Capitol Reef National Park’s Unique Mix of History and Adventure

Monday’s weather was cooler than Sunday’s. There was also a prediction for a thunderstorm in the afternoon. With that in mind we dressed for the anticipated weather and headed off for Capitol Reef National Park. I read online that the park was undergoing some construction projects and parts of the park were closed. I wasn’t sure how that would impact our day. This park does not have a pay booth as one enters because part of the park is just…

The Fascinating Scenery of Utah’s Byway 12

Having spent two days exploring Bryce Canyon National Park, it was time to head toward our next location, Capitol Reef National Park. We could drive north and then east to Torrey, where we planned to stay. That was the shorter route, but we went back towards Bryce Canyon to drive Highway 12. Highway 12 is a designated Scenic Byway so it seemed the more interesting choice. The beginning of the highway passes through an area known as Red Canyon. As…

Hiking to the Inside of Bryce Canyon National Park

Having spent an afternoon in Bryce Canyon National Park, we were ready to see what more the park had to offer. The weather was about the same as the day before so we were looking forward to a good day. First, however, we needed to get some breakfast as our motel did not provide any. We stopped at a cafe in the town of Panguitch. We were able to get a table, but the place was pretty busy. Our waitress…

Rounding the Stunning Amphitheater at Bryce Canyon

After spending time at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, we were ready to move north to Bryce Canyon. It was not a really long drive from Kanab to Bryce Canyon. The drive is generally very nice passing through a variety of terrains. I particularly liked the green valleys we would pass through. They seemed so peaceful. The biggest challenge of the drive was the traffic. Highway 89 is generally a two lane road with occasional passing lanes. We…

Vegas to Kanab, Utah Via Valley of Fire

In 2016 we spent a week in Utah checking out three of Utah’s big five national parks. We intended to go back and see the other two, but just hadn’t made it. It was time to go back and check out the two we missed: Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. We planned to make a trip of it by including the north rim of the Grand Canyon and Nevada’s only national park, Great Basin. There were some other spots including…

Travel Experiences that were Better Than Expected

Whenever people travel, they always have some kind of expectations about their time on the road. Maybe they’re hoping for some rest and relaxation. Perhaps they are looking forward to some new and interesting experiences. Sometimes as people travel there are certain activities that just seem to be a necessary activity to participate in or experience. These may not be something that excites them, but when they get back home they know people will ask about it so they just…

Impressions of More US National Parks

Last week I shared about five National Parks I had visited before I started my blog. I didn’t feel I remembered enough to give a lot of detail, but thought I would share some thoughts and experiences about these parks. Today I want to share about five more parks. While last week’s list included parks from Maine to Hawaii, this week the parks are all in the southwestern section of the United States. Yosemite National Park is a well known…