In the morning I awoke at 6 a.m. just like I wasn't on vacation. Mom was pretty tired and she slept in for a couple of hours while I drank coffee and watched the sun rise over Las Vegas. We went back to the restaurant for a full English breakfast with beans and sausages. It was also excellent. We didn't know it at the time, but our leisurely morning had put us a little behind schedule.

Hertz picked us up at our hotel and we got a nice roomy Mercury Marquis for the drive north. Heading up I-15, we watched the desert change to scrubland as the elevation got higher. There wasn't enough elevation to influence the temperature though, it was near 100 degrees for most of the drive. In St. George, Utah, we stopped for lunch. We also realized that we'd forgotten swimming suits, so we went to the Wal-Mart there and picked up some suits as well as a lunch cooler and baby carrots for our drive.

Heading north again we turned East toward Hurricane on 9, which took us through Zion National Park. Amazing rock formations with cross-bedded sandstones as well as red sandstone. The beautiful Virgin River winds through the valley and we stopped at the Visitor's Center that is built right next to the river. A short look and we were on our way again. Mom kept hollering "You're missing it!" I said, "Oh, yes that is some cross-bedded sandstone and I see that rock window eroded out over there." Truth was, we just didn't have time to sightsee if we were going to make it to Bryce by sunset.

We'd both seen Zion in pictures and video. For some reason, the beauty just didn't come through on film. Consequently, we didn't allow proper time to enjoy this incredible place! If planning the trip again, I would allow one more day on the north side of the Canyon for more Zion and Bryce.

Once through Zion we turned north on Highway 89 towards Bryce Canyon. Mom had decided to nap in the back seat, but I kept trying to get her too look at just one more thing. Eventually she said "Quit telling me things I'm missing, I need to rest." It was hard to keep quiet while we drove through this beautiful landscape of rock and pine! I turned East on 12 towards Bryce and managed to hold my tongue until we had nearly arrived.

Finally we arrived at Bryce Canyon. The first stop was the Visitor's center, another time-consuming mistake! We nearly missed the sunset on the hoodoo's. I would have liked more time to hike down into the canyon, but it was dusk soon and time to be on our way south again to Kanab, Utah.

As we headed South on Highway 89 we saw another place we could have stopped if there had been more time. The Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is just north of Kanab. I'd like to have a look next time I go.

Aiken's Lodge was a relatively affordable ($65) and basic place to stay in Kanab. We were too late to eat at any restaurant (it was about 9pm) so we dined on left-over airplane munchies and baby carrots, then right to sleep.

Return to 7 Day Grand Canyon Itinerary Page