Day 21 - Williams, AZ - Grand Canyon - Zion National Park - Panguitch, UT

If you get a chance in the next day or two, try to googlemap Panguitch. You'll find that it is in NOWHERE, heheh, seriously this is the largest 'city' within a hundred miles of here and there isn't a single actual fast food joint in the whole town. It is Mayberry it seems, but its pretty interesting. It's hard to fathom that people live their whole lives in such a small place but as I've seen time and time again over the last few weeks, people seem to adapt to wherever they are. Today was pretty awesome all things considered, and I've got WAY too many photos but oh well. That's the great thing about digipics, I can just dump them on the laptop and I'll clean them up when I get home.

So the day actually, for once, started off pretty early. Last night was great, I had an awesome time in Vegas, but after two late nights, it was great to just watch American Idol and go to bed by 11:30. This morning, I was out of the room no later than 9 this morning and heading to the Grand Canyon. Since I got there kinda late last night, I didn't get to see but so much of the park. Hence me getting out early, and through the Southern entrance. GCNP is a little unusual as far as parks go in that there isn't but so many trails per se, its mainly a 40 mile drive along the southern rim of the Canyon. Its actually only about 10 miles across at the middle but to get from the south entrance to the north entrance takes about 5 hours and 180 miles. I just took the southern rim road and it really is as impressive as you could imagine. Its funny because we think that Arizona is all desert, but the area around the canyon is actually a fir forest and it was kinda chilly up there this morning. I made sure to get a ton of pictures at the different overlooks and of course, I had to be a little bit of a daredevil in that I handed my camera to an older couple (already zoomed in) to take my photo as I climbed out to the edge and scooted out so that I could dangle my feet. (3000 foot sheer drop there btw)

After the Canyon, I headed North toward more uncharted territory: Zion national park. I'm sure a lot of you haven't ever heard of Zion which is really too bad. I can't say that I'd really heard of it much before my folks went there a few months ago, but they couldn't stop talking about the whole area and so I had to see it. To be honest, Yellowstone had amazing wildlife and natural phenomena, Yosemite had monoliths and countless waterfalls, Tetons were awe inspiring...but for sheer beauty, Zion wins. I spent most all of the day hiking around the park and seeing everything I could. Its entirely different than anything I'd ever seen before. It's basically an extremely narrow valley with sheer flaming red rock cliffs on either side. These cliffs are generally between 2500 and 3000 feet above the valley floor. Yet, there are rivers and plantlife everywhere. Honestly, words can't express how beautiful this place is. You know, sometimes when you go to a place, you realize as youre there that its becoming a part of you. Thats been a few places on this trip, but certainly Zion. I could have spent days just staring at the cliffs...honestly. The pictures, which I have a ton mind you, will serve to give people a vague idea but you can't really understand the scale and color of this place until you are standing in it. So I ask any of you, if you EVER get the chance to come here, don't hesitate. It's actually only 140 miles from Vegas, but its worlds away. Eventually, it started to get dark which meant that I had to go.

So tomorrow, the plan is to go through the other parks of Southern Utah before my great swing south and eventually home. Bryce Canyon National Park is the first on the list and that's why I'm in Panguitch, it's about 10 miles from the park and cheap as hell, woot!