"Close Your Mouth Michael, We Are Not A Codfish"

Jaw dropping is the best word to describe the amazing parks that we have just been through. Arches was stunning and gave Glacier a run for its money as our favorite spot so far. We arrived at the park at sunset, the most glorious time of day there. The sun lights the tall, red rocks on fire and they glow orange and deep red. The formations are incredible - fins, valleys, hoodoos and cliffs, are all different from each other. (I will go ahead and name-drop here - it reminded me of Cappadocia, Turkey.) The campground was incredible. I don't think you could get a better view or be more a part of the park if you paid hundreds of dollars. We were literally camping in and among the rock formations. The heat was intense for us Seattlites - no shade to be found.

When it cooled off that evening (to about 80 degrees...) we took a long hike/walk to Sand Dune Arch and it was incredible! Because we left around dinner time, we were almost the only ones out. We walked between large fins of red rock, reminiscent at this point of Indiana Jones in Petra, and out into a field, to another set of rocks in the distance. After weaving through the rocks, wading through cool, red sand, we arrived at an archway. It was so awesome and wonderfully cool because the sun never reaches deep between these fins. Our own private arch!

We left Arches early to hit the road for Bryce Canyon National Park, which turned out to be a good decision. It was only a four hour drive, but Bryce campgrounds don't take reservations, so we wanted to make sure to get a spot. Now let me remind you we are on a roadtrip - and what makes every roadtrip complete? That's right, a flat tire. We more than met the requirements, with holes all over the tire. God was with us all the way because as soon as we heard the sound, there was a pull-out on the side, and almost before we had even assessed the damage, another car pulled up to offer help. Our good samaritans were a Dutch couple on vacation here. We got the tire changed pretty quickly and were back on the road. Luckily, there was a tire shop 20 miles ahead, on the route to Bryce. To think, we could have been in the middle of nowhere! So we got new tires (not wanting to go through this experience again!) and hit the road.

Even with the delay, we were still in time to get a campsite and do some exploring before dark. Guided walks with rangers are so informative! We got up early the next morning to watch the sunrise over Bryce Canyon, which is not a canyon in the true sense of the word. It's a sort of cross between Arches and Grand Canyon, because it is full of hoodoos (tall, naturally carved stone towers) and gorgeous red-layered rock. We walked down into the canyon to see a hoodoo that looked remarkably like Queen Victoria sitting on a throne. The hike back up was killer!

From Bryce to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was only a three hour drive, and as we pulled up, we were wondering if we hadn't gone the wrong way and arrived at the wrong park. We almost doubted Marge! (Have you all met Marge? Marge is our faithful friend and GPS system and she has guided us thoughtfully on this trip.) Here we had to pick up our jaws again because instead of a campground that looked like Arches or Bryce, we were in the middle of lush green grass, evergreens, and lupines. Apparently the North Rim is about a thousand feet higher in elevation, so the vegetation is much more alpine than we had expected. What a wondeful suprise to camp in a cool, shady space surrounded by aspen trees and fields of wonderfully scented lupines! The Grand Canyon was pretty neat too. =) So amazing to see such a huge cavern created by such strong natural forces! Tomorrow we will take a mule ride to see more of the rim, and do a hike down into the canyon. (Maybe just a very short one...)