Crossin’ State Lines

After the debacle of public transport and half a day spent trying to hire a car… it feels good to be back in control, destiny is in our hands once again. Alex is doing an excellent job of driving the lovely BMW we’ve hired out of Las Vegas. We’re on the highway, cruising through canyons and desert landscapes on the way to Cedar City (as recommended by Alex’s friend Nell, thank you Nell!). We briefly cross into Arizona and then up into Utah where we’re surprised to see the time jump one hour closer to the UK. It seems that some states like Utah use Daylight Saving Time while others, such as Arizona do not, even though they are directly above and below one another, slightly confusing.

Our first stop in Cedar City is of course Walmart, time to stock up for the days ahead in the aircraft hangar sized supermarket. We’re greeted by a humongous red white and blue American eagle, inflated and dangling above our heads. Fourth of July is comin’ y’all, time to celebrate some freedom!

Stocked up, we check into the hotel and pinch ourselves that we’ve actually made it. Today has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I genuinely doubted we’d ever make it here, but here we are! We dump our bags in the room and head straight to the Mexican restaurant adjacent to the hotel. After some pretty rubbish food in Vegas we enjoy bottomless amounts of chips and dip, jalapeno margaritas and even though we share a “fajita for two” there is easily enough food for four people. Thankfully doggy bags exist here. They’re even showing the Tomb Raider movie and it’s a nice reminder of home for me.

Have a Bryce Day

Alrighty, we’re back on track. Time to head to Bryce Canyon, one of the main reasons we’ve driven all the way out here. It’s an almost two hour drive from Cedar up into the mountains and what a beautiful drive it is. We’ve set off early to beat the rush and the heat, as we drive up the winding roads several deer come out to see what’s happening. Luckily there are no near misses and we can admire the graceful creatures without slamming on the brakes. Approaching the National Park we pass through natural tunnels made of beautiful red sandstone. We then park up at the start of Fairyland loop, from here on out I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

On our first day we trek the Fairyland Loop and hike up to Sunrise Point, afterwards we drop down onto the Queens Loop. Hopefully from the pictures you can see the where the name inspiration comes from. I really hope the pictures do it some justice as this place was off the charts in terms of scale and mind blowing views everywhere we looked.

Thor’s Day

Today we return to Bryce to see the Southern section of the park, walking the routes and seeing the sights we didn’t have the time (or energy) to see yesterday. We also learn the area is named after a shipwright from Scotland who came and settled here in the late 19th century. We do the Queen’s Garden Trail, continuing along the Peakaboo Trail, up to Bryce Point, then back passed the Cathedral, and up the Navajo Loop. Over to the pictures again…

After an adventurous morning we’ve just about got enough energy left to explore the short “Mossy Cave” trail. As the name suggests it’s a pathway to a natural cavern formed by rainwater seeping through the gaps in the rock and over time expanding into a vast open cavern. In the moist atmosphere moss thrives giving the cave it’s literal name. On the way back we stop for some pictures next to a waterfall, the source of the fall comes from a man-made river dug by pioneers of years gone by.

As we’ve been hiking around today, some pretty monstrous clouds have passed over our heads. Appropriately in proximity to Thor’s Hammer, sporadic cracks of thunder rumble around us. Heading back to the car from Mossy Cave the heavens open and we’re given the first (tame) taste of a thunderstorm.

Swimming Upstream

Feeling like we’ve done Bryce justice it’s time to move on to the next National Park in the area, Zion. We’ve been excited about coming here since Sidney recommended it to us way way back on the Inca trail in Sept 2023! After leaving before 7am the last two mornings, and finding out the Yosemite campsites go on sale at 8am this morning, we decide to treat ourselves to a small lie-in (and major booking binge). Big mistake. The free car park at the visitor’s center is beyond full by the time we get there and parking bays outside the park entrance are quoting $40 for one day of parking! We retreat further away to the last stop where the connecting shuttle bus will reach. A meager $15 for a day of parking here. Result (?). Eventually, after the ticket machine refuses our card and we have to install an app, we pay for parking and hop on the shuttle bus to the park entrance. It’s quiet, air-conditioned and the nice driver advises us to just cross a bridge to pick up the next shuttle bus within the park. What he doesn’t tell us is that there is a 45 minute queue to get on said bus. Doh.

