Four thousand miles in two weeks...
Two mad dash days (to Delta, UT then to Casper, WY) to get near our first destination which was the area around Rapid City, SD. Our goal here was to see Devil's Tower, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park. We spent three nights: Deadwood, Rapid City and Custer.
Then down for an evening in Denver but not before a diversion through Rocky Mountain National Park. The next day we headed on down south to Great Sand Dunes National Park where we stayed in Alamosa, CO.
Next stop was Durango, CO after travelling through the Rio Grande National Forest. The following day we made a long loop up through the San Juan Mountains including towns such as Silverton, Ouray and Telluride ending up for the evening in Blanding, UT. This must be one of the most amazingly beautiful drives in the country. We were fortunate in hitting the fall colors at or near their peak.
After Blanding we took Utah SR 95 to Hanksville and then on to Escalante for our tenth night on the road. On this day we saw Fry canyon and the area around Hite, UT, the farthest east reaches of Lake Powell. We revisited Capitol Reef National Park and the "town" of Fruita. Here we picked apples from orchards that the National Park Service has maintained since 1955 when that small town was abandoned upon its purchased for inclusion in Capitol Reef NP.
From Escalante we headed for Las Vegas with stops in Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument.
 |
| Near Provo, Utah. |
 |
| "On a dark, desert highway..." but no where near California. |
 |
| Our first glimpse of Devil's Tower, SD. |
 |
| Devil's Tower, SD. |
 |
| Badlands National Park, SD. |
 |
| Badlands National Park, SD. |
 |
| Near Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, SD. |
 |
| In The Needles area of Custer State Park, SD. |
 |
| State Capitol Building, Cheyenne, WY. |
 |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO. |
 |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO. |
 |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO. |
 |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO. |
 |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO. |
 |
| Rio Grande National Forest near Pagosa Springs, CO. |
 |
| Rio Grande National Forest near Pagosa Springs, CO. |
 |
| Rio Grande National Forest near Pagosa Springs, CO. |
 |
| Rio Grande National Forest near Pagosa Springs, CO. |
 |
| Rio Grande National Forest near Pagosa Springs, CO. |
 |
| Animas River in Durango, CO. |
 |
| Reflecting... |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| The San Juan Mountains, CO. |
 |
| Hite, UT. The farthest northeast reaches of Lake Powell. |
 |
| Along Utah SR 95 northwest of Hite. |
 |
| Along Utah SR 95 northwest of Hite. |
 |
| Along Utah SR 95 northwest of Hite. |
 |
Along Utah SR 24 west of Hanksville.
|
 |
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT.
Fairyland area of Bryce Canyon National Park, UT.
|
 |
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT.
|
 |
| Bryce Canyon National Park, UT. |
 |
Detail of weathered pine railing at an overlook in Bryce Canyon NP.
|
 |
Detail of weathered pine railing at an overlook in Bryce Canyon NP.
|
 |
Detail of weathered pine railing at an overlook in Bryce Canyon NP.
|
 |
| Walker Lake, NV. |
Comments
Post a Comment