I thought I was done with blog entries, but it turns out that Scenic Byway 12 continues on past Escalante through part of Bryce Canyon National Park and back into the Dixie National Forest and a beautiful and intriguing hiking area called Red Canyon. We had visited Bryce some years ago, but it was sorely tempting to drive all the way in again. We didn’t, opting instead for our original plan of driving back to the SLC airport over the Mount Nebo Scenic Byway. Utah does their scenic byways right.

We spent a long, glorious day in Capitol Reef hiking and scrambling up and down gorges, canyons, and trails to natural bridges. Capitol Reef has more OHMIGOD moments per square foot than any other landscape I have ever experienced, and words and images probably won’t do it justice. So I’ll forgo most of the words and just throw some images out there.