May 3 -- Canyonlands NP

Wearing everything I own, I survived a night of 24-degree temps. It actually wasn't that bad, until I had to get out and get moving in the morning. Oh, and that nature call at 3 am was not very fun. But at 6 am I knew that hot coffee was waiting for me at McDonald's just down the road. Like I've said before, I'm quite married to some of the modern conveniences and luxuries of life.

Having seen all I wanted to see of the Grand Canyon (or so I thought), I was headed out of the park this morning on my way to Utah. But I longed to launder my clothes, since they hadn't been washed since I left San Diego. So I stopped at the laundromat inside the park and washed my only set of clothes. No one seemed to care that I was hanging out inside in nothing but my rain gear.

Fresh as a spring flower, I then hopped the bus to the park headquarters, where I heard they had public-use computers for free. There was one at the laundromat, but it was $2 for 8 minutes. I needed to upload some photos, so that would get expensive quickly. The "library" at HQ was tiny, but the librarian was a doll. We chatted about the parks in Utah while I uploaded a few photos. What I uploaded, however, was a small fraction of what I actually captured. I could upload only five at a time, and it took nearly ten minutes to do each set of five. I had places to go (like Utah) and things to do, so I uploaded only a few. I hope you like them. I will try to do more from Moab when I get there.

From the "library" computer, I also booked a flight home. I will be ending this grand adventure on May 17, two weeks from today. I think/hope that will give me enough time to do what I want to do. If not, then I will just have to come back out here sometime and pick up where I left off. While I'm having a FABULOUS time, it's wearing to live out of a car and sleep on the ground in the cold, even in some of the most beautiful parks in the world.

Following my time at the "library," I hit the road, but couldn't quite pull myself away from the Grand Canyon. The road out of the park kept skirting the rim of the canyon, with overlooks every few miles. I couldn't quite resist them all, particularly since the weather today was warmer, and there was not a cloud in the sky, which meant that the views of the canyon were more vast and more colorful with the sun's rays fully upon it. You'll see what I mean when I get the day's photos uploaded.

So I didn't actually leave the park until after 11 am, which meant that I would have to hustle to make it to Canyonlands by dark. It was all back roads driving today, and I must say it was some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. I have been through so many different landscapes today, I can't begin to describe them all. There was the desert wasteland through the Indian reservations, then the red clay spires that rose from the desert floor without any seemingly geological justification. They were just there.

I ascended and descended many times during the day, although I remained several thousand feet up. There was snow on the tops of the highest canyons, which is strange to see in a desert environment. Then I would find myself in a totally different ecosystem with trees -- real trees -- not just shrubs or stunted attempts at trees. I rolled through farmland and cattle land. There were mules and horses and goats roaming freely by the side of the road. The rock formations were awe-inspiring, the colors vibrant and multi-faceted, depending on the angle of the sun's light. To this Florida girl, it seemed as if I was traveling on another world, or in another time. It is that different from the terrain I have always known.

As I got closer to Canyonlands, I entered a mountainous region, with snow-capped peaks at ten and eleven thousand feet. It was getting late in the day, and I was concerned that there wouldn't be any vacancies at the small campground in the park, but I hadn't really formulated a plan B, so I pressed on. The last 22 miles into the park was, without a doubt, the most beautiful of my already incredible day. I was in a hurry to reach the end, so I will have to take time tomorrow to take photos.

Of course, when I reached the park at 6:30 pm, it was closed, and the campground was full, but there was a private campground just outside the entrance that was also closed, but had vacancies. I'm camping on the honor system, so I will have to pay on my way out. I'm nestled up against a canyon wall. It's dark now, and the sky is slowly filling with stars. Since there is no artificial light for tens of miles, the stars are bright and plentiful. With no chance of rain tonight, I did not pitch my fly on my tent, so I will be able to star gaze through the mesh in the roof while I cuddle in my sleeping bag. Which sounds like a good idea right now.

Tomorrow, I will explore the park. I may head to Arches, or I may not. Depends on how I feel.

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