Saturday, August 14, 1982
The Lido floor show at the Stardust ended about 00:30. It
was only then we realized we came to Las Vegas on Friday, the thirteenth! We
returned to our motel/casino and played our $2 each of nickels left from the
Stardust. Then we used another coupon to get $6 in chips for only $5 to play
roulette. We were the only ones at the table and didn’t do well. A couple of
wins, but in the end we played all the chips. Kathy went to get $2 more of
nickels, and we tried the different machine games like poker and keno. We went
back to the slot machines and Kathy hit a jackpot, but the machine didn’t pay.
We got an attendant who paid. Out of those winning we kept out the $16 we had
invested that night, and played the rest away. Satisfied that we had broken
even, we then used a coupon to get breakfast at the motel restaurant, which is
available midnight to 6:00. We got two waffles and bacon for 49 cents, and just
enjoyed the fact we were having breakfast at 2:00! After paying for breakfast,
we had about 40 cents in change, and decided to play with that money. I put in a
nickel and won $5. We decided to cash that in and go to bed winners!
We slept well and were up at 9:30. We started driving
off, but the car bucked a little and Kathy noticed the power brakes weren’t
working. We pulled to the side of the road and checked under the hood. We were
in a no parking zone, and a guy on a motor scooter was motioning as if to ask
if the car parked in front of us was ours. Nope!
We tried driving again, and now the car seemed fine. It
was very hot and sunny and we were the first ones to arrive at the
air-conditioned mall to check out a Neiman-Marcus store. Okay, so they had a
Dior children’s department. Just another expensive department store! We saw a
See’s chocolate shop and bought a box with chocolate and vanilla cremes, and
mint patties.
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| See's Chocolates sticker |
We also got Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
We drove north on I-15, across a corner of Arizona through the amazing Virgin River Canyon with steep walls of eroded rock and it was so deep we couldn’t see the river below.
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| Virgin River Canyon |
Once out of the canyon, it was a desert again.
Entering Utah, we began climbing into forested mountains on winding roads. Craggy stones jutted out over the trees. We took Utah SR 9 towards Zion National Park, still following the Virgin River.
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| Along SR 9 |
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| Along SR 9 |
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| Along SR 9 |
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| Huber Wash |
We entered Zion National Park, paying the $2 entrance fee.
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| Zion National Park ticket |
Followed the North Fork Zion Canyon, where the large mountain rocks were named: The Sentinel and Mountain of the Sun. Three cliffs were the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
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| Three Patriarchs |
Farther up the perpendicular walled canyon, the colors were in subtle layers and one of the highest mountains was of whitish stone; the Great White Throne.
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| Great White Throne |
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| Rock overhang |
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| Missing chunk of rock |
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| Stream |
A fat needle-like mountain was the Angel’s Landing, and near the end of the road was the Temple of Sinawava. We had to backtrack down the valley, and stopped to take pictures where arch-shaped chunks had fallen from the cliffs.
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| Arch hollow |
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| Red cliffs |
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| Layered rock |
Back on UT 9, we turned east and drove up several switchbacks. We noticed a hole on Bridge Mountain, which looked man made, as if they were cutting a tunnel that opened out onto nothingness.
At the top of the switchbacks, we found we went into the mountain in a long climbing tunnel, and the tunnel had windows, one was that man made hole we had seen from below. Once out of the tunnel, we saw the Great Arch of a slightly reddish color rock. We wound down mountain roads and the trees were less stunted. Some of the rocks were carved by a swirl design like a snail shell, and one mountain had vertical and horizontal striations, giving it the name Checkerboard Mesa.
We left Zion National Park and at US 89 in Mount Carmel Junction we registered at a AAA motel, the Golden Hand Motel, for $33. It was 19:00 and the hotel manager told us it would be too dark by the time we reached Bryce Canyon, and he suggested we go to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park where kids often looked for stones called Indian marbles, that showed pink sand inside when broken open. He showed us a couple examples. So after we settled in the room, we drove south on US 89 to Coral Pink Sand Dunes. (We found some white rags in the room, which we used to clean the windshield.) We took the exit road and ended up back on the highway! We backtracked, passing a car with two guys making a pit stop. Found the turn-off and followed a jackrabbit hopping ahead on the road. We reached the dunes which were more like a brick-red. Really interesting.
