Day 14 – Natural Bridges to Bryce Canyon

(I'm playing catch up here, folks.)

We got on the road today about 8:15. Our route is going to take us through the towns of Hite, Hanksville, Torrey, Boulder, Escalante, Tropic, Panguitch and back to Tropic, all in Utah. The scenery is varied and wonderful. For the 95 miles from Natural Bridges to Hanksville we encounter 8 motorcycles and 6 automobiles. There is so little traffic that when we cross the bridge over the Colorado River, we stop the car mid-bridge, get out and take a few photos before we hop back in and move on.




Now you may have noticed that you probably did not recognize any of the town names from the above list. The reason is simple: south central Utah has cities, no big towns, no medium-sized towns. All the towns are small, some smaller than others. This is part of the charm of this area… wide-open spaces. Every hour or so it seems, we pass through a change of scenery. It is amazing to see the variety of cool sights Utah has to offer.





From Hanksville to Torrey we pass through Capital Reef NP, specifically the abandoned, now being restored community of Fruita. The Mormon settlers in the late 1800s settled here and found the local climate suitable for certain fruits, so they planeted orchards. Some of the original plants survive. They are attempting to restore the farm to its productive form.

Fruita School

From Torrey to Escalante we pass through some high country with aspen trees taking over briefly. We peak at 9600’. The pine smell is distinct and clear at one photo op stop.
From Escalante to Tropic is another pleasant drive, with farm communities along the way with many shades of green to be seen. Our motel is in Tropic and since we arrive there at 2 PM (it took us nearly 6 hours to go 220 miles,) we check in. We are scheduled to meet my brother, Bob and his wife, Daphne. They are driving up from So. California. We call them and they are still 2 hours out so we drive to Panguitch, the county seat.

Red Canyon car tunnel through the red rock. one of two tunnels.

There is a noticeable plume of smoke coming from south of Panguitch, billowing up into area, creating interesting lighting effects. The fire, we find, is near Lake Panguitch and they are going to let it burn.


We stop at Bryce entrance and check it out.
Firefighting helicopter at Bryce Airport.

We will spend most of the day there tomorrow. We get back to the hotel and meet Bob and Daphne. Great to see them. We unpack and head out for Kodak Kodachrome Basin State Park. The light is long and the extinct fumaroles and photogenic. This is a gem of a state park. Utah has many.





We return to the motel and have pizza at the adjoining restaurant. We all agree it is very good.

Tomorrow, Bryce Canyon.