Wednesday 1 September: Salt Lake City Visit, Arches & Zion recap

I'm EXHAUSTED!!! Went tripping all over mountains and rocks and miles & miles of rough country.
Warm, windy, amazingly out-of-this-world, the entire southern Utah.

Again, some pictures of Zion:



and some pictures of Arches National park:



Today I'm spending time in Salt Lake City - went on a death-march up a mountain in the morning with Weasel and Gina (oh yes it takes some time before I learn my lesson...).

The hill that killed my pants!

 The last steep part, I slithered down on my bum. It was fun :-)

Weasel and Gina then drove me around and showed me their favourite cycle routes (all I can say, is hello Iron Man competition!). Later we were in a restaurant, having lunch, when I felt unwell, as if I was going to be sick & faint at the same time. Altitude catching up with me, I had not given my body enough time to acclimatise to the altitude and level of activity. The rest of the day, physical activity was kept at a much lower key - the mind may have been willing, but the body not able. The last visit was to a very eccentric little garden where Gina spent a lot of her naughty youth.

I had planned to exchange the Kia for another car at the Airport National this afternoon but it was dark by the time Gina and I got there. They advised me to fill up the car at a nearby gas station, their own rates were prohibitive. That's what we did, drove off to find a nearby gas station to fill up the car. The attendant was very flirty with me, and once I got back to the car I understood why: Gina was cracking up, my right arse cheek was half hanging out of my pants!!! This morning's mountain descent had destroyed the seat of my pants!

Back at the airport, Gina shielded my bum from lecherous eyes while I filled out the paperwork and signed for the new car - a Chevrolet Hybrid.

This was a much bigger car than the Kia, but drove easy as pie. On the way back to the Weasel home I gave Gina a near heart attack: she had been chiding me that I would not turn right on red, and that I was not staying in my lane at right turns. At a stoplight near her home, I saw the light was red, I needed to go right so I smartly swung into the right-hand lane. I heard a small squeak from next to me and saw Gina with eyes as big as saucers... another car had also turned into the same street, on the left lane, together with me in the right lane. I had seen that car but assumed this would be okay. It was, but apparently, it's best to let such a car go ahead in such a situation - at least, if one wants Gina to keep breathing!! That's when I decided I really did not like the American "turn right on red" rule (and by the end of the trip, I still didn't).

That night, I tossed the poor abused black pants into the garbage.
(there's a picture of those pants floating around somewhere, once I find it I will post it here)

Gina has nerves of steel, tomorrow we drive to Cheyenne and then all the way to Omaha, she in the co-pilot seat!

Tuesday 31 August: Arches to Salt Lake City

Broke camp in the morning, on our way out the park we went exploring in a pretty little (box) canyon that Weasel had seen the day before on a sunset GPS trek with the girl. I did not go in all the way back, I was feeling a bit broken... but I explored the front bit and enjoyed the brilliant luminescent effects of the early morning sunlight on the ancient red rock.

Fine, fine sand.

Glimpse of the world outside

Narrower and narrower, until in the end the only way further was up.

Found the tracks of a predator big cat (fairly sure this was a mountain lion),
tracked it's path through the canyon and where it went up and away.

Sitting where the mountain lion had been a few hours before.

More wildlife!

After this little excursion, we drove towards Salt Lake City. Gina was my co-pilot for the trip, and was telling me all about Mormon culture as we drove along. The world of Southern Utah, driving up to Salt Lake City was rather bleak at times, very isolated and for the most part, not suitable for any kind of agriculture or human habitation. I enjoyed it nevertheless, a wonderful, hostile but beautiful country. We drove straight through to the Weasel home, not making any "tourist" stops along the way.

My car lights were still malfunctioning so I called National when I arrived in Salt Lake City. They offered me another car: I would have to drive to the airport to exchange the Kia for another, similar car.