By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Day 2

Across the street from our Beaver, Utah motel was one of those super-sized gas station convenience stores that seem to be popping up everywhere these days.  Inside was a combination Mexican fast-food/Cinnabon place.  I do love my Cinnabons.  It's the one thing that makes the Salt Lake airport worthwhile.  But take heed, my friends.  If you're ever in Beaver, Utah, and want a good cinnamon roll, this is not the place to get it.  I ended up throwing half of mine in the trash, and that should tell you a lot, right there.

Just south of Beaver, Utah Highway 20 crosses the mountains to connect up with US Highway 89 some 21 miles east of Interstate 15.  As 89 was the road we would be taking on into Phoenix, we needed to cross over.  The summit on highway 20 is over 7900 feet, and this is considered the preferable route across the mountains.  I love Wikipedia's opening sentence in its description of the highway:  "State Route 20 SR-20 is a state highway in southern Utah, running 20.492 miles (32.979 km) in Iron and Garfield Counties , without directly serving or connecting any cities."  (Emphasis mine)  The highway has some history, and I recommend reading the Wikipedia article about it.  I don't recall anything about our crossing, though, and soon enough we were on US 89 headed south.

Along US 89

10/26/2014

Near Panguitch, Utah

The first town you come to on 89 is Panguitch, a town settled by Mormon pioneers in 1864.   Their story is one more tale of desperation and perserverence--the kind of story that helps explain why I admire the Mormon people while being terrified of the Mormon church.  Today, thanks to nearby Bryce Canyon National Park and other recreational venues in the area, Panguitch survives mostly through the tourist trade.

We didn't stop in Panguitch, though, nor did we take the sidetrip to Bryce Canyon.  Instead we continued south toward Kanab, passing a series of billboards advertising a restaurant and its "Ho Made Pies."  Didn't sound very Mormon, but then, neither did the billboards advertising Polygamy Porter that appeared at the time of the Salt Lake Olympics.  We didn't stop for pie, either, so I can't really comment on the quality of the goods made by those poor Hos.

US Highway 89 Southbound

10/26/2014

Kane County, Utah

US 89 is a beautiful drive through southern Utah.  It takes off from Interstate 15 near Provo, and parallels the Interstate on the eastern side of the mountains.  South of Panguitch and Utah Highway 12 which leads to Bryce Canyon, the route has been designated The Mount Carmel Scenic Byway.  Heading south, we were descending what's been called The Grand Staircase, a geologic formation that begins with the Grand Canyon and extends northward to Bryce Canyon and beyond.  The "steps" of the staircase include the Chocolate Cliffs, the Vermillion Cliffs, the White Cliffs, the Grey Cliffs, and the Pink Cliffs.  We certainly saw all of those colors in the rocks walls along the highway.  I wish I had known then what I have since found out about the local topography.  I would have insisted on more camera stops, rather than relying on taking pictures through the windows of a moving vehicle.

The Pink Cliffs?

10/26/2014

Kane County, Utah

Driving south-bound on 89, you must make a decision at Kanab.  Highway 89 turns due east, and stays north of the Utah/Arizona state line while 89A continues south, crossing the state line then paralleling the north rim of the Grand Canyon, albeit at quite a distance away.  The two eventually reconnect in northern Arizona, but 89 is a faster highway in that it is both wider and has fewer twists and turns than the alternate.  I've now traveled both, and I would be hard put to say which is the more scenic.  It all depends on what you like in scenery.  For this trip, we turned east at Kanab and headed toward the Escalante Canyon and Glen Canyon Dam.

Descending the Grand Staircase

10/26/2014

US Highway 89, Kane County Utah

Just north of Glen Canyon Dam, the road turns south again and crosses into Arizona.  I made Kevin stop the truck so I could take a picture of the dam through the safety barrier fence that lines the highway.  The dam is impressive, as I find all such dams impressive, and I never miss the opportunity to photograph these structures. 

Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River

10/26/2014

Page, Arizona

We refueled in Page, Arizona, a town built to service Glen Canyon Dam, and couldn't help but notice that watersports were particularly popular in this desert community.  Highway 89 was closed south of Page due to reconstruction necessary after a landslide buckled the pavement back in 2013.  The Arizona Department of Transportation paved Navajo Highway 20 and opened it as US 89 Temporary.  They estimate it will take two years to rebuild the original highway.  If you're interested in such things, KPHO, the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, has a fascinating article on line about the incident.

