Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

We traveled from Thousand Lakes Campground in Torrey, outside Capitol Reef NP, down to Ruby’s Campground just outside Bryce Canyon NP.  We took Utah Scenic route 12 and boy was that a road that lives up to its name!  Shortly after we turned on to 12, we began climbing up into red rock mountains that gave way to beautifully forested mountains.  There were scenic turnoffs all along the way and we made liberal use of them!  Pretty soon we topped the high point at over 9000 feet and started down again but soon climbed back up a little as we entered the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  If you haven’t seen this part of the country, you are missing out!  It was beautiful with huge valleys on both sides of the road and at one point we were driving along a razor’s edge of a road along a ridge before starting back down into the valley. 

As we approached the Bryce Canyon we got a glimpse of some of the amazing rock formations for which it is famous. The colors of the rocks were amazing!  Once again, Utah has outdone itself!