Utah

Wednesday, I started out from Green River in the morning and drove through some absolutely spectacular scenery to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. I know I was inside Dixie National Forest and its lovely Red Canyon, and in addition I was also inside Capitol Reef National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I had driven most of the route the opposite way in November 2011, but there was a lot I had forgotten about and a lot that was still very nice to see again - especially in summer. There is hard competition from Wyoming, Montana and California, but Utah is up there among the very best states in the union in terms of sheer beauty. Feast yer eyes:

In Hanksville, I was not impressed by a gas station placed inside a mountain.


The actual stone makes up the wall in the back of the store.


Multicolored rock.


Huge sandstone cliffs.


It's an almost alpine landscape at 6-7-8-9,000 feet.


So pretty.


At Escalante, the road follows the ridge of a hill for some distance and you have these incredibly steep, deep, beautiful canyons on both sides. The landscape is almost otherworldly here. Again, several films have been shot in this area.