Friday, October 7
We woke up this morning and it was COLD. I put the key in the van ignition so that the temperature would show and shivered when it read 24 degrees! OMG.
I put on all my layers, steeled myself for the cold and bravely took Auggie for his morning walk.
Here is where I point out that Auggie and I are at completely different ends of the temperature spectrum. I like heat. I am always cold, and usually walk around in the hot, sticky summers of Washington, DC, happy that there is hot around me. (Yes, I agree – it can get oppressive, but basic point of fact is that I don’t mind that heat as much as most people do.)
Auggie, on the other hand, is covered by a fur coat at all times and is happiest when it’s cold. Like this morning at Bryce Canyon. The boy had his GROOVE on! He wanted to play. He wanted to frolic. He wanted to steal the glove off my hand and chase it. He was frisky and full of himself, loving the cold.
So after he did his business, I went back to the van and got his ball so he could play a little bit. He would have chased that blasted ball for hours if I hadn’t said stop. I was starting to get REALLY cold, needed some food, my nose was bright red, and I was done with the cold.
We went back to the van, got some breakfast in us and then drove the mile down the road to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce Canyon was lovely in snow!
It wasn’t a lot of snow, but just enough to add a bit of wintry flavor to the visit. We didn’t have a whole lot of time, since we needed to do a bit more driving later. But we saw the highpoints of the 18-mile drive through the park and back.
Whereas in Zion you are on the floor of the canyon, looking up, in Bryce you are on top of the canyon, looking down.
One of our first stops was the Natural Bridge pull-out. This was pretty cool (an arch, not an official bridge, according to the official National Park Service guide), eroded out of the stone and covered with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
As we drove farther along the canyon, we saw that at most a few inches of snow had fallen overnight. The roads were well plowed, but the sidewalks at the pull-outs were snow and ice covered. We had to be careful we didn’t slip.
We made another couple stops along the way.
The final stop, Rainbow Point, was another lovely sight. Again, it was nice to see some snow, since it added yet another layer of color into the landscape. Auggie liked the snow, too.
After we left the park, we stopped quickly to put gas in the van and then started our 100+-mile drive around the eastern side of the Awapa Plateau and through the Dixie National Forest to Torrey, Utah. I was scheduled to meet my friend, Andy, there mid-afternoon.
I made a few stops along my drive to take in the pretty scenery. The national forest was lovely ...
... as was Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
I also discovered that there are a LOT of cows along the road in this part of Utah. Several times along our drive, Auggie and I had to stop and let cows cross, or we had to honk to encourage them to clear off the road. Whew – this was complicated driving! ;-)
There were a number of beautiful vistas along our drive, too. Red rocks, broad canyons, blue sky. More curvy roads with up-and-down stretches. More cool rock formations. Wow.
And then we climbed high enough to get into some snow again as we got closer to Torrey. It was clear the higher altitudes had gotten more snow from the storm that had been passing through the area the past few days. We were at about 9,000 feet, and the plowed snow on the side of the road and the snow on the trees made me slow down, use my gears and keep a close eye on the thermometer. The sky was changing a lot during this drive, so we encountered some snow flurries again.
And more cows.
Finally, we made it to Torrey. Auggie and I were just getting out of the Champagne Chevy to stretch our legs, when Andy and his boss, Jeff, pulled up.
Andy works for a media company in Ogden, Utah, just north of Salt Lake. He and his company have been working on a series for the local Salt Lake NBC affiliate called “We are Utah.” It’s a series featuring two (funny) retired Utah guys and their “bucket list” of cool, fun things to do in the state of Utah. Andy and his team had scheduled to do a shoot in Torrey to go fly fishing with the guys. They were all meeting in Torrey on Friday afternoon, and then the shoot would take place on Saturday. I was invited to come along, which I was happy to do.
Andy and Jeff had been in touch with a fishing guide for this shoot, and the guide had told them about a few fishing spots in the area. Since it was only mid-afternoon, the guys were itching to go fish a bit. Auggie and I went along.
I didn’t have any waders, so I was a little handicapped. I was able to borrow some waders and boots, but it was all a bit big on me. It was also cold, so I wasn’t that terribly inclined to climb into the stream and spend a lot of time. (I am apparently a fair-weather fly fisher.)
As we pulled up to the stream, a local guy was carrying out this 25-inch rainbow trout that he’d just caught. It was one of the biggest fish I’d personally ever seen out of a stream! The guys were really itching to get their flies into the water now!
The scenery was gorgeous on this pretty fall afternoon.
The scenery was gorgeous on this pretty fall afternoon.
Andy and Jeff fished while Auggie and I explored the boggy muck that surrounded the stream. (Auggie very much enjoyed getting dirty.) I fished a little bit, too, but to do it right in this stream, I needed to get into the water and work the stream from there. I wasn't interested in cold, wet feet (I'm such a wuss!), so I called it quits earlier than the guys and went to go check in to the campsite.
I met the guys - the two gentlemen, Bob and Jerry, who would be in front of the camera the next day, and Andy and Jeff - for dinner. I was getting up early with them all to go on the shoot, so after dinner we called it a night.
