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We were wind-whipped down a short stretch of highway until we came to the bottom of a rocky mountain terrain where Dave immediately took us up Intimidator Hill, a steep narrow mountain incline with no sides, and we sped across the top of it like camels on high. Screaming, gasping, guttural sounds from one of the passengers pierced the mountain air. I recognized my own voice. Dave would stop his 4x4 in front of a six-foot high rock in the "path" and then proceed to climb it like a giant spider. The rocky surface was barely fit for squirrels and rabbits, and we only saw a few brave humans, and also some juniper and sage brush and small prickly pear cactus. This amazing 4x4 ride across the cavernous terrain wasn't on my Bucket List, but then neither were the helicopter rides to the Mendenhall Glacier of Alaska and the Waimea Canyon of Kauai, or the Fjords of Norway and the White Cliffs of Dover. The extreme ride just outside Moab, Utah, lasted nearly three hours. We were not bored. That afternoon we drove through Arches National Park. Wow. It was President Teddy Roosevelt who preserved that territory in its pristine ruggedness for generations to come. But, as I asked Allan, preserved it from what or whom? It's not habitable. There's no food or water source. It's barren. Next we drove our Toyota on the Number Two Ranked Scenic Drive in the USA. It took us along the Colorado River and it deserved its ranking. I couldn't stop taking pictures. Then we happened upon a Filming Museum and learned that this location outside Moab was the site of many John Wayne movies and also "The Greatest Story Ever Told." I'm a fan of old movies so I love this part of history. Our breakfast at the Adobe Abode consisted of a delicious mushroom and cheese omelet served in a crisp baked tortilla shell. Tasty as can be. By 9 a.m. we were on the road to Canyonlands National Park, which is about an hour south of Arches. The two parks are similar in some ways (neither had signs of animal life, both had lots of red rock), but otherwise very different. Canyonlands are flatter to the horizon and not formed by the Colorado River but by huge climate events, flooding rains, and erosions. The canyons were amazing, stretching far into the distance with unusual formations, the steepest of cliffs, and more stomach flips. I kept wanting to say these canyons were grand, realizing the Grand Canyon in Arizona is just south of Utah. The next day it was onto Interstate 70 west and Hwy 15 south to Cedar City, a four to five-hour drive. Scenery remained postcard picturesque the entire time with majestic mountains, rolling hills, jagged rock formations, juniper trees and even a Burger King for lunch at noon, which came with a gas station and clean restroom. After a couple hours into the drive, we actually saw a small ranch and a few grazing cattle. We arrived at the Iron Gate in Cedar City, Utah, at 5 p.m. The Iron Gate is a large residential home converted and remodeled fabulously into a Bed and Breakfast that can accommodate seven couples. All seven private suites were occupied. Whereas the Adobe Abode at Moab was furnished and decorated in the southwest motif (stucco, rustic colors, ceramic tile), the Iron Gate at Canyonlands was in Victorian style (antiques, hardwood floor, ornate in every way). Our breakfast was superb. Donna made moist, rich, caramel rolls topped with slices of baked apple, plus ham, fruit, and muffins on the side. Then we made a quick trip to Walmart to buy me a cheap pair of tennis shoes for the horse ride Allan had scheduled online in Bryce Canyon National Park. One of the stipulations was "no opened toed shoes," and I all had along were flip flops. No problemo. It was a 90-minute drive to Bryce and, for the first time, we saw evergreen trees growing like in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and there were flat expanses of land where cattle and sheep were grazing. Mountain resorts in this area dotted the landscape like lake homes dot the landscape in northern Minnesota. We found the coral at Bryce where a cowboy looked each of us over and assigned us our animal; half of them were horses, half mules. Allan was assigned to Vance, while I was assigned to Johnny. We've done several trail rides over the years -- on the tundra of Alaska, at Yalapa near Puerto Vallarta, in the Black Hills when the kids were little, and other places. I can tell you that this trail ride is my last trail ride. I don't care if I ever see a horse or a mule again. The three-hour ride was torturous and painful for me, mainly because they gave me a children's saddle and it was a poor fit. They apparently saw me as a little person compared to the others, but I haven't yet forgiven them. My knees and hips and back were twisted and turned in directions they were never intended to go. It was worse than childbirth. Secondly, our animals rode on the very edge of the rim above steep and steeper cliffs and it was like living a three-hour nightmare. The ride seemed to never end. For two days afterwards I could barely walk. Thank heaven, it was temporary and I mended. Donna, our gourmet cook back at the Iron Gate, served us spinach quiche, sausage links, blueberry muffins, fresh fruit the next morning. The quiche was perfectly seasoned. Mmmmm,. Thank you, Donna.
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October 2015 |
