Denver to Utah to Arizona...the longest, yet most amazing part of my trip. My eyes have only seen a few sights in the US that have made my mouth just drop; Fenway Park, Long Point, and driving over the 7 mile bridge. Until this trip I really hadn't seen much of the US, just the entire east coast and inland only to Ohio and no offense PA or OH but you guys aren't bringing much to the table.
These next couple of entries are probably my hardest to write because of the difficulty of putting into words the beauty that I have seen over the last week. From the second I started seeing the Rocky Mountains as a dark haze encompassing the entire horizon outside Denver until I pulled into my hotel in Arizona I kept seeing sights I never could have imagined. One of the first sights I stopped at in the rockies was the Summit at 9,150ft and overlooking Lake Dillon. Here you could see different mountain peaks in the background such as Torrey's Peak (14,267') with this gorgeous lake in the foreground and a bunch of small islands as well. I made my way through Copper Mountain (if any of you are Jim Carrey fans you will know the significance here) and headed through all kinds of valleys and canyons with rock formations I could only take pictures of to give justice because of how majestic this area is. I briefly stopped at Glenwood Hot Springs because they have the largest hot spring swimming pool in the world supposedly. It was pretty cool to see, it was rectangular and packed with people. There was a lot going on around there with a spa and stuff for the kids. No I didn't go in nor did I creep over and take pictures of it while people were swimming there. I just drove through the small town to check it out, grabbed a coffee and was on my way.
As I worked my way out of the rockies and into Utah I could start to see the terrain gradually change and even though Utah was very different than Colorado it was just as fascinating a drive. Utah was the least populated state I drove through. Outside of the rare rest station there was not much else around in terms of civilization. The scenery made up for that. I saw mountains, hills, and dessert that on one hand stood up to the Rocky Mountains but on the other almost made it look like another planet. There were mountains that reminded me of scales or teeth, others that were smooth, and some that you could see the different sediment layers.
Bryce Canyon is filled with colorful limestone "hoodoos" that make up all kinds of uniquely placed spires and arches. These hoodoos or pillars were painted in all various shades throughout this vast space, once filled in and over millions of years has eroded away into a coliseum of beauty on the eastern edge of southern Utah. I stared speechless and long-removed from the annoyance of a minor $25 entrance fee. God painted this part of Earth with elegance and grace and wanted people to forget about their troubles and anxieties because here, at this point those things don't matter.
I arrived at the Grand Canyon around 10:00PM and stayed at the first (and what I'm guessing was the most expensive) hotel right outside the canyon. It wasn't even part of the hotel but an apartment that they kept. It wasn't too bad because all I wanted to do was sleep; I had been in the car since 7:00AM Mountain time! They had a washer/dryer in the apartment so I got to do my laundry and the timing here was perfect because I was running low on everything. I got a good nights rest and awoke to sights I will never forget.
To be continued...
Yes, agree, beautiful beyond words and pictures don't do it justice. I did Bryce and Grand Canyon (along with Arches and a handful of other National Parks) 2.5 years ago during my Spring Break with my oldest sister. Utah Rocks!
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