We had intended using our vacation to spend time on Pensacola Beach. Obviously, those plans blew away with Ivan. So if we couldn't go to the beach, why not go to Utah? Please don't ask us why Utah. We do not know. However, we were very glad to go. We saw some wonderful sights and scenery. We were amazed by the variety of landscapes and geology. We were delighted with the weather's cooperation for the most part.

As always, we took numerous photos with our low-end digital camera, somewhere in the neighborhood of 520 shots. I picked out a handful to share with you. You know the drill, click on the thumbnails to get to the index pages and higher resolution photos. I reduced the size of the pictures so they could be more easily viewed.

Itinerary	Click for Photos
Las Vegas (Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004) We left Baton Rouge and flew to Las Vegas to start our road trip.
Cedar Breaks National Monument (Thursday, Nov. 6, 2004, 417 total miles) Driving from Las Vegas to Provo, Utah, we detoured to visit Cedar Breaks. The park was closed due to a recent snow fall, but we enjoyed seeing the snow and the sights from the road.
Promontory Point (Friday, Nov. 5, 2004, 1040 total miles) We drove through the dry areas west of Provo and through part of the Great Salt Lake Desert. Encounterd the Dugway Proving Grounds and avoided being shot by the sentry at the entrance to the testing area. From there we skirted the Great Salt Lake and headed up to Promontory Point to see the Golden Spike. We also stumbled across Thiokol where the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle are produced. Very curious. The light wasn't sufficient for picture taking so there are no photos. We ran up to Idaho just to say we did it and then passed through Salt Lake City. Quite a city, but it ain't New Orleans.
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004, 1600 total miles) We drove up through the Wasatch and Uinta Ranges to Flaming Gorge Rec. Area while listening to the BYU game. Beautiful area. We then went north into southern Wyoming and watched the sun set over the plains.
Arches National Park (Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004, 1903 total miles) We left Provo and traveled southeast through barren lands and mining areas with picturesque mountains off in the distance. We reached Arches NP in the late afternoon and took in the sights there. We settled in for the night in Monticello.
Canyonlands National Park (Monday, Nov. 8, 2004) Canyonlands laid about 15 miles north on Monticello, so before we continued south, we back tracked to visit the park. Well worth the trip. We saw the needles formations and encountered a complete rainbow in the mists of the morning. That rainbow was to be the first of seven we saw this day. We had never seen seven rainbows in one day before. Simply remarkable. We took them as good signs.
Four Corners and Monument Valley (Monday, Nov. 8, 2004, 2439 total miles) After our visit to Canyonlands, we drove to the Four Corners and I did the stupid tourist thing. Then we passed through New Mexico (briefly) and Arizona to catch Monument Valley at sunset. Overwhelming beauty. I'll appreciate JohnWayne films all the more having visited there. We drove straight up Moki Dugway in the dark and arrived in Torrey, Utah for the night. We were one of only two couples staying at the hotel in Torrey. Off season was well underway there.
Capitol Reef National Park (Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004) The weather finally failed us Monday morning. Under a cold, steel gray sky, we drove through Capitol Reef. We came upon a mule deer and her fawn at the Morman settlement in the park.
Bryce Canyon National Park (Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004, 2716 total miles) On the way to Bryce from Torrey and Capitol Reef, we had to creep up a 10,000 foot summit near Boulder, Utah. The snow began falling at the 6500 ft. mark and the trip became a white knuckle adventure in driving. It was mighty cold up there. We entered the Escalante area and reached Bryce Canyon about 3:30 PM. My goodness. There just aren't words for this place. Half the viewpoints were closed for the winter, but the snow and formations delighted the eyes. What a great time to be there. We spent the night in Springdale, Utah, surrounded by the majesty of the Zion Region. It's quite an experience driving into a mountain town at night and waking up to the mountains in the morning.
Zion National Park (Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004, 3042 total miles) Holy cow. This was our last site to visit in Utah before we headed back to Las Vegas. It is little wonder that this park is considered one of the shining jewels of national parks. The place is stunning as the sun sets. The rocks seem to catch fire and the shadows creep across the landscape revealing eye-popping contrasts. Then it was back to Vegas. We stayed at Circus Circus and left the next afternoon for home. Great trip all around.