Bryce Canyon and Beyond

This morning we headed for Bryce Canyon. Since it is much higher than Zion, the temperatures were far cooler (78). We were very happy about that. Bryce has very interesting geologic formations, but, as Bryan put it, "Yup, more rocks." I guess at this point of the trip have all seen enough rocks and desert. So, we made the trip up to the end of the park and back, stopped at a few of the scenic overlooks, took some pictures, had lunch at the park lodge and headed out.

That led us to the most interesting part of today's travels: Utah Route 12. It is 123 miles of tight turns, extreme elevation changes, color changes and just plain fun. The road took us from the desert floor to the mountain tops, down and up again several times. Added to that, the highway passes through open range, which meant several stops to clear cattle out of the way. What a great road! Don't miss it if you are in the area.

From Route 12 we headed southeast on Route 24 which took us through the Coarl Reef National Park. Hear again the views were magnificent, although Bryan saw only more rocks. After leaveing the park, Route 24 winds through a seemingly endless streatch of Utah desert (refer back to previous desert comment).

We finally turned onto Route 95 through Glen Canyon, across the north end of Lake Powell, across the mesa lands to Blanding, UT where we have stopped for the night.

Tomorrow should see us clear of the desert, and none too soon, as the temperatures out here have been much higher than normal.

Gunny