Sunday, October 1, 2023

Bryce to Zion

http://stonebeartracksrof.blogspot.com/2011/01/zion.html     

Bryce to Zion

4 Corners Tracks of the StoneBear

April 08

Bryce Canyon National Park

After a night in a Hanksville motel,... a night in Hell,... Let's get the hell out of here.

Head out on hwy 24west... passed through Rec Canyon,...an absolutely beautiful drive. At Torrey, crossroads... stopped for a bite of samich.

Turned south on hwy 12 and ohhhhh my god was it beautiful. Climed up into snowpack country and saw bison.

Now south through the most beautiful arid plain ... the Utah highlands.... magnificent!!!

And we drive onto a place called the Devils Backbone.... beyond description. Wow!!!

Through Utah arid plain.... Capitol Reef... it looks like the surface of the moon. I've never seen this much unique beuty ... and evry mountain crest offers up a new magnificent sight better than the last. Cool , thin , arid plain air is great to breathe... You breathe a ton of air in a single breath. ... and it fills your soul.

The ranging folds of mountains and valleys is endless...and the colors of the rock strata from white, to grey , to red,... oh my god... what a wonderful isolated pristine place. This is a wonderful drive. Absolutely beautiful and pristine!

A couple hours of fantastic drive. And then you get to Zion. oh my god. Even the few miles into Zion is beyond description. Mountains with chalkboard... horizontal AND vertical erosion lines... defined erosion markings... folds of rock ... I had to get out and walk over them.

NOW you get to Zion... through the mountains with a carved out,... blasted out tunnels to make the road into Zion. Down into these mountains with towering red 2,000 ' rock faces. and that Virgin River flowing through the canyon separating the sides of the canyons. Beyond description!

My laymens perception was that this was a description of the Mormons concept of heaven... the promised land that the Mormons were heading to... this could easily be interpreted as a heavenly place; it is that magnificent.

Do not pass up a chance to see Zion. It will stir your soul.

















4 Corners Tracks of the StoneBear

April 08

Bryce Canyon National Park

After a night in a Hanksville motel,... a night in Hell,... Let's get the hell out of here.

Head out on hwy 24west... passed through Rec Canyon,...an absolutely beautiful drive. At Torrey, crossroads... stopped for a bite of samich.

Turned south on hwy 12 and ohhhhh my god was it beautiful. Climed up into snowpack country and saw bison.

Now south through the most beautiful arid plain ... the Utah highlands.... magnificent!!!

And we drive onto a place called the Devils Backbone.... beyond description. Wow!!!

Through Utah arid plain.... Capitol Reef... it looks like the surface of the moon. I've never seen this much unique beuty ... and evry mountain crest offers up a new magnificent sight better than the last. Cool , thin , arid plain air is great to breathe... You breathe a ton of air in a single breath. ... and it fills your soul.

The ranging folds of mountains and valleys is endless...and the colors of the rock strata from white, to grey , to red,... oh my god... what a wonderful isolated pristine place. This is a wonderful drive. Absolutely beautiful and pristine!

A couple hours of fantastic drive. And then you get to Zion. oh my god. Even the few miles into Zion is beyond description. Mountains with chalkboard... horizontal AND vertical erosion lines... defined erosion markings... folds of rock ... I had to get out and walk over them.

NOW you get to Zion... through the mountains with a carved out,... blasted out tunnels to make the road into Zion. Down into these mountains with towering red 2,000 ' rock faces. and that Virgin River flowing through the canyon separating the sides of the canyons. Beyond description!

My laymens perception was that this was a description of the Mormons concept of heaven... the promised land that the Mormons were heading to... this could easily be interpreted as a heavenly place; it is that magnificent.

Do not pass up a chance to see Zion. It will stir your soul.

Closing the Ring

http://stonebeartracksrof.blogspot.com/2011/01/closing-ring.html      

Closing the Ring

ROF 4

May 4, 2008

Closing the Ring of fire to Lee's Ferry

Headed to Grand Canyon, Arizona East rim

From Zion NP headed south out of Utah on Hwy 89. Zion was a hike through another dimension. Spent a lifetime there,... crammed into a couple days.

My mind drifts back for moments, then as fast snatched away at the stark beauty of the Vermillion Cliffs on the northeast / left side. High arid plains... the desert is beautiful. There's nobody out here.

Kaneb is just north of the Utah state line. About 40 miles going into Arizona is Navajo Bridge crossing the Colorado River. This is the 1st bridge between the UT / AZ built in 1929. That's how isolated and rugged the terrain is here. (Page, AZ / Glenn Canyon dam is about 10 miles NE.) Before 1929 they used Lee's Ferry about 5 miles up river. Then it's onto the Grand Canyon. Past bright Angel canyon on the North Rim.

I called this journey the Ring of Fire from driving a counter- clockwise circle aroung the 4 corners plateau. ABQ to Taos, to Monument Valley, to Bryce Canyon, to Zion , and now to the Grand Canyon. Quite a ring of geological phenomenon !






















ROF 4

May 4, 2008

Closing the Ring of fire to Lee's Ferry

Headed to Grand Canyon, Arizona East rim

From Zion NP headed south out of Utah on Hwy 89. Zion was a hike through another dimension. Spent a lifetime there,... crammed into a couple days.

My mind drifts back for moments, then as fast snatched away at the stark beauty of the Vermillion Cliffs on the northeast / left side. High arid plains... the desert is beautiful. There's nobody out here.

Kaneb is just north of the Utah state line. About 40 miles going into Arizona is Navajo Bridge crossing the Colorado River. This is the 1st bridge between the UT / AZ built in 1929. That's how isolated and rugged the terrain is here. (Page, AZ / Glenn Canyon dam is about 10 miles NE.) Before 1929 they used Lee's Ferry about 5 miles up river. Then it's onto the Grand Canyon. Past bright Angel canyon on the North Rim.

I called this journey the Ring of Fire from driving a counter- clockwise circle aroung the 4 corners plateau. ABQ to Taos, to Monument Valley, to Bryce Canyon, to Zion , and now to the Grand Canyon. Quite a ring of geological phenomenon !