At 4,000 miles, a stunning vista

Where I hit the 4,000-mile mark in the middle of Zion National Park, the scenery, like this sandstone and shale cliff face, was stunning.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah--I've been on Road Trip 2007 long enough now that I've reached 4,000 miles of driving. And while the actual spots where I hit 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 were nothing to speak about, that was certainly not the case when the odometer rolled over from 3,999.9 to 4,000.0.

That's because I was in the middle of this incredible national park when all those zeroes appeared, with gorgeous sandstone and shale cliff faces surrounding me.

Now, to be perfectly honest, when I hit 4,000 miles on the dot, I wasn't at a pull-out. I was on the road, with a place to get off the road literally a tenth of a mile in front of me. But thanks to the fact that a giant tour bus was snarling traffic behind me, there was no traffic at my rear. So, I stopped the car in the road and snapped a few pictures. Full disclosure, you know.

Anyway, I am pretty close to home now--that is to say, fewer than 1,000 miles--so I don't think there will be a blog entry at 5,000 miles. But hey, maybe I'll be forced to make a lengthy detour somewhere.

I hit 4,000 miles on the dot in Zion National Park, though I didn't quite reach a pull-out at the exact moment

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)