calledtocreation
Adventurer
I'm not even sure how to describe the peaks, sharp, jagged, the jettison out of the Earth. I would have loved to seen that created. Was it violent or was it the most peaceful scene ever?? Nevertheless, it was all a lot to take in. Lizard Head Pass, was next on the checklist.
Lizard Head
And at a little over 10k feet we finally started to descend to "lower elevations". How nice it was for the mild headache that plagued me nearly the whole trip, and the labored breathing to come to an end, but oh so worth it. A friend told me, I wasn't drinking enough, and he didn't mean water LOL "Tap the Rockies"!!!
That night we would bed down in Cortez, CO. at the Rodeway Inn, which I would highly recommend if you're passing through that city. The operator there was probably the friendliest person in town. She said it was because she wasn't born there - LOL. We certainly met our fair share of curt people in that city, but with no intentions to stay long, we slept well. The next morning we would head to Zion. Oh I guess I forgot to mention in Gunnison, we changed our plans to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, mostly because it would have been a 10 hour drive home Sunday (thumbs down). So yeah, next stop, Kayenta, AZ, but not before we stopped and paid the Natives a $5 per person fee to see the actual Four Corners Monument.
Kayenta, AZ sits on the South entrance to Monument Valley, so we did have a few nice shots as we traveled through the middle of nowhere
After eating lunch at the Burger King in Kayenta and thanking the Natives for the chance to enjoy their land, we continued on to Zion...
Crossing the Glen Canyon Dam
We decided to stop to take a few photos of Lake Powell - stunning!!!
We arrived at Zion National Park just in time for Golden Hour Aka Sunset
This was a photo out of one of the windows in the tunnel at speed
Jeep photos were mandatory
I was not aware that you can not just cruise through the main canyon in your vehicle, thankfully the trams were still running, so we jumped on the tour - no charge (Tax dollars, and entry fees at work)
The Three Patriarchs
Stunning backlight on the trees in the valley
Pretty sure the formation on the left is the White Throne
Late in the light of sunset, I think I saw a California Condor soaring high above near Angels Landing, but I couldn't confirm it. The tour advises that the California Condor was introduced to the park in order for them to make a comeback and that there were confirmed breedings. With really no light left, we departed at the end of the tour. We found our way to Mesquite NV that night staying at the Virgin River Hotel and Casino, which is a great value. Sunday morning we headed up with no events and essentially no photo ops, as we just wanted to beat the Vegas Traffic home. As we exited for Lytle Creek, we found several of Americas Finest (USMC out of Pendleton) doing maneuvers with some of the finest combat vehicles I am familiar with. I approached the teams on the side of the road and ask the SGT if I could have a line up for a photo to conclude my write up. I advised if not for our troops we wouldn't have the freedom to chase our adventures and live our dreams. I shook their hands snapped this awesome shot and with that concluded our journey. Pray for our Troops!!!
Lizard Head
And at a little over 10k feet we finally started to descend to "lower elevations". How nice it was for the mild headache that plagued me nearly the whole trip, and the labored breathing to come to an end, but oh so worth it. A friend told me, I wasn't drinking enough, and he didn't mean water LOL "Tap the Rockies"!!!
That night we would bed down in Cortez, CO. at the Rodeway Inn, which I would highly recommend if you're passing through that city. The operator there was probably the friendliest person in town. She said it was because she wasn't born there - LOL. We certainly met our fair share of curt people in that city, but with no intentions to stay long, we slept well. The next morning we would head to Zion. Oh I guess I forgot to mention in Gunnison, we changed our plans to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, mostly because it would have been a 10 hour drive home Sunday (thumbs down). So yeah, next stop, Kayenta, AZ, but not before we stopped and paid the Natives a $5 per person fee to see the actual Four Corners Monument.
Kayenta, AZ sits on the South entrance to Monument Valley, so we did have a few nice shots as we traveled through the middle of nowhere
After eating lunch at the Burger King in Kayenta and thanking the Natives for the chance to enjoy their land, we continued on to Zion...
Crossing the Glen Canyon Dam
We decided to stop to take a few photos of Lake Powell - stunning!!!
We arrived at Zion National Park just in time for Golden Hour Aka Sunset
This was a photo out of one of the windows in the tunnel at speed
Jeep photos were mandatory
I was not aware that you can not just cruise through the main canyon in your vehicle, thankfully the trams were still running, so we jumped on the tour - no charge (Tax dollars, and entry fees at work)
The Three Patriarchs
Stunning backlight on the trees in the valley
Pretty sure the formation on the left is the White Throne
Late in the light of sunset, I think I saw a California Condor soaring high above near Angels Landing, but I couldn't confirm it. The tour advises that the California Condor was introduced to the park in order for them to make a comeback and that there were confirmed breedings. With really no light left, we departed at the end of the tour. We found our way to Mesquite NV that night staying at the Virgin River Hotel and Casino, which is a great value. Sunday morning we headed up with no events and essentially no photo ops, as we just wanted to beat the Vegas Traffic home. As we exited for Lytle Creek, we found several of Americas Finest (USMC out of Pendleton) doing maneuvers with some of the finest combat vehicles I am familiar with. I approached the teams on the side of the road and ask the SGT if I could have a line up for a photo to conclude my write up. I advised if not for our troops we wouldn't have the freedom to chase our adventures and live our dreams. I shook their hands snapped this awesome shot and with that concluded our journey. Pray for our Troops!!!
