On Thursday I got out of class and had no work. It was a bright sunny day, and I didn't want to sit at home idle all day. I decided to go for a drive. I pointed my car south and kept going. After about 3 hours I decided I should have a plan or a goal, so I plugged Zion National Park into my phone because it's beautiful, in the neighborhood, and I hadn't been there since I was a kid. As I was passing through Hurricane, UT I noticed a small helicopter parked next to a building and a billboard talking about the Zion Helicopter Tour. "That would be fun to do someday" I thought to myself, but I drove by..."Why not today?" I continued in my mind. After a quick google of the company I found that the rates started at $45-65...I'd do that ALL DAY. So I flipped around and headed back. Right as I got inside to ask the girl behind the counter about the rates I noticed two ment getting in the chopper and I heard the engines start to spool up. The girl said I could go along with them, but it was the 70 mile/45 miute tour...and about $260......since I was already making them wait, and I had already flipped my car around, and it was on my bucket list.. I paid the money, grabbed my camera and hopped in. It was right about the time I was clicking my seat belt that I remembered that I'm scared of heights.
We gained altitude and I got used to the feeling of being in such a small light craft. I had been in a small plane where you usually have only 2 axis of craziness to worry about, but since this could hover and pitch in any direction, we would occasionally get caught by a gust and suddenly rotate a few degrees tot he left or the right. It wasn't scary at all actually, much less than a roller coaster..I hate those things.
We zoomed over canyons, waved to people climbing the neary pinnacles, and learned little tid bits of history as we flew. I think was worth it. The pilot told me about a 60 mile dirt road that went from a nearby highway, across the arizona desert, to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Since I wantd to avoid the tourist crowd that was sure to be mobbing Zion, I decided to try out this little known path to the Toroweap overlook. A small camping area looking 3,000 feet down straight in the Grand Canyon. I had driven by as a kid, but never been to the canyon...and I liked the idea of seeing it from such a remote place that I was unlikely to encounter another human being to encroach on my spontaneous freedom.
After a few dead ends, I found the right road, and began bombing across the desert at 50-70MPH slowing only for curves that caused my tires to break loose, and threatened to drop me in a ditch. Also I had to stop for cows..they liked hanging out in the middle of the road.
As night fell, and I got further and further from civilization and any hint of cell phone reception, I couldn't help but think about how ludicrously unprepared I was in case of an emergency. I was alone, no one knew where I was, I had no phone, I had packed no water or food. (Luckily I'm always prepared to go unprepared, I had a can of beans in the back of my car, and a water bottle that had rolled under my passenger seat.)
At the end of the road I ran into a park ranger and apparently I had gotten there JUST after closing time. I still had to pay, but he let me go through. I passed the parking area for normal cars and continued on with my subaru over the "4X4/high ground clearance vehicles only" portion. I only got hung up on one rock, but eventually made it the last 6 miles down the rugged trail and into my campsite. There wasn't a soul to be seen or heard. The ambient light from the stars was barely enoguh to register on my camera, and the only sound that could be heard was the wind gently whistling through the canyon below.
I folded down my back seats, inflated my air matress, unrolled my sleeping bag, enjoyed the aforementioned can of beans, and settled in for a night of weird dreams. I had thought I was right on the edge of a cliff, so I had several almost nightmares that my car was slipping into the void. I had planned to wake up to see the dawn, and then head back for work. Unfortunately there was no sun at 4:30 AM..5:30,6:30....it wasn't until a little after 7:00 that the sky begain to brighten.
I hiked the north rim of the canyon and marvelled at how my day had turned out. I really had no intention of any kind of crazy adventure, but merely because I had nothing else going on I found myself 5 hours from home in a remote loacation, miles from another human, witnessing one of the most beautiful scenes I had yet encountered. AND DID I MENTION THAT I FLEW IN A FREAKING HELICOPTER!
