Day 11 on which...

Tuesday, May 08, 2018
Kanab, Utah, United States
...we drive out to Zion National park and notice Utah has far more religious billboards than any other state so far. I mean there were zero so far. Now something like: 
Heaven or Hell? Your choice! seems commonplace. You just feel the Mormon presence
...we park on the side of the road because the parking lot by the visitor center in the park is bursting. Literally. And rangers are all too eager to put those little yellow tickets behind your wiper if you park outside designated spaces. So no. We drive out.
...I fly the drone a little and views are majestic.
...We board a shuttle bus to take us to the trailhead for Angel’s Landing, me and dad. That’s one of Utah’s most famous hikes with glorious views.
...as expected the bus is very crowded and we only get on the second one. What’s cute and interesting is that actually each shuttle is one small bus with another identical bus in tow. Funny and practical I guess cause they pass anywhere and they can always unhook them for more versatility.
...a guy on the bus offers his seat to dad. LOL! Otherwise most other people are dicks and refuse to make space for new passengers as they board.
...we fill up our water bottles in the bathroom and...
...we head out and luckily it’s still fairly early on and not so hot but the sun beats down mercilessly already. We get into the shaded zone pretty quickly so we are protected. As expected, full of people, especially unruly youngsters. 90% of visitors seem to be Americans.
...we make quick progress even though dad is not as strong as he used to be. But we still leave many much younger and ostensibly fitter people behind.
...we reach the chain area and this is where most bottlenecks happen. A lot of banter, laughter, some jokes, but mostly people behave and are considerate of others. Especially important because those corridors you can have people going up or down. Not both at the same time.
...we reach the summit and the views are as glorious as expected. We take snaps and head quickly down. Round trip including photos in 3.5 hours, 4 hours including shuttle. I say that’s pretty respectable for an overweight guy and his elderly dad.
…as we walk down we see many Russian groups starting out. 1pm. The worst of the heat. WTF?
...we pass some people sweating their way up saying: I’m in shape. I’m round. Round is a shape. Good cheer is always king. I like Americans.
...we meet Lucy and we drive out to Page after doing some more drone flying. I manage to get them on a last tour of the day for the Antelope Canyon and book myself on a scenic helicopter flight over the Glen Canyon, Horseshoe Bend with a landing on Tower Butte. Wow! I even pay extra for the front seat and did I mention? WOW!
…they enjoy their tour and I enjoy the flight immensely. Just an American couple from North Carolina and a young Oregon pilot with us. A very sweet experience. I forget to dangle my feet in a photo off the edge but the views are mesmerizing. All that beauty in one day!
…we drive to our hotel, which after Camp Verde is this trip’s second best: a nice Comfort Inn just outside of the center. Similar hot breakfast included. And a great ice lemon water tank in the lobby for anyone to enjoy. And you need it in Arizona trust me!
…we drive out to a viewpoint of Lake Powell and catch some last rays of sun over the majestic lake line
…we go out to eat some steak but unfortunately the recommended steakhouse is under new management and no beer license yet so we find a random one across the street and it is disappointing. Good meat but lousy service (with a rude seemingly Russian server) and poor interior design. Overall a dump.
Other Entries

Comments

2025-02-11

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank