We stopped for coffee at a restaurant between Zion and Bryce. This waitress slapped me around for no reason -- I was NOT looking down her blouse.
And she was not a good waitress -- kind of stiff.
We stopped at many scenic overlooks on the way, like this one showing a so-called petrified sand dune.
However, in driving east, we caught up with our friends, the thunderstorms.
So we took refuge in this restaurant with about a thousand tourists. For some reason, 85% of all the visitors to Zion and Bryce are Europeans, mostly Germans. Some are bussed in, and others arrive on motorcycles and rental cars. Of course there are some standard American tourists thrown in. This guy didn't get the memo that tourists are supposed to wear khaki zip-off cargo pants.
The thunderstorms were intermittent at this point, so we took off on a hike down into Bryce Canyon, Lena's favorite. Everyone coming up from the canyon had shoes caked with orange mud, but we headed down anyway.
Note the khaki zip-off cargo pants.
The elevation of the rim of the canyon is about 8500 feet, so we had to see whose heartrate got the highest (winner: Jenny).
I was the designated pack mule, carrying 37 water bottles.
The weird structures here are called "hoodoos."
After the hike, we went back to our campsite, rested, and had sausages and hot dogs for dinner.
This was our coldest night. It was 38 degrees at 6:30, rising to 41 by 7:30.
Jenny survived with lots of extra clothes and an emergency foil blanket.
It was a flaxseed meal pancake day,
and Lena was on cream whipping duty.
Here's the recipe, based on the "One-Minute Muffin" recipe:
1/2 cup Flax Seed Meal
3 Tbs pecan flour (optional)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs
2 Tbs Melted butter
Mix the dry ingredients. Add eggs and butter; mix well. Fry.1.5 net Carbs
This campground had the luxury of a sink with warm water for cleanup!
We packed up and headed to the rim of the canyon to see how it looked in the sunshine.
I might mention that this park and others are overcrowded. You often have to wait for a parking space. We're making more people, but we aren't making any more national parks.
I took a few more photos of our supermodel-like daughter and a supermodel chipmunk.
To make group decisions easier, we implemented a rotating dictatorship system. And as we were driving from Bryce, Jenny was "The Dick," and when The Dick saw a sign for a reservoir, The Dick said we should go swimming. So we did.
That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The sun was warm and the water wasn't too cold.