Utah (Part 2)

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A relatively cool night did much to refresh us which as we had a big day planned worked out very well. First up was natural Bridges, via awesome landscapes and many more ruins.


It was relatively cool so we did several of the hikes, including to Packhorse Cliff House and Owachomo Bridge. 




 
As the temperature rose we began our long drive along highway 95 through he Glen Canyon Recreation area. Stunning views of large canyons and buttes (teehee) led to a scenic lunch spot. 





The next stop on our route was Capitol Reef state park. The canyon scenery, briefly punctuated with yet more petrolgyphs, was joyously interrupted by the area of "Fruita". This area, occupied until the late 60's by Mormon farmers, was FULL of fruit orchards! All open orchards were free to wander around and sample the fruit. 




A happy (and sticky) half hour or so with a long pole contraption had us both eating fresh apricots, warm due to the ambient temperature. Sadly the other fruits were not ripe yet so we settled for a quick ice cream instead of more fruit, shame. 

Highway 12 did not disappoint in the panoramic views department and we eventually found a lovely campsite with ample shade and next to a river. 



We did have a big drive planned for the following day but a library with free WiFi and a burrito truck in the parking lot waylaid us for several hours while we planned our journey and booked VEGAS!

A drive through tour of Grand Staircase national monument led us on to Bryce Canyon, the temperature reasonable due to the time of day. 



   

We decided that Bryce is weird but wonderful, endless spires of red sandstone glowing with the evening sun entertained us for longer than we had planned and so we ended up trying to find a campsite in the dark. 



At some point we crossed into Arizona (and a different time zone apparently, this caused much confusion over the coming days!) and found a place to camp underneath a fire watch tower. In the middle of the night we were woken by another thunderstorm, this time so close and loud that the booms of thunder were rocking the van! Again we managed to dodge the fabled golf ball sized hail and other than a bad night's sleep we all escaped unscathed. 

Comments

  1. SusiB34824 July 2018 at 05:06

    Those spires are awesome! Just imagine trying to cross that terrain before cars and roads...

    ReplyDelete

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