Day 8 - July 7

I’m happy to report that the today’s ride was much better than the end of yesterday’s ride. Not only did the scenery improve but so did the roads. To start out this morning, I saw all kinds of wildlife including cats, dogs, cattle (free range area so there no fences and the cattle just wander – I wonder how the owners ever find them again!), rabbits, turkeys, deer (including a set of fawns still with their spots), and 2 elk. They obviously either have smarter animals here or they train them better because they all run away when you get closer to them unlike the ones in Minnesota that like to run in front of you! It is really neat to see all antlers of the deer and elk in velvet! Most of this wildlife was seen as I went into a mountain area that was heavily wooded – there is much land like that in this part of Utah.

The first stop today was Bryce Canyon – it was simply amazing. The formations of rock that are standing are very interesting and beautiful. These formations were caused because many years ago the whole area was a lake that was then filled with the various forms of silt and sand. Later, parts around the lake began to rise due to the shifting of the earths crust. As the areas rose, the water and wind wore the softer materials away leaving the formations we see today. These formations are still changing today due mostly to the freezing and thawing affects of water and also the affects of acid rain (pretty impressive information!) After Bryce Canyon I headed to Zone National Park -again amazing! Here the formations are very large solid rocks! To enter the park, at one point you drive through a 1.1 mile tunnel through a rock - the tunnel was completed in 1930. I don't know how they could manage to create a tunnel like that way back then! Words can't describe what this looks like so I have posted a few pictures. The scenic drive part of the park requires that you take a shuttle bus that has 7 stops along the route where you can get off and on as wish. When I was done with the shuttle ride and was ready to leave the park, the temperature was 100 degrees. Tomorrow I plan to start heading north looking for cooler weather!