After Bryce we drove into Dixie National Forest and Grand
Staircase Escalante National Monument. Highway 12 is a scenic by-way.
Scenic indeed! It took a good 3 hours to
drive the 83 miles from Bryce to Grover near Capital Reef National Park. Turns and twists, 30-45 mph, up and
down. The highest pass, Homestead Pass,
was 9,600 feet. The Siesta thermometer read 18 degrees. At one point I saw 3 elk off the road a bit
standing in the pine forest. Eighty-three miles of ever-changing rock
formations and vegetation, depending on elevation, from scrubby desert bristle
bush to red-stemmed shrubs along dry creek beds to cedars and aspens all
backdropped by colorfully layered buttes and bluffs.
And then we spent a night at Capital Reef National Park, the unfamiliar one, at least to me, and
maybe to others, too, as there were only 3 other camp sites occupied in the
campground. This park is a 100 - mile north to south stretch of protected land
that a few million years ago experienced a shift in the earth’s plates causing
an up thrust of rock formations. Many of the giant buttes of red rock striated
with tans and grays, “pleat” at the bases to form rock “folds.” HooDoos caused
by erosion are present, too. Only a small northern section of the 100 -mile “wrinkle”
is developed with a Visitor’s Center, the campground and an 8- mile scenic drive
that takes you past the monumental red bluffs and ends in gravel meandering
down as the canyon narrows. The walls of
rock close in until you must look straight up to see their height.
Finally, we turned east on I-70, the ‘real’ start to our
long trip back to Michigan. Except for the detour we made 60 miles later
to Arches National Park, near Moab,
Utah. How could we pass it up? Gorgeous sunshine and a beautiful blue sky
framed our drive through this park of crazy rock formations that with a little
imagination turn into Egyptian pharaohs, elephants, sheep, and courthouses. And
then there are the arches!!
Our last night of camping before heading over the Rockies
and home was Monument Campground on the Colorado River near Fruita, CO, part of
James E. Robb State Park, just west of Grand Junction. After that we drove hard
for two long days, making our midnight arrival at 314 N Clubview a huge relief
and oh, so sweet.
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| Arches National Park |
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| Escalante National Monument |
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