I try and update this blog daily. So it is written at the end of the day when I am tired and is prone to spelling and grammatical errors that I am not prepared to correct.   i

Sunday 7th May 2017
Took a taxi to the airport at 9:00am for our Air New Zealand flight out of Adelaide at 11:45. It was a rather crowded four hour flight to Auckland. By the time we got through the security at Auckland Airport it was time to step onto our Air New Zealand flight to Los Angeles. The flight took just over 11 hours. Amongst the movies that I watched were Eyes Wide Shut and McCabe & Mrs. Miller from 1971. The layout of Air New Zealand B777 was excellent and the meals and service even better.
Passport control at LAX was easy, with everything being automated. Although our luggage was checked through to Las Vegas, we had to collect it and go through Customs in Los Angeles, as this was our point of entry to the USA.  The next leg of our journey was with Virgin America and was fraught with small delays. The domestic terminals at LAX were pretty tatty. We arrived in Las Vegas at about 5:00pm. We waited while two hire company buses took other passengers who had been queued up before us to the car hire terminal. We caught the third. Car hire was easy and we are now driving a sleek silver Ford Focus. The GPS got us to the motel without any problems. We are located only a few hundred metres from the strip.

At about 6:30 we began exploring the strip. We had pizza for dinner at a pizza joint on the strip. We watched a couple of he fountain displays on the lake in front of the Bellagio. "The Strip" seems to consist of wall to wall gambling tables and if they couldn't fit a table in, they put a couple of poker machines in. Did a lot of walking and arrived back at the Travelodge Motel at about 10:00pm after a very long day.

Monday 8th. May 2017
We left Las Vegas just after 9:30am. The GPS seemed to choose a rather convoluted route to get us out of the city. With a lunch break included, it took us a bit over 4 1/2 hours to get to Sedona in Arizona. We arrived in bright sunshine, but within an hour it started to rain. We checked into the Views Inn Motel, then went out to explore and take photos. The rain came and it went just as quickly.

The motel has views similar to the photos. It is a very picturesque town. Just after 6:00pm we had dinner at an Italian restaurant just up the road from the motel.

Tuesday 9th. May 2017
We woke up at about 8:00am. Had breakfast and headed off to take some more photos in the rain and the fog. Although the weather looked as if it was lifting we decided to make the 2 hour journey to Tusayan located just outside of the southern boundary of the Grand Canyon National Park. We passed through numerous showers of rain as we drove. As we approached Tusayan we could see about 30mm of snow on the edge of the road and on the trees. It was picturesque but certainly there was not the heat and dust that I was expecting!
We stopped at the park entrance and bought a "America the Beautiful" pass for US$80. This gets us access to numerous National Parks throughout the USA for 12 months. Just past the gates into the National Park and all the traffic came to a standstill. Apparently there had been an accident further up the road and all the traffic had stopped. After about 30 minutes of sitting in this queue of motionless traffic surrounded by snow and fog, we decided to turn around and check into our hotel at 2:00pm (The Red Feather Lodge in Tusayan). The weather forecast is for rain today and then clearing in the morning tomorrow.
As I am writing this (3:00pm) the sun is trying to break through, so we are hopeful that the weather might be lifting sooner rather than later.
At about 5:00pm we went back to the canyon. The fog had lifted but it was still difficult to get a clear photograph. We drove east along the rim taking photos at the pull outs as we came across them.

At about 8:00pm we had dinner at Plaza Bonita (Mexican).
Wednesday 10th. May 2017
We were up at 5:45am and at the canyon by 6:15. We missed the sunrise and unfortunately just as the sun was beginning to shine on the canyon walls the clouds came over. We took a lot of photos at Mathers Point and then drove east, stopping off along the way at Grandview Point, Moran Point, until we reached Lipan Point. Some photos from this morning's photo shoot.

We arrived back at the hotel at about 9:15am under very leaden skies and the temperature about 36˚ F  .
We returned to the Canyon at about 4:00pm and there was broken cloud and patchy sunlight. About 6:00pm the clouds closed and there were a few spots of rain.

Thursday 11th. May 2017
I couldn't sleep so I got up at 4:30am to do the sunrise thing at the Grand Canyon. It was 0˚C as I drove into the park. The sun rose at about 5:30am and was certainly not worth the effort in my opinion.

 I took a few more photos but there was a blue haze engulfing the whole canyon. But the haze lifted just before we left Tusayan.

We left Tusayan at 10:00am in bright sunshine and a warm day, which which was in contrast to the day we arrived when it snowed. It seems strange to go from weather that is snowing to weather requiring shirt sleeves in the space of two days. We revisited many of the viewing points along the way that we had seen the previous day. It is a pity that we didn't have a day like this on day one!
 It took about 2 1/2 hours to drive to Page, our stop for the night. We passed a number of Navajo roadside stalls selling jewelry and pottery.

