SW Road Trip: Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Moab

I know what you're thinking about now. We looked at a lot of rocks!

and there's more...

We woke up from our very cold evening and didn't really warm up all day. The day was sooo cold. Bryce Canyon National Park and Capitol Reef National Park were on our schedule for the day. We also drove through the northern portion of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The pictures above were all taken along a 130 mile stretch. There were towers and plateaus, hoodoos, mountains and lakes, farms, fields, rivers, canyons, and valleys. The road was windy and up and down and it was unbelievably beautiful. The pictures are in order and at times it was literally snowing and icy then the sun was out and was rather warm.

This Scenic Byway 12 was so cool. We really want to go back. Even though my photos hardly do it justice and most were taken while I was in motion Chad and I were thinking we could stay there permanently. I'm getting behind the idea of owning an airplane more and more all the time. There is NOTHING for miles and miles and I know that this statement being made by a girl from North Dakota should hold some weight. There is NOTHING out there for miles and miles. But it's an awesome nothingness.



I have one picture of the Kiva Koffeehouse. It was worth the stop. The valley photo with the silver and green trees were the view from this coffeehouse and the owner/builder/dreamer of this place also built cabins in the wall of the canyon for guests to stay. What a neat place. Great coffee and local art and pottery for purchase at a reasonable price.

Bryce Canyon was a quick trip for us. There were not many ammenities in the area, most importantly no good coffee so we just stopped at the scenic overlooks and called it good. It was a good stop but not that exciting to be honest. I think cross-country skiing and snowmobiling or atv-ing in the area would be the way to go if you are going to visit.

Capitol Reef was a better stop. The rocks were so red and the spring green was beautiful. Since it had been rainy we had to be very careful driving through because of flash flooding. These places look so dry and desolate in some parts and then there are orchards everywhere in between. that is just one of the strange and unique characteristics of Utah that is rather captivating.

It's amazing that the parks in Utah are really close and you can see so much in a few days. We were able to see as much as we wanted that day and still make it to Moab for the night in good time. We were excited to get to Moab. This place is a real destination for outdoor enthusiasts and as much as we love outdoor sports and travel we look pedestrian to most of this town's patrons.

It was only the second weekend in May and all the hotels were full. If you want to rock climb, atv, raft, kayak, bike, hike, camp, sky-dive, get lost, or test your vehicle's off-roading ability this is the place. Plus, there is good shopping, restaurants, spas, resorts, coffee, beer, bloody mary's and more. We found an RV park to pull into for the night. For around $15-20 bucks we parked in a safe spot, had access to a bathroom and hot shower. Not a bad gig really. If only we'd had our beloved camping gear we would have enjoyed the Land Rover hotel so much more.

SW Road Trip: Zion to Red Canyon

The next day after we spent our first night in the Land Rover we woke up just in time to get dressed before it started to rain, then sleet and then we watched it turn to a snow storm. I am writing this entry about three months after we were in this area but still snow in May when we were just in 90 degree weather is not what you want when you are touring national parks.

Luckily, we kept driving into Zion National Park and the farther we went the less snow we saw. We got to the park and hopped on the complimentary shuttle bus which took us down the trail to the famous Narrows. It had been rainy so we didn't get to hike very far but this park is so BEAUTIFUL. I didn't have any expectations and I was blown away. The color green with the red-orange background of the towering rocks was just spectacular. They had plenty of moisture for the season so the waterfalls were running and there were so many of them. It was awesome.

We were only disappointed that we didn't have more time to spend in Zion. We needed to stay on track as we had many more great parks to visit. This same day we drove out of Zion and made our way to the Scenic Byway 12. We would be on this road for the next couple of days. The lesser known Red Canyon was exceptional and we spent the night in a Forest Service Campground which was just reconstructed so the showers and bathrooms were nice, clean and NEW. The only downside, the nighttime temperatures were supposed to drop to 26 degrees and it did and it was cold. We survived!