Warning: this post has over 100 photos in it, due to the high volume of incredible scenery on today’s ride.
I debated riding through Zion National Park right up until I was past the turn-off to the park. It’s a good thing I passed it up, because I made it to my campsite in Green River just as the sun was setting. We need to save something for a future visit to Utah, right Amy?
Bryce Canyon NP was amazing. If you are ever faced with a choice between Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon, definitely choose Bryce. They know how to do a national park, it’s not over-commercialized like the Grand is, and it just looks amazing!
At my second stop in the park I met another biker who was on a BMW from Alaska. We talked for a while and then a couple from Tennessee pulled in on matching yellow Harleys. After that I had a brief conversation with a couple from England here on a bus tour. So many people from so many places!
After a couple hours in the park I was hitting sensory overload and needed to leave. Highway 12 was next, and that was incredible in its own right. Arguably, Highway 12 is the reason I’m doing this entire trip. I was really looking forward to the next few hours, and they did not disappoint!
This road is 123 miles long, and has so many varied and interesting scenes and vistas I could have spent days stopping every few minutes and taking photos. There were some stretches that were more “ordinary,” but that was so you could catch your breath and get ready for whatever was coming next.
Highway 12 ends at highway 24 in Torrey, Utah, which is a scenic road itself. It passes through Capitol Reef National Park, a park I had never heard of before, but was another piece of amazing Utah scenery. And yes, I managed to drop my bike as I was leaving Capitol Reef. I had stopped to take a picture in front of the park’s sign, thought my kickstand was down, and leaned the bike to the left. I quickly realized the kickstand was not down, but by then it was too late to stop the fall. Check the photos for the evidence.
Tomorrow evening I should be in Ouray, Colorado after visiting Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.
The high desert night sky is so clear, and the Milky Way so visible. Ah, I miss the desert, though I am still quite satisfied with where we live in the Black Hills.
Photo gallery of day 19