Our final stop was Horseshoe Bend just outside of the township of Page, Arizona. This is an incised meander of the Colorado River and is viewed from the cliffs 1,000 feet above the water. We had to walk up a hill and down the other side to reach the viewing point. A journey of about 800 metres.

 We spent the night at the BW View of Lake Powell hotel/motel.

Friday 12th. May 2017
We had a slow start to the day, went to the chemist at Walmart and filled the car up with petrol. We set off to Monument valley which was supposed to be a 2 hour drive. We passed a road with buses on it heading off to Antelope Canyon. This is a slot canyon and Trip Advisor had reported large groups of people being "herded" through like cattle. I had decided that we might give this a miss. A few miles further on there was another sign to Antelope Canyon with a few cars in it. We passed it. Finally a few miles even further on there was another sign to Antelope Canyon (Canyon-X)and a carpark with only 3 or 4 cars in it. We decided to go in. We paid the "photographer's rate" of US$68 each and we were allowed to stay as long as we liked. There was only about 50 metres of actual slot canyon at this site, but it was enough to get plenty of photos. Most of the time there was only one or two other photographers in our part of the canyon. So it was possible to set up a tripod and take long exposures. Our journey was completed with a walk back up the steep, sandy pathway in.

Antelope Canyon	Antelope Canyon	Shaft of light, Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon	Antelope Canyon	Antelope Canyon

We headed off to Monument Valley, determined not to be side tracked again. But as we approached the township the late afternoon sunlight on the huge geological monoliths and the clouds begged for more photos to be taken.

The approach to Monument Valley	The approach to Monument Valley
The approach to Monument Valley	The approach to Monument Valley
Monument Valley	View from our balcony at Goulding's Lodge
A rain shower at sunset	View from our balcony at Goulding's Lodge

We had dinner at the restaurant attached to Goulding's Lodge. The food and service was excellent and cheap! As the Lodge is on Reservation (Navajo) land, alcohol cannot be sold so we made do with coke and coffee.
We watched the sunset and a rain shower from our balcony.

Saturday 13th. May 2017
Our day started at 4:00am. We met Ray from Phillips' Photography Tours at 4:45am in the lobby of the View Hotel, about a 10 minute drive from Goulding's Lodge. He took us in his four wheel drive down some roads that were only accessible by such a vehicle.

After breakfast back at the Lodge, we caught up on some of our lost sleep but when we awoke a strong breeze had come up and there was dust everywhere. We went for a short drive but the wind wasn't abating and so we went back to Goulding's Lodge. It seems that the good sites for photography are close to the settlement but down almost impassable roads for two wheel drive vehicles.
At 4:30pm we met up with Ray from Phillips Photographic Tours and he drove us around Mystery Valley and showed us the good places from which to take photos.

Sunday 14th. May 2017
We left Goulding's Lodge at Monument Valley just before 9:00am and drove north for 3 hours to Moab. Moab is a small town on the valley floor and surrounded by red canyon walls. We checked into our motel (The Adventure Inn) and had a well earned rest before being picked up for an evening photo tour with Dan Norris from Tom Till Photo Tours. Both of us have colds/nasty  coughs and so the combination of this and the 4:00am starts is catching up with us.
Dan first showed us some petroglyphs alongside the Colorado River and then we drove up to the canyon rim for part of our photo shoot. It was then a long drive to a place overlooking the canyon for the sunset shoot, but the Gods didn't favour us and there was very little colour in the sky.
We got back to the Motel in Moab at about 9:30pm.

Petroglyphs alongside the Colorado River, Moab	Petroglyphs alongside the Colorado River, Moab

Monday 15th. May 2017
We had a slow start to the day and at about 10:00am we set off for the Arches National Park. When we arrived at the entrance there was a slow moving queue about one kilometre long waiting to get in. Our "America the Beautiful" card get us free access into the park.
We drove around taking photos of the magnificent rocky outcrops. The daytime temperature was about 25-30˚C and sunny with some broken cloud. During one of our stops I heard this rather rotund American fellow telling his friend that "Delicate Arch was to die for." So we headed off to Delicate Arch expecting the viewing point to be within 200 metres from the car park like every other arch we had visited in the Park. So we left the car with no hats nor water and set out, not realising that the outward trek was nearly 2.5kms and uphill most of the way. Within minutes of reaching close to the top I began to feel faint and had to sit in the shade of a small tree. People gathered around and offered me water, fruit, energy bars, etc and there were diagnoses of altitude sickness to dehydration. I ruled outs AF as it didn't feel like and attack of that. We made it to the top and it was uncomfortably windy, so we took a few photos and ventured downhill back to the car park and our car.
We got back to Moab at about 4:00pm. I did some research on Delicate Arch and the trail leading up to it. The return trail length is 3.0 miles (4.8 kms) and the gain is 500 feet from an altitude of 4,300 feet to 4,800 feet. So maybe my problem was dehydration!
What ever the cause of my problem out on the trail, it was a reality check reminding me that my aging body can't do what it used to do!