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park |
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| Bird tracks |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park |
A lot of people were riding dune vehicles that looked like fat three-wheeled motorcycles. We pulled over and went exploring, picking up rocks we thought might be Indian marbles. We saw a couple beetles and lots of footprints and tracks. Most were tiny but all were pretty patterns. We imagined all kinds of critters had passed this way. We were there as the sun set, making the dunes more orange. Finally spotted a pair of lizards and Kathy started snapping pictures. We got the hammer from the car and tried breaking open our Indian marbles. Ha! Most crumbled and some didn’t break at all, and none had pink sandy insides.
We drove to another part of the park with a sign depicting the wildlife, and a warning about rattlesnakes and scorpions. So I walked very carefully. We saw many more tracks, some from deer, and others from dogs. We found a beetle to watch and learned how some of the track patterns were made. Saw several more lizards. When leaving the park, we saw a couple Buteo jamaicensis/Red-tailed Hawks, one on a fence and one on the ground below. They flew off and we saw they were eating from a dead jackrabbit. Later Kathy found a dead snake in the road, possibly a Pituophis melanoleucus/Gopher Snake.
We stopped for Kathy to take wildflower photos, and also found a huge anthill, like a pile of dirt which was surrounded by cat-like tracks. We also found more rocks to break with the hammer, but no Indian marbles.
Back in Mount Carmel Junction, we went to the Thunderbird Restaurant, which was like a small town diner. A Mormon small town (it was founded by Mormons). It was 21:30 by the time we sat down at the linoleum with low chairs for dinner; I had chicken and dumplings with green beans, and Kathy had roast beef. I’m sure the Mormons appreciated our drinking milk.
We returned to our motel, which didn’t have air conditioning, but we didn’t need it. We found we had a small wooden balcony in the back, and we could hear a bubbling stream. The manager’s quarters were next to our room and he had guests or children. We kept hearing banging noises like doors slamming, and it continued frequently for quite a while.
Sunday, August 15, 1982
Again left shortly after 7:00, heading up US 89, then east on UT 12 where we passed through Red Canyon with bright orange-red cliffs that were an impressive introduction to Bryce Canyon.
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| Red Canyon |
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| Red Canyon |
Headed south on UT 63 and paid $2 to enter Bryce Canyon National Park.
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| Bryce Canyon National Park receipt |
We missed the Sunrise viewpoint, but from Sunset Point we could look into the same impressive amphitheater of needles or hoodoos, tall rock structures left by erosion, in mostly orange and white layers.
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| Sunset Point |
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| Sunset Point |
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| Sunset Point |
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| Sunset Point |
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| Thor's Hammer |
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| Sunset Point |
Stopped at Inspiration Point for another view in an “amphitheater” and at Bryce Point to see the Wall of Windows, a wall of grottos and arches.
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| Inspiration Point |
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| Bryce Point |
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| Upper Hat Shop Trail |
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| Bryce Point |
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| Pink Cliffs |
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| Paria Point |
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| Paria Point |
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| Paria Point |
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| Bryce Point Arch? |
Decided to go all the way to the last viewpoint at Rainbow Point, then work our way back.
One viewpoint had a couple of balanced rocks, left on top of the hoodoo that was eroded, called the Hunter and the Hare.
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| The Hunter |
The Natural Bridge was a huge arch.
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| Natural Bridge |
Outside the entrance we stopped at Fairyland Point for a final look at the fascinating and beautiful rock formations.
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| Fairyland Point |
The only wildlife we saw were numerous chipmunks (Eutamius
umbrinus/Uinta Chipmunk or Tamias minimus/Least
Chipmunk) and the Spermophilus
lateralis/Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels.
Next: Grand Canyon.
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