Rainbow Tour

This morning we went early to the shuttle stop to wait for the Rainbow Tour bus, along with lots of other folks. The bus stopped at several places, including Ruby's Inn, Ruby's RV Park, the Lodge, and the campground in the national park. Soon all the seats but one were filled. We were all ready for a great trip through the park--except for one thing. The air conditioning was broken, and there were no windows that opened, so the bus was an oven. At each stop, everyone hurried off the bus to get some oxygen and maybe a cool breeze.

Fortunately our driver, Cliff, was knowledgeable and entertaining, so he kept our minds off our discomfort to some extent. He drove us to the far viewpoints in the park, Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point. On the way back towards the entrance, we stopped at several more viewpoints, each with its own attractions. One was the Natural Bridge, which isn't a bridge at all, but an arch. We learned that bridges are formed by running water, while arches are formed by erosion.

As he drove from stop to stop, Cliff told a long story about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch was born Robert Parker in nearby Circleville, and locals think that he did not die in Bolivia, as reported, but instead came back to the U.S. and even visited his dying mother years after his reported death. As we reached each stop, Cliff said, "Hold that thought" and left us with a "cliff"hanger (as Dennis pointed out).

We survived the heat and lack of oxygen in the bus, and decided to eat lunch and rest a bit. Then we went to the park laundry and did a couple of loads. Many of the machines were out of order, and most of the rest were in use.