Thanksgiving weekend—what could be a better time to buy a car in Vegas and drive it all the way to Pittsburgh! 5 national parks in 3 days. 2500 miles driven. Most of pictures were taken in beautiful Utah.
As it turned out, Xterra is a pretty thirsty truck. It needs refueling roughly every 300 miles on highway or 150–200 miles in the city/rural road. I decided to fill it up before entering the splendid Zion National Park.
Sunset provided some awesome hues for taking pictures.
Despite ridiculously low temperatures at the Bryce Canyon rim at 5am, I decided to go there and enjoy the rising sun.
The great thing about visiting Bryce Canyon in November is that there are almost no visitors to stand on your way. In about 2 hours I spent there I met only 2 parties: old ladies looking out from the rim and couple guys hiking down the canyon.
I love the way this truck looks. A day after purchasing it, I couldn't resist a temptation to take a lot of pictures from different angles.
On my way out of Bryce Canyon I stopped for a short walk to a Mossy Cave and a waterfall along the only stream in Bryce Canyon. You can read more on the American southwest website: www.americansouthwest.net/utah/bryce_canyon/mossy-cave-tr...
In the 1800's the pioneers dug a channel from the Sevier River to Water Canyon to supply water to nearby communities.
Just enjoying myself...
Rare picture of me not holding a camera... Thank you, Chinese tourists!
About 20 miles from Bryce Canyon the landscape drastically changes. This is an old sea bottom.
Rugged beauty. Nissan did a great job designing this vehicle.
Just make sure you have enough gas and courage to start driving down this trail!
Before starting the trip i purchased a can for extra fuel, a sleeping bag, a pillow, some food and water and some other necessities to make sure I could survive couple days in case I got stuck somewhere.
A look at the very narrow canyon from above just couple minutes before entering it.
The echo in this place is amazing... And nobody hears you because there is nobody around.
This is massive and impressive!
The series of switchbacks entering the Waterpocket Fold. By this time the road became loose gravel and going down required slowing down to stay on track.
According to the US National Park Service website "The Waterpocket Fold defines Capitol Reef National Park. A nearly 100-mile long warp in the Earth's crust, the Waterpocket Fold is a classic monocline: a regional fold with one very steep side in an area of otherwise nearly horizontal layers." Read more on their site: www.nps.gov/care/naturescience/geology.htm
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