So the journey continued to tourist-packed Bryce Canyon. Not as tacky as Niagara Falls (see a later blog when I write about these!) but the worst side of US culture in abundance with huge, characterless hotels, vast tourist shops full of junk and a very false novo-cowboy style which just doesn't work. BUT, on escaping this heaving mass, I made for Bryce Canyon National Park, following the instructions from a DVD I'd bought from one of the many excellent Visitors' Centres (full of information and manned by helpful local rangers) which was brilliant, and guided me all around.
 |
| Red Rock Canyon |
There are few words to describe the colours and shapes here on a hot sunny day. The sky is an impenetrable blue, the golden oranges and yellows of the row upon row of rock stacks like organ pipes gleam like tangerine neon, there is a feeling of inexplicable beauty and wonder here. This place is magical. It should be on everyone's bucket list. Miles and miles of oceans of spires and steeples, pine and juniper trees clinging with tenacity, bright buttons of vivid green against the complimentary orange. Deep shady canyons, hikers like tiny Lilliputians strolling through the cool depths. This is erosion at its most awesome. I took a zillion photos.
Journalling on this sort of trip is hard. Ideally, I would love to pause and draw endless views, trace rock strata, capture the colour of the sky. But I just haven't got the energy for this, too. Everything goes into just BEING there. So I filled the journal with maps, pages of geology, notes, photos and memories as well as accounts of the day, people, conversations and funny moments and so on. Now that I am at home, these photos inspire me to create art, to make big visual journals, to paint and draw. They fill my mind with endless possibilities - I am still working on the talent side.........
Zion was totally different. Imposing, white-capped peaks tower high into the sky above. At Bryce you are at the top - here you are at the bottom.....I gave the packed tourist buses (no other cars allowed) going up into the canyon a miss and opted for a sunset safari - a hair-raising jeep drive up onto the top of the plateau to watch the sun hit the distant rocks in a concerto of pinks and purples, surrounded by wild turkeys and (apparently) aggressive, rabies-plague-laden squirrels. Another white-knuckle ride down a tiny track, hurtling towards the core of the earth did not allow for much appreciation of the scenery but it was fun. I loved my hotel here - set in the valley with lovely gardens, bright flowers and hummingbirds visiting the water feeder on my balcony and met some lovely people whom I hope to visit one day soon in the great cafe next door.
 |
| The peaks of Zion |
The next day I had to leave, heading south in ever more arid landscapes on and on into Arizona......
 |
| My lovely hotel right in the canyon- room on the end, first floor |
No comments:
Post a Comment