Day 37
Tuesday 31st July
We leave on the side roads - destination Bryce Canyon if we can make it. Climbing again along a small river we travel through farmland and subtly shaded canyons and then softer hills reaching high on either side, tracks leading to hidden gold mines. A steady day of travel made uncomfortable by my back and Lisa’s returning altitude sickness. 5-6000 feet seems to be the trigger point. We finally make it to the outskirts of Bryce and begin to climb up to 8000 feet through the splendid Red Canyon, the red so intense that it hurts the eyes. We turned into the park (finally making a profit on our year’s national park pass) and settle at a good campsite among the pines, next to a south african older couple who are ravelling the globe in an unusual rig of his (Jan’s) own design. It has a Landrover body, a Chevy engine, East german axles and a Toyota transmission plus complicated additions padlocked in odd places. This vehicle has circumnavigated Australia, South America and Africa and travelled through eastern Europe and Mongolia before it arrived in the US. Only 17 ft long but more fully equipped than we are. We drive up the road to overlook multiple rock pinnacles at 9000 feet and marvel at a giant spectacle of intricate sandstone sculptures lit by the dying sun.