Day One-hundred-and-fifty-three: Beautiful country

Today's traveling was so beautiful, I decided to take the more scenic route another day.  I've been in three states today, Arizona twice.  The first time I entered Arizona, on I-15, I thought sure I was going to have to go into a tunnel but instead there were several curves through some beautifully sliced rock walls.  After I was through the slices, it was difficult to see much change as the canyon walls were just as shear but perhaps a little further from the road.  Both were spectacular.

Even though I had only gone 139 miles, I decided to get gas in St. Georges.  Then I changed my Prius navigation system to area three and my destination as the Zion National Park Visitor's Center.

Zion was spectacular as well.  Since I had to pay $25 just to drive through it, I decided to take the shuttle all the way to the end of the road and walk another mile into the canyon.  The pictures I took on the walk were good but cannot show it well.  (While at the end, I did my guided meditation with the roar of the water as the background.  I could hardly hear the voice on my ipod for the water.)  I didn't stop anywhere else in Zion National Park because I couldn't have seen it all and one more wouldn't make that much difference.  I'll just have to go back.  (Yet another place that Marilyn would have really loved.)

Leaving Zion, I set my Prius up for a Best Western in Farmington, New Mexico.  I figured I could get there before midnight.  Then as I drove through more and more spectacular scenery, I decided to stop before dark, which finds me in a Courtyard by Marriott in Page Arizona.  Their restaurant isn't open for dinner and I didn't feel like driving to a less than satisfactory non-vegan restaurant.  (Although a hot meal is becoming more attractive the further in time I am removed from my last one, Thanksgiving Day.)

I was surprised at some of the sizes of the towns, well one town, Kanab, on this side of Zion.  I think it had everyone of the fast food standards.  Glen Canyon and Escalante were also spectacular.  I didn't even bother taking pictures of all the beautiful swirling and layered red and pink and white rocks.  I just enjoyed them.

I'm going to have to travel more in my Life after Layoff.  I wish I had done so in my life before layoff.

I finished listening to the Garrison Keeler CDs.  The last one, number five, had a long skit on jokes with guest Paula Poundstone.  The last two came from one of the musicians:

• What is the definition of a "perfect pitch?"  It is when you throw a banjo in the dumpster and it doesn't touch the sides.
• Son to father:  "When I grow up I want to be a musician."  Father to son:  "Son, you can't have it both ways."