If it’s the only park you go to, Zion is incredibly beautiful, with its contrasting red and white peaks. But it’s always seemed a bit of a letdown to me, after going to Grand Canyon (which is far bigger) and Bryce (which is far more complex).

We arrived in the late afternoon, and took advantage of our last cool day to go on a hike to the lower Emerald Pool, since tomorrow it is heating up to be in the 100s.

It’s a pretty hike from our lodge. It’s probably made easier by the fact that we are now at 4000 feet instead of 8000 feet. You start by crossing the river.

There are some interesting hollowed out section in the cliff face along the way.

The pools are just a spot where water runs down the rock and creates a mossy oasis.

In the evening we had dinner at the lodge.

I was impressed with the Xanterra management at the Grand Canyon Lodge and Zion, and the Freedom company that manages Bryce. The rooms are comfortable and clean, and the dining room food and service is above average. It’s certainly working to attract European visitors. I’m certain the French speakers outnumbered English speakers at both Bryce, and, later, Zion. We also hear quite a bit of German. Only at the Grand Canyon were English speakers in the majority, and they were definitely large round American who looked like they stepped off the set of Wall-E.

I’ve always thought Bryce is the most beautiful of all the National Parks.

Our room was at the Bryce Lodge, which is newly refurbished.

The weather was perfect, and the sun was just setting as we arrived to take photos. i was surprised that we weren’t really affected by the 7000 foot elevation at the Grand Canyon, and even more surprised that we weren’t particularly affected by the 8000 foot elevation at Bryce.

After a nice dinner at the lodge we hit the sack. I got up at 4:30 am to look at the stars off our balcony, and could clearly see the Milky Way.

In the morning, Dani went for a two-hour trail ride while I relaxed at the lodge. Then we headed for Zion.

From Dani’s Blog

After lunch we loaded up the bus and headed into Bryce. We passed and Elk farm and a Bison farm along the way, as well as a lot of baby horses. We got dropped off at the Bryce Visitor Center while Julie and Ron went to drop our bags off at the hotel and get our room keys. We watched the orientation video (standard def on an old projector, yeesh) and the scenery was beautiful. After we were back on the bus Dad immediately e-mailed his company to tell them to follow up with the visitor center about upgrading their system.

We got to our hotel and headed out to the Rim of the amphitheater (it is incorrect to call Bryce a canyon because there is not water running through the middle of it, rather it slopes down only on one side merging with the plane below). Dad pointed out that the design of the Bryce lodge is just the way Disney would have done it. The buildings are inset about from the edge of the canyon and are on the lower part of a downward slope. You have to walk up to get to the rim. This means that you don’t get any sneak peaks of the beauty in the amphitheater until you see the whole thing suddenly drop away before you.

And Bryce is breathtaking. The rock spires (called hoodoos) caught the setting sunlight, which made them appear even redder than they really are. We walked along the rim taking in all the different angles of the hoodoos. Some looked like chess pieces, others looked like greek statues… with a little imagination the whole valley appears to be filled with fantastic creations

Eventually we strolled back towards our room. We saw a california ground squirrel (commonly miscalled a chipmunk) and they are tiny! I bet I could comfortably fit three of them in one hand. They have very long tales and are very quick.

We had dinner at the lodge and created our own surf and turf by sharing blue cornmeal dusted trout and short ribs coated in cinnamon. The cinnamon was a really great idea. I was fading very fast so we went back to the room and I conked out right away. I suppose I could try blaming the altitude for my sleepiness, but I have a feeling it’s just from doing so many wonderful things a day on this tour.

I’ve been without Internet for one day, and I sure have a lot of updates to do! This trip is definitely keeping us busy, in a fun way.

Wednesday morning we checked out of Lake Powell and drove to Page, Arizona for our first activity of the day, Colorado River rafting. We transferred to a bus to enter the secured government area at the base of Glen Canyon Dam.

