After a quick breakfast of oatmeal, hardboiled eggs (thanks Irene!), and Poptarts we headed back to Bryce Canyon to check out the overlooks we had missed the day before. We also stopped at Sunset Trail and hiked the Navajo Trail through “Wall Street” It was such as fun hike down into the cool air of the slot canyon. The way up required a bit more effort as we climbed uphill on sunny switchback trails.This became our new favorite hike.After leaving the park we stopped by a Trading Post Store and there was a hummingbird flying crazily as it vainly attempted to get nectar from the overhead lights. The owner said hummingbirds frequently come in his store and sometimes the only way to get them out is to turn off the lights. This was another gift from the Lord to me personally since I have a fascination with these fluttering powerhouses!
After this, we enjoyed a beautiful drive along Route 12 which is a National Scenic Byway/ All American Road. We traveled through many different terrains over 120 miles. We drove through stark desert, vivid rock canyons with scary switchbacks and steep drop offs, and at one point we were at an elevation of 9600 in the midst of an Aspen forest. Later we were surrounded by pine trees and then back in the red canyons again! For lunch we stopped at the remote Grand Staircase Escalante Visitor Center along Route 12. It was a picturesque setting for us to unload our food bins and make sandwiches. There were several hummingbird feeders with frequent visitors :) The bathrooms were clean( an added bonus while out on the road!) and they had a cool rustic weather station to collect information which is sent throughout the Grand Staircase Region to warn of distant storms that can cause flash flooding in 'wash' areas miles away.
We finally arrived at Capitol Reef National Park mid-afternoon. To be honest, we were not too impressed. I’m sure there were many treasures to be found here but the one hike we thought we’d be interested in, we learned was too dangerous of a climb so we opted out. Instead we took a driving tour of the park. We drove on a dirt road to a ‘wash’ area which had several signs posting NOT to drive in if there was a threat of rain. These are the areas prone to flash flooding in the canyons. Thankfully it was a beautiful, hot day so no worries there. In June there are several orchards(peaches, cherries) where tourists are permitted to pick fruit and eat all they want while there as long as it is not closed off by a gate. These orchards were planted many years ago by the Mormons as they settled in a little town called Fruita. It is a tiny spot of green in the midst of dry canyons. Unfortunately; we were several weeks too early to enjoy the free fruit.
After leaving Capitol Reef we headed to Green River, Utah to spend the night. This drive seemed to go on forever. Initially it was quite pleasant as we drove along deserted mountain roads in the midst of lush evergreens and aspens.We had no cell phone coverage so it was a bit daunting as we had almost no company on the road in either direction. Later the road took us through mountain passes again with crazy switchbacks and warning signs for truckers that there was a 6%grade for 6 miles (whatever that means? all I know is it was steep and unnerving) There were even 2 runaway truck ramps on this section. From this point on, all we could see were gray canyons and plateaus...I can’t really describe it other than to say it was so vast and almost depressing. We passed only 3 vehicles heading the same direction for about 115 miles. The land is so rugged it is uninhabitable (by humans anyway). It reminded us of a desolate moonscape. I dubbed this the ‘Loneliest Road in America’ and we were all so glad to finally see civilization and have cell phone coverage again. We spent the night in 2 adjoining rooms at a Knights Inn. One of the rooms smelled like our dentists’ office so we let the 4 boys sleep there (I don’t think they noticed!) We received 8 coupons for free breakfast at the restaurant next door. We thought it was a joke when the free item was one of the following: 1 pancake, 1 slice of toast, 1 piece of French toast,1 bowl of cereal or oatmeal in addition to one beverage. We were pleasantly surprised as the pancake was the size of the plate! Grace gave her pancake to Philip who has the biggest appetite (because she is eating a gluten free diet). They were out of oatmeal, the one thing she could eat, so we ordered her an egg and toast (she shared the toast with Mercy and Odesco). Our 'free' breakfast cost $12 (including tip) but our family of 8 was full and it was the only breakfast we had to pay for on our entire trip...not too bad:)
A makeshift bridge...
~'Thor's Hammer'...one of the more famous hoodoos~
So remote...no cell phone out here!
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