Bryce to the Grand Canyon and beyond

We woke this morning at 5:45 for yet another early start. We have clear skies and a crisp white frost and it's hard to believe that it was so hot yesterday. I suppose that's why they get such beautiful autumn colours. 

We are on the road at 7:30 ready to notch up a few more miles. It was 58 in Arches Park and 282 yesterday. Within 10 mins we have a photo opportunity of an arch cut into the sandstone that we have to drive through. 

Five mins later we stop to photograph the salt and pepper pots in the photo below. You can see why they are called that. 

Time does seem to go quickly and we soon have a coffee/gift shop stop. It was all very relaxed and then the Japanese arrived. They scurry around and push and generally get in the way as if they are the only ones needing to do anything. 

So now we are on our way again and almost the first thing we do is alter our watches. We are now heading to Arizona and so have gained an hour. We stopped at 9:00 for a 30 minute stop and soon after getting back on the coach we altered our watches to 8:40. Great, we really need that extra hour.  its a pity we cant get an hour every day. Next stop in an hour will be a supermarket to buy lunch and then on to the airport to do the excursion below. 

We were really disappointed that Monument Valley wasn't part of our trip but when we saw this excursion offered we decided to do it even if it is a little pricey. Who cares, you only live once. 

Beautiful landscape out of the window clearly showing the different layers in the rocks. 

Dinosaur footprints at the Glen Canyon visitor centre. 

Glen canyon dam on the Colorado river. After building this dam it took 17 years for the lake to fill. 

Colorado River one side

Lake Powell on the other side 

How can I possibly begin to describe what we've seen today. It has been absolutely wonderful. 

I was a little apprehensive boarding the plane as it only seated 9 plus the pilot, we were at the back. 

The first thing we did was to fly over the dam.

We then made our way to the Rainbow Bridge. 

After that we explored the Lake Powell from the air. 

We landed at monument valley, which was literally an airstrip and a portakabin with loos. We were met by a Navajo Indian guide and taken on a tour in a four wheel drive truck.  Seeing the monuments close up was unbelievable. 

We then climbed aboard our aircraft again and took an hour long flight over the Grand Canyon. I wasn't prepared for the beauty or the range of co,ours in the rock formations. It was stunning. 

Now we are back on our bus and headed to Flagstaff for our overnight stop. Can't believe the holiday is almost over and tomorrow we'll be in Las Vegas.