Zion and Grand Canyon day trip.

On the way out of Sunnydale, we dropped by the bookstore, then drove through the main road of Zion Nat. Park. I think we were early enough in the morning to miss the worst of the crowds, and it was a Monday, but it was still packed with people. I don't go to the wilderness to see people.

But we weren't in the wilderness, we were on the main road. There was a ghost moon over the cliffs and we tried our best to get pictures of it, and pointed it out to other people (who just looked at us strange.) So many types of people and languages.

The cliffs were magnificent. Thing is, the landscapes outside the park are pretty fabulous too, but they are like the minor leagues compared to the major leagues. But you know what? We stopped at a little hollow on the way out of the park, and it was beautiful and quiet and peaceful. A flowering shrub with a butterfly, a dry wash with liquid rocks, lizards playing peekaboo. Much more satisfying in some ways than the massive cliffs.

We hit the junction between Bryce and the Grand Canyon, decided we could fit in both and turned toward Bryce. Realized we were almost out of gas, and turned back to the intersection. In that short mile, I had second thoughts, and we decided on doing just the Grand Canyon.

Thank goodness. We wouldn't have gotten to our motel until midnight, if we'd tried. We got to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. My memory is a little vague, but the North Rim seems more spectacular than the South Rim, and by all accounts it's less crowded.

I walked the path out to the giant pinnacle that hangs over the canyon. Amazing. A little scary. I'm so impressed that they don't put guardrails everywhere. I guess they figure if you're crazy enough to go off the path, a pox on your head. I didn't have the courage to climb the rocks to the very top, but stuck to the path.

Then we drove on out.

Found out, because Linda is over 62, that we can buy a single 10.00 pass for life. They sure are nice to us old folks. (Too nice -- we get all the goodies.) Also -- when did I join the Old Persons Tribe? Really. Falling into conversations about "where you from" and "where you headed" and "which kids are you visiting."

Anyway, after yesterday's feel of a rush, I asked Linda if we could get going later today, maybe even the check-out time at 11:00 so I could decompress.

Flagstaff is a nice town, what I've seen of it. A bit like Bend, I think. (Cinder buttes and pines.) It's actually smaller, which surprised me -- I think because the interstate makes it look more developed. As soon as we check out, we're going to look for bookstores, then a drive to Santa Fe.