Odometer: 116358
At around 9 a.m. we start off towards Big Water and down Smoky Mountain Road again. This time though we follow Smoky Mountain Road up into the mountains. The scenery of the mountains with all their different colors is of indescribable beauty. The road is climbing steep up until we reach the top mesa. We stop every so often to take some pictures of the magnificent view as well as the more than impressive rock formations. The top of the mesa is flat and pretty green. The way back down Smoky Hollow road is very rough and at times we are driving in the river creek hoping that the dark clouds that meanwhile gathered hold tight and that the road/creek condition is not forcing us to turn around. After a while the sky is clears up again and we are happy to have reached the intersection of Smoky Mountain Road.
Since it is only 3:00 p.m. we decide to drive out to the rim again where we were yesterday. Marco is speeding up and brings us there in a bit more than half an hour – perfect timing to take some beautiful pictures. Time is flying and we only one hour to get back to Page in time for the Early bird specials at the Peppers. This time Marco is really racing with an average of about 35 miles/hour on the gravel road. We get there just in time and get a very nice dinner. Coming out of the restaurant we encounter a less pleasant sight – our Toyota is standing there with a flat tire! A guy from the hotel helps us to put the spare tire on so that we can get back to our hotel at least.