STAGE 12

BRYCE CANYON

We took off through the desert for Bryce Canyon travelling through Nevada, Arizona and Utah which also took us through the Zion National Park. Again the scenery was breathtaking.

One of the many interesting parts of this trip was travelling through the Mt. Carmel tunnel which was completed in 1930. It was about 1.8 miles long through the cliff. The Ranger had to travel to the other side to stop any traffic coming in the opposite direction since there wasn't room for the bus and other traffic. There were openings throughout the tunnel which gave fantastic view of the cliffs outside. Of course if you were driving you wouldn't be looking at the view *S*. The landscape changed dramatically from one side of the tunnel to the other.

On one side we saw the Great Arch of Zion which was a blind arch carved high in a vertical cliff wall. The Virgin River below was almost dry but we were told that it can turn into a violent, powerful torrent during flash flooding. Once we were through the tunnel the rocks were white and pastel colours of orange and red and eroded into fantastic shapes.

The Paiute Indians may have lived in Zion Canyon year round but the Mormon settlers lived here in summer when there was an abundance of water creating dozens of cascading waterfalls.

Every step of our journey was a photographer's dream. Bryce Canyon National Park was next and again the scernery changed to millions of pillars of rocks called Hoodoos. Being winter there were traces of snow decorating these Hoodoos adding to the magnificence of the scene.

Photos of this area can be found on THIS page, have a look and tell me you don't think this scenery is fantastic.... I came home with hundreds of photos, digital and regular cameras and thanks to the gentleman in San Francisco I was also able to take lots of video. I'll never forget this holiday,

We checked in at Ruby's Inn at Bryce Canyon, run by Mormons. It was O.K., at least we could have our coffee in our room *S* BUT NO SMOKING!! We survived *S*.... It was FREEZING! Jared and the driver, George, had snowball fights at every opportunity along the way. They both had a ball. I think Jared was glad of the male company on this trip and he and George became inseperable.

Jared wanted to go swimming but they wouldn't allow him in the pool without adult supervision. No amount of convincing, like his spending all day in the pool at home, unsupervised, because he's a good swimmer..... worked. So I told him he'd have to wait until we were finished in the laundry then I'd go with him. I bought him a huge ice cream and that satisfied him... I thought....

Mum and I were doing washing when Jared came rushing into the laundry room all excited... he'd found someone who would teach him to ski!

Sceptically I asked "How Much"

"Only $7.... please Nanny, please let me go... but they're leaving now so we'll have to hurry... please..."

So we rushed back to the room to get his socks and a warm jacket and he disappeared. I tried to follow him but he was too fast. Anyway I went to reception and asked how much it was for the skiing... Jared was right... so I paid for him. They directed me to where he'd get the boots and skis.

George, Mila and the English couple were coming from the direction of the ski supply room and suddenly the penny dropped.... I asked them if they'd invited Jared to go with them.... not really...

He was tugging at his socks and looked really disappointed when George piped up and said it was O.K. he could go with them anyway. It turned out George was the only one who knew how to ski anyway. So, George helped him with the boots and got him skiis and off they all went. I went back to the mundane laundry *S*

It was almost dark and they weren't back, so I went out to meet them. They arrived about 10 minutes after dark and I was FREEZING!! George was carrying all of Jared's things and Jared was crying.... his fingers hurt! I'd forgotten to give him gloves... he had frostbite! Well I wasn't about to let a photo go past with his ski equipment... mean Nanny!! So I made him hang on to the skiis so I could get a photo for posterity before I carted him off to the room to take care of his fingers. Luckily George and Frank told me to run his fingers under COLD water... I would have run them under warm! It took a while, but feeling gradually came back.. It seemed that Jared actually took to the skiis very well, according to George.. that was until he got too cocky and ell over a couple of times... but he enjoyed it before the frostbite *S*

He didn't feel like eating so we tucked him into bed and went off to get something for ourselves... no room service. Mum and I ordered chicken soup... it was luke warm and they hadn't skimmed the fat off it so it was like cold gelatin ...YUUUUCK!! We left that... didn't want to try a main course so we just ordered dessert and coffee. Mum's dessert came out and we were mortified! I wish I'd had my camera! It was fudge brownies and ice cream in a basin! Well, not really a basin but there was enough dessert for 4 people all tossed into this huge bowl.. didn't look in the least appetising and it was piled a mile high with cream..UGH! Mum isn't a big eater at the best of times.. I think I had apple pie and that was just as bad. We took some chicken tenders back for Jared but they were overcooked. Not a real successful meal to finish off a wonderful day.

We noticed a computer in the foyer (can you believe I hadn't noticed it before... I must have passed it ten times) where I could have checked my email... but I decided against it... too tired. Bought some stuff for breakfast and headed back to our room.

Tomorrow we're off to the Grand Canyon...

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