big rock candy mountain

This update wont be too long, it's 10:00 here and we've been up since 5:00 AM.  I couldn't sleep because we camped in 100 degree heat.  It did cool off over night, but not enough to make sleep comfortable.  We had 3 nights planned in Moab, but we decided if we cut our trip short, we'd be able to see the Grand Canyon while also avoiding having to camp in miserable conditions for more than one night.

The heat made us leave Moab, but not before we saw Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point.  We met and talked to the former sheriff in charge of the rescue of  Aron Ralston, the central figure in the movie 127 hours.   Pretty friendly guy, and full of info about the town of Moab.  For instance, the town was named after Lott's son and when translated, it means "Sin."

Anyway, we hit the road and set out across the deserts of Utah.  At one point, we traveled over 100 miles without seeing a gas station or lodging.  Southeastern Utah is as barren as anywhere on earth.  If you've never traveled through the region, you really need to make a point to do so.   It's eerie and a little depressing, but it needs to be seen to understand it.

We made it to Bryce Canyon around 6:30 PM.  In my opinion, it's one of the most underrated National Parks out there.   Glad we made the detour to see it.  We're now in Kanab, UT, a small town on the state line of Utah and Arizona which is only about 45 minutes from the Grand Canyon.  We'll see it in the morning, and stay for a while before heading north to Salt Lake City.  SLC is 7 hours or more away, so we've got another long day of travel ahead of us.

I guess I need to explain the blog entry's name.  On the way to Bryce Canyon, we actually passed a mountain named "Big Rock Candy Mountain."  Not sure if it's the one the song was written about, but it was still pretty neat to pass it.