Fresh start

Monday began my fresh start. With the car loaded with my worldly goods, my plants sitting in the passenger seat, I chopped off my hair and headed to Bryce Canyon.

I asked a ranger at the visitor center what hike he recommended. He pointed to a trail on the map, Peak-a-boo Loop, accessed by Navajo Trail, to create a "strenuous" 5 mile hike. I laced up my hiking boots and started down the crowded trail of endless switchbacks. There were a lot of French tourists, and I eaves-dropped as best I could. At the bottom of the switchbacks the tourists thinned and I only passed 3 on the Peak-a-boo Loop. It felt good to stretch my legs and breath fresh air, knowing I would be living out of my car for over 2 weeks.

Bryce Canyon National Park on the way up on the Navajo Trail.

Bryce Canyon is MUCH smaller than the Grand Canyon. I walked to the rim and though, "That's it?" I felt like I could scramble to the bottom and across in 5 minutes. But it is impressive, although not in depth or in distance to the other rim, and very different from the canyon I'm used to. Spires and Fins, called "Hoodoos," rise from piles of eroded sandstone, looking like people turned to stone by Cayote (a Paiute Indian belief- and I agree it could be possible).

I drove scenic Routes 12 and 24 to reach Moab and Arches National Park on Tuesday. I passed through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (covering about 1.9 million acres of public lands), the last place in the US to be mapped due to its endless canyons, plateaus, and cliffs. I also drove through Capitol Reef National Park (which I never knew existed) that protects the area around the Waterpocket Fold fault line.

Delicate Arch from the Upper Viewpoint (See the people at the base for size.)

I drove toward ominous storm clouds and winced when I reached them, right by Moab. I kept to the more touristy short hikes since I didn't want to get caught on slick rock in a downpour. I saw the Spectacles, Double Arch, Delicate Arch, and Balancing Rock. I expected to see more arches and for there to be less vegetation (these were fueled by Edward Abbeys descriptions in Desert Solitaire). I wandered around the wet streets of Moab that evening, peaking into windows of outdoorsy stores and tourist traps.

Yesterday I reached Salt Lake City to visit my friend Meredith. The city was built up around the temple, the roads named in numbers (designation their distance and direction from the temple), in a neat grid. The city sprawls between mountains and is built low, without huge skyscrapers. We went to a Mormon-run thrift store and hiked a quick mile in the surrounding mountains. We reached the Mormon temple an hour before its visitors centers closed. Not being Mormon, we were unable to enter the temple but were allowed on the grounds. The visitors centers were filled with Mormon beliefs and propaganda. Missionaries wandered the grounds trying to start discussions with visitors (very persistent).

Salt Lake City's Mormon Temple at night.

This morning after picking ripe plums from the trees around the house and having a tasty brunch, I hit the road again. I drove passed the Great Salt Lake, through the Bonneville Salt Flats site of the world land-speed record runs, and over the state line and into Nevada. I filled up the tank and stretched my legs and continued driving. I am on my way to Yosemite, arriving tomorrow. (I can't quite safely drive that many miles on the interstate in one day.)