By the time we reach the trailhead to start our first hike it’s almost 11am, that’ll teach us for thinking we deserved a lie-in. The hike we’ve chosen, “The Narrows” was recommended by Ben and we enjoy the bimble along the riverside in the humongous valley we find ourselves in. We start to question the suggestion when we see the trail submerge into the river and see dozens of hikers wading chest-deep upstream. It’s a popular place, with most people prepared for a jaunt in water dressed in swimming gear, as we continue on in our hiking gear. The cold river water made up of melted snow, and shade from the canyon walls at least makes for some relief from the dry heat. 

We hike for a couple of hours wading against the current and trying to keep our belongings dry. After lunch on a rocky beach surrounded by giant granite cliffs, we head back and join yet another long queue for a shuttle bus. As much as we’ve enjoyed today we feel there is still much more of Zion to see, so we alter our plans to ensure we can return tomorrow to see more of the stunning vistas.

On our way home I inform Alex there is a Chili’s restaurant in town. A place I’ve been curious to visit since Alex has told me tales of spending many a lunch-break in Lima there, and we saw her usual haunt in Lima right at the start of our trip. Put on my radar from The Office TV show, I’ve always wanted to see what it was like. It is similar to a TGI Fridays in the UK and while the menu is fairly standard American grub it’s a nice atmosphere and a pretty decent price too. 

Walter’s Wiggly Bits

Picking back up our return to Zion, we are determined to set off earlier today and make sure we park for free and get on the shuttle bus early before the queue forms. We leave our hotel at 6.45am, arriving at the car park for just before 8, the time it “starts to fill up”. Frustratingly we are a couple of minutes too late as the last spaces are snapped up before our eyes. After a few desperate loops of the car park we’re back to where we parked yesterday 😢 and there is an even longer queue for the shuttle bus by the time we get to it today 😭 

Still, despite all of that, we start the hike up to Scout Overlook and luckily the steep ascent ahead of us is still in the shade. We climb from the valley floor all the way up to the entrance to Angel’s Landing, which requires a permit. It wasn’t always possible to hike up here, but one day a man named Walter took his pickaxe and dug out 23 switchbacks so that hikers could reach incredible heights. The area of switchbacks is known as Walters Wiggles! Although we tried to get a permit for Angel’s Landing we’re somewhat relived we were not successful. The hike is on a knife’s edge ridge that requires climbing up by holding on to chains while navigating the hikers coming down the return leg. It does not look very enjoyable or safe, indeed several hikers have fallen to their deaths over the years here. We’re both amazed it was ever allowed to be climbed by the general public and still is to this day. Freedom I guess?

We pivot away from Angel’s Landing towards the Western Rim. The number of hikers drops off dramatically as we scale the exposed cliff tops high above the canyon. We continue as far as we dare before taking a few photos and returning all the way back down. By this point it’s the middle of the day and it is BAKING. We feel sympathy for those just starting the hike as the steep ascent is now getting the full force of the midday sun.

We head back down and take some rest in the shade to enjoy a hiker’s lunch (wraps, Pringles, trail mix, fruit and water) before setting out on one last hike, Emerald Falls. As we overheard on the shuttle bus this morning that the upper falls are completely dry, we opt to loop around the middle falls and then see the lower falls last. The middle falls are pretty damn dry too but we do find the lower falls fascinating and ponder what it must look like here during the vast snowmelt of the Spring months.

Escape from Zion

Returning to our favourite car park we head out of Zion through the curving bends and tunnels carved through the mountainside. Once we’re out of the stunning park it’s a whole lotta nothin’ to look at as we continue 100 miles onwards towards Page…

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Adventure – hiking around the hoodoos, finding scenery that can still take our breath away even after all we’ve seen these last 11 months, clambering through a river in entirely inappropriate gear

Excitement – waffles for breakfast! Trying ‘biscuits and gravy’ for the first time, epic driving of endless views

Trauma – missing out on parking spaces, queueing for the shuttle bus, me tripping and taking a tumble saved by a large American hero (standing still, doing nothing), being higher than Angel’s Landing with nothing but sheer cliffs either side and fearing for James’s life (Alex) ((even though he was completely fine))