UTAH - DAY 6 - 9.26.23
I had something to share yesterday and completely forgot until I hit PUBLISH!
After leaving the park I was thirsty and we pulled over at a store to see if they sold anything to drink. They didn't but it was a cool place so I took a few minutes to look around. When I went back out to the truck Walt was talking with two young women who had parked next to us. When I got within earshot Walt says, "Hey, Snookie, they're from Delaware!" While I was in the store he had taken Abby out of the truck for a walk and when he came back he saw the license plate on their car so he waited for them to come out. Turns out, one of them lived in Newport to my Elsmere which is like Taylor to Snowflake for our JRR friends, but of course our towns were much bigger. It truly is a small world.
So this morning we were on the road by 9 and it was a 50 mile drive to Bryce Canyon. Hmmmm,,,,anyone wondering if I took some scenery shots on the way? You bet I did!
When we arrived we wanted to take a picture of the sign of course. There was one other car in the parking lot and I motioned to the woman sitting in the passenger seat pointing to my camera and then us and the sign. She got my message right away and jumped out to take our picture. What a delightful lady she was! She was a little put off by Walt's attire. He was wearing a Philadelphia Eagle's cap and his Eagles sweatshirt. She said she didn't know if we wanted HER taking our picture because and at that point I interrupted her and said, "Oh no! You're a Cowboys fan!" and with that I snatched my camera back from her. We all had a good laugh and she took our picture. Several in fact.
She went on to tell us that she and her cousin were on a 39 state roadtrip and they were from Vermont. She had her cousin come out and take a picture of the three of us. She was a lot of fun to talk with and this was someone we just knew we would be friends with if we lived near each other. Turns out her son is a die hard Eagles fan. So her cousin took our picture with our camera and her phone.
So we get into the park and make the first stop the visitor center.
We had to drive around the parking lot twice to get a parking space and we were pretty amazed at how crowded it was. Then we saw the sign.
We had to go inside the visitor center to get the "stamp" for our National Park's Passport Book. It was mobbed in there and this claustrophobic soul couldn't wait to get out of there.
I did manage to get one picture outside of the bathrooms of this wall mural.
Outside I noticed a crowd of people gathered and they were all taking pictures of something. I figured it might be something I too would want a picture of so I waited for the crowd to thin a bit so I could see what was of such interest. I was a bit surprised to say the least but of course I snapped away! It has been awhile since I've seen one of these!
Back in the truck, we took off to sightsee. Our first stop was Sunset Point and it was so crowded that we drove around the parking lot 3 times before we gave up. I suggested we go all the way to the end and work our way back. We went as far as Rainbow Point (next to the last stop we later found out) and started some serious sightseeing.
At our next stop, not really a point, just a place to pull over on the side of the road we saw a natural bridge. There was one couple from Japan that were taking turns taking photos of each other so I motioned to their camera and then to them and smiled and shook their heads yes. So I took their picture and they in turn took ours.
Our camera back in my hands I continued to capture a few more shots.
I had been to Bryce Canyon back around 2008 or so. It was so much fun to watch Walt as he looked out in total awe of what he was seeing.
It was pretty amazing to listen to all the different languages being spoken at each stop we made. We had two instances where the Japanese women were just giving holy hell to their husbands or boyfriends about something. Now we don't understand a word of Japanese but we understand body language and facial expressions and these two were not happy with their male partners! It was comical to watch but I did feel sorry for one of the guys because his wife/girlfriend was just relentless! From the look on his face he couldn't wait to get on the next flight back to Japan! Oh the sights you see!
It was at our next stop that our Vermont friend came running up to us and said, "We have to get our picture taken again, my cousin moved and its all blurry!" So she took our picture again and was satisfied with this one. It was at this stop she told us the story about why this trip is taking place. Her cousin, just four years older than her, has end of life cancer. She had stopped all treatment because it made her so sick all the time and the doctor said it would give her maybe a year if she continued. She opted to take what little time she has left to see the USA! Our Vermont friend dropped everything and said, "Let's go!" So here they are seeing all the sights and having a blast! I hope they get to see everything on the bucket list before her pain gets too bad and they have to turn back.
So here's what we saw at that stop.
We made a few more stops along the way and saw our Vermont friend two more times. I took a few pictures but they weren't anything to write home about. I really don't keep all the pictures I take if you can believe that. I may take 200 pictures but I may keep only 75 of them. I'm so glad for digital cameras!
Sunset Point. We made it back to our beginning here in the park and I told Walt, I don't care how many times we have to go around this parking lot, we were stopping here if it took us all day. You see, I knew what was at Sunset Point and I really wanted to watch Walt when he saw it. Luckily, we only got halfway around the parking lot and we found a spot. He didn't disappoint me with his reaction. I get such joy out of showing Walt places he's never been before.
Sunset Point. The viewing area from this point is quite large and as you walked around it you got completely different views depending on the section you were in. Remember, you can click on the pictures to enlarge.
I took pictures of several couples and in return we got ours taken.
Scenery pictures on the way out of the park.
We went through two of these.
We wondered how in the world these stayed up there!
Outside of the park, a couple of miles down the road we stopped for gas and only paid $4.10 a gallon. All the others around were going for $4.40. I asked the attendant how come their gas was so cheap compared to the others and he just smiled at me. Ok, I'll enjoy the price, I don't have to know the details.
Since neither of us had eaten anything since the pieces of pie the night before we stopped at Subway to get some 6 inch sandwiches to hold us over until we got home. They had absolutely no taste. Sandwiches, drinks, chips = $23.27
When we did arrive back at the campground we sat out with our neighbors and talked with them about the adventure they took today and discussed what we were doing the next.
Walt decided he needed to play the 9 hole course associated with the Best Western. He brought my driver out for me to try and I did swing but I felt that twinge and said, "Nope, I can't do it." While my back still has the twinge when I turn a certain way it doesn't hurt much more than it does. So its healing, it just isn't ready for golf yet. I do think the constant in and out of the truck today didn't help it much at all so maybe I'll try swinging that club again tomorrow. It is really inexpensive for this course. 9 holes with cart, $15.00.
By the way, no dinner again tonight.
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
No comments:
Post a Comment