Blustery Bryce Canyon

We made excellent timing to Zion, and as we were still fearful of the Government shutting down and the snowstorm that had already begun, we decided to road trip for the day to Bryce then come back to Zion for the night.

As we entered Bryce Canyon, all of the roads/trails were closed except for one due to the snowstorm.

We drove up through “Point Lookout” (the only scenic overlook that had been plowed). The view was breathtakingly gorgeous! (Figuratively and literally) Just as we got to the top of the lookout the winds began to pick up and the snow started to come down again.

We didn’t let that stop us though from venturing out of the truck and hiking around a little bit, we even let little Salsa walk around a little bit.

Since the storm was really starting to pick up again, we thought it was probably a good/smart time to start heading back towards Zion for the night.

Paying It Forward

We woke up Friday morning in Lake Powell, not knowing at all what the day would hold for us.

We were headed to Zion National Park in Utah. However, the weather forecast was looking grim over the next few days; winds forecasted up to 50mph and 6inches of snow with little to no visibility at times.

If the weather wasn’t enough to worry us, we were also starting to really get concerned with whether the government would be shutting down or not; if so, we would be looking for new places to see and stay…no government = no National Parks L If there is one thing that Josh and I have mastered during this road trip- it is adaptation. So off we went.

As we headed out of Lake Powell, we saw a Ford Explorer that looked like it was stuck on the side of the road. We decided to pull over and see if there was anything we could do to help. As we pulled up to the SUV, we saw two women on the ground trying to dig out their Explorer with coffee cups. Josh quickly assessed the situation and saw that he could hook up the tow strap and pull them out.

The women were very grateful that we were able to help.

Oh How I Do Love Detours

We woke up in the morning at Flagstaff; our day’s destination was Lake Powell. As we were driving down the highway, we saw signs for Sunset Crater…. This was an absolute must!!

Words nor pictures can even begin to describe the enormity of the crater and its surroundings…

While exploring around the crater, we saw a sign for OHV Vehicles…. Should we do it?...Yup…. Lets absolutely do it !!!

The OHV trail slowly begun to turn into an ash/rock beach; the land just opened up with trees scattered here and there…it was incredible to experience.

As another storm was fast approaching and we did not know how ashy pebbles would turn when wet, we decided to find our way back to the main road (which surprisingly ended up being a bit of a challenge) 

Ahhhh... there's the road! 

We stopped to stretch our legs and paws at a gorgeous over look. 

The Infamous Black Bart’s

After our successful expedition on Broken Arrow, we splurged and treated ourselves to one of our favorite Western Restaurants that my grandparents had introduced us to the year before; Black Bart’s. Black Bart’s is located off the highway in Flagstaff, AZ. It is a cozy little steakhouse with an Old-Time Saloon atmosphere and Musical Entertainment….

……and the most delicious Fried Ice Cream!!!!