8 September 2011 Was up with the light, broke camp and rode highway 9 out the east end of Zion National Park. Again, the scenery was stunning as I struggled to stay on the road between the view and the low sun angle. The 1.1 mile long Zion-Mt.Carmel tunnel, completed in 1930, serves as a demarcation point for leaving the park.
At Mt. Carmel, I take 89 north to 12 and 12 east to Bryce Canyon National Park. Soon after turning onto 12 I get a warm up for Bryce as I pass through Red Canyon and the first hint of the hoodoos to come. Also, by now i've climbed back up above 6000 feet to the cooler dryer air.
Whereas Zion is an awesome experience, Bryce is not so much experienced as it is looked at. After riding up to the canyon rim at just under 9000 feet, there are numerous viewing platforms all along the rim where the various formations of hoodoos can be seen. I saw them all and you can too in the photos. After a few hours I reached hoodoo saturation and headed on down the road toward Capitol Reef National Park.
Highway 12 continued to pass through rugged and remote country, including the pass over Boulder Mountain, offering incredible views. This is one of the most amazing roads in America, see the signboard “Building the Million-dollar Road” in the photos. And it's not just me that thinks so, this has been officially designated an “All American Road”.
By the time I got to the turn off for Capitol Reef Park, where I had planned to camp, it was cold, looked like rain, and I was very tired so I decided to get a room in Torrey.
I published a lot of photos of rocks from this day, but not the kind you see every day.
Americana for the day: American flags proudly flown nearly everywhere
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/T.Micheal.Young/USA201102
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/108481211284683809830/USA20113?authkey=Gv1sRgCInJ3fTt3fO0Mg
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