Chucking it down

Last night I briefly saw the international space station flying over Utah which was quite exciting. Ate some quesidillas at a cool cowboy bar where live music was playing. I could only eat a half of all the food as the portions were so big so I asked for a box to save the rest for later.

Woke up this morning to the sound of thunder and a feeling of being not quite well. My feet were super hot (not sunburn) and I generally felt not that great. I suspect it is doing too much and eating far too much! I am feeling much better now but at one point I lost the hearing in my left ear because of all the altitude changes, being on the road going up and down on "Hell's Backbone" was like being on a plane. Had breakfast at 'Hell's backbone' cafe wheer a load of guests were eating after a wedding there the previous day. I had blue corn pancakes which came decorated with fruit and flowers. Really lovely but I am at the point in the holiday now where I am craving salads, veg and less fancy foods!

Managed to get to Bryce Canyon after a long roadtrip. I have blipped Bryce before a couple of years or so ago but this time it was very misty and rainy, really heaving it down. If you look closely you can see I am standing on rocks and mud. Sadly most of my photos are pretty poor as the lens was continually getting covered in water so I gave up and concentrated on the colours, forms and thinking calm thoughts of appreciation (that was nice). I would really like to walk around the bottom of Bryce one day and look up at the hoodos (those orange towery/ fingery things) from below. I am not sure I will come back here though. For me Bryce is so much more impressive than the Grand Canyon but I know I will be in the minority holding that view. It is just so quirky and I prefer quirkly to vast! At one point today i was trying to walk around the rim of the canyon and I was sliding backwards on the mud, there was no grip at all and some of the stone edges were very slippy, it was a little dangerous but enjoyable none the less. This is my wet/ colder weather get up- a running jacket which is not really waterproof and my barefoot runners which are starting to show their age. I am starting to think I should have at least brought a pair of jeans or walking trousers with me...ah well!

The end of the holiday is fast approaching and I am now staying on the edge of Zion National Park. It's visually quite different to anything I have seen before and I hope to explore it tomorrow despite the fact heavy rain and thunder are forecast. It's a fleeting visit.