Apricot Orchards at Fruita
Day 8 of our journey was quite full. After our brief excursion to Arches, we ventured further south west into Utah. Our journey took us through some very isolated, desolate, yet amazing areas of the United State. Our first stop was in Capitol Reef National Park. It has a strange name, granted, but it was simply beautiful. Our visit to Capitol Reef was brief, and largely included a rest stop and a drive through. We saw, once again, beautiful rock formations and had the pleasure of visiting the orchards in the Fruita area. You are allowed to eat what you pick for free in the Apricots orchards.
After our visit to Capitol Reef, we ventured down Utah's Scenic Byway 12, which winded through the Dixie National Forest and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument eventually to U.S. 89 and Bryce Canyon National Park.
View Arches to Bryce Canyon via Utah SB 12 in a larger map
View from Boulder Mountain
It really is difficult to describe the amazing things we saw along Rt. 12. We learned that in many places operated by the Bureau of Land Management, stock roam freely. We came across several small her of cattle through the Dixie National Forest and Boulder Mountain. We also found exceptional views of Capitol Reef, mountains, lakes, and the Waterpocket Fold along Rt. 12.
Grand Staircase Escalante
After amazing views along Rt. 12, we came to Bryce Canyon National Park and its remarkable hoodoos. the late afternoon sun lit the orange rocks beautifully. After catching the sunset at Bryce, we headed south to our hotel for the night.
Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon
