Bryce canyon- an extraterrestrial experience

Time for yet another highlight on our southwest US roadtrip – the Bryce canyon. I had seen lot´s of pictures from this odd canyon before actually seeing it in real. But nothing can prepare you for this breathtaking natural wonder. Unfortunately it is hard to bring about the feeling of this place in pictures. It has to be seen and experienced.

We arrived late afternoon and after checking in to our motel in Bryce we headed towards the national park. We spent two hours wandering along the rim, just getting absorbed by the colors shifting over this bizarre landscape.

The next morning we woke up very early to do a morning trek while the air was still fresh. Seeing Bryce canyon from above is one thing. As you descend into it the view is completely different. We were surprised how spacious it was at the canyon bottom and that it was so green. Surrounded by the pinnacles I felt very small and very aware of how lucky I was to be able to discover something so special as this.

Below follows first the evening part and after the sunset picture, taken from our motel, there are some pictures with a diffrent perspective taken during the morning trek.

Appendix – views from the car from Bryce to Las Vegas

The diverse landscapes of southern Utah

Most people know about Grand Canyon and some have heard about places like Monument Valley. But not that many knows about the adjacent diverse beauty of Southern Utah. Utah has 5 national parks. Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion. They are completely unique and different experiences.

After lots of reading I was convinced it was worth doing a “detour” to discover some of the places Utah has to offer. So after sleeping in at our beautiful motel in Monument Valley, off we went.

We had a long day of driving, starting with a visit to the small village Bluff, located by the San Juan river. After a stroll in the open air museum we watched a movie in the tourist center about the first settlers of Bluff. The main reason for this was actually to cool of in the airco. At 42 degrees you quickly get over heated. But in fact, we enjoyed the film very much 🙂

We continued north towards the town Moab where the Arches national park is found. We then passed deserted landscapes until we reached our motel in Torrey, close to Capitol Reef, at around 22:00. The landscapes that unfolded during this day drive were amazing. Not a single moment of those 7 hours of driving were dull. It was just one “wow” after the other.

After breakfast in our motel we took a morning trek in the Capitol Reef area and then started our journey towards Bryce Canyon, via the scenin Highway 12. In the tiny village Boulder, along the way, we found a little cafe that served one of the most amazing meals on the whole journey. I had a Thai influenced burger and pie for desert. Life at this stage could not have been better. We enjoyed a long lunch in the shaded garden and had nice chats with other visitor that just like us felt extremely lucky to have made it to Utah and this little gem. We spoke about the amazing landscapes and the empty roads and agreed that this area was something very special. Magic in every way.

At around 15:00, after yet another few hours of “wow”” as we passed the Grand Staircase Escalante, same day we reached Bryce Canyon which for me was the most amazing natural experience on our whole trip. Therefore it deserves to be presented in its own post which will be the next one coming up 🙂

A spiritual tour into Monument Valley

We arrived to Monument Valley in the late afternoon and checked in to our beautiful motel “Goulding´s Lodge” which is one of only two options if you want to be in the middle of it. It was our priciest stay on the whole trip but it was great 🙂 About three hours before the sun set our “Monument Valley sunset tour” started. We had booked the trip with “Navajo Spirit Tours” and had no specific expectations. I had no idea there would be so many beautiful monuments and that the landscape around them would make me feel I was on the moon. The tour was absolutely fantastic. The Monument Valley lies on Navajo land and some families actually lives inside the park. Our local guide Harry was a very engaged and kind man that told lots of beautiful stories as we went further and further into the park. The tour was really relaxed and the deserted dirt roads were not busy at all at this time.

In the beginning of the tour it was very windy and my eyes were struggling to keep the sand outside. But as the time went by the storm passed and everything we could see was red peaceful surroundings. Many movies, commercials and music videos has been shot in this park. The last movie shot was “The Lone Ranger”.  Johnny Depp actually decided to spend one night in the little hut you can see on picture number six below. This tour left not only visible memories but also emotional. That the earth can be so stunning.

Appendix; from the top => having fun on the road, getting closer to Monument Valley, view from our balcony and Louise walking towards the motel building

Posing around southwestern USA

This summer I went on a Road Trip with my friend Louise, to the southwestern part of the United States. Organized as we are the route was carefully chosen and motels/hotels and hostels along the way were all pre booked due to hight season.

Since a road trip like this is a once in a life time experience we wanted to utilize the opportunity to see lots. This resulted in 5500 km´s in 31 days and 20 different lodgings along the way. We saw amazing and diverse nature in northern Arizona and southern Utah, felt the crazy pulse of Las Vegas in Nevada and discovered coastal beauty and great cities along on the Hwy 1 in California. We had extreme heat inlands and cold winds on the coast. But furthermore things worked smooth apart from a small incident on our car door, caused by strong Hwy1 winds!

To summarize I can tell that this was a very pretty holiday but extremely intense. My plan is to give you the highlights in different postings during the coming months but as a kick of I give you a lot of me, posing from different locations we visited. Stay tuned 😉

La Jolla – San Diego – some fresh ocean air before heading inlands…

Big Tiger – San Diego Zoo

Kitch & Burgers – Rt 66

Cute Oatman donekey – along Rt 66

Lovely Sedona, Arizona – temperature on this picture => 45 degrees C

Grand Canyon – Arizona

Surreal formations – Antelope Slot Canyon – Arizona

One of my highlights – Monument Valley – boarder Arizona/Utah

Capitol Reef national park – Utah

Souther Utah desert

Bryce Canyon – Utah! Our early morning trek next day, in the canyon, was for sure a highlight!

Las Vegas!

Wearing my new t-shirt with cooling technology – Yosemite national park – California

Napa Valley “bike and sip” 😉

Fresh Californian oysters – yummy!!!

San Francisco!

Pigeon Point lighthouse, Hwy 1 – California

Beautiful beach along Hwy 1

Finally time to just sit down – Morro Bay – Highlight on Hwy 1

Having fun in Ostrichland – Solvang

More wine country – anyone seen “Sideways”?!

Catching up with Johnny Depp in Hollywood!