The Rest of the Drive

First of all, here are some picture of the snow that I was talking about in the last post. Beautiful!

From Sun Valley, we were driving north in search of hot springs. The road we originally tried to take was closed due to snow, so after driving half an hour in that direction we had to turn around and chose a new route and a new destination!
We ended up taking a beautiful winding road through the mountains that followed the Payette River. We had heard rumour of hot springs along this road, but the directions were mysterious... After feeling like we must have missed them, we pulled around a corner to see steam rising from the hillside!! I was blown away. We bathed in these beautifully warm pools of fresh water while there was snow on the ground around us! Photos don't do it justice, so I'm not even going to bother.

After the springs we decided to B line it up to Idaho. It was a long drive, all afternoon and late into the night. We were going to Priest Lake, high up in the hills. It is so peaceful up there. We stayed at the family "cabin", which turned out to be a large and beautiful house! Spent a few days organising things, repacking, recouping and relaxing. A perfect way to end this road trip!

This is a waterfall we walked to that runs into the lake. Very cold in the forest, I hate to think what the water would feel like!

I'm in Seattle now, until I leave for Toronto on the 2nd January. Not sure how I feel about leaving the West... But I guess it'll be an adventure!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Entering the Winter, I See Snow!

We crossed back over into Nevada, heading North for hot springs in Idaho.
We spent the night at Great Basin National Park. I was really excited to go there to see the Bristlecone Pines (the oldest non-clonal living things, some of these trees are like 4, 000 years old!). Sadly, upon arrival we found out that the road up to the trees was closed for the winter, due to snow... So we would have to hike the 10kms to get up there... We had intentions to do so, but after a freezing night (literally) camping, we were both too cold and stiff to feel like walking anywhere! So, back in the car with the heated seats on! I'll go back there some other time - the trees aren't going anywhere.

Today we made it to Sun Valley (Ketchum), Idaho. We're out of the deserts and into the snowy mountains!! This trip has been good to ease me into the winter - starting off in shorts in California and adding layers day by day! Now I'm getting kind of nervous knowing that I won't be in warm weather again for quite some time... But it's beautiful up here. We pulled in just as it was getting dark. The little town is all decked out with Christmas lights and there is snow on the ground! Feels like a "proper" festive season. I'm excited to explore in the morning.

Over the Colorado River... And on to ZION!

This is a view of the Colorado River from the bridge over it. We had to drive along the Grand Canyon for quite a way before we could cross it. Pretty cool to look down at the water that created it all!

So, our next destination was Zion National Park. I had huge expectations... and they were totally blown out of the water! What an INCREDIBLE place.
Mountains and rock faces rising up to enclose the sanctuary within. I hate to sound cliche, but this place really moved me.

On the first day we did a walk up to waterhole that runs into the river. We had to walk under a waterfall that ran over a hanging cliff! Then today we did a hike called Angel's Landing. Very, very steep, we got up to the top of one of the mountain heads. At the lookout, there was an option to continue along a treacherous, path-less, narrow climb up to the summit. I had heard the warnings, I knew it was not for the faint hearted, and yet I thought I was capable. I was wrong... I made it about a quarter of the way, clinging onto the chain that lead up the cliff-face, when I turned a corner and realised there was no way I could continue without my knees knocking and probably a constant flow of tears! I decided it was best for everyone that I turn back and just enjoy the lookout. A little disappointed, but the view was still unreal! Note the river and the road way, way down...

Sadly, we left Zion today so that we could make it to Bryce Canyon. But Bryce did not even compare... It's a pretty cool place, but coming from Zion made it seem dull in our eyes. Lots of sandstone pillars, standing in a natural amphitheatre. We had a bit of a look around, but ended up scooting out and heading north, looking for hot springs!

I guess my eyes are just being spoiled!

To the Grand Canyon

We headed towards the canyon, entering Arizona. We made it to Flagstaff, a town high up in the hills. Pretty cool place, but I was denied a drink anywhere I went because I wasn't carrying my passport! Guess I should keep it on me...

It rained for a few days, so we hung out in town, getting organised for the next leg of the journey. While waiting for the weather to clear, we did a quick trip to Walnut Canyon where there are ancient houses built into the cliffside.

Then on to the Canyon. We were planning to do a hike all the way down into it this weekend, but in the end we don't really have time... So we came out here this morning for sunrise, and have just done a shorter walk down into the big hole. It was still rather strenuous!

The canyon is beautiful. It's hard to comprehend something so big! Taking photos of it seems to do an injustice. I've decided that the best was to observe it is to just look at one rock face in particular and try to notice its detail, rather than attempting to take in everything!

Here's me having a good look down into the crevasse....

Into Nevada

Next destination was the Valley of Fire. A little far to get to in one day, so we stopped in Las Vegas for a night on the way. I was pretty interested to find out what that city was actually like, I didn't expect to really love it and I guess I was right. All very glitzy and glamorous, but I was in desert-camping mode.
We put down $10 on black, the minimum bet. We lost it, put down another $10 and lost that too. $20 down in a space of 2 minutes, and that was that for gambling.

We left Vegas early the next day to explore some mountains we'd seen on the way into town. Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, what a name! We walked around for quite a few hours, through desert and gullies to reach the base of the crazy cliff faces. We even saw a coyote!!

That after, we headed north to the Valley of Fire. And what an incredible place it is!!
Huge lumps of red rock protruding out of the desert floor, all rounded, twisted and full of holes. The rocks were perfect for climbing, rough like sandpaper, and home to all sorts of little creatures.
Our campsite was right in amongst it all.

This was the view from our tent!

It's hard to accurately portray the scale of these majestic landscapes in the desert... Just bear in mind that everything is HUGE.

Desert Time

We are on the road!

Since landing in Los Angeles last Thursday, I have traveled 1311.66 km (or 815 miles)!
Coast, desert, mountains and lakes have all flashed by my window in the last few days.

Our first day on the road got us to Death Valley. Traveling in from the coast, we watched the landscape become drier and drier as we got further inland. Death Valley's mountain walls loomed out in front of us while a sand storm (a small one) whipped around the car.
Up, up and over the mountain rim, and then down, down, down into the valley that was once an ocean bed, the lowest point in North America at 86m below sea level.

We spent the night camping, not quite as isolated as one might hope, I guess Death Valley is a bit of an RV getaway! But beautiful surrounds nonetheless.
At dawn we headed to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes to watch the sunrise, then out to Zabriskie Point.

 (Look closely at the Zabriskie Point picture to see tiny little figures walking along one of the ridges! Gives some perspective...)

A quick stop really, but we had places to be and more to see, so out of Death Valley we zoomed!