Capitol Reef is a park in central Utah marked by deep-red sandstone canyons and outcrops. We hiked the Grand Wash and poked around the park, then began driving east, through the lunar-like landscapes of eastern Utah.
Driving between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef is the giant Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument. It's in a lower, more arid part of south-central Utah.
Bryce Canyon National Park is not really a canyon, but an erosion-exposed mesa. We explored the park form the rim drive, then hiked into the canyon on a brutal, five-hour hike.
Great Basin National Park is an mountainous oasis surrounded by the dry basin below. We hiked up to bristlecone pine forests and to the glaciers below Wheeler Peak.
We explored Zion National Park, hiking up the Virgin River for several miles, and driving around its beautiful valley. Later, we headed down the road a little to northern Arizona.
We arrived at Bryce Canyon last evening. This morning we watched the sunrise at, where else, sunrise point, and hiked into the canyon. In the afternoon, we headed south to Zion National Park.
We camped at Hovenweep National Monument last night and explored the ancient ruin this morning. We drove into Monument Valley, over the Glen Canyon Bridge in Arizona, then headed back into Utah and up to Bryce Canyon.
