I had taken off enough time for work that in theory I could be gone for 3 full weeks if I wanted. I hadn’t made formal plans beyond trying to hike in the Grand Canyon and that was already several days behind me. Leaving Bryce I had two choices, head back south and try to check out a few spots I had missed, or head north and visit some friends and possibly more national parks. Had I gone north, I most likely would have checked out Rocky Mountain National Park and perhaps back to Yellowstone and more.

But honestly, I was getting a bit homesick and I knew heading north would get me into colder weather. I had brought the gear for that, so it wasn’t a real issue, but it was something to consider.

I had wrestled the night before and that morning what to do. I didn’t have a camping reservation any place, which concerned me. As the previous post notes, I had headed south and fortunately found a great spot to camp.

I slept that night under the starts and woke up several times and saw how they had moved over the course of the night. Finally morning came and I packed up and got moving. The idea was to start by checking out the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor center (and to fill up on water, since this primitive camp ground had no water supply). I thought it opened at 8:00 AM but when I got there I saw it opened at 9:00 AM. No worries, I could wait. 9:00 AM came and went and they didn’t open. Several other people tried the door. Suddenly I realized what had happened. Despite passing back into Arizona, my phone (and presumably the phones of the others) had NOT shifted back to Mountain Standard Time. This actually surprised me because, as I later confirmed, generally both my car and phone were very good (as in a matter of maybe 100 meters or so) of updating when changing time zones. I knew from previous experience my phone adapted correctly to Arizona not being in Daylight Saving time. So why it didn’t this time, I’m not sure. Anyway, we all waited another hour for 9:00 AM Arizona time to arrive.

Whereas I’m not entirely convinced Hoover Dam was worth the price of the tour (especially since the visitor center proper there was closed for renovations), I do feel Glen Canyon Dam was worth the price. It was free. There’s definitely far less to see here. There’s no tour of the dam. Fewer viewpoints. But there’s a decent enough amount of things to look at and learn from. I spent perhaps an hour there and then headed out. I had a plan. The plan required a lot of driving. Giving I was starting an hour later than I had expected, that plan was already in jeopardy.

But that said, I did make a stop for some more photographs of what’s essentially the upstream end of the Grand Canyon. I have now seen basically both “ends” (technically the Grand Canyon ends at the start of Lake Mead, but I’m counting the two dams/lakes as the start/end of the Grand Canyon.)

I then saw a sign for Horseshoe Bend viewpoint. This is a famous bend in the river I wanted to get some pictures from. I pulled off, only to see a sign that there was a $10 entry fee and that since it’s not part of the National Park System, they don’t accept the pass I had. By now I couldn’t turn around so I had to go to the ticket booth and tell her basically I just wanted to leave. She let me through and I did. While I’m all for capitalism, at $10 for what would have been perhaps 1.5 hours of my life, I just didn’t see the value. I had already hiked the Canyon itself and seen a lot, I could pass on this.

After leaving Page and heading south, I continued to pass through the desert and some canyons. It was beautiful. One stop I made along the way was a roadside “Frybread” place. I had been meaning to try some of what’s considered a local delicacy by the local Native Americans. When I pulled over, other than two other gringos, all the other customers looked to be Native American, so I figured I made a good choice. I ordered the “Taco Frybread”. I was pretty good. I’d definitely recommend trying frybread if you get a chance. Perhaps on its own just to get the full flavor.

After leaving there, my next goal was Meteor Crater. This was off of I-40 and I had passed by it on the way towards the Grand Canyon. It’s about 5 miles off of I-40. I had been under the impression it was also part of the National Park System. It’s not. I only discovered that after driving all the way there and getting to the ticket desk. While the $29 entry fee apparently included a guided tour and a movie, again I just decided it wasn’t worth it.

It was a combination and cost in both that case and the case of Horseshoe Curve. Had either been free, I might have taken the time. But combined, I decided not to take the time, especially since I had a plan.

The plan was to make a mad dash for the Gateway Arch and get there early enough to try to get tickets. This is not a plan I would normally recommend to most folks. I did the math and realized if I wanted to get to the Arch before Noon, it meant basically driving for close to 20 hours straight with just a few stops for gas, food, and very short cat-naps. My goal was Noon since on my way out when I had missed out on getting tickets, the gentleman explained that they had sold out that morning. I was hoping that on a Tuesday, they would be less likely to sell out so early.

So after leaving Meteor Crater, it was basically just driving, back over roads I had already driven. I did manage a quick pit stop again in Amarillo at the visitor center I had slept at on the way out. I think that was the only place I did a duplicate visit of.

By about 3 or 4 in the morning I was seriously questioning my life choices, but I kept soldiering on.