Utah Day 8: Rt. 12

Steve invariably wakes before Mom or I. Lately we have stayed in motels without lobbies for him to go to, so this is what I see when I open my eyes.

The plan for the day was Rt. 12 From Torrey south to Tropic outside Bryce Canyon National Park, but we started with a side trip going further on Rt. 24 that we traveled yesterday. I stopped to shoot the old Mormon church on our way out of town.

There has been a lot of historical stuff around, but we have been more interested in nature. We turned N on Rt. 72 to Fremont and then cut off to Fish Lake National Forest. Well worth it. So different from anything we have seen so far. Mom spotted 5 deer on the hill above this meadow.

Back on 24, we headed east and then south toward Teasdale (lots of gorgeous houses on mulitacre lots) then south on Rt 12. We retraced our steps over Boulder Mountain, then headed into new territory. The Hogback through Escalante Canyons was definitely the highlight. That's canyons dropping away on both sides of the road in this picture. In places it was a 14% grade. But at least it was asphalt

The road up the far side was less stark, but also gorgeous. Sadly, the cafe you can see in the valley is closed on Tuesdays or we would definitely have stopped there for lunch.

We reached Tropic in time to drive into the park and do the scenic drive. Mom thought she had been here when Patty taught in NM, but it didn't look familiar to her. We're pretty sure if she had seen it before, she would remember. I took lots of pictures, but I will save most of them for tomorrow which is officially Bryce Canyon day (although Steve and Mom are talking about retracing today's Rt. 12 while I hike in the morning.) Here's just a teaser.