To get there you pass though a two mile tunnel bored into the rock at the start of dam construction. Then you wear a hard hat for the walk to the rafts.

The water comes out of the dam cold and fast, but there are no rapids on this trip, as you float between high canyons. It’s very clear, because it’s had 186 miles for the dirt to settle out in Lake Powell.

Our raft pilot, Cory, was extremely knowledgeable and personable, and turned out to be the owner of the company.

At the halfway point the boats stop at a beach.

You can climb up to some petroglyphs.

Then our tour director dared us to take the plunge. Because the lake is 500 feet deep, and the water from the dam comes from the bottom, it is COLD. As in 47 degrees. I had always heard about water so cold that it hurt, but I never really had experienced it until I stood thigh deep in this stuff for a minute. That was far enough.

Dani didn’t get that far.

But lots of others managed to meet the challenge and put their heads under. But as you can see, they didn’t want to linger.

The second half of the trip was sunny so we floated less and motored more, until we reached Lee’s Ferry. This is where the white water rafting trips begin, and our trip ended.

We crossed Navaho bridge, and the high desert above the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and then passed into Utah.

In Kanab we stopped for a western movie themed lunch. Kanab is where lots of western movies and television shows have been filmed, and this restaurant had a collection of movie sets out back. We were assigned roles, given costumes, and then spend about five minutes playing our parts. It sounds corny but was actually a hoot. Dani was an Indian.

I was a playboy (with a violin, for some reason).

Then we had an excellent lunch of salad and roast beef with home made dressings and barbecue sauce. After seeing how well it worked for our boat driver, Dani bought a cowboy hat for tomorrow’s trail ride.

Then we headed for Bryce Canyon.

From Dani’s Blog

This morning we packed up our stuff and headed out to the bottom of the Glen Canyon Dam for our rafting adventure (another “ride or our lives” according to Julie).

The bottom of the Dam is not an easy place to get to. The last two miles are a one-way tunnel bored into the rock. Security is at the same time both tight and lax. Theoretically you’re not allowed to bring any guns/knives/explosives/weapons of mass destruction beyond the security checkpoint, but the river rafting company gets to do its own security checks, which basically involves someone glancing in the general direction of your bag and saying, “yep, that looks fine.”

At any rate we made it to the bottom of the Dam which, amazingly, looks even larger from the bottom. There is about 150 feet of hard hat area when you get off the bus (you’re standing right under the bridge and anything falling from that has 500 feet to pick up speed before hitting you. We walked down to the water on a long causeway that ate the soles of Dad’s water shoes for breakfast. The boats were large twenty-seater pontoons but they were filled less than half full for us. Our river guide, Cory, was very knowledgable about the river, geology, and the history of the region. He told us a couple of yarns though, including a herd of big horn sheep that had been trained to cross the river in a cart suspended by a cable about twenty feet up (reality: geologists use it to get from one side to the other).

The water is a balmy 47 degrees when it comes out of the Dam. Early in the morning when the river is still in shadow it’s a bit cool down there. We saw a couple of brave souls in wadders fishing for trout. Cory recited a bit of Powell’s journal (the passage about beginning their journey “how many ________ lie before us, we know not…”) and we started our own journey.

There was a bag full of cans of lemonade hanging off the side of the boat, keeping them at a crisp 47 degrees for us. We mostly floated for the first part of the journey. The walls are about 700 feet above the river at the mouth of the Dam but by the end of our journey they had soared to more than 1000 feet around Horseshoe bend. It’s very difficult to get any sense of scale when you’re down there though. They’re simply enormous!

At about the halfway point we pulled up onto one of the few sandy beaches (most have been eroded away and aren’t being replenished because the sediment is trapped behind the Dam). We walked a short way up but it was amazing how much hotter it got even a few feet from the River. Cory and I chatted on the way up. He went to the University of Colorado to study Environmental Science. He worked for an oil company for a couple of years and was miserable, so he moved back to Arizona and started running tours on the Colorado River during the summer and is a ski patroller in the winter.

