August 19, 2024

I had not seen our daughter in far too long, and a week off in August provided a great opportunity to change that. As she was only available on the second weekend, I got creative and decided to fly from Michigan to Las Vegas, then drive to her place near Fort Collins, Colorado. A 12 hour drive that I managed to stretch into about 24 and 4 nights. Well worth that time to get to visit 6 national parks and one national monument.

The first two parks were not new to me, and so I just made brief stops to enjoy quick hikes and to collect passport stamps. I stopped by an old favorite – the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park. It was high noon and the light was not great, but I took a few shots anyway.

After leaving Zion, I made my way toward Bryce Canyon National Park, pausing first in Red canyon.

Upon arriving at Bryce, I was shocked to find it nearly empty. I hiked the Bristlecone Pine Loop and stopped at all the usual turnouts. I did not have time to do any hikes down into the canyon and enjoyed my visit nonetheless.

Day 1 of the Utah leg of my trip ended with a beautiful drive down Highway 12 and a night at the Torrey Motel (2nd pic is the view from my room).