Back to the airport for another hire car ...
This time the manager is very obliging and gives us exactly the kind of car we want and it takes all of 10 minutes to get done. A pleasant change from some of the experiences we have had.
Our only firm commitment for today is to be at a Zion hotel at 4pm in order to check in for our photography course and as we are now ahead of schedule we can be a bit more adventurous in our planning for the day ...
We decide to head back the way we came past Cedar City and take the road through Brian Head and Cedar Breaks both of which are over 10000ft or 3200m in height. It’ll be OK as long as we don’t try and get out of the car and walk anywhere, or at least one of us carries an oxygen bottle. The mileages are quite small so we can be there before lunch and still make it back to Zion with plenty of time.
The road up is one of the more “interesting” we have been on and is restricted to cars only; no RVs, caravans, trucks or motorhomes as some grades are about 16%; and is normally closed at this time unless you have snow tyres or chains. Because of the exceptional warm weather they are allowing everyone through without these accessories but there are imminent warnings that if it changes we have to get off the mountain.
Within minutes we are above 3200m and snow is appearing on the shaded slopes
Of course I have to go and try it out
Even though winter has not properly started even the trees are feeling it up here.
Eventually we reach Cedar Breaks, where strangely enough we are informed there are no Cedar trees; there are breaks however and quite spectacular ones as well.
They are even sprinkled with snow as well along the distant ridges.
As we travel al little further on we get a view of the whole area. This photo covers perhaps 5km so there is some distortion as it’s not really a giant hole but more like a valley.
Eventually however we have to be heading back to Zion.
This intrigues me a little as to where everything is going to be as when I was here in 1989 I came into Zion from the East and left the same way and there was nothing there but a parking area and a canyon. This time however we come in from the South and it becomes apparent that there is a town called Springdale just inside the South border of the park with all the necessary facilities.
We arrive well in time to get checked in and join the “Photography Summit” (???) for a “Hail Fellow! Well met!” session and some rather garbled instructions as to where we might photograph the dawn tomorrow.
Not exactly what we expected, to be sent out on our own, but we will make the best of it and see what develops ... (sorry about that).
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