Day 112, Hanksville to Escalante Petrified Forest
Today we actually spent wandering around Capitol Reef National Park. After a very slow start due to our general slackness and chatting with Daniel and Heidi and getting Daniel to take some awesome shots of all of us and the bikes and van, we finally hit the road close to11.
Capitol Reef is not far from Hanksville and is based around the historic town of Fruita. It's a beautiful valley in the middle of the desert with water, fruit trees and green fields currently being grazed by deer. The history goes back thousands of years with native tribes populating the area before the settlers arrived. There are petroglyphs high on the rock faces and beautiful canyons and buttresses abound. They also used to do uranium mining in the area!
After a late lunch with the deer, we headed off toward Bryce Canyon National Park via the 'All American Scenic Byway' Route 12. This stunning road took us up into the snow at just under 3000m before catapulting us back down the other side to end up winding along a sheer ridge line without barriers. Apparently the road was called the 'million dollar road' when it was built in the 40s. Stunning but a little disconcerting in places!
After a quick stop to pick up some more bagels in Escalante (we are hooked on bagels - toppings include avocado, cheese, peanut butter or cream cheese!), we finished up at the petrified forest campsite just out of Escalante. It was well after 5pm so not enough time to go for a hike before dark. First thing tomorrow we'll go exploring before finally getting to Bryce Canyon with a bit of luck.
Add comment
Comments