Coast to Coast Driving Tour

Grand  Canyon

We briefly visited the Painted Desert in northern Arizona and Sedona before heading for our first major tourist stopover.

I had been to the Grand Canyon a couple of times before on my vacations to the States from Singapore.  I was still awed by its raw magnificence when I saw it again.  Both Tom and Bruce were impressed too.

We were leaving Grand Canyon when we chanced upon a spot from which we could see a winding silver thread gleaming at the bottom of the canyon.  

The Grand Canyon is  277  miles long  and  varies  from  4 to 18 miles in width and is  over  a  mile  deep !!!   It  is  visually overwhelming and its varied and colorful landscape is a feast    for the senses.

It is burning hot during the day and can get really cold at night.

Those willing to splurge can book a year ahead to go down the canyon on donkeys.  Others can go white water rafting on the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon.

Our Kodak camera had a zoom feature and we were rewarded with a closeup look of the Colorado River which through millions of years of erosion carved out one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Many people have visited the Grand Canyon but relatively few were blessed to have the backdrop we did for the above photos.  We had to stoop low to the ground, a few feet from the canyon's edge in order to zoom in the Colorado River !!!

Alberta - CANADA

We drove to Great Falls in Montana after spending the weekend in Salt Lake City.

We crossed over into Alberta on July 1st (Day 10) and overnight in Red Deer before driving north to Edmonton.

We were in Alberta for 2 weeks before crossing back into Butte in Montana.  While in Alberta, we explore : -

          a)  Maligne  Canyon

          b)  Pyramid  Lake

          c)  Maligne  Lake  &  Spirit  Island

           d)  Mt  Edith  Cavel

          e)  Athabasca  Falls

          f)   Athabasca  Glacier

          g)  Lake  Louise

            i)  Johnson  Canyon

           j)  Moraine  Lake

           i)  Bow  Falls

           k) Wildlife  alongside  Icefields  Parkway

Morman Church of Latter Day Saints - Salt Lake City

I had timed our arrival into Salt Lake City to fall on Saturday so that we could attend Sunday service on June 29, 2008 at the Morman Temple of the Latter Day Saints which immense tabanacle organ and choir were world famous.

The experience was well worth the planning.  It was an impressive community with stunning buildings and beautiful landscaped grounds with a huge fountain and reflection pool.