We left Capitol Reef early in the morning and headed to Bryce Canyon. Though our ultimate destination was only about 100 miles away, the trip took close to 4 hours. Neither traffic, break downs or construction was the cause for our lengthy drive along highway12 but some of the most spectacular terrain in the entire western US. After leaving the Reef, we went straight south, and climbed Boulder Mountain. In an hour and roughly 20 miles you leave the hot red earth and mesas and find yourself in an alpine, aspen forest with views across southern Utah!
Through the ponderosa pines
To the aspen forest and grassland
The rest of Utah as seen from the top
After climbing down the mountain we stopped for the most wonderful breakfast you could ever hope to have, at Hells Backbone Grill. What could be better than a from scratch, locally sourced, gourmet eatery at the base of a 9,000ft mountain, in gorgeous red rock and canyon lands and all for the cost of a meal at IHOP. Breakfast included potato sage pancakes, buffalo sausage, homemade molasses bread with apricot jam, mixed tea from the garden a fantastic red chili.
Post-breakfast happiness
The signage, should you ever find yourself in the area
Back on the road and with a cookie to go, we headed up the backbone of a beautiful ridge on our way to Bryce Canyon.
The spine of the giant
A canyon to our right
The spine of the giant
A canyon to our right
An amphitheater to our left
The road behind us
The road before us
As we neared Bryce, we passed many a small town, denoted mostly by a few fields and a name by the road. In the whole 5,000 square mile county, there are only 5,000 people. That's what is great about southern Utah!
Just before Bryce
Just before Bryce
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