Day 8 - Back to Carson City NV

 On the Eastbound leg of this trip my second night was in Carson City NV as a prelude to doing the "lonliest road" trip on US 50 across Nevada.  This time I came through Nevada from the south along the Extraterrestrial Highway.  It was about an 8.5 hours of drivng. 

The day started with some nice scenic rock formations.

After the rocks it became desert with lots of sagebrush.  There were places where there were also some Joshua trees.

The Extraterrestrial Highway was named around the time the movie Independence Day was filmed.  Part of the film was supposed to be at Area 51 which is next to the EH although there is nothing visible from the roadway.  

I did not see any UFOs, aliens, strange aircraft or other mysterious things.  In fact, there was a lot of nothing to be honest.  Except some alien graffiti that is.  Spongy and I did make the mandatory stop at the Little AleInn.

Just after leaving the ET Highway I saw an unusual sky formation.  It looked like a couple of Xs in the sky on each side of a large tower.  I could not figure out what it was.  There was a road leading out to it called Gabes Pole Road.  After a bit of google searching I found that its a solar energy power generation station that has apparently failed.  I do not think it was operating but the array of mirrors around the tower were reflecting sunlight back up in the sky and because of the high concentration of California fire smoke in the air (it was pretty hazy) I could see the reflected light.  My picture of it is less clear than what I could see visually and with binoculars.

I'll be in Bandon tomorrow with another 8 hour driving time trip.  

https://goo.gl/maps/qC1acjmfaCrftbcu9

Day 7 - Grand Views at Grand Canyon

 Today was my sightseeing day with a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Spongy and I were up early.  Here's an early morning view of the Glen Canyon Dam area as we left the hotel.

It was a 2.5 hour drive from the hotel to the National Park. Some of the scenery along the way was as nice as any I've seen.  Unfortunately the California fire smoke is still in the area and affects all the views and photos!

At one pullover the guard rail was as entertaining as the views!

Along the way we went over the Navajo Bridge.  Actually there are two bridges, the original built in 1928 and a newer one to carry the current heavier traffic.  The old bridge is now a tourist site which you can walk out onto and view the Colorado River below.  I walked out to the middle and found that there were a bunch of personalized locks that have been attached to the bridge.  

....and this final note found in the restroom at the bridge.  "Don't Use the Floor"!!!??? Wow, am I missing something?

A good portion of the drive to the Park was along the base of the Vermilion Cliffs which is a National Monument and has a lot of off road recreational areas as well as some unusual rock formations.  You can see the cliffs on the right of the following photo and then up closer in the next.

Those are some pretty big boulders!  Interestingly if you look on the left you see that someone has built a shelter or home around some of the boulders.  Here are a few views of those structures.

The second phase of getting to the Park was going through the Kaibab National Forest.  The trip before reaching the Park was a nice ride through a conifer forest but after the Park and on the way to St George UT I went through a burned section of the forest.  I've been through burned forests before but most were years or decades old.  This burn was very recent and you could still smell the char odor in the air.  Its a little hard to see in the photo but the trees on the left of the road in the second picture are largely burned and the pine needles are brown.

 

After arrival at the North Rim entrance there was another 13 miles to the Visitor Center (which was closed).  I did the scenic drive on Cape Royal road.  Along the drive I stopped at a pullout and was chatting with a couple of guys that were on a 6 week country tour on motorcycles.  They had been to the Northwest, had taken US 101 through Bandon and down the California coast.  One of the guys was from south New Jersey and the from West Chester PA.

There were three main viewpoints I went to.  Point Imperial, Angels Windo and Cape Royal.

First stop was Point Imperial.

Angels Window was the next stop.  Here's a view of Angels Window from a viewpoint a few miles away.  You can walk out on top of the structure as well!

Here is the view from the top!

Then on to Cape Royal viewpoint.

The trip from the Park to St George was pleasant but not something I took pictures of.  My trip tomorrow will head for Carson City NV.  It will be a bit long, about 8 hours but that sets up one last 8 hour trip to Bandon.

https://goo.gl/maps/GMBSAT7edkkv5f4h9

Day 6 - Arizona

 I was up early this morning and while watching the news learned that the haze and cloudiness I saw all day yesterday was due to the smoke from the California fires. Wow!

New Mexico has some interesting overpass artwork. 

I started seeing landscapes that are more typical of the western New Mexico and Arizona area.

The drive started on I 40 West but then went to highways that were mostly two lane and traveled  through the Navajo reservation lands. 

There were no rest areas along the way with the exception of some picnic spots. They had tables and this structure. I have no idea what it is. 

We arrived in Page Arizona a little after noon and were able to check in and get some lunch. After that I took a very short off road drive in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. It was much sandier than the Arches trip so I was careful not to get stuck. I will put a short video together but probably not until I get back to Bandon. 

[Bob's Jeep Drive video added ] 

Spongy said he is tired and ready to hit the sack.

There is a scenic view spot just down the road from the hotel. I suspect the sunset will be pretty nice due to the smoke so I'll go there tonight and then add a picture if it turns out. 

[later] Well it wasn't quite as spectacular as I expected but the views were great anyway. It was a bit of a walk down to the viewpoint and a climb back up but here are a few pics. 

Tomorrow will be a visit to the north rim of the grand canyon.  I've been to the south rim and this side is less visited. From there I will either go to Kanab UT or St George UT depending on how long I spend at the  National Park.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/29smBQdWMgumkZCy5

Day 5 - New Mexico

 A good start this morning about 7:30am. It was simple driving today.  I-40 West all the way to Albuquerque. 

I went from Arkansas through Texas and into New Mexico.  Most of the scenery was open land, ranches, cattle, wind farms, and cloudy skies.  Amarillo Texas and Albuquerque were noticeably busier on the highway.  Also saw lots and lots of trucks.

Tomorrow's goal is Page AZ where I plan to spend time going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon although that won't happen tomorrow. Hopefully there will be more interesting things to blog about however.  Spongy said he was getting bored!

 Here's the route https://goo.gl/maps/y9WBb3ehvWYy6W6T9