Previously the rule for having the top down on the convertible was warmer than 40 and no rain or snow. Well, I guess we've become hard core soft top enthusiasts. This morning on the way to breakfast we drove over a high mountain pass through snow and about 30 degrees with the top down. It was pretty cool actually. I tried to take some pictures but it just didn't come out. I think the guys on motorcycles we saw at one of the scenic overlooks thought we were ok - got a little knowing nod :)
Breakfast at Hell's BackboneYou might think that this is a strange name for a restaurant - or, if you read yesterdays post, that we've got a thing for Hell related places - and that does seem to be a theme around here. This particular restaurant is named after a nearby natural bridge which we would have liked to visit but the TT didn't quite fit the requirement for a high clearance vehicle.
I had wanted to eat at Hell's Backbone for dinner but our schedule didn't work with that so we decided breakfast would have to do. We were so glad we did. It is a lovely little spot, in the middle of Morman Farm country (they are the only place in town with a liquor license). All of the produce is grown on site organically and the food is absolutely amazing. Andi had a concoction with eggs, tortilla chips, chile, meat and some other things which he loved (I bought the cookbook). I had blue corn pancakes with cinnamon butter and organic maple syrup - YUM. There was a really nice peacefulness about the place which made for a great start to the day.
Indians or Martians
After breakfast we headed to the Anasazi Indian archaelogical site to see some ruins of so called "Indians" who lived here for a mere 50 years - again - pictures of Martians. The Hopi Indians claim the people were sent from where all the Indians came out of the ground in the Grand Canyon and were sent by the creator in all directions to mark their territory which they were to be the caretakers of. I guess around here they are doing a pretty good job - but those guys that headed for Phoenix and Las Vegas maybe could have used a bit more instruction before being sent off.
Rodeo Practice
Rural DecayToday we saw lots of really cool falling down buildings out in fields with spectacular backdrops. Here's a few of our favourites
Kodachrome State Park
Yet another park with interesting rock formations. This one was pretty good - although Andi said he had seen better sites for $6. I thought it was pretty good - and had we not gone down there we wouldn't have seen all the great rural decay in the previous pictures so I thought it was worth it.
Mossy Cave & Waterfall
I'm not going to post pictures of the mossy cave - suffice it to say it was Mossy, dark and completely unphotogenic. The waterfall was nice - but the walk itself was really the highlight with several prominent hoodoos bathed in a beautiful afternoon light.
Bryce CanyonWe were originally planning to do a horseback ride into the canyon tomorow morning but the forecast is for snow so we thought it would be a good idea to at least check out the viewpoints from the rim. It is spectacular! The sun shone just long enough for us to get some photos - but the cold was certainly moving in and plans for even hiking in the morning were looking grim (mind you we don't mind driving in the car in the cold -but hiking - not likely)
Ruby's Inn
Ruby's is the classic historic inn located right at the gates of Bryce Canyon National park. It is pretty much a village unto itself with a general store (with just about everything under the sun), restaurant, cafe, tour bookings, rock vendors (seriously) and just about everything else one would need. No view from the room here though. The room was recently remodeled and quite nice - but nothing spectacular. We had dinner at the restaurant - again - nice but not spectacular.
I'll post the pictures later - still need to sort through them but want to get caught up on writing what happened before I forget.
Heather
