USA Road Trip: Week 4 (Part 3)

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More rocks, more national and state parks ...

My nephew has spent a lot of time in the Utah/Grand Canyon area, and he recommended these parks. They are some of the lesser-known parks ... but definitely worth the time to explore.

Kodachrome Basin State Park - “67 monolithic stone spires ... accentuate multihued sandstone layers that reveal 180 million years of geologic time. The color and beauty found here prompted a National Geographic Society expedition to name the area Kodachrome, after the popular color film, in 1948” https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/kodachrome-basin/.

Burr Trail was especially cool. “The Burr Trail takes the adventurous traveler into some of Utah's most beautiful and extraordinary country. Views of the Henry Mountains, the colorfully contorted Waterpocket Fold, red Circle Cliffs, and Long Canyon all await the traveler who wishes to drive this interesting back road. Numerous hikes and side trips are available for those with the time and inclination” https://www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/driving-the-burr-trail.htm

Capitol Reef National Park is “sculpted rock layers in a rainbow of colors” (Moon, USA National Parks - The Complete Guide to all 59 Parks, Becky Lomax, 2018, p. 333), especially as the sun is about to go down. We had just been in a major downpour (not just a Seattle drizzle), it was getting late and we were going to skip this one, but could see the sun shining on the rocks in the distance. We got to the park before the sun set, and the colors, especially after the rain, were so bright and vivid. “Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles” https://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm.

Miles from Seattle so far: 5,487 (8,830 km)

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Comments

[Mary Holm]

Hi
Those photos are spectacular!

[ontheroadagain2017]

Thanks, Mary! There’s more coming soon ...