At the last minute, we decided to continue traveling in a southwesterly direction. We were within 100 miles or so of Bryce National Park and thought it would be an oversight not to visit this popular park. Did I say popular?
Between Boulder and Bryce lies the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It was just recently awarded that status by Bill Clinton in 1996, much to the anger of local residents and Orin Hatch. ("The most notorious federal land grab in history," he said--ignoring the fact that most of it was already federal land.)
Part of the deal Clinton struck was to allow existing grazing rights to continue. And indeed we ran into cows and deer (and even a bear) as we drove through a mountainous stretch. One time I had to stop so suddenly that all our camping gear came flying into the front seats. I caught the folding chairs and camp stove before they hit either of us. Coming back we drove this highway at dusk. A little nerve racking.
More nerve racking was the incredible changes in scenery and highway conditions every 30-40 miles. From canyonlands and bluffs, the highway heads up into a mountainous forest covering with yellowing aspens this time of year. After winding through mountainous terrain, one crosses a 20 mile isthmus with canyons falling off on both sides of the road. The isthmus (from Boulder to Escalante, Utah) is only as wide as the two-lane highway, and it winds up and down. Great scenery, but I did not stop to take pictures. The pull-offs were just that.
South of Escalante, we stopped at a KOA for the night. A little chilly, but the scenery was spectacular.
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