Drive to Fruita, Utah via The Glen Canyon21 Jul 2008
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| The Glen Canyon, Utah Well the major sightseeing and visits are pretty much over, all that's left is Mount Rushmore which we're due to visit on Thursday. To that end, today was to be the first of 3 mundane days of straight driving as we make our way North on the long journey home. However, the day turned in some major surprises as you will see, and in terms of the scenery on offer it rivalled anything that we've seen so far. We set off from Tuba City with Julie having had a quick shop in the historic Navajo shop located next to the museum. The Navajo Indians have an enormous expanse of land and we stopped of at one of the roadside stores that are dotted along the highway. I had decided to modify our route in order to make it more interesting. I read that the Glen Canyon was a nice place to drive through and although it added a chunk of time onto the journey I thought it might be worth it. Utah has to be the most scenic state of all through which we have driven. The entire state is strewn with fantastic rock formations which cover the whole spectrum of colour. The Glen Canyon proved to be fantastic, especially the road that leads from the 'Valley of the Gods' and cuts its way up the Canyon walls via a series of steep switchbacks weaving a narrow gravel path to the top. This is the views you see in the majority of the photos. The views on the way up were absolutely breath taking and the photos in no way do it justice. The scale of the valley is enormous and unless you're actually stood there in the flesh you have no way of appreciating its size and beauty. Julie considered the view from the top the most beautiful view she had ever seen and was so taken back that it literally brought a tear to her eye. I could have sat there all day gazing across the land, this place was mother nature at its best and we we're glad to have had the opportunity to experience it. The remainder of the journey was spent speeding along almost solitary through the beautiful state of Utah. Everywhere you look there is something to see and it sure aids in making the long drive a bearable one. I still cannot come to terms with the size of this place; at one point of the journey we drove a full 3 hours and apart from a handful (literally) of cars on the road we saw no sign of civilisation whatsoever. When I say nothing I mean it; no people, no shops, no homes, no petrol stations.....nothing! The UK will certainly feel like a tiny place in future after having driven across these mighty lands. We arrived at our motel early this evening and went for dinner at the 'Rib City Grill.' which received a resounding thumbs up from everyone. Tomorrow is a shorter journey as we head for Fort Collins. I don't have a scenic route to take so tomorrows journal may be a short one. View a few photos here: |
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