Bryce Canyon seems to be the point at which I simply got tired of writing, as the diary ends there. However, the trip continued. After enjoying the amazing scenery at Bryce, we drove through Zion National Park. One thing that makes Zion different from some of the other parks is that, rather than driving around the top and looking out and down, one drives around the bottom, looking up. So, despite the intense heat and sun, we drove with the top down. Hot and red-faced, we exited the park and stopped at a shop in Springville to get some cold drinks and replenish our supply of ice in the cooler. Then we stopped for a quick visit with my friends Andrei and Nida, who run a cute bed-and-breakfast (the Amber Inn in Rockville) near the park.
Our plan was to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon the next day. The road is not as well-traveled as that in the south, and there aren't as many places to stay along the way. We were able to get a reservation at Jacob Lake Inn, about a 40-minute drive from the canyon. In the morning we drove to the canyon and spent most of the day driving to the view points and taking nature walks. Many people rave about the North Rim as being much, much better than the South Rim. Certainly there are differences, in that the surrounding area is much greener, the area is a cooler (although at this time of year the difference in temperature was not really significant) and it's less crowded. Maybe we were jaded from having seen so many rocks, cliffs, and canyons by the time we got here. But, specatctular though it was, we didn't really find this side to be "better" than the other. (And it was on the other side that we saw those condors.) We came back to Jacob's Lake to sleep, and in the morning packed up to head for Las Vegas.
very different from the sand and rocks that characterize the entrance to the South Rim.
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