Thursday 16 / Friday 17 June

Getting back to the UK

So that was the end of my holiday. I managed to get to the airport and get my flight OK despite nearly running out of petrol when I took a wrong turn near the airport. Once I was back in the UK my parents very kindly picked me up and I started the period of recovery from jet lag!

Summary

I though I'd write a quick summary of what I did. I'll start with some stats:

I drove 3560 miles for an average of 170 miles per day.

I took 1352 photos for an average of 64 photos per day.

I stayed in two Youth Hostels (total of 4 nights), five Motel 6s (6 nights) and camped at five different campsites (11 nights).

I visted 5 National Parks, 3 National Monuments, a National Recreation Area and a National Conservation Area. Without my $80 pass these would have cost a total of $129.

I spent lots and losts of money. Don't have an exact figure but it was definitely too much!

I think my favourite place was Bryce Canyon National Park, although that was closely followed by the Grand Canyon. I was disappointed with both Death Valley and Zion National Parks although both were worth visiting. I now really want to return to Red Rocks to climb and although my desire isn't quite as large I'd also like to climb more at Joshua Tree. My worst moment was the time spent argueing with the car hire people about my insurance while the single moment that sticks out most is probably my first view of the Grand Canyon although meeting the ranger at Cedar Breaks runs a close second for completely different reasons. All in all I really enjoyed my trip and think it was well worth doing. Already have some tentative plans for my next trip although when I'll be able to afford it is a completelty different question!