Day 21: From Moab through Blanding to Kayenta ( part 2 )

The U.D.95 road 30 miles west of Blanding. The red rock Comb Ridge on the right.

A long straight empty road runs across semi-desert Southern Utah. That early afternoon we passed the Comb Ridge on our way to Natural Brigdes National Monument.


Date: August 25th, 2010.

Maciek

Day 21: From Moab through Blanding to Kayenta ( part 1 )

The road to the Canyonlands N.P. ( needles district ).

In the morning we departed rather early driving south on the U.S. 191. After a couple of miles we made our first stop at "Hole in the rock" shop. It was a funny place with lots of garbage and memorabilia to buy. We kind of liked it. Then we hit the road again. From U.S. 191 we turned left ( in the place where a beautiful Church Rock is ) to Scenic Road 211 to sightsee the Southern part of the Canyonlands National Park. The road to the Visitors Center was long - over 30 miles, but not in the second boring. We stopped at the Newspaper Rock to admire some beautiful ancient Indian Rock Writing and then proceeded until we arrived the the Big Spring Canyon Overlook. This is the heart of Colorado Plateau - a vastness and wilderness of red, brown and orange rocks all in very strange shapes covering the visible land. Millions of years of erosion have transformed this area into hundreds of canyons, gorges, mesas, fins, arches and spires. This is the spirit of Wild West. To a large degree the area is untrammeled even today - the roads are mostly unpaved ( due to the local government decions no new roads will be constructed ever to protect the enviroment ), the trails are primitive, its river free flowing and no construction allowed. And there is one thing more about it: the unnerving silence. The deep canyons seem to swallow every sound. So when you get out of the car it is all about only two senses: you FEEL the heat, you SEE the beauty, but you HEAR no sound.
The Canyonland is a wild America.

Maciek.

Day 20: The Canyonlands ( part II )

An old railway crossing.

In the evening when my son Lucas and Agnieszka stayed at the hotel I went alone to explore and old road along the Meander Canyon of the Colorado river, passed some old Indian petroglyphs and finally arrived at the mine of Potash. The paved highway ended here where potash, a mineral used as a fertilizer, is extracted. I met no people or cars, just a bare but marvelous scenery.

Maciek.

Day 20: The white van. The Canyonlands.

The view from the Dead Horse View Point, The Canyonlands National Park, Utah. From the above one can see the white van down the road ( a small white dot on the dirty road in left down corner ).

The Southern Utah is almost nothing but rocks. Big, red rocks. But it isn´t until you cross interstate 50 that you realize it. We slept in Moab. That day we went to Canyonlands National Park. Our aim was to see the famous maze or the place where Green River joins Colorado river. We crossed the park entrance, paid the fee and went straight to see the best view: The Grand View Point Overlook. Although we have been to Arizona and seen the Grand Canyon a few year ago, we were dazzled. It is hard not to be. To our pleasant surprise there was hardly any visitors but us. Surely the kids started school - I thought.
The view was unbelievably beautiful. The red vastness of red rocks coming sharply down with gorges and steep impenetrable mountain walls. And far down away the brownish meanders of Colorado river. We wondered for a couple of minutes, made many: ohhs and aahs, and drove to next point of view ( the Upheaval Dome Overlook ) and end the trip at the Dead Horse View Point ( above ). We picked a place to sit for a while and just take it all in.


Maciek.

Day 19 - Driving south across Idaho and Utah

We spent the night at a small town of West Yellowstone, Montana. The town itself was quite pretty, with wild west style buildings and, thanks God no burger or pump station emporium anywhere close.

In the morning we got back to our van and headed south. Very soon we entered Idaho and for an hour we drove through the beautiful scenery of Targhee National Forest ( picture above ). Just after Idaho Falls we joined the Interstate 26. Every kilometer south the air got hotter and hotter and the landscape got more half desert-like. After a couple of hours we passed the Idaho-Utah frontier. At Salt Lake City we stopped at Gateway Mall, did some shopping, had a lunch at TacoTime. Salt Lake City is located in the middle of the flat and hot desert surrounded by the high red brown-colored mountain peaks and white salt lakes. We drove passed the white towers of the Mormon Temple in the city center ( pictured above ) and soon we were back on the Interstate.

After Springville we left the Interstate 15 and turned to road 6 going south. The landscape was deserted ( picture above ) and the road seemed to be never-ending. We passed some 'settlements' dotted on our map as towns but they were literally in the form of a gas station, and a few surrounding shacks - and nothing else.

But we were very excited. Soon we were to land at one of the most picturesque corners of the US: the Southern Utah.



Maciek.

Day 18: The Yellowstone National Park ( 3 )

People appearing and disappearing in the thick water vapor rising from the hot lake at the Lower Geyser Basin.

Maciek.

Day 18: Grand Prismatic Spring

Close-up of one of the lava-like mineral-rich streams on the edge of Grand Prismatic Spring.

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone N.P. is the third largest hot spring on earth ( with water temperature of 160 ºC ) but considered the most fascinating one.

Algae and pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water spring change color dependent on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenes produced by these organisms.

( image courtesy of www.nationalgeographic.com )

This is definitely one of the sights you want to see in your lifetime.

Date: August 23rd, 2010.

Maciek.

Day 18: The Yellowstone National Park

The Yellowstone N.P. Midway Basin.

Yellowstone National Park was real fun. Hundreds of geysers, bisons, elks, pelicans, never-ending fountains, waterfalls, deep gorges, hot springs, a mild sulfur smell, beautiful blue lakes and to-the-center-of-the-earth deep ultramarine color water filled caves. We have never been to a place like this. It was a new experience for us.
And the best of all: the colors. Deep blue, ultramarine, green, orange, yellow, all derived from heat-loving microorganisms. All colors were saturated, deep and so not-from-this-world that you wanted to touch them, play with them, just like a child would.

It was a moon-like experience.

That was one of the best days on our trip.


Date: August 23rd, 2010.

Maciek.

Day 17: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming ( part 3 )

The Snake River and a Teton Range panorama. The Grand Teton National Park.

This is a historic spot. One of the most important and influential landscape photographers of the last century, Ansel Adams used to take photos here.

This is my small tribute to this before-the-photoshop-arrived era genius.


Date: August 22nd, 2010.

Maciek.

Day 17: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming ( part 2 )

Later that day we had a nice walk to the Jenny and String lakes, then passed the Snake River dam and drove north. The weather was pleasant.

At one of the view points over the Jackson Lake we stopped. I spotted these two guys on motorcycles also stunned by the Mount Moran panorama light and shadow show.

Guys on motorcycles is a very common site in America as common as RVs. It seems like when guys go out riding, it's a male-bonding thing. Riding bikes together is like a pack, a sense of brotherhood, all for one, one for all kind of thing. I like that. Keep rolling on, brothers !

Maciek.