Utah Road Trip - Part 2

The following day we headed for Bryce Canyon National Park, a random and beautiful canyon which appears very fragile as the rock formations look like they’re made of Type 1 rather than the stronger sandstone we had been used to in previous parks. We were quite high up here and there was quite a lot of snow of the ground. This meant a few of the trails were closed, namely the famous Navajo Trail which winds through the canyon, but we still managed to view it from above and make our way into the canyon for a little hike. Our accommodation here was the famous Ruby’s Inn, which had everything you’d ever need for a road-trip stopover – perfect for us. A great big buffet for dinner and breakfast was available, a good size indoor pool, a laundromat and, perhaps the most important, a Western Photo booth which enabled us to dress up as cowboys, priceless. The next morning, we head off towards Capitol Reef National Park, taking a short detour along a long dusty road track towards Peekaboo and Spooky Gulches. This involved quite a strenuous trek from the car park but was a fantastic experience. These ravines, extremely narrow in places, carve their way through the sandstone and are approximately ½ mile long each. I managed Peekaboo Gulch, but Spooky beat me as the gaps were only 10 inches in places (and the ravine was about 100ft high – definitely not for the mildly claustrophobes amongst us! We then headed north for a 2-night stay at the Capitol Reef Resort, located just outside Torrey. There’s not really much to do in Torrey, but we found a fantastic Burger Van, Ian said the Mac ‘n’ Cheese Burger he had rated amongst his top 3 burgers ever! That’s quite an accolade. The following day we headed into Capitol Reef National Park where we trekked through the Grand Wash (a 2-mile trek through a wide ravine) followed by a short trek to the beautiful Hickman’s Bridge – a natural bridge made from the sandstone. Perhaps not as dramatic as Arches NP or Monument Valley, but still very beautiful and definitely worth a visit. We knew we had a relatively long drive to Salt Lake City today, so we headed off early and stopped on the way for a massive brunch at Denny’s (yum). To break up the journey we had pre-booked some zip-wire action just south of the city. Here we tackled 5 different zip-lines, all differing length and speed – but lots of fun. Unfortunately, the ‘Screaming Falcon’, the longest zip line over water in the USA was closed (there had been snow in the previous days and access to the starting platform was impossible) which was a real shame, but we had fun, nonetheless. It was then onto Salt Lake City for a 2-night stay. We found out the population of SLC is only about 200,000 which seems ridiculous as it’s really spread out, but it is a beautiful city with the backdrop of snow-capped mountains surrounding it. We visited Antelope Island, a remote island located inside the Great Lake where we had a picnic lunch and the kids (and dads) did the obligatory floating in the salt lake! We also visited Temple Square in the city centre where the almost Disney-lake Mormon Church stands proud. We were coming towards the end of our Utah road trip. But enjoyed a last stop near to Dinosaur National Monument close to the border of Utah and Colorado. We stayed at Vernal, the nearest and best town to stay in if you’re interested in seeing the cool dinosaur bones that were excavated here during the last century – the best piece being an almost complete skull of an Allosaurus, fabulous! From here we drove the 6 hours (!) back to Denver – but again, most of the scenery was pretty special so meant the journey seemed shorted than it actually was! What a truly amazing place Utah is. Such a beautiful, remote state in the Mid-West, somewhere I have always wanted to explore. Blessed with stunning scenery, this really is a state of great contrasts. Temperatures and climates do vary significantly depending on how far south you travel, and also the altitude. Winter months are probably best avoided, unless you are visiting one of the many amazing ski resorts close to SLC. Summer months can of course be very hot, so visiting in the spring or fall would be the best option, but even here you will need to pack for every type of weather. Whenever you choose to visit though you are guaranteed to have a wonderful trip and leave with many special memories…