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U.S 89: Skip It (If You're Not Scott), Highway 12: Dont Miss It! - Part 1  

08/14/07 - Springdale, UT

Veering off the agenda, we decide to take an unplanned detour to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, by way of Salt Lake City

(Shutterfly photo album - Columbia River & Utah)
Somewhere along the road in Idaho, we decided to spend less time there and instead take an extra day or two to do a very quick tour of the national parks in southern Utah, some of which we briefly explored back in late 2004.  A better decision was never made!

Backing up: On Monday morning, after checking out of the Boise Doubletree, and following a truck stop breakfast and a pretty but relatively unremarkable scenic drive through southern Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains, we stopped for an early pizza cafe dinner in Ketchum (near Sun Valley), ID.  We found it interesting to note how much of the landscape in Idaho, western Washington and western Oregon is reminiscent of much of New Mexico's desert scrub landscape. 

Our original plan was to stay in Twin Falls, ID or thereabouts on Monday night, but the hotel/motel scene was a little sketchy/hicksville down there and we felt like driving.  If we drove like crazy, we figured, we could spend some time in the Utah parks!  And besides, we typically do very little night driving on our trips so driving on into the night had an air of mystery and excitement about it.  We drove on and on, hoping to get to Salt Lake City, where lodging would be easy.  But it was getting late and we ended up in Ogden, UT (about an hour outside Salt Lake City).  No excitement or mystery there.  We settled on a busy, east Indian-operated Sleep Inn with a terrible odor in the room coming from the air conditioner (Scott believes something died in there). It was the only room left.  It was late.  We stayed.  (Luckily, Caroline and her "super-sniffer" travel with plug-in air fresheners and a highly scented candle. We entered the room and let 'em rip!  The rest is just a bad memory.)

The next day, Tuesday, we left the offensive Sleep Inn and headed south.  We made a quick stop-off in Salt Lake City, and ended up touring the "Beehive House", the historic home and offices of that famous Mormon, Brigham Young.  After a very interesting and informative, private tour (not a busy day, I guess) by an elderly New York Italian Mormon gentleman reminding both Scott and Caroline of her Grandpa Bill (not Mormon), we continued on to historic Temple Square.  Unfortunately, a prophet of the church had died and his funeral was being held right when we were there so we were unable to enter the Temple or the Tabernacle.  We did however, enjoy seeing several young Mormon couples parading about in their wedding finery (huh?? on a Tuesday morning???), having their wedding photos taken on the beautiful grounds outside the Temple.  As we were strolling among the happy couples, we received a message on our cell phone from our friend, Crazy Miss Wendy, calling from Mexico.  How strange and ironic and therefore apropos... Hi, Wendy.

Now, on to the parks!  We decided to take Highway 89 as an alternative to the expressway, since our map indicated it as scenic and there were reportedly lots of quaint, small towns along the way.  Scott liked it and found it to be a pleasant rural-scenic alternative.  Caroline was unimpressed, although she admits that the section just prior to the Route 9 junction leading to Zion (where you'll find the Big Rock Candy Mountain) is not to be missed.  After lunch and a late afternoon pie-and-coffee stop at Mom's Cafe in Salina (a definite highlight of U.S. 89), we approached the park in the early evening.  As we followed the winding roads through the park's awe-inspiring scenery, the red rocks and cliffs began to glow in the early evening light.  WOW! WOW! WOW!  It was a sight to behold.  In addition to the benefit of the gorgeous light and colors, crowds in the park at this hour were few and at a scenic pull-out (with a trailhead leading to a short rocky hike, which we later took in the waning light) we encountered other visitors who had spotted some bighorn sheep in the distant rocky cliffs across the way.  Luckily, we had the binoculars with us and we spent the next 10-15 minutes admiring the majestic, elusive animals in their impossible-seeming cliff-face habitat.  It was an exciting wildlife-spotting moment, indeed, for this pair of travelers. 

We finished up our drive through the park to arrive at our (poorly located and overpriced) Quality Inn motel in Springdale just outside the park, in the dark.  But no worries, we were coming back in the morning, as we'll be driving back through to get to our next destination, Bryce Canyon National Park, just an hour away.

 
Zion National Park


Zion National Park - taking a quick hike before it gets too dark


Zion National Park


Scott, TCB while at our truck stop breakfast in Boise


Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City


Capitol building in Salt Lake City

Had to stop at Mom's in Salina on U.S. 89 for some coffee and pie

Road through Zion National Park - even the pavement is red!


Scott hikes the red rocks of Zion National Park


Caroline enjoys a sunset hike in Zion National Park