Enjoying Our Dash

After beautiful Bryce Canyon, we headed to the last of the ‘mighty five’ National Parks in Utah, Zion National Park. This park is a little different from many of the ones that we have been to so far. Most of the parks have a scenic route with various pullouts and parking areas showcasing the beauty of the park. At these stops, there are trails of various lengths taking you closer to the sights. These scenic routes allow personal cars and you are able to travel them at your own pace. This allows us to bring Cole along and often, there are some trails that he is allowed to enjoy. At a minimum, he can enjoy some new smells as he walks around the parking areas. Zion, unfortunately, does not have this feature. Because it is an actual canyon, the roads are narrow and the parking at the stops is minimal. Instead, there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the end of the canyon and back with multiple stops in between. There is also a shuttle that goes through the adjacent town...

So we thought we had seen the best that Utah National Parks had to offer, and then we went to Bryce Canyon. I can not even begin to describe the beauty in this National Park. The park has an 18 mile scenic drive, with the first 3 miles of the drive called the Bryce Amphitheatre. This area of the park is ‘referred to as an “amphitheater” as it is a bowl-shaped area shaped by the drainage of seasonal rains and melting snow (not truly a canyon, as those are shaped by flowing rivers)’ 1 .  This is the most iconic section of the park, the Bryce Amphitheater is home to the greatest concentration of “hoodoos” found anywhere on Earth. A hoodoo is a pinnacle, spire, or odd-shaped rock left standing by the forces of erosion. The Amphitheatre can be seen from several stops on the scenic, Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. Views from Sunset Point Views from Sunrise Point View From Bryce Point (My Favorite) When we told ...

We continued our journey through southern Utah over to Capital Reef NP. Looking at the map below, our travels took us north of Arches and Canyonlands up to Interstate 70. We headed south and traveled along the western side of Canyonlands NP. On our way over to Torrey, UT, we passed through the small town of Hanksville, UT. The Hanksville area is home to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). ‘The MDRS is located among the Bentonite Hills near Hanksville. It is the second of four simulated Mars habitats in the world, built and managed by the Mars Society. The area was chosen for field study research because of the terrain’s noticeable similarities to Mars. Astronauts and research crews spend two weeks at a time living in the two-story, eight-meter cylindrical ‘Habitat,’ also known as the Hab. They are required to wear space suits and carry walkie talkies whenever they step outside the Hab into the simulated Martian environment. The Hab is always manned with at least one crew...

Canyonlands National Park is also in the Moab area. Although close in proximity, this park could not be more different from Arches. As towering as many of the rock formations are in Arches, the Canyonlands views are hundred times deeper. The contrast of these locations is just amazing. Canyonlands is actually made up of 4 different districts, which are divided by the Green and Colorado rivers. Islands in the Sky is the most accessible district, offering expansive views from overlooks along the paved scenic drive, several hikes, and the White Rim Road. The Needles offers more of a backcountry experience, requiring some hiking or four-wheel driving to see the area’s attractions. The Maze is a remote district requiring considerably more time and self-reliance to visit. Though they appear close on a map, there are no roads that directly link the districts. Traveling between them requires two to six hours by car as there are few places to cross the rivers. We decided to stick ...