The drive on into Flagstaff, and ultimately Phoenix, was notable only in that we missed every single opportunity I had planned out to grab a few Arizona geocaches.  I had geocached in 17 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia, but had never scored a find in Arizona.  I was determined that this trip would remedy that situation, but even though I had several caches programmed into my Garmin, we managed to miss every one of them.  Oh well.

We stopped for a late lunch in Flagstaff, and in no time at all we were on Interstate 17 heading south to Phoenix.  Dinner with friend Jeffory at a Chinese restaurant was fun, and after dinner we found wonderful lodgings through the HotelTonight app on my iPhone.  Two days of driving had carried us over 1260 miles and lots of scenic landscapes.

By The Time I Get to Phoenix, Day 1

Mount Powell at Sunrise

10/25/2014

Deer Lodge, Montana

The end of October found Kevin and me making a quick trip to Phoenix, Arizona.  Just a down and back, but an interesting four day drive, none-the-less.  We arose early on Saturday morning, October 25, and were on the road by 6 a.m.  It was still dark and quite foggy here at Wild Horse Plains, Montana, and I guessed we'd be in fog all the way to Butte, some three hours away.  Well, the fog lifted around Drummond, and by the time we passed Deer Lodge, there was color in the sky.  

Turning south on I-15 just west of Butte, I was reminded once again that most of Silver Bow County, like most of Montana, is rural.  Yes, Silver Bow is the smallest county in area in the state, and yes, one hundred years ago, fully one fourth of the people of Montana lived there, but still, once you get outside of Butte and the surrounding communities, there's a lot of open land.  By  the time we crossed into Madison County, the fog was returning, and when we crossed the next line into Beaverhead County, it was back full force.

Beaverhead County Line, I-15 Southbound

10/25/2014

We stopped for gas in Dillon, but held off on breakfast till we could get to Dell.  I use any excuse I can to eat at the Dell Calf-A (say it out loud if you don't get the name), and I recommend it to all traveling through southern Beaverhead County.  With our bellies more than full, we returned to I-15 and soon were crossing Monida Pass and heading south into Idaho.  We had heard that Idaho had raised the speed limit to 80 mph, but this was our first chance to experience it.  Clark County, Jefferson County, Bonneville County and Bingham County all flew by, although we did stop for gas near Blackfoot.  No more stops in Idaho, not even at the Near Eastern restaurant I so enjoyed last time I was in Pocatello, and in no time at all we crossed into Utah.

Utah, too, has raised the speed limit to 80 on I-15, and it seems we traversed the northern part of the state rather quickly.  I love photographing public buildings, but as Kevin was in no mood to get off the interstate in Salt Lake City, I had to take this picture of the Utah state capitol through the windshield of a speeding pickup truck.  Sorry 'bout that.

The Utah State Capitol

10/25/2014

I-15 Southbound, Salt Lake City, Utah

South of the metropolis, we needed fuel and stopped in Fillmore.  Much to my surprise, I was able to get shots of two government buildings in this seat of Millard County.  As we passed the sign noting that we had entered Millard County, my first thought was of our thirteenth President, and sure enough, both the county and its seat are named for the man who was President when Utah became a territory.  Although it seems to me they got the names backward.  Shouldn't the town be Millard and the county Fillmore?  

Turns out that Brigham Young selected this spot in the Pahvent Valley to serve as the capital of his proposed state.  Originally, the proposed state of Deseret included most of the land the US claimed through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and spread from the Pacific Ocean in southern California to the west slope of the Rockies in Colorado.  When California entered the union in 1850, Utah Territory was created with its boundaries significantly reduced.  It covered only present day Nevada, Utah, and the southwestern corner of Wyoming.  Fillmore was in the geographic center of that area, and Young felt it was the perfect location for his new capital.  Young laid the cornerstone and over a period of two years the first wing of a proposed four-wing building was built.  The Utah Territorial Legislature met there for three terms before the capital was moved back to Salt Lake City.  I also photographed the Millard County Court House which stands on the main street of Fillmore, just in front of the original capitol building.  

The Utah Territorial Capitol

10/25/2014

Fillmore, Utah

With the gas tank full and no further photographic side trips envisioned, we got back on I-15 and drove on to Beaver.  Kevin remembered a good Mexican restaurant in Beaver, as well as a decent priced motel.  We didn't try the restaurant, and found that the motel he remembered was now quite expensive.  We found another place to stay and I checked on Yelp for a place to eat.  While not the one that Kevin remembered, we ended up eating (at my insistence) at Maria's Cocina where I had the best restaurant-cooked chile relleno I've ever had.  Their flan, however, left a lot to be desired, in my opinion.  Definitely not worth the extra blood sugar.

