August 15 - Grand Staircase - Escalante and Capitol Reef National Park
Utah continues to amaze me. What an explosion of colors and profusion of larger-than-life geological formations! Today I felt like a very small ant wandering through an enormous movie set. The vast vistas, remarkable colors, and variations in rock formations seemed almost unreal. I gazed in awe at mile upon mile of untold beauty in both the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park.
Today I headed east and then north on highway 12 from Panguitch Utah to Torrey through the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. I had been tempted to go to Zion but in the spirit of adventure decided to try something new. I was not disappointed. There is a reason why this road is on some lists of the top 15 motorcycle rides in the country.
Grand Staircase boasts an abundance of monoliths, slot canyons, natural bridges, and arches in this national treasure spanning nearly a million acres. The rock formations are painted in red, orange, white, and brown colors and are displayed across vast reaches of land as far as the eye can see. My favorite stretch of the road was from about 10 miles past Escalante to Torrey. The colors seemed even more pronounced, the formations even taller, and the vistas easy to see from several well-placed overlooks.
After gassing up in Torrey I headed east on highway 24 through the Capitol Reef National Park on my way to Leadville, Colorado. Wow! In some ways I found this drive even more surreal. The rock formations were even taller, and the reds seemed even brighter. I especially liked one stretch of road that ran right between two deep red vertical cliffs. The cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in this park are part of a 100-mile wrinkle in the earth (a geologic monocline). It was hotter on this section of road and even more remote, making the experience seem even more like a pioneering expedition.
At the end of highway 24 I headed east on Interstate 70 towards Leadville. There was a heavy haze in the air from fires in the west. The smoke was so thick that I washed grey ash out of my shirt in the hotel tonight and also had to shower to remove the soot from my body. I’m headed to southern Colorado tomorrow and am hoping the haze will be less pronounced. Either way, I’m ready for another adventure.