Our destination was a rock wall, covered in black manganese that had petroglyphs carved into it by the Anisazi. There were a few rare depictions of humans, as well as the four steps (one of the only land accessible trails) and long horn sheep.

We retreated back to the relative coolness of the river and the kids on the trip did the polar plunge by rushing into the water and submerging themselves up to their heads. Dad waded in up to his knees, but I stuck one foot in Lake Michigan one time and that was enough (and it’s about ten degrees warmer than the Colorado!).

We hopped back on the boat and continued on to Lee’s Ferry, which is mile 0 of the Grand Canyon. White water rafting trips put in at Lee’s Ferry, but we got out.

Those of us who were soggy changed and got back on the bus to head for Bryce. We crossed into Utah and lost an hour so our late lunch was very late. It was at a Western Movie Museum. It was a little kitschy but all in good fun. We were seated at long tables but before the dinner bell was rung we were all drafted into the filming of our very own Western. I was an Indian, but Dad got to be the playboy (meaning the fiddler, of course).  We were costumed, choreographed, and then played out our movie. After than we had our Tauk group photo taken. I have to say it will be the most unique group photo ever taken on a Tauk tour…

We went back inside and had a really tasty barbecue lunch. There was salad, corn-meal dusted biscuits, roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and beef with homemade barbecue sauce. Everybody chowed down.

After lunch, there was (predictably) one enormous gift shop to go through. I ended up purchasing a straw cowboy hat. Out here you can really use the extra sun protection. I can see why they invented them! Also it will look dashing on tomorrow’s trail ride…

This morning I happened to wake earlier, so I went out a little after 5am to photograph the sunrise over the canyon.Clouds to the east provided a dramatic backdrop, but only a few rays managed to hit the canyon walls, so after an hour I went back to bed.

Today is another temperate day, hot in the sun, but with a cool 70 degree breeze. We had breakfast at the El Tovar, but all the food was pretty heavy and uninspired, so we just picked at it and then went for a walk, to the west this time.

We visited Lookout Point and the Kolbe Studio, and photographed condors and squirrels. We also saw a baby chipmunk.

Puffy white clouds created constantly changing patterns of light an dark in the canyon, which made me glad we no longer have to pay for film in order to shoot hundreds of pictures.

At noon we boarded the coach and headed for Desert View, our easternmost stop at the Grand Canyon. That was a very rainy stop, but it made for some interesting photos.

The we crossed the Navajo Reservation and in the late afternoon stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center.

I was here as a kid, and was surprised how much I remembered.

Our hotel for the night is at the Lake Powell Resort, where I camped as a kid.

What a great day! We set out with our Tauck group from The Four Seasons Scottsdale and headed north through the saguaro-littered desert. Soon we had ascended far enough for the cactus to disappear, to be replaced by scrub and the occasional pine.

We stopped for a short visit to Montezuma’s Castle, a cliff dwelling. Then it was on to Sedona for lunch. Throughout the day intermittent rains kept things cool without interfering with our plans.

Sedona is surrounded by dramatic red rock formations, and we stopped to pose in front of some of them before continuing on to the touristy center of town for lunch. To my surprise, Dani selected a Mexican restaurant for lunch, and we thoroughly enjoyed the sea bass tacos and shrimp fajitas.

North of Sedona the road quickly climbs several thousand feet and we were in a beautiful canyon with a rocky creek and tall pines. Then across the high desert to the Grand Canyon.

We stopped to watch the excellent IMAX Grand Canyon film while our luggage was delivered to our rooms, and then we we dropped off at the Kachina Lodge.

Our room is newly refurbished, and is one of only a handful with a view of the canyon. We’re right next door to the El Tovar, so we can dine there, yet have a nicer room than at that 107 year-old-hotel.