After dinner we retired to our motel, and rested happily after a day on the road.  One last note about Beaver, Utah.  Beaver (the city) is the county seat of Beaver County.  The High School is, predictably, Beaver High School, and what do you suppose their mascot is?  You got it, they're the Beaver High School Bandicoots.  Nope, just kidding.  They're the Beaver High School Beavers. Really now, doesn't anyone in the area have any imagination?

Evening skies over Beaver, Utah

10/25/2014

The Third Sunday Drive, Day Three: Four Corners

Looking down Center Street, Moab Utah

It is September, before a rainfall ...

Soon it's gonna rain, I can feel it,
Soon it's gonna rain, I can tell,
Soon it's gonna rain, what are we gonna do?
-- Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt

Click here to hear the University of Redlands production of this iconic song from my favorite musical, The Fantasticks.

Once I had the car packed, I headed back to downtown Moab to take pictures of the Grand County Courthouse, and anything else I found of interest.  Breakfast took second place, but I found a little coffee shop on a downtown corner and had a mango smoothie, a chocolate hazelnut biscotti, and a hazelnut latte, before hitting the road heading on down US 191 toward Monticello, Utah, where I would turn east crossing into Colorado.

Roughly half way between Moab and Monticello, I passed first the largest piece of advertising I've ever seen, a 5,000 square foot home carved out of the red sandstone and marked by huge letters painted on the side of a cliff, "Hole N" The Rock" with a large arrow pointing down toward the parking lot.  I did stop, long enough to take a couple more pictures, but didn't feel like taking the time (or paying the money) to visit this particular tourist trap.  I have to admit that part of me was astounded, but also repelled, by the large white letters painted on the sandstone.  No missing that "billboard."

Wilson Arch, San Juan County, Utah

Not much further on, I passed Wilson Arch, a sandstone arch much larger than anything I had seen up close in the park.  With a span of 91 feet and a height of 46, Wilson Arch attracts a lot of attention.  Indeed, the parking areas on both sides of US 191 were full, and people were eagerly climbing the rock to get closer to this natural phenomenon.  I stopped long enough to take a picture, then headed on down the road.

Monticello, Utah is the seat of San Juan County, Utah's south-eastern corner.  After stopping long enough to photograph the San Juan County Courthouse and the Monticello Mormon Temple, I turned off US 191 onto US 491, crossing into Colorado and heading for Cortez, the seat of Montezuma County, Colorado's south-western corner.  In Cortez, I allowed Nancy the Nag to misdirect me to the county courthouse, but that let me see a lot more of Cortez than I would have otherwise.  Once I finally found the courthouse, I added its picture to my collection, then leaving the car parked, I headed off to Pippo's Cafe for a lunch omelette with mushrooms, sausage and avocado. 

Cortez sits between Hovenweep National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park.  Both of these areas called out to me, but Albuquerque was calling more loudly, and I drove down US 491 bypassing both of these monuments to human engineering, as opposed to the natural engineering I had seen the day before.  The more I read of the two, the more I know I'll have to return to Cortez and spend time there--probably combining that trip with a longer stay in the Moab area.

Mesa land south of Cortez, Colorado

I've always been a sucker for imaginary lines.  When my Helsinki-based hostess, Eva Pinomaa, asked me why I wanted to visit Rovaniemi, the administrative capital of Finnish Lappland, which sits just below the Arctic Circle, I replied "Our lives are governed by imaginary lines.  This is one I'll probably never be closer to."  Once there, I found that the Finns had turned the Arctic Circle into a tourist trap, complete with reindeer in a pen, a large sleigh full of presents, and Santa Claus village.  There is also a pole with signs reading "Arctic Circle" in several different languages.  On a similar note, there is only one place in the United States where four states come together at a single point.  That would be Four Corners, where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all meet.  As it happens, Four Corners is on the Navajo Reservation, and just like those sneaky Finns, the Navajo have turned Four Corners into a tourist trap.  The entrance fee is minimal, but it's per person, not per vehicle, and as I had picked up a hitchhiker in Cortez, I paid the fee for both of us to drive across a very rough parking area, wander through the stalls where native people were selling jewelry and other crafts, and get in line to take pictures of each other standing in four states at once.  As all four of these states have a sales tax, and each is different, I'm not sure just how the merchants figure their taxes.

