Day 17

Another day of ups and downs: we dashed over this morning to the Bureau of Land Management office in Kanab to see if we could be 2 of the 20 people allowed, by lottery, to hike at The Wave today (Google it up-- it's incredible), but we didn't make it on our first try, so we'll try again tomorrow. Plan B was to go to Zion, and what an alternative that was! I thought my neck would be sore from looking up & up & up the vertical, colorful peaks. They handle crowds there by sending everyone to a central parking area & then shuttling folks around on buses that come often, stop everywhere and are free, so you can structure your day any way you want-- lots of hiking & walking for me. The streams are super clear, but the raging river at the bottom of the canyons was silty & cold; it doesn't take much for a flash flood at this time of year & we saw & heard lightning & thunder as we left. When we got back we went to a funky little museum in town that had props & sets from some of the many westerns that have been made here-- go figure! Now we're topping the day off at the laundromat--can't say that I've done this in a while. Wish us luck for tomorrow: The Wave or Bryce Canyon, what a lovely dilemma.

Dormir en la van no es lo peor, al contrario. Hace mucho que no duermo 10 hs seguidas!!! Hoy la meta fue hacer 40 millas para asistir a un sorteo que nos abriría la posibilidad de ser dos de los 20 'elegidos' para entrar en un parque, The Waves, cuya fragilidad exige ser visitado por pocos. No salimos sorteadas, mañana es nuestra última chance. Pero fuimos a otro parque nacional: Zion. Me encantó, se camina por el fondo del cañón, junto al río Virgin, es muy verde, con cascadas, el río fluye con fuerza, y muchos helechos, flores. A la vuelta nos paramos en un museo de hollywood. A la mañana, en medio de la nada, nos habíamos encontrado con esta locación que se alquila para cine y tv. Es que en este pueblo, Kanab, Utah, donde no se vende una gota de alcohol, se han filmado muchas pelis del oeste americano. Continuará...