We spent the afternoon taking photos as we walked two mile along the rim up to Yavapai Point. Some thunderstorms moving through kept things cool, and provided interesting light.

Then we took the shuttle back in time for a terrific dinner at the El Tovar. I must say the food, service and wine list at the El Tovar are far better than I remembered. Our expert server, Rick, was a middle-aged guy who studied physics and had a passion for Nils Bohr– not your average server!

After dinner we strolled back to our hotel, passing within a few feet of a herd of elk grazing on the lawn.

From Dani’s Blog

This morning began with a 6am wake up call, bags out at 7am, wheels rolling at 8am.

On our drive out of Phoenix our guide, Julie, talked about a variety of things including: Arizona sports teams, Saguaro cacti, local flora, history, and geography.

We made a quick stop at Montezuma’s Castle, misnamed by previous explorers (Montezuma never built anything in this part of Arizona). There was a walking path that made a circle around the cliff wall so you could see the impressive (somewhat impractical) structure. Julie gave everyone on the bus a “Passport to the National Parks” with blank pages for stamping each time you visit a national park or monument. We got four stamps at Montezuma’s Castle alone! One with the date, one for the park, one to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visitor center’s “new” building, and one with Teddy Roosevelt’s face on it.

After that we headed into Sedona for lunch. We were dropped off on a touristy yet charming main street area. I actually suggested a Mexican restaurant for lunch, Taos, which turned out to be quite tasty. I had fish tacos with mango salsa that were really delicious! I didn’t touch my refried black beans though…

The weather has been quite changeable on our trip so far, but I don’t mind at all. The intermittent rain is keeping the temperature down, and my Chicago skin from instantly crisping in the sun. It rained heavily for about three minutes during the first part of our lunch but by the time we had paid the sky was completely clear again. I bought a couple of postcards and we admired the red rock formations while waiting for the bus to pick us up.

After lunch we continued the drive toward the Grand Canyon. The scenery changes quite rapidly with the changing altitude. It is amazing how there seems to be an invisible line above or below which certain plants simply do not grow.

We stopped at a National Geographic center to watch an Imax presentation about the Grand Canyon. They had popcorn that smelled sooo good, but I managed to refrain. Their popcorn condiments included a lot more flavors than I have ever seen on display before. In addition to salt, butter, and day-glow cheese they also had chocolate marshmallow as a flavor spread. The Imax movie was quite well done, although I would not have wanted to be one of the stunt men in that teeny boat going through those rapids…

We arrived at the Grand Canyon at about 4:40. Dad and I planned to hike along the eastern trail before dinner and take photographs with my schnazzy SLR. We threw our stuff down, rushed outside in time for 10 minutes of beautiful weather, and then the sky opened up, soaking us (though thankfully not my camera) with cold rain that felt like it had recently been hail. We took refuge in the Hopi House and did a little shopping. Having only made if about 50 yards we returned to the room and exchanged our wet clothing for dryer stuff and started our hike again.

It was very pleasant. The sun was going down, turning all the rocks and formations bright interesting colors with lots of contrast. The rain cooled things down a bit so it wasn’t too much of a strain to hike in the thin atmosphere. We went about two miles and then caught the shuttle back, just in time for dinner at the El Tovar.

We had a lovely table next to a widow. Through it I could see the forecast thunderstorm approaching. We shared salmon and trout croscanti that were really excellent. I felt like our roles were reversed however when I had salmon and Dad had a Filet Mignon. Our waiter was an interesting fellow. He was an excellent and professional waiter but he had studied Physics in college and knew all about Niels Bohr and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and had even visited Copenhagen to see Bohr’s Institute. We exchanged reading recommendations. I recommended the play “Copenhagen” to him and he recommended “Copenhagen and Faust” to me. I will have to check it out when we get home!

When we left the El Tovar to go back to our room we discovered a large herd of Elk grazing on the El Tovar’s nice irrigated lawn. They seemed incredibly unconcerned by the tourists and the flashbulbs going off…