The tale of the Skunks

After the joys of the marvels of Bryce National Park, I made my way up North, still on Route 89. The scenery started to change dramatically from these bare, red cliffs to the large plains with the mountains encasing the valleys. More farms. Still somewhat high country with sagebrush. I was following the Sevier River way.I went to a campground area north of Marysville. It was by the river Sevier. And I had a nice spot under the pine trees overlooking the river. It was a nice evening with thundershowers and thunder and lightning but after two hours, it went away and it was clear and sunny.
After a restful night, I got up the next morning to do some tai chi along the river bank. While I was in the middle of tai chi, I happened to look behind me to see two skunks hopping along five feet from me. I was still doing the movements but looking at them. This is the first time I ever seen skunks in the wild, alive. Very pretty and could see why children always chase after them. They looked furry, and I had the desire to pick them up to pet them. But of course, this would be very unwise.

As they passed, they stopped. One seem to become upset with the other and turned around threatening. At this time I stopped and was thinking, "Oh great, they are five feet from me and if that one sprays, I will surely get some of the spray." I inch away ever so cautiously, but they really did not take any notice of me. They made some noises at each other. Finally they parted ways, one went back the way it came and the other continued on to the bushes down by the river five feet from me and disappeared.

I thus picked up where I left off with my tai chi. Marveling how they took no notice of me. Like it was natural to see some human doing tai chi. I apparently was part of the scenery and was no threat to the skunks.

Bryce National Park

After leaving Kanab the next morning, I pretty much spent most of the day in Bryce National Park. I had been to Zion but not Bryce. In some ways not what I had expected. To be on the ridge line rather than through the canyons. However, one can go through the canyons by foot but need a permit do that. And of course, think this is the better option anyway. I also did not expect with the high altitude of 9000 some feet that there were going to be trees. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

I took a hike on the Bristlecone loop trail, which the first couple of pictures were taken. Nice vantage points. It was an overcast day with showers and in the distance thunder and lightning. Not so fun because the contrasts of the colors on the rocks were dull than with sunshine.

Yes, I got close to the edge. And I took my own photos. The above photo is of the Natural Bridge in BNP.

The sun finally peaked through after several hours giving more of a contrast that I wanted. This is a special spot where the formations are call hoodoos. The special way the rocks have been formed over centuries and like everything, hoodoos are not static so will continue to evolve and crumble away.
The vistas were incredible looking far off into the horizon.So I spent several hours of walking and looking and made myself lunch up there. Then meandered on my way up North of Marysville to camp out for the night.

And the Adventures begin...

So, I went on this little journey. Up through the expanse of Northern Arizona along Route 89(a) and into Utah where Orem was my destination. It all began on a hot day on the Fourth of July. I left around 6:30 but still the traffic was thick with the weekend travelers. But by the time I passed through Flagstaff and went on Route 89a, I was on my own as far as other people were concerned.

Open country with the ever changing colors on the landscape. It is truly an awe-inspiring place where the pictures just do not do justice. A thunder/lightning storm lay on the horizon for most of the afternoon creeping ever so steadily my way as I headed North.

I made several stops along Route 89a where the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument beckoned to me. And the vast plain of the valley floor ran for miles with deep fissures and unseen canyons and of course the Colorado River ran through.
Higher and higher I went into the Kaibab National Forest. To where the forest were miniature trees compared to the great giants of the Pacific Northwest. But for Arizona, this is as good as it gets. I saw some deer.
I arrived in Kanab, Utah for the night. The town was bustling with activity for the Fourth of July celebration. After a swim in cold water to cool down from the 100 plus degree heat and some food to nourish me, I headed to the city park to score my spot for the firework display. People were already arriving two and half hours before the big event to score their spots. Big families with children everywhere was the common sight. Finally a quarter to 2200 hours, the fireworks started! It was magnificent. The sounds echoing off the walls of the cliffs and the wonderful display of fireworks sent everyone "ooohhh and ahhhh."