Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah: Surprise! We are in Utah at one of the most beautiful places in the Whole Wide World - Bryce Canyon National Park. We had to take the long-way to reach our destination - north on I-15 to Highway 20, and then south on 89. Yes, it involved back-tracking, but the shorter route involved a 10,000 foot pass, winding narrow roads and a bit of road construction. We only stopped once, at a rest area, for lunch and to check for tumbleweeds stuck to the under carriage of the Honda - we drove through several tumbleweed-filled dust devils on the highway today.
We also had a very frightening experience driving north on I-15. We were passed by a guy carrying a load of sheet rock - complete with fork lift - in a large flat-bed semi-truck situation. He was driving fast and after he passed us, he slowed down and we noticed he was driving very erratically. Slowing down. Speeding up. Fading over into the next lane. Careening off onto the shoulder. Veering over into the other lane and nearly going off the road! He was either falling asleep, drunk or texting. Cars were passing him - most went onto the shoulder and finally we decided to pass as the dude was going about 45 on the interstate. When we passed, I could clearly see he was eating popcorn from a large movie-theatre-style tub! Seriously? Scaring the crap out of people and risking lives for gross truck stop popcorn? I really need to start writing down the phone numbers from the company logos on the side of these trucks and tattle-tale to the boss. Guy was dangerous!
We lost an hour entering a new time zone, so arrived to Ruby's Inn RV Park & Campground (and hotel, and store, and restaurant, and stables, and cowboy dinner show, and, and, and... around 3p Mountain Time. We are not exactly sure why they stuck us up front in a narrow site with a lot of trees, when they have a new huge open RV area for Big Rigs - but here we are. Our internet dish managed to lock-on to her satellite (hovering above the Galapagos Islands) through an opening in the tree branches, but our TV dish said "uh-uh" and stowed herself. She is on sabbatical.
Funny Story: DT unhitched the Honda from the RV while I went into the RV Park office to check-in. After getting our campsite assignment, I drove the Honda towards our assigned space to scope-out which route would be best for DT to maneuver our beast. I hopped-out of the car and walked down a few feet to get a better view of his planned route. When I returned to my car - 15 seconds later - there was a woman sitting in the drivers seat of my car! The moment she saw me, she turned red and we both realized immediately she had mistaken my silver Honda CRV for her silver Honda CRV (what must be the most commonly towed vehicle behind a motorhome). Her husband was standing next to their motorhome and their silver Honda CRV and he was laughing hysterically. Poor lady was so embarrassed. Fun times!
I wish I knew how many times I have stood next to a silver CRV, clicking-away at my key fob, wondering why the dang door wouldn't unlock... when it wasn't even my car.
First stop after settling-in was to the Park Headquarters and Visitor Center.
Knowing we didn't have time to see much this afternoon - and no time for a hike - we simply drove the Honda to a few vista points in the park and snapped photos. Our first stop was Bryce Point.
It is nearly impossible to believe this is real. Created by Nature. Not Walt Disney.
More views from Bryce Point - Hoodoos
Bryce Point
Don't Look Down!
We asked a friendly foreign tourist to snap our photo
Next, we drove to Paria View:
Paria View
On our way back to our motorhome, we stopped by the National Park Lodge to check-out future dining possibilities. Going over my travel journal (i.e., this website), we were shocked to discover we had not visited Bryce Canyon National Park since 2002. Goodness - Lisa was in college and we were driving our POS Holiday Rambler. Over cocktails and appetizers, we looked over the trail maps and decided on our route for tomorrow's hike. (No jogging for me tomorrow!)
I made tonight's dinner last night - my Turkey Lasagna... except I used red wine (because I had an open bottle of red wine) instead of white, and I used pecorino (because I had pecorino and it sounded good) instead of Parmesan. All I had to do tonight was bake the lasagna and chop a few veggies for a salad. Forgive blurry photo. If you haven't tried this recipe, I urge you to give it a go. It is low in fat - the only cheese is just a bit sprinkled on top and it is made ahead of time - is loaded with veggies, and uses no-boil lasagna noodles. Perfect for a week night dinner or a camping trip. Though baking this casserole at 9000 feet took about 15 minutes longer...
The last tomato from our garden in Indio went into our salad tonight. Tomorrow, we hike!
Until my next update, I remain, your high altitude correspondent.
RV PARK: Ruby's Inn RV Park & Campground - We have a long pull-through with 50 amp, water and sewer. Bathhouse, laundry, store, pool, hot tub and nearby to shops, restaurants and all sorts of other tourist needs. Only a half-mile from the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park. They have recently added many more full hook-up campsites. With tax, etc., we are paying $47.11 per night.