Yours Truly, standing in four distinct states.

My young hitchhiker was headed for the Grand Canyon, and I was headed south and east, so I left him at Teec Nos Pos where I turned east on US 64 toward Shiprock, Farmington, and eventually Albuquerque.  My time in Arizona was short, but it's the spirit that counts, right?  and it allowed me to get this photo of the Navajo Nation's welcome sign.  I have no idea who "RK" might be, but he certainly left his mark on the sign.

Welcome to the Navajo Nation.  Four Corners, Arizona.

From Teec Nos Pos, it's just a hop skip and a long jump into New Mexico.  I had crossed the state on Interstate 40 back in my college days, but I'd never been through the northwestern corner before.  The first major town on US 64 would be Farmington which I knew as the place my best college friends, Jim and Rosanna, would go to visit Rosanna's family.  To get there, I'd have to pass Shiprock, which I assumed was much closer to the geologic formation of the same name.  But no, the rock itself is off in the distance, and I stopped to grab what pictures I could before losing sight of the monolith altogether. 

Shiprock, San Juan County, New Mexico

Just east of Farmington is the town of Bloomfield, and that's where I turned onto US 550 heading for Bernalillo and Interstate 25.   Along the way, I crossed the Continental Divide which was marked by a small sign, nothing like the massive ones we use in Montana.  I also passed through the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, the Jemez Reservation, the Zia Reservation, and the Santa Ana Reservation.  At Bernalillo, I caught I-25 and drove south to Albuquerque, turning west onto Interstate 40 in the heart of New Mexico's largest city.

Yelp helped me decide on a restaurant just off 1-40, and I got to see one shopping center from every conceivable angle as I searched for my dinner among all the major hotel chains.  The restaurant offered New Mexican cuisine, and was quite popular.   In order to be seated immediately, I agreed to sit in the bar.  When my food came, it was plentiful, but nothing like what I was expecting.  Guess I really wanted Old Mexican cuisine.

Back on I-40, I hoped to get as far as Tucumcari, near the Texas state line, but as I headed out of Albuquerque, the rain started to fall.  The further east I traveled, the harder the rain fell.  I saw lightning strikes like I've never seen them before, and the rain was so heavy that even the semis were slowing down.  When I saw the exit for Santa Rosa, I decided to call it a night and get off the Interstate.  After all, by this point I was driving 30 mph and felt that might be too fast.  

Once in my room at 9 p.m., I enjoyed the electricity in the air and the rain as well.  It went on for a full hour at least.  I couldn't say how much longer, because I fell asleep. 

Total mileage for the day:  522   It was a good day, even with the wet ending.

The Third Sunday Drive, Day Two, b: Arches National Park

 Even more than in Canyonlands National Park, Arches gives you vista after vista so that as I drove through the park, I felt like stopping every five feet for another photo op.  As the day was getting later and the sun lower, I missed most of the over 2,300 arches that have been cataloged in the park.  I did more walking here than in Canyonlands, and still missed most of the sights.  I'll definitely be coming back to see more of Arches National Park.

 Upon first entering the Park, you drive up a winding road that takes you past one monolith after another, each more scenic than the last, or so it seems.  There are few places to pull over, and the road itself is not very wide, so you take those stops you can and start aiming your camera in every direction.  At least that's what I did. All told I took 74 photos while in the park, and as I keep saying, I missed most of the park.  Click on any of the photos to see it full screen in a new window.

President Herbert Hoover first set aside Arches as a National Monument on April 12, 1929.  The area was reclassified as a National Park on November 12, 1971.  The Park covers some 76,679 acres or roughly 120 square miles.  Over one million visitors come to the Park each year, and certainly more than a few were in the Park over the Labor Day Weekend.  That said, even at the Windows Area parking lot, where I had to circle the lot and wait for a parking space, I never felt crowded by my fellow visitors. I'm sure part of that has to do with the scale of the formations which make humans truly small.

My first view of Balanced Rock

 Balanced Rock

At Balanced Rock, I parked the car and hiked the trail that circles the formation.  I do not believe it possible to show just how impressive this formation is.  I shot it from every imaginable angle and none of my shots capture the wonder that is Balanced Rock.  

