Big - Beautiful - Bryce
April 4th we got up early and drove through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel.  It was made in 1930 and is 1.1 miles long.

We drove a long way up on switchbacks to get to the tunnel.

At a couple of spots in the tunnel they had cut outs for light and to get an amazing view. From the inside looking out.

Look how it looks from the outside.

The cactus were so pretty, these were the only ones blooming as spring is just starting here.  The paintbrush flowers were also a bright bright red but I could not ever get close enough to one to take a picture.
After the trip through the tunnel we loaded up the motorhome and headed to Cedar City, Utah.  It was still early enough in the day to go for a half hour drive to see the Parowan Gap  Petroglyphs.

Wind, water and sand carved out this passageway that was once used as a major thoroughfare by ancient Native Americans. This petroglyph is called the zipper. They believe that this was an ancient solar calendar.

There was even a really cool cave there.  The elevation of Cedar City is over 5000 which is interesting as we had gone a long way up at Zion to get to the tunnel which was at about 5000 feet.  Spring is also just starting here as the elevation is high and they had a long cold winter as well as a late and cold spring (hmmm is that everywhere this year?)
Yesterday, April 5/13 we decided to get up early and drive into Bryce Canyon.  We packed up a lunch as well as it is about a 90 minute drive to Bryce Canyon.  It was pretty cool in the morning and we had both layers on as well as the heat!  We took the I15 to the 14 which is a scenic byway.  The drive there was almost as spectacular as the canyon.

Along the way the rocks were dripping and the ice had formed into beautiful sculptures down the rock.
This is the Navajo lake which is in the Dixie National Forest. As we headed up the west side of the mountain we watched the elevation rise to 9913 and the temperature  drop to 3 Celsius.

There is a section with huge lava fields along the way.
http://www.allbryce.com/scenic_drives/highway_14.php

All along the highway you can see the red posts on either side of the highway to guide the snow plows.  When we were up here at the top it reminded me of northern Sask.

There was even a park called Elk Ridge and a Duck something or other which I found amusing.  I love dry deserts and cactus but when we got out at the canyon and smelled the pine - well, it just doesn't get any better.
As we drove down the mountain, there was a lot less snow on the east side.  There was also a lot more houses etc.
Before you drive into Bryce Park you pass through Red Canyon. It has the reddest rocks and two beautiful little tunnels.

Bryce Canyon is almost the opposite of Zion.  At Zion you drive into the bottom of the canyon and hike up and around.  For the most part you see Bryce from the top.  The best way to see the whole park is to drive the 37 mile round trip through the park and stop on the return trip at all the viewpoints.  Most of the viewpoints were between 8000 and 9000 ft elevation.  The elevation, temperature and wind made it pretty cold.  We did not do any hiking here as you have to have good hiking boots and plus, it is a little too high up for me.  It actually made me dizzy looking down the canyon until I got used to it.  You could definitely tell you were at a high elevation when you got out and walked around a bit.

It is hard to even really explain it with words or even pictures.  At every stop we were just amazed.

 This is called the natural arch and it was so pretty.

The rocks were every color, from sand to pink to bright rusty red.

 This area was called the grottos.  I think they looked like castles. 

It was a really great day trip. On the way back it got cloudier and cooler. At one point we were pelted with some hard little snow type drops.  I saw a number of birds that were blue.  You cannot stop on this scenic byway to check them out but I think they were mountain bluebirds.  Sure would have loved to see them close up.