bus day. We take the shuttle bus along the west rim towards Hermit’s Rest, stopping at the viewpoints along the way. It takes all morning to get to Hermit’s Rest. Get to a viewpoint, disembark, take some pictures, catch the next bus that comes along, stop at the next viewpoint, and repeat until we reach the end of the line, where we eat our lunch.

At one of the stops we get into conversation with a lady about our travel, something like this: “Have you been to Page? You must go to Page. There is the Horseshoe Bend, very scenic. It’s in the Colorado River. But really, you must do the Antelope Canyon. Oh, it is so beautiful! You really need to go. You don’t want to miss it.” Page is not in our schedule, but we can consider it.

I read up on both attractions and it looks like both require a fair amount of walking. That could be a problem. And the price of the Antelope Canyon is more than it is worth to us, something like 65 dollars or more for each of us. So I pretty much give it up.

After our lunch, we take the shuttle back to the central visitors’ center and change busses to go to a couple viewpoints to the east. One of the stops is the trailhead for the South Kaibab trail that leads to the bottom of the Canyon and on to the North Rim. Down the trail 0.9 mile is the "Ooh Aah Point," with a drop in altitude of about 600 feet. Gloria is not eager to go, but Joe is, and so she reluctantly agrees to go. And we made it down and back up, "slowly but surely." She promised to never do another hike like this again.

By now it is time get some dinner and return to our room for the night.

May 27, 2022, Friday. Grand Canyon South Rim, day 1

 We leave the hotel in Flagstaff after a good breakfast and stop at a local grocery store for a few supplies. Then we head north to the crossroads area of Cameron and turn left on the road that enters Grand Canyon National Park from the east.

About an hour and a half from Flagstaff we arrive at the entrance station. Along the way to the main visitor center we stop at some of the viewpoints, including the Desert View Watchtower, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, and Moran Point, then we stop at a picnic area for our light lunch. We continue to the central visitor center, gather some information about the park, and see a brief movie about the geologic origins of the Grand Cavern. By now it is time to check in to our hotel in Valle, about 30 minutes south of the Caverns.

Just outside of the Park in Tusayan, we see a sign for an I-MAX film on the “Secrets of the Grand Canyon,” so we go in and get tickets for the next showing in just a few minutes. It portrayed the first successful boat trip through the Canyon and the rapids. Parts of the film were filmed from an ultra-light airplane flying through the narrows and over the river, which made us hold on to our seats. Overall a quite beautiful picture.

By the time we get to our hotel it is time for dinner and the hotel restaurant has a special of fajitas, so we decide to eat and then return to the Canyon to view the sunset. We watch the sun dip below the horizon, but the actual sunset was hidden by clouds. We return to the hotel.

It has been a long day full of interesting activities, and we will return to the Canyon tomorrow for the day.

May 26, 2022. Sedona

 We have been told about the beauty of Sedona, also about the road to get there’ from Prescott. It goes over Mingis Mountain. At first it goes up and encounters curves normal to crossing a mountain. The road to Sedona is known for its switchbacks, and Mingis mountain tops all others. It seems like even the switchbacks have switchbacks.

We plan to meet Beidler cousin Dennis Glanzer and his wife Judy Apache in Sedona. Dennis and Judy are both attorneys representing native Americans, especially regarding land disputes. We had interesting conversation learning about the intersection of American civil law and native American traditions, which they have been on the cutting edge at times.

The beauty of Sedona is difficult to describe. The town is surrounded by huge red rocky hills. Dennis took us to various points of interest, some that he has wanted to visit but seldom had time to stop.

The road to Flagstaff descends through Oak Canyon and rises again by a series of switchbacks and up and down hills until the road levels and continues towards Flagstaff and dinner.