Don Quixote's Horse

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.  --Lao Tzu

A journey of five thousand miles starts with me saying "Hey, I'll drive your car to GA for you!"  I've always wanted to make a cross country road trip and it was the opportunity of a lifetime so I jumped on it.  I plotted a 4,900 mile route that would take me through Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon, along Route 66, down to Carlsbad Caverns, across Texas up through Louisiana and Mississippi and across the entire state of Tennessee before dropping down from North Carolina, South Caroline and finally ending in Ludowici, GA.  Then taking a page from John Steinbeck when he set off on his trip across America, I decided to name my ride.  He finally chose Rocinante, that noble steed ridden by Don Quixote. When I imagined my ideal road trip, I also imagined the ideal road trip car.  It would be a car worthy of the name Rocinante.   Unfortunately, I didn't get Don Quixote's horse.  I got Sancho Panza's donkey: a 1996 Lexus ES300 4 door sedan.  Go with what you got.  So I named it Rucio after the donkey. 

Rucio

I left Seattle yesterday and stayed the night in Caldwell, Idaho with my parents.  Left there early this morning headed for Bryce Canyon National Park.  At first it was fun.  There I was crossing a desert and waxing poetic about how beautiful the sunrise over the desert was.  At Glenn's Ferry I admired the way the sunrise cast a golden glow on the hills and where there was shadow, they turned a beautiful red colour which stood out against the deep green of the farmland surrounding the deceptively quiet looking Snake River.  But.......100 miles of desert can get to you.  Later the conversations with myself went something like this:  Bliss, ID: Oh? Think you're living in Bliss? Really Sunshine?  Taken a look around lately?  Living in denial maybe but Bliss?  Not friggin' likely.  Eden, ID: As in Garden of?  Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow? Hydroponic? Ultra Super Sonic? Or does it grow naturally slow? (Lyrics from Ganja Babe by Michael Franti) Nice cash crop you got goin' there girlfriend. Those people in Bliss are your best customers aren't they?  Anyway, at the end of a 600 + mile trip which was 95% BORING desert, I reached Bryce Canyon.  There just are no words to describe this place.  Nothing seems to fit so I'll just shut up and let Mother Nature strut her stuff for you:

There was a bit of local wildlife out and about since it was getting towards sunset.  Quick Mountain Man, name them deer!

Nice ass



CUUUUUTTTEEE!

 My last stop before checking into the hotel for the night was Fairyland Canyon.  This is the start of the trail I'll be hiking tomorrow.  It goes down into the Canyon and makes an 8 mile loop around.