Did I mention that the US is a vast nearly empty country? (The ridge in the back is approx. 70km away)

Enjoying the view

I did mean many.... some seem to combine into a castle wall. Again they seem small but are big (compare to the trees)

Bryce Canyon NP has many rock towers like these

Looks like I exhibit the same bad habits on a quad as in a car (like sticking just a little too close to someone's bumper)

Burnt 'n dusty 'n wanting more but the 3 hours were gone

The trail followed a stream (which we crossed about 20 times) up into the canyon.

And off we go!

Antje gets the controls explained

Just before entering Bryce Canyon National Park there is Red Canyon where you can rent quads.... hmmm... OK then... The canyon appears guarded though by old indian chiefs(see photo)

Touchdown at Angels Landing!

I am guessing this is the spot the guide mentioned where the 500m dropoff is on the trail... which is about 0.5m wide here...

Still gotta go up the last 800m... right over the ledge... at the arrow there are 3 people descending it for size comparison

nice view indeed

Nice cross-bedding example (some of the geology at uni did stick...): remnants deposited by a meandering river

Because it is not so easy to walk up this one

First part of the trail was partly hewn into the cliff

Zion canyon in perspective. I'd say there'd be some nice cliffs to be climbed as well!

Flowering cactus near the trail head

Next stop: Zion Canyon National Park, impressive cliffs! The rightmost top of the peak in the picture is called "Angels Landing". After noticing the following in the trail description there was no option... had to do it...

"At the trail junction proceed right (south). There is still another 0.5 mile and 500 ft of climb to the top of Angels Landing. The trail is now much steeper and more rugged, and involves scrambling and climbing up the cliff. In places the trail is extremely narrow, with sheer drops on each side. At one point a narrow ledge takes you across a 1500 ft vertical drop to the canyon floor. Although chains have been fixed for safety, it is not suitable if you are afraid of heights."

How's that for a sunset?

Lake Mead, Las Vegas' water source, is a welcome surprise in the desert. The tent in the picture were the neighbours.... plenty room for a semi-official campsite

Euromast.... but then with 3 rollercoasters on top of it...

New York

Paris

After the desert Las Vegas was a real oasis... where we spent a full 20 minutes driving like Japanese over the Strip, and covered about 10 countries in doing so. Here: Egypt

Death Valley has amazing colors and geology

Made it!

Made it!

Lots of sand indeed... but the fact that there is vegitation amongst them is more stunning. It gets 50 degrees out here in summer!! (Now only a lousy 40.) Thought it a good idea to clim the tallest dune of obout 40m high (the one in the back)

This patch of sand dunes in Death Valley measures approx. 5x5km. As I had never before seen desert sand dunesI thought it a nice project to venture into them a bit

We made it to the top! And there the camera battery was finally really flat...

As my hiking gear was a few continents away I was less well prepared: steel-toe boots and jeans....

Snow and cactus... nice combi

What was supposed to be the project of the morning ended up taking all day: climbing "Telescope Peaks", a mountain of 3400m height. Right next to Death Valley of -86m height this ment quite a view.... and everything seemed much smaller than it was. On the picture 3/4 of our trail of 22.5 km long and 1000m up! Most of the climbing was in the last snowy bit.... lack proper climbing gear and oxygen became clearly apparent there

Enough firewood in a place called the "Mahogany Flats" (honestly, it was dead already!)

Enjoying nice beer ("Flat Tire", from a Belgian(!) brewer who emigrated to the US) and the stunning view

The Eastern Valley seen from our camp spot at 2500m height.

First real view of Death Valley (Western valley, the one to the East is the real scorching one)