road tripping: day 1

As I mentioned, H's parents came for a visit recently.  Usually when they come, they only stay for three or four days; this time, H convinced them to stay long enough for a road trip.  H's mom had mentioned that she wanted to see Bryce Canyon National Park and we figured that we could put together a quick loop that included Cedar Breaks National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park as well.

The Cedar Break Amphitheater

H and me at Cedar Breaks National Monument

To facilitate scenery viewing and ease of toting people and luggage, we rented a minivan, picking it up at 7:30 Monday morning and heading south on I-15 by 8.  Once we got past Provo, the traffic thinned out and it was smooth sailing all the way to Cedar City.  We drove up the scenic road to Cedar Breaks National Monument, arriving midday.  It was much nicer weather than when H and I had been there last, clear and cool this time up at an altitude of 10,350 feet above sea level.  The monument's amphitheater glowed a soft orange, pink and white under the sun.

H and his folks at Bryce Canyon National Park

We continued down Route 143 to Panguitch, then turned before hitting town (no sense in getting to Panguitch too soon) and going straight up to Bryce Canyon National Park.  It was clear and breezy, warm in the sun but cool in the shade.  For a late September Monday, it seemed pretty busy and as we headed out the scenic drive towards Rainbow Point, we were a little worried about finding parking.

Along the BCNP scenic drive

The crowds weren't really a problem, however, as we were able to stop at nearly every overlook as we worked our way back.  The only places we couldn't get into were Bryce Point and Sunrise Point where there were "PARKING FULL" signs and park rangers turning cars away.  Figuring we'd come back in the morning for Sunrise Point, we opted for beers and snacks at the Fairyland trail head to finish the afternoon.  Fairyland is great: since it is technically outside the park gates, it doesn't get nearly as many people and we had the picnic table all to ourselves.

The Amphitheater at BCNP

Even though H and I had done that scenic drive when we were at Bryce before, it was totally different this time: last time it was raining and cloudy and we couldn't see anything our first day.  This time, there were no clouds at all and the views stretched on forever.

An arch at BCNP

We drove back to Panguitch and checked in at the Adobe Sands Motel.  This is another tiny independent motel, one of about a dozen that line the town's main street.  The Adobe Sands was not fancy, big or particularly modern but the kid checking us in was super-friendly, the rooms were clean and the bed was much more comfortable than it looked.  (And in the morning, we would discover that the showers were very hot.)

Fairyland TH picnic

We had beers outside the room then went in search of dinner.  Dining options in Panguitch are still limited and our first choice, the Cowboy Smokehouse, continues to be closed on Mondays.  So we ended up a few blocks out of town at the C-Stop for "artisan" pizza.  The place was packed but the frazzled (but still very nice) waitress said we could sit at the tables outside if we didn't want to wait.  It was still pretty warm so that's what we did, patting puppies and talking with hippies until our very good pizza arrived.

The whole room, not including bathroom

After dinner it was back to the motel for a couple more beers out front as the stars came out.  Despite our being in town, Panguitch is small enough that there wasn't much light pollution.  We could see the Milky Way glittering above us and it was beautiful.

Awesome motel sign