Weather are you with us? NO.
Weather, do you want us to follow our plans? NO.
Do you want us to go to the Grand Canyon? Yes.
Cool!!
Unfortunately, we cannot continue on our trip because of the weather forecast in Park City and Salt Lake City: snow and rain. So, finally, we opte to go to the Grand Canyon region, which must be somehow very interesting.
Another very lonely road is waiting for us almost all day long, but we finally observe a change of climate and landscape when we get closer to Utah and later Arizona. We come from snow, wind and low temperatures, to sun, cool temperatures, red and brown rocks, and canyons.
Here I think, that’s amazing, that’s huge, that’s America!
We cross sand dunes, mountains, and we arrive to the Miller Point, with its called «Cathedral gorge», the first big (and awfully beautiful) canyon we see!
This is like a sculpture on the rock, but in reality everything single piece of rock is naturally sculpted by time and weather.
The Cathedral Gorge
Cathedral Gorge State Park is a Nevada State Park covering 1,608 acres (651 ha). It is located in Central/Eastern Nevada 1-mile (1.6 km) north of the intersection of U.S. Route 93 and State Route 319, near Panaca. Cathedral Gorge was first established as one of the four original Nevada State Parks in 1935. The park sits at an elevation of 4,800 feet (1,500 m) above sea level, and is typically arid with semi-hot summers, and very cold winters. In the summer, temperatures usually range from 95 °F (35 °C) in mid-day to roughly 55 °F (13 °C) at night. Rainfall is variable, and thunderstorms are prevalent. At one time, Shakespearean plays were performed with the clay formations in the backdrop. The various naturally formed crevices were used as dressing rooms, and as a backstage where actors and actresses would prepare, awaiting their cue.
A majority of Meadow Valley (which lies along U.S. Route 93 from the towns of Caliente to Panaca) was covered by a freshwater lake nearly 1 million years ago during the Pliocene Era. The richly colored canyons of Cathedral Gorge (called the Panaca Formation) are remnants of this ancient lakebed. Over centuries, the lake began to gradually drain. Erosion began working away at the exposed portions of sediment and gravel that once composed the lake bottom. Rainwater and melting snow carved rivulets in the soft siltstone and clay shale, splitting tiny cracks and fissures into larger and larger gullies and canyons.
Viva la vida!! Life is beautiful... 