Rock Fest

For the next 3 days it's a bit of a 'Rock Fest' as we will be visiting a number of National Parks in Southern Utah, the geology in this area is fantastic!

First it's a short ride from Cedar City to Kolob Canyons which is part of Zion NP.

Entering Zion itself it's getting busy & we have to take the shuttle along the Canyon Scenic Drive, it's also getting hot as the entrance area is only around 1000m above sea level. 

The Canyon sides are very steep & it's popular for climbing outside of the summer months.

Our Shuttle driver was 'Bob', not a bad job for a retired  person but we prefer to ride the bikes.

The Zion Mount Carmel Highway is the second part of the park & this we can navigate ourselves, much better & we are gaining some elevation which will help with the heat.

The rock formations & colours are great with the white calcium carbonate areas being formed from sea shells.

There is a couple of tunnels on this road as well as some rock narrows which always make good pictures of bikes!

Close to the exit is 'Checkerboard Messa', what caused the horizontal & vertical lines I'm not sure.

Trying to visit these parks & travel around 200 miles is not easy & most days we are very weary when we get to our accommodation, the Galaxy Motel in Hatch has themed Harley Davidson rooms that sure make a change from the normal Motel décor.

Red Canyon is a very short drive from our stop & the early morning light makes the best of the red rocks, the Sunlight sure makes a difference to the pictures.

This canyon is only along the normal Scenic Highway 12 but takes us to the entrance of Bryce Canyon our main destination of the day.

Bryce Point is the first stop & the rock formations are fantastic with many of the classic Hoodoos.

We take a walk down one of the many trails but only as far as this arch, you can go right down to the bottom but the motorcycle gear is less than ideal..

Next it's Paria View with a different set of formations, the variety here is outstanding & if you think rocks are boring this place is sure to change your mind.

At 'Natural Bridge' the name says it all.  

Agua Canyon looks fantastic in the sunlight, the weather on this trip has been kind to us, sunrise or sunset would be a better light but it's not bad.

The road through the park is an 18 mile dead end & you turn around at 'Rainbow Point', the views are good from start to finish.

Leaving the park we see one last sign to 'Fairyland Point' we have to take a look.

Just to prove we were here, this is another 'must see' if you are out this way.

Leaving the park we remain on Scenic Highway 12, the colours may change but the scenery remains dramatic & is part of the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.

The section of the road to Bolder is a fantastic ride & known as 'The Million Dollar Road (not to be confused with the Million Dollar Highway), built in the 1930's it brought road access to a number of small communities in the area. 

It's good to find that many roads in the US have great curves as well as the many straight ones we try to avoid.

We find a great Motel in Torrey and have a fantastic steak across the road in the The Saddlery Cowboy Bar & Steakhouse, it also has a good local draft beer Cutthroat from Unita Brewing. 

Over the last few days we have had a number of 'dry' days due to Utah's licensing laws, but we will survive!

From Torrey we enter 'Capitol Reef' another national park, here you can see some Petroglyph's from around 700AD, the Fremont River gives life to this valley.

Along the highway 24 & 95 we are into a desert landscape, the locals still find ways of getting their political views over on this abandoned ready-mix vehicle.

The Road Passes through the Henry Mountains & the roads are very quiet, it seems like most people visit Zion & Bryce & then turn around, I guess Grey rocks are not as pleasing to the eye as Red.

Our fist vie of the Colorado River at Glen Canyon, we had hoped to take the Ferry across Lake Powell from Bullfrog to Hall Crossing but it's closed due to the low water level.

The bridge over the Colorado.

One last National Park today, this is 'Natural Bridges' with a view of  Sipapu Bridge one of the three main ones here.

At Owachomo Bridge I take the trail down to the bridge itself, it is quite spectacular close up with a span of 180 feet.

In the car park we have a great view of a Western Scrub Jay, well that's what I think it is, very pretty!

Just prior to our destination of Blanding we see a sign for 'Butler Wash Indian Ruins' we can always fit in one more visit.
Once we had checked into our Motel we tried to get a beer, Blanding is a dry town but luckily I have 3 bottles with me which helped to make the task of doing the blog more enjoyable, by the way, more rocks tomorrow!!