7 days, 6 nights, 4 states, 3 National Parks, and 1930.5 miles.

It’s Thursday morning as I write and Karin and I got home from our trip yesterday afternoon and what  wonderful vacation it was. We originally intended to head north into Canada but at the last moment realized they changed the rules about crossing the border into Canada and I didn’t have a passport. So at the last moment we decided to head south for a tour of some of the National Parks.

We first went to Bryce National Park and it had the best hike I’ve ever taken anywhere. It was pretty short at 3 miles but the views are other worldly and hard to take photos of and even harder to describe. If you haven’t been there you should consider going – you will not be disappointed.

We next went to Zion National Park and it’s completely different being large and a bit crowded but still epic. The geology is wonderful and traveling with a geologist is really fun so you get the whole story of how these magnificent features were formed. I highly recommend marrying a geologist.

After Zion we headed south into Arizona to the Grand Canyon. It’s my first time there and it’s shocking how large the canyon really is. It was properly named that’s for sure. We went to the north rim and it was very empty and quiet and easy to relax and enjoy the views. We even got lucky with someone canceling a reservation and ended up being able to stay in a deluxe cabin right near the rim. Karin is not only a top shelf geologist but great and making stuff like this happen and it was a treat. We spent the first evening just staring into the huge hole in the ground and feeling a bit overwhelmed and the next morning we went on a hike down into the canyon for some different views. It felt different and special to be down in the canyon and not on the rim. It was easier for me to relate to being inside it as opposed to being on the rim. I found it to be so big that I had a hard time relating to it. That afternoon we drove out to some different view points and every corner had a different and inspiring view. It was a bit hard to leave in the end.

But we did leave and headed north and went through Zion again to stay in a hotel we liked  on the way through a few days before. The next morning we headed north to Salt Lake City to go to Ikea and to the Lotus dealer to stare at cars. A quick trip through Ikea (yeah right) and it was off the the Lotus dealer. They sell Lotus , Ferrari and Maserati. I’m not a huge supercar fan but it’s hard to not be inspired by the Italian exotica. The Lotus’ they had really make me lust though. Light, small and full of single minded purpose – just like a well built bike.

The next day we headed home and it was good to be back. We consider ourselves fortunate that we like coming home so much. Today I’m catching up on all the little things that don’t get attended to while away and tomorrow it’s back to heating up and grinding metal and I look forward to it.

Here are a few photos of the trip. Thanks for reading and looking.

Dave

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3 responses to “7 days, 6 nights, 4 states, 3 National Parks, and 1930.5 miles.”

1. simon says:

   September 11, 2009 at 1:53 am

   Great photos DK. One place in the US I must see.

2. Mike Marley says:

   September 29, 2009 at 7:36 pm

   I had the best vacation in Bryce and the North Rim 5 years ago. Both were spectacular. I turned on the Ken Burns series after I read your blog post and reveled in the gorgeous film of the Grand Canyon. Must have been great to sleep right on the rim!

3. Pete says:

   October 16, 2009 at 8:20 am

   Awesome Pics. I’ve been to Bryce, Zion, and the North Rim. Three of the best parks in the country as far as I’m concerened. Glad you had some time off to enjoy!!!! Keep making the sexiest bikes around!