Well, I was burning daylight on the Paunsaught Plateau and my next camp will be in Arizona. I drove back to Utah 12 and drove Westbound. It didn't take me long to get to Red Canyon featuring the two arches that Utah 12 passed through. Then I had a short drive to Red Canyon Village where I would go Southbound on US Hwy 89. (Red Canyon Village is not on the Utah State map.) I did purchase some coffee while I was there. In Orderville they had several rock shops for us tourists. I made my stop at the Orderville Rock Shop; the best rock shop in town. Then I passed through some small towns on my way to Kanab, Utah where the only good grocery store was before I reached the back-country of Arizona. I ... read more

After crossing the Northern section of Bryce Canyon N Park on Utah 12; I turned South on Utah Hwy 63 to the main part of this wonderful park. First I made a stop in Bryce Canyon City for petro and to drop off my postcards in their mail drop. Bryce Canyon is not a true canyon, but is an Amphitheater. This is the Eastern end of the Paunsaugunt Plateau (with all East views) with very nice erosion structures often called "Hoodoos". I had a long day and I passed up on Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, and Bryce Point cuz of the big traffic there with long walks. I started with the very nice Inspiration Point. At Inspiration Point I took my quart of cold water and enjoyed several views of this nice overlook. I was dry ... read more

I finished with the "Devils Backbone" and arrived in the Town of Escalante. Tonights camp would be Westbound from here; but there was something wonderful Eastbound to experience, so I did a backtrack to see the Escalante River canyon and more. First I arrived at the big parking area for the scenic overlook on top of the Escalante River valley. I camped downhill from the scenic overlook several times while it was legal camping. I would drive across the levels of the "slick-rock" areas and camp out of sight from the highway. Now most of that highway has guardrails just to keep people off of our public land. That was all BLM free camping until they made the Escalante National Monument (small NPS) and the camping ended. There are no signs to tell you where the ... read more

Torrey is the Eastern start of Utah Scenic Hwy 12, From outside Torrey the access to the Boulder Mts is Utah Hwy 12 of the Dixie National Forest, Southbound to Boulder. At Torrey I drove uphill and quickly got into the Boulder Mts. It was late in the afternoon so I made camp at "Good Pine Camp"; a familiar old camp. This was a lower elevation with Ponderosa Pine dominating the vegetation. I took my camp nearby Utah 12 while a Forest Service road ran Eastbound from the same highway exit. I relaxed with a big rum drink and some trail mix. I lucked out with a very nice sunset by my camp. It was very cool out so I slept well with my nice quilt over me. The next morning I had my coffee and ... read more

Scenic Hwy 95 runs West from Blanding to Hanksville in Utah. This is mostly BLM (Bureau of Land Management) with free and open camping. The middle section with the Colorado River is Glen Canyon Nat. Rec Area (US Park Service) that used to have free camping, but no longer. I made my usual stop at Clarks Market for supplies including fruits and their large collection of shasta sodas, with sugar and sugar free. From Blanding there are interesting geological features (mostly canyons) set in a scrub desert ecosystem. About thirteen miles West of Blanding is a major geological monocline called Comb Ridge that runs North-South for about 100 miles. South of Blanding on US 183 Comb Ridge is visible, but smaller, with a good parking space to get off the hwy. At Utah Hwy 95 Comb ... read more