Grand Staircase Escalante and Capitol Reef, Utah.
I woke during the night, very thirsty, and while up went outside to take a look at the night sky. The house is pitch black at night, and I do mean pitch black. I literally have to feel my way around the bedroom to get to a light, even though you’d think my eyes would be used to the dark after a short while, as would normally be the case. This means there is no ambient light finding its way into the house.
The night sky was INCREDIBLE. Black and filled with millions of stars, here in the middle of nowhere, 20 miles outside of Cedar City and far enough way so that the city lights have no effect. Really fantastic.
Right – about to leave for my day’s journey, with a goodbye to DeLynn and Maggie’s lovely home, and thanks for their generosity and hospitality in letting me stay here.
This was a long day of driving, about 290 miles, to Green River, Utah, where I’ll be spending the night as I head back toward Colorado for a few days, before coming back into Northern Utah. I probably spent about 8 plus hours on the road, as I made a number of stops, and at times the going was a little slow. Along the way, I regularly hit pockets of rain, and the temperatures ranged from high 60s, and lower at times, to late 80s, but not reaching into the 90s and 100s as it has been. I kinda like the hotter dry weather, though, and I realized that I haven’t felt any of the arthritic pain and soreness in my hands that I usually feel back home.
One thing that struck me as odd today was the number of near bus-length RVs pulling SUVs behind them, one after another. It was almost like they were all going to a convention. What gives?
But despite the long driving time, the ride was, once again, great with fabulous and majestic scenery the entire way. I drove the more scenic southern route along route 12, which took me through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, and later the Capitol Reef National Park, both in Utah. This state is just fantastic scenery wise, with scenery and national parklands that range from barren desert to lush forested land, with cliff, mesa, mountain, and butte structures and formations that vary widely in shape, color, and texture, as they did today, from the start of the day to the end.
I started out heading toward Bryce Canyon on route 89, traveling again through the Dixie National Forest (which, at 2 million acres, is even bigger than Coconino National Forest), but after clearing Red Canyon I picked up scenic highway 12, which took me most of the way, heading east and then north east, through Grand Staircase and later Capitol Reef, after which I picked up route 24 north to Hanksville and finally Green River. Route 12 – what a road! Route 24 wasn’t too shabby, either, but route 12 was stunning.
The driving was lovely at all times, and whether traveling fast, slow in the rain or when there was slower moving traffic ahead, or cautiously along the curving and twisting mountain roads, it felt leisurely, giving me plenty of time to think. I’m not sure whether I’ve traveled through the Grand Staircase before, which is vast (at 1.9 million acres, it’s slightly smaller than Delaware), but it is incredible (I’m going to wear out that word), with changing scenery, at times traveling alongside the desert and mountains, and at other times rising as high as almost 9,000 feet, looking down over vast dioramas of mountains and canyons stretching below and into the far distance.
Route 12 stretched on for miles through the majesty of the Grand Staircase, and at one point ran along became a mountain road running along the ridge of the mountain, with canyons stretching out below on both sides. It was breathtaking in a way that a photo cannot fully capture.
I had plenty of time to think while driving, and, as is often the case, certain songs evoked strong, and frequently both good and sad, at the same time, memories of Bev, bringing inevitable tears. Sweet Baby James, a song that Bev always loved, but especially loved toward the end due to its sweet nature and lyrics, and Listen to the Lion by Van the Man, both songs I heard today that brought Bev close to mind. Home by Karla Bonoff was another song that always immediately draws my thoughts to Bev, (home sings me of sweet things, my life there has its own wings, to fly over the mountains…), and Sweet and Shiny Eyes by Bonnie Raitt (your sweet and shiny eyes are like the stars above Laredo, like meat and potatoes to me. In my sweet dreams we’re in a bar and it’s my birthday…). I heard all these songs today. Another, even more poignant, song I heard today was I will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan: “I will remember you, will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories” (which, of course, had me weeping).
That song, in particular, made me think of when Bev started to eat meat again, in the last year or so, after many, many years of being a vegetarian (and a lousy vegetarian at that, as there were so many vegetables she wouldn’t eat 😊), and when I was cooking steak for Patsy, me, and Bev (for the first time), Bev said gleefully, don’t forget me, referring to cooking a steak for her, and we all laughed, but those words echo now and have special meaning as I can never and will never forget Bev. I didn’t realize then how powerful those few words would become, and how symbolic, and how they would bring tears to me so easily. Including now.
Another song I heard today, which made me laugh, was Bare Necessities, from the Disney animated movie, The Jungle Book. Kaye was little then, and would always say what sounded like, “a hump da di,” and Bev and I could never figure out what she was talking about. Until one day, we were watching the video with Kaye, and when the song came on, with the lines “the bare necessities of life will come to you, they’ll come to you!” and Mowgli repeats “they’ll come to me,” Kaye sang along, “a hump da di,” and we finally knew what she was meant. That was great, and a lovely memory, of both Kaye and Bev.
And then, after leaving Grand Staircase, still on the fabulous 123 mile long route 12, also known as “The Journey Through Time Scenic Byway”, I entered the Capitol Reef National Park, another of Utah’s great parks, and like each of the other parks here, despite some similarities between parks, completely different in structure and appearance.
For one thing, many of the rock formations have, not only red coloring, but green as well, in layers, both of which are from iron oxide (or rust) content, but the green is distinctive.
After leaving Capitol Reef, although I’m not actually sure when it ended and I was back on the non-park road, the amazing views continued, and continued to change in formation, appearance, and color, all the way to Hanksville as I headed north on route 24, and beyond that to Green River.
Some were red and green, others, browns and greys, and some a yellow, sulphur looking color, and still others were yellow, without the sulphur tone, mixed with some green. Some mesas appeared to the west, almost serial-like, lined up in a row. I wonder if anyone ever thought about shooting a western movie here (that’s a joke).
I arrived in Green River maybe around 7 pm. My room at the Motel 6 is just fine, but it is really your most basic motel room, almost like a dorm room. It made me laugh, and I thought deserved a photo. Plenty good enough for a good night’s sleep, though.
