Diterbitake: 17.10.2016
Good morning amazing people and a warm "hello" from the command center.
Unfortunately, our last night in the witch's house is over and it's time to embark on new adventures.
As always, our morning started with a big cup of caffeinated hot drink and a few self-made bagels for the road. Kathryn also baked some banana breads, which were waiting for us in the kitchen. With our Jeep packed, we set off towards Bryce Canyon, which is about 2 hours away from Hurricane.
Before that, we stopped at an American gas station for the first time, after struggling to figure out what our car actually needed.
But to get to Bryce Canyon, we had to pass through Zion National Park, which we did for the last time today, but not without one last hike. We drove through the entire park until we reached a nearly 1.5 mile long tunnel. Emerging on the other side, we parked and made our way to the Canyon Overlook, a viewpoint spanning across Zion Canyon and its surroundings.
The journey there was a lot of fun, and we were rewarded with a breathtaking view after about 1 mile.
We're really glad we did this trail, as it's usually not as highly recommended as all the other routes in the park.
After about an hour, we were back in the car and continued our journey towards Bryce.
Finally, we arrived and first took care of deciding which route to take, as we only had 1 day in this national park.
We chose the most famous one: the combination of Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop.
On the trail, we descended from the top into the valley, passing through the hoodoos. "Hoodoos" are all the large and small towers among the rocks, and it is said that the souls of all the bad people are trapped in them. At the end of the trail, there's even a rock that looks like the queen, you can imagine what that means ;)
The Bryce Canyon really impressed us, as we could see so many different things in one day. If you come here, definitely do this route, especially if you don't have much time.
After 4 hours and what felt like 1000 pictures, we sat down at Subway to prepare for the upcoming drive to Page.
Because tomorrow we already have other highlights planned, it is indeed a real road trip. Currently, we are almost every day in a different place and more or less living out of our suitcases. But by now, we are very skilled in packing ;) what a wonder.
To take a break from the long highways, we drove to Page, which is 2.5 hours away, via an off-road trail called the Cottonwood Canyon Road.
Thanks to the four-wheel drive and a good suspension, because this road was challenging. The potholes were about the size of a lake, and we also had to be careful not to hit any of the free-roaming cows. They just casually walked right in the middle of the road. But driving was a lot of fun, and from time to time, we encountered other people on the way.
We survived the drive without any major problems and arrived in Page unscathed. But tomorrow we definitely need to go to the car wash, because we can hardly see out of the windows anymore. Such a fun drive does come with its price ;)
For the first time during our trip, we checked into one of the typical American motels, and we could park our car right in front of the bed. It's also a super cool experience, because usually, you only know these motels from movies. But we can assure you that they are not so bad ;)
We still had enough energy for a more or less small meal at Pizza Hut, where we also had the most disgusting beer we've ever had in our lives. Well, you can't really call it beer, it tasted more like cough syrup. Which probably explains the numb mouth!!! But that's also part of it, learning by doing ;)
With a numb tongue and a full stomach, it's time to go to bed.
Good night, dear ones, see you tomorrow.