 Turret Arch

My second park and hike was at the Windows Section where I had to circle the parking lot and then wait for someone to leave so that I could park the Saab.  There are many incredible formations at the Windows Section including North Window, South Window, Turret Arch, the Parade of Elephants, Cove Cave and Double Arch.  If you look at the full screen view of Double Arch (below), you'll see the human beings scattered throughout the feature, giving you an example of the size of this formation.

 Double Arch

I parked again at the end of the eastern spur which led to the parking lot for the Delicate Arch viewpoints.  By this time of day, I was really getting tired and the sun was getting low.  I did not make the three mile hike to Delicate Arch, nor did I even take the shorter half-mile hike to the Upper Viewpoint.  From the Lower Viewpoint, I was able to grab this shot of Delicate Arch and the other formations that accompany it near the eastern edge of the Park.

  

 Delicate Arch and its Companions

I did, however, make use of my camera bag, and walked back to the car to change lenses figuring that I could get a better shot of this iconic arch, featured on Utah license plates, by using my 400 mm lens.  Alas, I had left the tripod at home, and I was way too tired to hold the now much heavier camera steady.  By balancing the camera on a fence post, I was able to get the shot below, admittedly not one of my better efforts.

Delicate Arch (400 mm lens) from the Lower Viewpoint

 Arches National Park is one of the most fascinating places I've visited, and it deserves much more time and effort than I was able to give it on this trip.  I'll be back.  No doubt about it.

The Third Sunday Drive, Day Two: Utah

 

Along the Spanish Fork River, Utah

Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary, hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

 --lyrics by Curly Putman

To hear Johnny Cash sing this song, which I chose only because there was no green, green grass on my drive today, click here.

Once out of bed and back in the Saab, the first order of the day was to feed my face.  Turning to Yelp, I found several nearby places offering a decent breakfast, but finding them was another matter.  While I'm sure that Salt Lake's address system using xxx North yyy East works well for those who understand it, I find it extremely confusing, and impossible to program into Nancy the Nag's navigation system.  Further complicating matters was the fact that I seemed to be in strip-mall city, where all the businesses were part of one strip mall or another and not easily seen while driving down a six lane street.  Finally, none of the buildings I could see had easily visible numbers, so it was merely by chance that I found myself at Kneader's Bakery and Café in Midvale, Utah.  Or maybe I was still in Salt Lake City.  I don't know.  I never saw any signs indicating that I had moved from one municipality to another.

Kneader's was not what I wanted, in that you stepped up to the order desk, placed your order, then waited for the staff to bring you your meal.  I much prefer sitting down and letting them bring me a menu.  As it was, I completely misunderstood the choices available to me, and ordered (I thought) a mango smoothie and a pain au chocolat.  The cashier then asked what I wanted for my main course.  Silly me, I thought that was the main course, so I ended up getting way too much food when they brought me my omelette and it's accompanying side dishes as well as the smoothie and croissant.  The coffee was surprisingly good, considering I'm in Mormon country, but I would recommend that the management rethink their idea of putting black plastic tableware in black circular bins with no overhead lighting.  Since this is more of a cafeteria than a restaurant, you are expected to get your own tableware, napkins, coffee, etc, and finding them was a challenge.  The omelette was good, however, and I took the smoothie and croissant for snacking down the road.

 What a dramatic sky above central Utah

On my way back to I-15, I filled the Saab's tank, and hit the road listening to The Focus Group on SiriusXM OutQ Gay Radio.  Due to it being Labor Day Weekend, OutQ's weekend schedule was a strange mix of repeats and odd combinations which allowed the regulars to have the weekend off.  The Focus Group had chosen to repeat a broadcast about America's number one Tupperware distributor, Your Aunt Barbara, just a typical housewife out on The Long Island, who is otherwise known as Robert Suchan.  Who knew that a drag queen would become Tupperware's Queen Bee?  The segment was hilarious, and apparently, unbeknownst to the Focus Group's hosts, Aunt Barbara showed up for the interview in full drag.  The show was hilarious, and I, for one, will be ordering my Tupperware from Aunt Barbara, and I feel you should too. 

Turning off I-15, I headed southeast on US 6, climbing from Spanish Fork up and over the mountains to descend to Green River and I-70.  This is a gorgeous drive, one that Kevin and I had taken in reverse way back when we rushed to Denver to rescue Rocky I from Denver Animal Control after Gary's untimely death.  That trip was in January, and the area looks much different in early September.

