It's been a few days since my last update and I'm now in quite a different phase of my trip. I've travelled inland and joined a group holiday, hiking in the national parks of Utah and Arizona.
My second day in Santa Monica I decided against the conventional Los Angeles locations of Hollywood and Beverley Hills and instead went to the La Brea Tar Pits. Not everyone's choice, but I was really interested to see where they dig up thousands of fossilised animals which became stuck in pools of tar seeping up to the earth's surface thousands of years ago. The tar is still bubbling up and you can see the pits where they excavate the remains, You also see the scientists working on the fossilised bones, which range from tiny creatures to giant mammoths and mastadons.
The Greyhound bus trip to Las Vegas, where the group tour started, went through Death Valley and the Mojave Desert which was quite dramatic, but nothing compared to the scenery we are now surrounded by. The sheer scale is amazing, and I'm sure photos won't do it justice. We are staying just at the mouth of Zion Canyon, and we have walked four or five different trails within the Canyon yesterday and today, including one called Angels' Landing which involved scrambing up narrow ledges aided by chains fastened to the side of the cliffs. (The picture above is the view from the top.)
Tomorrow we move on to Bryce Canyon and we've been warned to expect even colder temperatures than we've had here. It is warm in the middle of the day but freezing early in the morning and again as soon as the sun sets.
It's nice and relaxing to have guides to organise everything, and not to have to decide each day what I am going to do. I also have the luxury of a huge hotel room with two double beds all to myself!
No comments:
Post a Comment