It’s Tuesday night and ready for bed. I wanted to share a bit about this road trip I just finished. This impulsive idea turned out to be an eleven day adventure. I covered 2,680 miles. I saw the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capital Reef National Park, Escalante National Monument, Colorado National Monument and a half dozen cool mom and pop coffee shops. I played the tourist rather than a photographer so most photos are more about pressing the shutter. I camped 6 of the 11 nights, spending 3 nights in Phoenix with my parents. I saved money due to my senior status as all the parks were free and the camping sites were half price. Now we can’t even get in. 🙁 A couple of nights were cold as a cold front moved through the area. One morning it was 29 degrees and the next morning it was 25 degrees. The above image was taken the morning it was 25.
The aspens were in all their glorious colors as I passed through the Dixie National Forest on my way to Torrey, Utah and Capital Reef National Park.
I want to go back and spend more time in each of them. I found myself emotional several times as I took in the beauty of this Colorado Plateau lands. I loved seeing all those stars at night. I loved the quiet and solitude that surrounds you while you’re there. All of the parks and monuments have hiking trails for day trips or overnight trips. I would like to venture into some of those canyons, to be closer and more intimate.
If you look closely in the above image you can see some of the self-guided trails that lead down into the canyon. These are what I’m interested in taking in the next time I’m there. I have a lot of catching up to do after being gone for 11 days: blogs to read, respond to comments and laundry.