USA West coast road trip - Part 6 - On the road to LA

After Vegas, being back in the wild is pure pleasure! 
This week is filled with beauty, the hundred colours of the desert are amazing. We move every night from one town to another. With three drivers it doesn't feel like a chore, we split nicely. And we can really enjoy what feels like more than ever like a road trip.
 
Day 11 - Valley of Fire
We drive allong the Valley of Fire scenic drive to admire Rainbow Vista, walk up to the Fire Wave, play at the Piano Rock and the Arch Rock. 
We spend the night at the Super 8 Hurricane hotel in Zion.


Day 12 - Zion Park
An early breafast, drop some cards at the post office and we're off to Zion Park. Riverside walk; Court of Patriarchs viewpoint; 
Pic-nic at the Emerald pools trail; Checkerboard  Mesa;
I love it all! Desert and so green at the same time, it's like an oasis. 
The girls also did the Canyon overlook trail. I tell them to check out if the trail is dangerous (as I'm completly scared of heigths!) so they take off...with the car keys (which equals house keys during a road trip) ... Instead of walking back they just give them to a stranger asking him to bring them to me (hum..no comment...)
They come back, and, as the man did give me the key back, we head off to the Bryce way motel in Panguitch. Laundry time, yeah! 

Day 13 - Brice Canyon
We walk the Queen's trail and Navajo loop (I go crazy from the heat and the fact that we're walking up. I don't enjoy it much but the girls cope nicely). 
Then drive to Natural bridge; Bryce's point; Inspiration point. 
We stop for a coffee and off to the Holiday Inn in Page. We cross the road to have a fun diner with country music. 

Day 14 - Antelope canyon/ Monument Valley
At 8.30am we get tickets for the 11am tour. We head to Horseshoe bend so the girls can make videos of me being scared again... 
The Antelope Canyon tour starts around 12.30pm and last one hour. Lorie, our Navajo guide, is friendly and  knowledgeable. There are far too many people for my taste but we manage to ignore them and enjoy the breathtaking canyon. 

We hit the road again and after a lunch break on the side, we reach Monument Valley around 3.30pm. We do the scenic drive which nearly drive Caroline crazy and our bottoms through a lot of pain. But we have fun. We definitely agreed that the American natives smoked some good stuff to see Elephants, Camels,
Spearheads etc..when we only could see big rocks. As a western fan, I do love it and expect John Ford to be riding a horse as we walk on the red sand. By 7pm we are back on the road and an hour later at the Hat rock Inn in Mexican hat. We walk to the only  restaurant (a little walk during which a stone manages to make a hole in my foot) but it's expensive so we buy ready meals instead.

Day 15 
We drive to Mexican hat (funny); Valley of Gold; Mulley point; Gooseneck State park and arrive at the Grand Canyon to admire the sunset. The Plazza hotel announce they are giving us a suite, great! If we were not waking up at 5 the next day...

Day 16 - Grand Canyon
We watch the sunrise but the lights are not great so we are a bit disappointed (Death Valley was def better).  We have breakfast at the Village park lodge. I take the bus to the view points (Maricopa; Hopi; Mohave; Pima and Hermits rest) while the girls walk closer to the canyon. It is so huge, it's hard to belive it's a canyon, it looks like two mountains embracing each other. The river at the bottom seems thin as an hair. I spend a hell of a time watching the eagles and vultures fly around.
On the road again, we stop on the road 66 at Solignan where there is us and a bus of French tourist. We spend the night at the Mirage in Needles after eating ribs in a bar close by.  

Day 17
We leave Needle at 10am and drive to our final destination : Los Angeles.

To be continued...