Stopping for lunch in Green River, I had a decent Chef's Salad at the West Winds truck stop and then found a geocache just across the highway near a motel parking lot.  I won't give away anything more in case you want to find this particular cache.  I was now at 176 found caches in 17 different states.  My Garmin GPS unit is not working properly, so I had to download the geocaching app to my iPhone to find the caches in Idaho and Utah.  I planned on continuing to find caches along the way, but somehow got distracted by the scenery and miles.

Red Rock along Utah 313, leading to Canyonlands National Park

I had directed my Nav system to find the northern part of Canyonlands National Park, and at Green River, the system tried to direct me down 80 miles of dirt road.  I knew from my maps, that there was a paved road that took off US 191 a few miles north of Moab, and was thus surprised to find myself driving across the desert on gravel.  Turning around, I headed back into Green River, caught I-70 for a few miles until I exited on US 191.  The big advantage of traveling on a three-day holiday weekend, is that the construction projects are usually on hold, and you can drive through construction zones without worrying about being delayed by actual construction.  Most of US 191 north of Moab was a construction zone.

Sure enough, roughly a dozen miles north of Moab, Utah 313 took off to the west, leading to the northern part of Canyonlands.  The Visitor Center was some twenty-five miles ahead, but the day was still relatively young and the scenery was spectacular.  I spent enough time in Canyonlands and later in neighboring Arches National Park that I will address each of them in separate posts.  For now suffice it to say that while driving along 313, I stopped at various places to take pictures, including at the overlook for two bright red rock mesas named for the Civil War battleships Monitor and Merrimack at the Battle of Hampton Roads.  I got to talking with some bicyclists and turned them on to WarmShowers.org, a social networking site for bicyclist tourists and their potential hosts.  I've had such fun hosting bicycle tourists through WarmShowers, that I want anyone riding a bike to know about the program.  I also got a nice shot of the Saab with the mesas in the background.

Monitor and Merrimack Mesas, near Moab, Utah

No Saab in this shot

While at the Canyonlands Visitors' Center, I purchased a National Parks Passport and entered my first stamp.  We'll see how full I'm able to get the thing--i.e. how many stamps I put in the passport, but it's fun knowing I have the option of logging all my visits in this handy guidebook.  This was also my first chance to take advantage of my new Senior Pass, which at my advanced age allows me entrance to all federal fee areas for the rest of my life--and it only costs $10.  I highly recommend you take advantage of the program, if you're old enough.

The road into Canyonlands is also the road out, and once back on US 191, I soon found myself at the entrance to Arches National Park.  My drive up and into the park took the rest of the available sun--so necessary for daylit photography, and by the time I left the park and entered the city of Moab, I was ready to find a bed and a good dinner.  Oh the joys of traveling on a holiday weekend in a resort area.  There was a sign on the door of the Super 8 saying that there was no need to proceed any further.  They were full for the night.  There was another motel just across the highway, so I pulled in and found they did have a room which I quickly rented.  Once I had carried everything from  the car to my room, I again called up Yelp and found a Thai restaurant in the center of downtown Moab. 

When eating in an ethnic restaurant, I always take it as a good sign that the customers are also of the same ethnic group.  I figure they know whether the food is good or bad.  Now as to whether this holds true in a resort community, who can say, but well over half the tables at Sing Ha were filled with Asians, predominately from the subcontinent judging by their appearance.  I found the meal delicious, and my only quibble would be the service which was extremely slow.  This I attributed to the fact that every table was full (I was the only single diner), and there were only two people serving.  No sooner did a table empty than it was refilled with new diners, and the ethnic mix never varied.  I had no idea there were so many east Indians visiting Moab, Utah.  At one point, an Asian woman appeared at my table and asked me how I liked the dish.  When I told her how good it was, she took great pride in announcing that she was the cook who had prepared my meal.  In my experience, it's not often that cooks leave the kitchen to introduce themselves to the diners, and indeed, I did not see this woman talk to anyone else in the restaurant.  What can I say, I stayed for dessert and left with a glass of Thai iced tea.  The one other item of note at Sing Ha was the young Asian woman who on occasion would come around filling glasses.  Her shorts were so short, they were completely hidden on the front by her apron.  Must be a family member, I thought, as I can't imagine a manager allowing such attire on a regular employee.

I just love twisted trees, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Back at the motel, I checked my mileage.  I had driven only 340 miles, but had taken over one hundred photos.  A beautiful day.