Jun 2, 2006

Day 1 of Bryce Canyon Trip ...


Weather: Windy
Fuel: 4.5 gallons from Flagstaff
Quote of the Day: "Make a vee, so I can pee." by Danielle

I woke up early (4:30 am) by chance. I must've fallen asleep early. I put wet clothes from the previous day in the dryer. I looked up a camping packinglist on-line. I packed following the list and walked through each room to make sure I did not forget anything. I felt ready.

I decided to go for a morning run as this could be the last time for a run for few days. Cenya, my dog did not seem to want to run. Oh, well. It's her loss. It was nice and cool. Three miles did not last very long, but it was enough.

After a shower, I packed some of the dried clothes and started for Flagstaff, where I would meet up with Danielle, Dhumal, Jennifer, Mark, and Sinziana. It was a nice drive up. It was little cold for a convertible ride, but I turned the heat on once I felt too cold. The ride was uneventful due to little traffic. Only thing worth mentioning is the time I had to downshift to fourth, but second accidently. I was a little upset with myself.

I drove to the Days Inn, where the group was staying. I asked a counter person to call the room, and Mark promptly came and got me. It would seem they were not ready. I decided to use my camcorder to record their laziness. A couple of them, who shall be nameless, gave me the horrified looks.

The group started to get bustling with readying for a long car drive. For one person, readying included curling her locks. Although we poked fun, I can understand people having poor hair image since I also have this problem. We went to the Inn's continental breakfast. Unfortunately, Danielle found the breakfast set up to be less than favorable. This would not be the last time a meal would not meet her standard. Poor Danielle. I think the group as a whole was not crazy about the breakfast.

After the breakfast, the group packed the Xterra with their belongings, and we drove to the nearest coffee joint and gas station for filling up people and vehicles. After these two quick stops, we started driving toward Bryce on 89. Mark rode with me first, and we followed the Xterra. We all first decided to go on 89A for a scenic drive, but the Xterra missed the turn. I am not sure if it was incidental or accidental. The Xterra stopped soon after missing the turn. I was a little confused as the Xterra stopped just off the road. Huh? It turned out Danielle needed to tinkle, and then she uttered the Quote of the Day, "Make a vee so I can pee." Danielle wanted me to back the car and make a vee for some needed privacy. Rest is up to your imagination.

I was a little glad we stopped since I was getting hot and feeling a sunburn from driving with the roof down. One of the group called Mark and me, "rednecks." I was tired of feeling hot, sticky, and dusty. Roof went up soon after.

We stopped at Kanab, UT for lunch. The only Mexican restaurant, Escobar's, was closed, which made all of us really sad. We ate at a local Subway. What consolation! At least they had Vanilla Coke.

Jennifer rode the rest of the way to Bryce with me. It was nice. We just talked about this and that and nothing terribly important. Our ride came to an end pretty soon. The group checked in at Ruby's Inn, which is just outside of the park. I drove into the park to find me a campsite so I can sleep under the stars. Most of the sites were taken, but I was lucky enough to find one.

I went back and met up with the group. There were still plenty of daylight left so we were planning on sightseeing today. No real hiking however. First I had to wait for the ladies to finish watching "Coyote Ugly" on CMT. It is a reality show that documents pretty young thangs competing to become a dancing bar wench on Country Music Television.

We drove to all the major scenic vistas and acted like bunch of amateur photographers or tourists. Since the sun hid behind clouds often, it was a pretty decent condition for taking photos.

We drove back in town for dinner. We ended up at a no-name restaurant. We all ordered a beer and an entree each. A couple of us ordered the special, elk burgers. While elk meat was good, it could been much better if it was not overdone. In fact, Danielle's burger was completely overdone. Not quite a charcoal, but very dry indeed. Everyone also found out Danielle's dislike for Mexican food. WHAT?!? We all were so surprised in fact, some of us kept asking the question over or make comments about seeing her in Mexican restaurants.

The group went back to Ruby's Inn, and I went back to my campsite, B43, in North Campground. It was windy and chilly. I laid out a tarp, a yoga mat, and a sleeping bag in that order. Once I was in the sleeping bag under the dark night, I fell asleep quite fast. It was a long drive, but a great day.

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