So spoiler alert: I used the analogy I was going to use in this post on my Bike Adventure blog because I just couldn't contain it. Which BTW if you haven't gotten a chance to check out is behind this LINK, Alright, lets dive in.
NAU is a fairly beautiful campus. It's kind of a mix between Tucson and the Northwest. The campus buildings were nothing spectacular and the landscaping wasn't anything to ride home about, but it did have one characteristic that made it seem somewhat serene and peaceful. When you get up to the elevation of Flagstaff, the air just gets more crisp, and the mountains smile down at you. Not everyone is driving around. It's quite peaceful. Unfortunately, we didn't stay. We had to get to Utah. So after a considerably slow train that stalled our journey onto Route 66, we were back on the road.
I've done this drive before (that's an entirely different story that I will touch on). It's not the most scenic drive. Pretty much any drive through Navajo Nation leaves the risk of two things happening: falling asleep to boredom and never ending streets - or - breaking an axle or over heating on the horribly paved streets. Needless to say, I did my best to try and fall asleep along this part of the trip. When we did eventually get to Lake Powell, it wasn't much. We were probably the liveliest things happening to that lake. Best part? you may be asking. There is this HUGE boat ramp that had to have been a good quarter mile or more in length. Merry, Gollum, and Myself decided to run up that steep bad boy. Best and worst decision of my life.
We had mixed feelings about Kanab. I had broken down for 4 days there on my last trip trough Utah. I, personally, love it! The red rocks around the city are gorgeous and the town is very quaint. The rest of the guys found it eerily creepy. Either way, we were there for the night. Tomorrow we had Zion National Park in our GPS (we didn't actually have GPS)
Zion National Park is gorgeous! Behind Crater Lake, it might be my distant second favorite. It is absolutely breathtaking. And i mean that in more than one way. To get into the park, there is a 1.1 mile tunnel. (on my biking blog, i said 3 or 4, but it totally felt that long when you are holding your breath). During tunnels, I would always try to hold my breath when I was a kid. I thought this would just be another boring, quick tunnel. Turns out, after a good 45 seconds to a minute, I was about to die. When the tunnel was built in 1930, it was the longest car tunnel in the United States. Would have been nice to know that before hand. But the light at the end of the tunnel eventually came, even though I failed at holding my breath. And beyond that peaking light of the tunnel laid of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
God's creation is absolutely astonishing. And like I've said before, it takes your breath away. He created such a beautiful creation for us to witness. From the colors of a sunset, to the smells of a flower; From the magnificent starscape, to the intricacy of the human eye, God is the master of beauty. When you get a chance to get out of the hustle and bustle of city life and take a hike through a beautiful landscape, you began to be reminded of all He has done. Coincidentally enough, that night I read Psalm 50 which reads:
The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
Now I know it's a different Zion, but I thought that was so true! God is breathtaking! His love . . .
is breathtaking!
(all of the photos in this road trip story can be attributed to the skills of Chris Weber)
Keep blogging man; this was a great read.
ReplyDelete