Utah Road Trip - Part 4

The day after our exciting ATV Slot Canyon Trip we headed to Bryce Canyon. It, like Zion, was about an hour from our rental house. It is hard to imagine how much difference there can be among the canyons and red rocks of the Colorado Plateau. We were constantly amazed by the views. Bryce has lots of hoodoos, pillars created by erosion. And it is more of an amphitheater than an actual canyon.

The next day, Saturday, the other three decided to visit the Kolob Canyon area of Zion Park. However, I decided that a day of relaxation suited me better. They enjoyed their visit and I enjoyed my time alone. On Sunday none of us went anywhere; it was time for a break for everyone.

Monday morning we packed up and headed for Torrey, Utah. On the way we stopped at the Anasazi Village State Park, which had a restored area of pit houses similar to the ones we saw at Mesa Verde.

At Torrey, we stayed at the Rim Rock Inn, away from the town but near the entrance to Capitol Reef, our last national park. We were happy to find that they had an excellent restaurant almost next to our rooms. We all had a delicious trout dinner with browned butter and pine nuts.

To our surprise, we awoke the next morning to snow! Our car and the grass were covered, but the road was just wet. It continued to drip off and on all day.

We walked to some petroglyphs near the park entrance. Inside the park there was again wonderful scenery. This park was formed by an enormous upheaval that folded back upon itself. It is so huge that it is hard to see from the ground. The Fruita area in and around the park is full of orchards; the homestead house sells wonderful fruit pies. We got four small ones and shared the flavors several times (mixed berry, cherry, peach, and rhubarb-strawberry).

Can you see the petroglyphs on the red wall?

Capitol Dome

Inside the park

From Torrey we drove to Denver, where Suz flew home. Two more days on the road and we arrived back in Indianapolis, tired but thrilled with the wonderful trip Lucy planned. 

One thing I might have mentioned earlier: we purchased canisters of oxygen on our way west from Denver. I was very glad to have it, as the altitude affected me more than I expected. But a few puffs worked wonders!

Here is Lucy's summary of the trip:

Recap of our April Expedition to Utah and its neighbors.

Miles driven: approximately 4400

22 days, 21 nights

Hotels/Motels nights: 9

Air BnB (entire properties; house, condo) nights: 12

6 National Monuments:

Colorado Monument

Hovenweep

Canyons of the Ancients

Bears Ears

Grand Staircase/Escalante

Vermillion Cliffs

7 National Parks:

Arches

Canyonlands

Grand Canyon

Zion

Bryce

Mesa Verde

Capitol Reef

1 Navajo Tribal Park:

Monument Valley

1 National Recreation Area:

Glen Canyon NRA

Regarding COVID-19 and travel: We are all vaccinated and we kept to ourselves. All our activities were outdoors. Masks are required inside all federal properties and we observed all protocols. We mostly shopped for food and cooked in our rentals. We had picnic lunches most days. We did eat out a few times, but only chose places that practiced social distancing.