9/15/2014

We spent the day touring 3 National Parks & an All American Road in S. Central Utah.  It is amazing to me how quickly the scenery changes as you drive the roads out west.  One minute you are in a deserted desert, the next marveling at the rock formations, the next seeing where folks have planted apple orchards in the desert and, with some irrigation, have survived for over 100 years.

We started from Green River and headed south on UT 24 to Hanksville and then west to Torrey, where we turned south again on Rt 12, an All American Road.  These routes take you through the most desolate places and up hills & down, steep grades that play havoc with both the car and our ears. Rt 24 takes you through Capitol Reef National Park with a different rock formation every minute and a village called Fruita, founded by the Mormons and, as the name suggests, fruit trees in the desert surviving still today because of the massive irrigation system created around the turn of the 20th century.  One thing that puzzled me during one presentation:  It was suggested that they left the area in 1941 because of the beginning of World War II.  The US wasn't involved in World War II until Dec 8, 1941, in the dead of winter in Utah, not a good time to be traveling with horses & buggy...that just doesn't seem likely to me?  But it was all an interesting visit.

Rt 12 takes you through Grand Staircase-Escalante, with its Million Dollar Rd built by the CCC, formed during the depression by FDR.  It is a pretty amazing ride, with some 14% grades, through valleys barely wide enough for two cars to pass and up some very steep climbs, yet we met everything from bicycles to semi-trucks to motor-homes to lots of motorcycles and cars galore. There were lots of folks exploring the area for the middle of Sept.  Then we passed through where the entrance to Bryce Canyon is, so where we took a detour for a visit to the Visitor's Center and a few of the view points. It was pretty crowded, so we decided to move on.  As Rt 12 ended at US 89, we both agreed that it had been a fun ride.  We headed north on US 89 through a bunch of small towns, all founded by the Mormons to establish a presence in the area in the early 20th century.  Most are farming communities and are thriving, although small, communities.

At Joseph, we jump onto I-70 east, headed back toward Green River.  We were expecting more desert, but were pleasantly surprised by the scenery along the way.  The rock formations are amazing and the ride is like a giant roller-coaster...up steep inclines to summits and then down the other side. There are lots of look-out pull-offs and view points along the way, which we stopped at as we went. We anticipated getting back before dark, but that isn't going to happen.  We stop to take pictures of the sun setting on the amazing rock formations at Devil's Canyon and finally of the sun just after setting behind the mountains.  The last 30 miles were done in almost pure darkness.  We are going to drive back west on I-70 tomorrow to see one area we passed through, this time during the day...it looked pretty cool.

We drove over 400 miles and I took almost 300 pictures, so I can't post them all here.  But if you get a chance, be sure to take the opportunity to see this area, it is pretty amazing.  Today we are going east to Moab for another adventure that will include a helicopter & a boat...stay tuned.

Steve & Barb Larson

Devil's Canyon along I-70

The end of another amazing day