ON THE ROAD AGAIN - Day 8

Day 8: Zion, 81 mile roundtrip. Today I made my daily 6:30am stop at the Sinclair gas station just down the street from the motel. Let me tell you about this gas station. This is a throwback. The pumps do not take credit cards. Pump first, then pay. A really friendly guy does take your credit card inside and inquires how your day went yesterday and where are you going today. And there is a peanut gallery, three local old guys just sitting around and having morning coffee and donuts, the only thing missing is a pot-bellied stove. They also proffer local advice about the weather and the roads. The whole scene is like a Norman Rockwell painting, flashback to the fifties.

We departed at 8:00 this morning, just before entering Zion, Pat Bratt got out and checked everybody’s headlights, and we put all the tops down for maximum viewing. The drive into the park from the east is spectacular and includes a 1 mile tunnel with no interior lighting. Driving through with a Model T is kind of like being in a cave with a very dim candle. Patti kept telling me to turn my lights on, even though they were on. The problem is your eyes can’t adjust fast enough when you come in out of the bright sunlight. After a few moments, your eyes do adjust, but then you come to a window and the effect is like a flashbulb and your night vision is gone again.

We spent the day riding the shuttle into and around the park. Marvelous place, the sandstone monoliths are huge. It was supposed to be a short touring day, but we did not get back until 4:30 again today and we were one of the early ones. Packed a bunch, went to the final banquet with 430 other folks, came back and put the car in the trailer.

So,,,,,, it looks like we are all done, been great, the car did good, we did good and tomorrow morning we head for home at O:dark-thirty. I will write an epilogue when I get home. So Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. (Are you old enough to remember that one?)

Pictures for today: The throwback Sinclair station; Entrance to Zion; Great viewpoint on the way into the park; Ray tightening his lugbolts; Waiting for the tram; Ray and Linda just entering one of the tunnels.

(To try and show some of the scenery in the park would be futile, you have to see it for yourself, you just can’t capture it with a camera.)