Day 7: from Grand Canyon to Zion NP, UT through Vegas....

Yesterday morning Deb and I took off from Tusayan, AZ, the border town of the Grand Canyon, heading towards Las Vegas where Deb was flying back to Oakland, CA. The drive wasn't as bad as the drive from Vegas to Tusayan two days prior, but it still took quite a chunk of time. We were stopped by the police before the Hoover Dam for an inspection (which is pretty crazy, since my car is so packed that moving anything could mean everything falling out)...

We had planned for the trip to take longer than it did, though, and we got to Vegas a couple hours before Deb had to be at the airport. We searched for a place to eat along the road leading to the airport, and spotted this little Cuban cafe that seemed the best option (compared to Wendy's, McD's, etc.) It turned out to be really delicious food, despite the somewhat shabby, strip-mall appearance. After lunch I just dropped Deb off at the airport and headed north. Unfortunately, the minute Deb was inside the airport and I was crawling slowly toward the exit, my engine oil light went off. It turned off after a minute, but the whole ride to Zion it was going on and off.

I hit major traffic leaving Vegas, and the temp hit 99 degrees.... painful. But after leaving the city traffic opened up and the temp dropped to 80, so it was all good. I stopped in St. George, UT to get my oil changed, and found out the gasket is leaking - hence the light... Add it to the list!

Once past St. George the landscape morphed into an intricate system of canyons.... really gorgeous! Deep reds and browns, frosted by a thin layer of grasses. I slept in the parking lot of the town library in Springdale, UT, Zion'z border town. Off into the park today, and half of tomorrow, before I head to Bryce. Yeeehaw!