One of the big trailer homes passing our Motel	One of the big trailer homes passing our Motel
Arches National Park	Arches National Park
Another photo taken by a Nikon user	Arches National Park
Arches National Park	Delicate Arch, Arches National Park

Tuesday 16th. May 2017
We filled the car with petrol and headed north for an hour then west for about 2 hours then south again for 2 hours and came to the Bryce Canyon National Park. Our "America the beautiful" card saved us another US$30 as we passed through the National Park check point.
We drove around the park at ever increasing altitudes, the highest being 8,800 feet. With our heavy colds and coughs we didn't really feel like walking very much at this altitude. So we drove around the canyon rim, taking photos at the various pull outs and car parks. It became quite clear that it would have been best to have trecked down one of the numerous trails so that some of the "monuments" could have been photographed from below rather than above. We checked in at The Bryce Pioneer Village Motel in the township of Tropic just after 5:00pm. So it was quite a long day in the road for us. The motel is quite basic but it is quiet, clean and the beds are comfortable. It has breakfast and WiFi included in the price.

Bryce Canyon National Park	Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park	Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park	Bryce Canyon National Park

Wednesday 17th. May 2017
It had been raining lightly during the night and the pavement was wet as we walked across the yard to the breakfast room/front office. We left Tropic at about 10:00am. We went through fog, then rain and finally light snow as we made our way back past the entrance to the Bryce Canyon National Park and headed towards Zion National Park. This was a two hour journey during which time the temperature outside the car dropped as low as 34˚F. (1.1˚C). We drove down the length of the Zion NP as far as Springdale and our motel.
At about 2:30pm the clouds descended and it started to rain quite heavily, making exploring and taking further photos virtually impossible.

Pioneer Village Motel, Tropic, UT	Gentle snow falling at Bryce Canyon NP
Zion National Park, UT	Zion National Park, UT
Zion National Park, UT	Zion National Park, UT
Zion National Park, UT	Zion National Park, UT
Zion National Park, UT	Zion National Park, UT

Thursday 18th. May 2017
We got up at 7:00am had breakfast and then drove back into the canyon area. Although there was thick frost on the ground when we got up it soon melted and the day became quite warm. We took a few more photos inn the bright sunshine, went up through the tunnel and back down again before heading off to Las Vegas; a three hour journey.

The trip was uneventful and we returned the rental car undamaged and full of petrol just after 1:00pm. We took the shuttle bus to McCarran Airport Terminal 1. Delta airlines had our booking but had not allocated a flight, even though our e-ticket indicated differently. Apparently we had been reserved seats on a 6:00pm flight that didn't exist. The check in staff soon found us seats on a real flight that left for LAX at 5:00pm. As this was a budget flight we had to pay US$50 for our two suitcases. We were lucky that we didn't have to pay this coming into Ls Vegas. It probably helped having our luggage checked through to Las Vegas by Air New Zealand back in Adelaide.
Our flight was about 45 minutes late and so the Captain was keen to get back to LAX as possible. I had always thought that there was supposed to be a 2 minute gap between planes taking off or landing. When we took off, I estimate our Delta Airlines flight was no more than 30 seconds behind the plane in front of us.
We arrived at LAX and waited for what seemed an eternity for the shuttle bus to arrive. It eventually did turn up and about 20 minutes laterm we checked in at our motel. Despite having a map of the Travelodge Hotel at LAX with a line guiding us to our room, we got lost in the rabbit warren that it is. Heaven help us if there is a fire. No one will be able to find the exit in the maze of corridors.
We had dinner next door at Denny's. The toasted roast beef sandwich was too salty to eat and the strawberry lemonade too sweet to drink, and that was despite having eaten little all day since breakfast, I couldn't stomach it! It was probably the worst meal I have ever tried to eat.... and that is compared to 7 years of boarding school meals!

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We filled the car with petrol five times so far and the price was:- Sedona, AZ: US$2.349 per gallon. Page, AZ: US$2.499 per gallon,  Moab, UT: US$2.589 per gallon, Tropic, UT: US$2.799 per gallon, Las Vegas, NV: US$2.699 per gallon

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There were no bush flies anywhere

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We drove the hire car 1,743 miles