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29/07/06 - 08/08/06 - THE GRAND CIRCLE
The Grand Circle is the name for an area covering Arizona and Utah as well as the edges of Colorado and New Mexico. It features some of the most beautiful places in America, if not the world. This is my 10th visit to the continent, but I haven't been to this area for 5 years so it was great to be back.
(Below) Video from Zion Canyon, such a beautiful and peaceful place
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We had flown from Denver to Las Vegas, but didn't spend any time there since we'll be coming back to it later. Our first stop was Zion Canyon National Park. When I was younger, this was never one of my favourite stops, but when we came here 5 years ago they'd stopped allowing traffic into the park (the only way to get round now is a free shuttle). This made the park so much more peaceful and relaxing and allowed you to appreciate the beauty of it a lot more.
The opposite could be said for our next stop at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. People were now allowed to race around on the dunes with their dune buggies and motorbikes. This not only spoilt the view but also the atmosphere with their loud engines.
(Above) Coral Pink Sand Dunes
(Below) Bryce Canyon
Fortunately this was just a short stop on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon is of course the most famous because its so bloody big, but I actually prefer Bryce because its such a unique landscape that looks different from every angle. We spent 2 days here walking around the canyon. The short paths are always really busy, but as soon as you turn off onto a longer path, you hardly see anyone. The few people you do see are all Europeans; I guess the Americans - who were disappointed that there wasn't a Starbucks at the bottom of the canyon - took the short path straight back up.
(Above) Walking round Bryce Canyon
(Below) Our bench at Bryce
Our next stop was a small town called Moab. This area has been used in over 80 different movies. The most recent examples are Mission: Impossible 2 and Austin Powers 3. On our first day we went white water rafting down the Colorado River (although given the colour of the river, it should be called Brown Water Rafting). The river goes right past the mountain/rock/thing that Jon Bon Jovi shot his 'Blaze Of Glory' video on. The rafting trip was great fun, on the parts of the river in between the rapids we got to jump out the raft and swim in the river. Although, you didn't really have to swim because the current (and your life jacket) carried down the river anyway.
(Above) Being left behind in the water whilst rafting
(Below) Canyonlands
That evening we drove round Canyonlands National Park which was really relaxing because we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The amazing thing about this place is when you get out the car, and the wind stops blowing, there's absolute silence. There's no sound of cars, planes or any human activity - there's nothing.
(Below) Video from Arches National Park
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The following day we went around Arches National Park which begun with a guided walk through the Fiery Furnace (which is basically a collection of giant rocks). The walk featured climbing through small cracks and holes in the rocks, as well as the guide telling us about the geology of the rocks, which was terribly exciting.
(Above) North & South Arches
(Below) Delicate Arch
The next morning we also walked to Delicate Arch, we went there really early which meant there was no one else around. After that we drove to Grand Canyon, stopping at Monument Valley along the way, a place featured in countless Westerns as well as the awesome Back To The Future.
We had one full day at Grand Canyon which we spent walking in and out of it. Mum went to the half way point and back, but I went all the way to the bottom. There's signs all over the park saying don't attempt to walk to the bottom and back in one day, and there's good reason for this. Its a 15 mile round trip, and the Canyon is a mile deep. The altitude at the top is the same height as some of the peaks in the Alps, whilst the temperature, especially at the bottom, can reach 40C.
The main reason they tell you not to do it in one day is because you get idiots starting the walk mid-day, wearing jeans and a t-shirt carrying one can of coke. I did the walk when I was 15 and 17, so I knew what I was doing. I started walking down at 5:15am, before sunrise, which meant I got to the bottom by 8am. This meant I was walking up at the same time as the people staying at the ranch at the bottom started to walk up. It also meant I avoided the worst heat of the day between 10am and 4pm. I was drinking water constantly, and had my t-shirt and cap soaked in water which kept my body temperature down, although I didn't make things easy for myself by twisting my ankle on the way down. I reached the top again by 12:35pm, making the total trip time 7 hours 20 minutes - a couple of hours quicker than when I did it before.
(Above) At the bottom of Grand Canyon
On the way up, near the top, I spoke to a big family walking down. They had walked 1/2 a mile (downhill) and it had taken them 45 minutes! Fortunately for them they decided to walk back up, because it probably would have taken them 45 days to do the entire walk!
Anyway, it was a really great day, I was absolutely knackered, but I could now look forward to the last stop of my travels: Vegas.
Next: Final Stop: Vegas Baby!
Previous: America, F**K YEAH!!!
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