We headed back down the trail just as the day was heating up. As we made the turn coming out of Refrigerator Canyon, the looks on faces of the folks just beginning their hike made us thankful to have gotten an early start.
After we finished the hike, we popped in at the gas station for another quick re-supply. Re-establishing cell phone contact, Mike found he had a voice mail from the human resource folks from his job interview. We figured catching up with his future employer was a good excuse to retreat back to the room.
I got some ice on the Coronas in our styling trash can refrigerator while Mike exchanged voice mails with his hopefully future HR department. With the day's work out of the way, it was time to give the pool a look-see. We hung out on the beach chairs until the sun started to disappear behind the clouds. We decdied it time to head back to the room for a few brews and a brief nap(it was vacation time after all). It wasn't long before we were re-charged and ready to do something else. As long as our pass into the park was also good for the car, we figured it was time for a drive up Hwy 9 and a look at the tunnel.
The first landmark we came upon on our drive was The Great Arch. It is only a "blind arch", so don't confuse it with a free-standing one like the Kolob Arch(that's coming up in a couple of days).
The Great Arch is just before the west entrance to the tunnel.
If you look closely you can see one of the "windows" used for the tunnel's ventillation. The tunnel marked our second significant man-made landmark in as many days. The 1.1 mile long tunnel was completed in 1930 and considered a marvel of its time. I think it's still awfully impresive today! Mike made a couple videos with his camera. Maybe he'll put them up on YouTube one of these days. On the other side of the tunnel we were treated to a view of Checkerboard Mesa.
After our hike to Angels Landing, the scenery on this side of the tunnel wasn't so impressive. We decided it was time to head for some food. I had asked one of tram drivers if Sweet Williams was still open(a family restaurant with low prices and huge portions over in Hurricane). I was sad to learn it had closed a few years earlier. The driver had an enthusiastic response to my query about barbecue so we were headed to LaVerkin for some chow. It took about half an hour to get there. Due to a sign that was less than obvious, it took another 10 minutes to find. Once we did, we had a great tasting meal at The Branding Iron. If I ever get back there I'll make sure to have the sampler platter again. Don't miss it!!
We made it back to the hotel around 9 and went for a quick soak in the hot tub. As we got towels from the front desk we were warned the power was going off in the morning and could be off for most of the day. Good to know, we thought, hot tub on our minds. Any soreness from the hike soon melted away.
We retrieved some cold ones after swapping out of wet clothes. We considered our next hike over some Coronas on the balcony...