Utah & Yellowstone

American Incursions

Southern Utah, Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP (May-June 2009)

FOUR WEEK ROAD TRIP IN A PT CRUISER

We drove through Montana, Idaho and on to Utah. In Montana, pick-up trucks got bigger and more numerous. There are a healthy number of watering holes in Montana; on our first night in a village of 200 people, there was a choice of three bars. As for faded glory or a wounded nation, there is no sign of that in Montana - a large number of U.S. flags fly most everywhere.

Augusta Montana: main street

Peeking into the taxidermist shop, Augusta Montana

:Campground sunset, Augusta Montana

Nevada City, Montana

Stagecoach driver and cell phone,Nevada City.

Introducing our rented vehicle a PT Cruiser.

Interstate travel through the Salt Lake City area seemed endless.

We nabbed a campsite at Zion NP (first come-first serve)

Editors note: this was our first visit to Utah and we merely scratched the surface. It lead to further trips to the US Southwest.

At Zion National Park, we were welcomed by rain and hail. On day one, we came across a rattlesnake and three wild turkeys; it was an auspicious start. We clambered up precipitous viewpoints, waded through chest deep water up the Virgin Narrows and walked the Subway (no trains). It's all wow! Zion NP was once called Mukuntuweap National Monument and had a trickle of visitors. Nowadays, three million visitors arrive at Zion. What a difference a name makes.

We made an early start on the popular but rewarding Angel's Landing.

View from Angel's Landing

View from Angel's Landing (towards the Virgin Narrows)

Subway walk; we had an early wait to get permits. Rather than rappel into the Subway, we walked in via "the exit".

Subway approach

The Subway

We brought wetsuits for the chilly water of the Virgin Narrows.

Virgin Narrows is often closed to access because of high water levels.

Virgin Narrows, the cold water was a little deep in places

Virgin Narrows

On the way to Peek-a-boo Canyon (also known as Red Canyon) between Zion and Kanab

Peek-a-boo Canyon

We settled into a routine of exploring slot canyons, arches, natural bridges and bizarre rock formations. At the busy, iconic locations (Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches), campgrounds filled early and we got off to early starts to secure a campsite and to enjoy the trails before the crowds arrived. In other less known places (Coyote Buttes, Kodachrome Basin, Southern Capitol Reef), we had places to ourselves. More wow!

All through Southern Utah, the PT performed well, accumulating plenty of dust on gravel roads, though we could not pass over sharp angles washes in our low-clearance "truck". Please don't tell the rental company!

We took a liking to Kanab. We saw photos of "The Wave" and off we went.

We made a detour to the edge of town to pick up beer at the Arizona border.

Drying laundry at the BLM campsite on the Utah-Arizona border

The flowers were out at the Coyote Buttes

Coyote Buttes: The Wave

The Wave

We met Al at the BLM camp and he invited us to join him with his 4WD to White Pocket

White Pocket, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

White Pocket

The entry point to the Wire slot canyon was nearby

The Wire leads into the Pariah River

Bryce Canyon is all about the hoodoos. It is at a high elevation and we found it too cold for an overnight stay early June.

Sheila and Bryce Canyon hoodoos

Entering the Round Valley Draw required a leap of faith

Round Valley Draw

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Campsite at Kodachrome Basin

Moonrise at Kodachrome Basin

Hickman Natural Bridge, Capitol Reef NP

Backpacking Lower Muley Twist Canyon

Campsite in Lower Muley Twist Canyon

Navajo Arch, Arches NP

Atop Double O Arch, Arches NP

Sand Dune Arch, Arches NP

Delicate Arch, Arches NP

Double Arch, Arches NP

Cooling the feet at Arches NP campground.

A helping hand to Balanced Rock, Arches NP

Sunset near the campground, Arches NP

Courthouse area of Arches NP

Negro Bill hike near Moab

The latter part of our American incursion was in North West Wyoming, first in the Grand Teton National Park, where a herd of bison greeted us on arrival. After a curious moose encounter and a stomp across snow fields, we pushed on to a dawn assault on Yellowstone National Park.

Welcome to the Grand Teton NP

Grand Teton NP

Jenny Lake. The moose approached us to within 5 metres.

Heading up the Cascade Canyon of Grand Teton NP

Crossing a snow field in Grand Teton NP

The Grand Teton

Yellowstone was once called "Coulter's Hell" (imagine walking shoe-less and naked for 200 miles with a Indian tribe chasing after you and you start to get the idea), but it was wisely renamed Yellowstone and tourism has never looked back. Old Faithful was reliable as ever and we cruised through vast areas of geo-thermal activity. Yellowstone has more geo-thermal features (10,000) than the rest of the world combined. If bubbling, squeaking, boiling, steaming, belching, hissing, exploding, spurting are your thing, then Yellowstone is your place.

Old Faithful doing its stuff.

Bison at upper geyser basin

Norris geyser basin

Yellowstone continually surprised. The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon was a visual feast. The Lamar Valley is considered as the Serengeti of the Americas with good reason; herds of bison and plenty of antelopes. Walks in Yellowstone revealed astonishing wildlife numbers and each geo-thermal basin had its own personality and offered oddities, sometimes appearing like chemical waste.