27 SEPTEMBER 2012: ZANAB & BRYCE CANYON

Day 10:
Bags at 7, bus leaves at 8.
As usual, some fun activities on the bus to get us started:

1. Chiefs and Squaws:   couples had to decide who was chief and who squaw, and then announce to everyone how they could best be named. Sue chose 'Chief Weak Bladder' for Steve, but he wasn't so brave and could only come  up with 'Squaw Teacher'!
2. Kent and Kestina's 25th Wedding anniversary:  Today was 'the day' so Kent had to go up front and tell us all how they met......in a retirement home (they were both working there, not residents!).

UTAH:

Today was the first day we'd been driving in the State of Utah, so some facts.

• got statehood in 1896, and was 45th state
• operates on 'Utah Time', an hour ahead of Pacific Time.
• population made up of Ute Indians and Latter Day Saints (LDSs), otherwise known as Mormons.
• they don't like to be called 'Mormons' any more because of the stigma (!)
• polygamy was an intrinsic part of early Mormonism and Brigham Young, an early leader, had 52 wives!
• polygamy was outlawed in the 1890s as it was causing the Mormons to be seen as immoral
• you might find it interesting to see how British and American media portray the LDSs
• www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/
• http://abcnews..go.com/US/mormons-/story?id=17057679
• Billie came up to the front of the bus and told about her family who in the late 19th century set up the Reformed Church of Latter Day Saints after falling out with Brigham Young.
• Rich, who works as a tour guide in Sacramento, also came up and told us about Samuel Brannan, a prominent late 19th century Mormon who lived in Sacramento who also fell out with the church:

• www.historynet.com/latter-day-scoundrel-sam-brannan.htm

All FASCINATING stuff with Romney running for the President. His Mormonism has been the 'Elephant in the Room' throughout his campaign so far.

A taste of what was to come.

ZANAB:

At 5000 feet above sea level, Zanab is dubbed 'The Western Hollywood' with over 100 cowboy films and TV series having been filmed here.

We stopped at Denny's Wigwam for the  Rest Rooms (as usual), shopping and a chance to look at the mock film-set in the back. This was an amazing display of cowboy-ism.

Inside was no less interesting.

'John Wayne' didn't look too healthy

There was no shortage of things to buy....or just look at...................

...........unlike the neighbouring shop which was evidence of America's economic problems.

Later that evening, after our trip to Bryce, a number of us returned to Denny's for a BBQ meal ( on Claudia's recommendation, we had the baby ribs, which fell off the bone) to the accompaniment of a cowboy singer. Great stuff!


BRYCE CANYON:
Bryce Canyon is famed for its unique geology of red rock spires and horse-shoe shaped amphitheatres, but amazingly surprisingly few Americans even know about it.

The Geology:
There's more than 60 million years of geology here. The Clarion formation has been deposited, uplifted and eroded by ice, snowmelt, thunderstorms and the roots of trees and plants. Hoodoos and amphitheatres of colourful temples, domes and spires were left standing as billions of tons of ground rock moved out of Bryce Canyon and into the Colorado River.
The People:
For centuries, bands of Southern Paiute Indians hunted and fished on the plateau top while they lived in the warmer valley below. Their life style meant that they left few artifacts for us to see today, but we know that they believed that the colourful rock hoodoos were 'Legend People', animals and birds that had been turned into stone.
In 1875 Ebenezer Bryce (a Scottish Mormon immigrant and millwright) was one of the first modern settlers. He ran cattle in the area, gave the canyon its name, and made the famous remark about the canyon: 'It's a hell of a place to lose a cow'.

Our first sight of the hoodoos was breathtaking. No advance reading of guide books can prepare you for it!

 The Navajo Trail:
Becky had suggested different ways we might like to spend our time here, depending on how energetic we felt and how fit we were.
We opted to go with her and others on the 1.3 mile Navajo Trail to the bottom of the Canyon. It took us 2 hours to walk it, and footing on the descent was hairy at times, but it was so worthwhile.

It wasn't always easy going on the descent.

How on earth did this grow here?

They lied!! It was far from the end.

At one point Billie and Debbie looked to be flagging...

....but by the end they were as fresh as daisies!

At the end of the trail we saw our trophies......

Bryce Point:

RED ROCK CANYON:

Last stop of the day.