Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument

From Bryce Canyon National Park to Torrey there are still some 110 miles. I left Bryce Canyon around 6pm, and didn't get to Torrey until 9:15pm. According to the owner of the little cabin I reserved, "it is bed time already." In between the two points, scenic Route 12 transverses the rolling terrain of Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. It was really a rewarding experience driving on Route 12, although it is sometimes winding and you have to be really concentrating on the road, not the scene.

An hour out of Bryce Canyon, the view is very different.

The sun is quite low by now.

At sunset.


Doesn't this look like the Great Smokies? I will post those pictures at a later time.



I captured the most beautiful scene with my eyes, not my camera. I was driving on the ridge of a hill at sunset. The road wound along, turning north and west. The land beside the road was filled with withered grass, having already gone through its life cycle by the end of June. It was a shimmering field of gold in the setting sun, sparkling lights reflected by the stalks undulating in a gentle breeze.