In spite of current gas prices, we decided to knock a few items off the bucket list with a driving trip out west this year. Last year we took the northern route - this year we went south. The main objective was the big 5 National Parks in Utah combined with a stop to pick up last year’s elk from the taxidermist near Chama New Mexico.
We sprinted across the flatlands in two days and then met our niece and family for dinner in Avon Colorado. Our first real sightseeing stop was near Grand Junction.
It’s a pretty cool drive along the top of the rim rock at the end of a mesa.
Then we drove on to Moab Utah.
The evening of our arrival, we had booked a hummer tour of “Hell’s Revenge Trail” at sunset.
We weren’t completely sure what we signed up for but we got to see dinosaur prints in the rocks.
It was really pretty amazing where they took these things.
All the way out to a Colorado River overlook.
The pictures don’t do justice to the inclines and angles.
We did get a beautiful sunset.
Here’s a little video that might give you a flavor of the excitement.
The next day we did Arches NP on our own.
We did all the major arches - some required hikes that I did on my own while Joan waited.
But she was a trooper and attempted some of the hikes too.
Balanced Rock.
The next day was our Canyonlands day. We did a Jeep tour in the morning and went on our own in the afternoon.
We went down Potash Road.
And saw the petroglyphs.
Then we drove up onto the overlook over the river.
And then out on the “White Rim” to this bridge of rock.
And the highlight was to go up Schaffer’s Trail - a dirt switchback road climbing the face of the cliff.
At “Oooh La La Point”, Joan didn’t hesitate to walk over to the edge. I was a lot more hesitant.
We also drove on our own in the afternoon to some of the other overlooks - like this one on the Green River.
The next day we drove from Moab to Bryce with a visit to Capitol Reef NP on the way.
A boardwalk to some more petroglyphs.
We did some driving off the pavement into some of the canyons.
One of our PB&J picnics. This one also had pie made in the park.
Last overlook on the way out.
And then we made it to Bryce.
It is just stunning. It is also higher elevation and the weather was cooler.
I let Joan sleep in the next day and I went for a couple mile hike down into the canyon at sunrise.
It was pretty cool down there.
And then I had to do the climb back out.
Just stunning.
After breakfast, Joan and I drove to a bunch of different overlooks.
Joan wanted one last look the next morning at sunrise as we were leaving.
Next stop Zion NP.
After circling for an hour looking for a parking spot, we got on a shuttle. One of the Rangers told me that there are 2300 vehicles a day vying for the available 500 parking spots.
The canyon is gorgeous but it concentrates all the people into one small area - the valley floor.
The shuttles can be jammed. Usually standing room only.
We weren’t physically able to do any of the big hikes - Angel’s Landing or the Narrows. So we just did some of the easy hikes around the shuttle stops.
That evening we drove over to St George and saw a production of Grease at the Tuacahn Amphitheater. We came back to the hotel to find a county-wide planned power outage in process. Found our way to bed in the dark.
We hiked back the Narrows Trail the next day until the pavement ended.
Then we got out of the crowded canyon and took a drive over to another area of the park - Kolob Canyons. It was a quite nice scenic drive without the crowds.
After Zion we drove to Ouray Colorado. We had a sightseeing stop at the Black Canyon NP.
There had been some rain and everything was a little slick and wet. Including these rocks at the top of this scary-deep canyon.
Another one of those spots where the photos don’t do justice.
The previous photo is from out on that overlook.
One of the highlights of this stop was seeing some bighorn rams.
We spent the night in the historic Beaumont Hotel in Ouray.
And then we drove the Million Dollar Highway the next morning.
Almost as soon as we climbed out of Ouray, we started to see some moose along the road. First came a cow and calf and then we saw this going on about 15 yards off the shoulder of the road.
Moose Fight!It is a very scenic drive from Ouray to Silverton and we went over passes at 11,000 feet. The aspens were just starting to turn.
The next stop was near Chama New Mexico to pick up some taxidermy from last year’s elk hunt. It was a very tight fit.
We spent two nights in Taos and did some sightseeing there.
Then we drove to Colorado Springs with a stop at Great Sand Dunes NP.
Another pictures don’t do it justice moment - they are huge.
Then we had a two day sprint across the flatlands again to get home. I was 63 miles late getting the trip counter started but we still showed 4813 miles. 20 mpg in this Yukon.
It was a great trip but it is good to be home. The puppies missed us.
We spent the night in the historic Beaumont Hotel in Ouray.
