Utah, you are so pretty and welcoming !

So, yesterday we drove from Kanab, north to Salt Lake City - with a few a little stops on the way - and time got away on us, so there was no time to write this last night.

As it turns out, this was a good thing.

We left Kanab after breakfast, and started northward. We decided to have a short detour to Bryce Canyon National Park so followed the Scenic Byway there through Red Canyon. Omigosh. Amazing. Every one of these oversized landscapes is so different to the next.

When we got Bryce, we came first to Bryce Canyon City which looks very new, and caters to the thousands of visitors these parks seem to have everyday, every season. We went into the park, but decided not to go adventuring too much in case it just delayed our arrival further north. So no photos of Bryce this time, I will have to go again another time.

So we set off again northward. Through teeny but thriving communities. Why can't we do this as well as the UK and US, New Zealand ? Every town we have been in, or stopped at passing though has notices in windows, advertising vacancies. True they may not be wonder jobs, paying great money - but they are jobs, and lots of businesses are obviously growing and looking to grow their staff numbers as well. It has to be good, doesn't it ?

The other thing which has surprised me has been the greenness, in Arizona and in Utah. Not always pasture, and not the same green we have in NZ, but trees and scrubby - maybe alpine/tundra - type grasses and shrubs. And always with majestic mountain ranges framing the scene.

As it turned out, our photo stops did effect our arrival time. Rush hour in Salt Lake isn't not so bad as LA, but it is up there with Auckland - but with more lanes, and more route options. Finding our hotel took a bit longer than planned as we changed midstream when the booked one gave us a non-smoking room which actually smelled smoky. Not good for allergies and asthma. Anyway we had a great dinner (see the next blog) and eventually found our way to a slightly better situated hotel - and definitely ready to hit the hay !