U.S. SOUTHWESTERN NATIONAL PARKS

Henry Nowicki ...12 June 1998

National parks of the US southwest are exceedingly attractive and a week-long drive in May can be expected to result in good driving temperatures and, of course, little rainy weather. To top it off, picking up a brand new car from the dealer's showroom in Phoenix, Arizona put a bright, shiny beginning to the trip.

Driving north on I-17 from Phoenix to Prescott, a pretty historical mining town almost 100 miles to the north-northwest, was all that was attempted the first day. The higher elevation of Prescott provided cooler temperatures and made for especially nice sleeping conditions. Next morning the route was to the northeast along scenic 89A another 100 miles through pretty Sedona countryside to Flagstaff. Stops along the way are plentiful both for facilities and photo opportunities. Flagstaff north to Page, another 140 miles on US 89, brings one to the northernmost edge of Arizona and to the Glen Canyon Dam, a good place to stop for the night. A range of accommodations are available but to give an example, a room at the Weston Page Boy Motel in the center of town costs $50. Across the street is a good family type restaurant; eg, spare ribs special all you can eat with salad buffet for $7.

Glen Canyon Dam spectacularly impounds the waters of the Colorado River and forms a reservoir, called Lake Powell, almost 200 miles long that has been designated a national recreation area. Boating in this area of quiet waters and red rock canyon walls is picture perfect. The visitor center at the dam should not be missed.

Incidentally, the dam is 710 feet above bedrock and took over three years of constant pouring of cement day and night to construct. Most importantly, vast amounts of hydroelectric power is generated for insinuation into the national power grid. A beautiful 1,028ft steel-arch bridge spans the Colorado adjacent to the dam and affords views that are up close and personal.

Route US 89 continues westward in Utah through the pretty Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to Kanab and Mt. Carmel Junction, a distance of about 100 miles through interesting terrain featuring colorful escarpments. Then its a few dozen miles along Route 9 that includes an imposing pair of tunnels and switchbacks that drop down to the main Zion Canyon and its superb red and yellow Navaho Formation sandstones. The 9-mile road north along the Virgin River is lined with vertical cliffs rising two to three thousand feet which requires walking or hiking to see it all. Fortunately, my vehicle had a so-called moon roof which when opened allowed one to look straight up at the cliffs. It might pay to take the open roofed tram service that is offered so that views and photo taking are not impaired. Remarkable Checkerboard Mesa near the east entrance to the national park clearly shows the cross-bedding of old beach and sand dune formations of the past.

Retracing Route 9 out of the park to the east and rejoining US 89 north to Route 12 and Bryce Canyon National Park is an easy drive covering some 86 miles. At Bryce Canyon one now looks down, instead of up as at Zion, to view differential erosion of the plateau edges which form bizarre shapes with hues of white, red and yellow. It is a fairyland that can be viewed from many different angles. Again, don't miss the visitor centers in the parks as they set the scene for what you will be seeing.

Tropic is a small town east of Bryce on route 12 that has accommodations and facilities rather handy to the park. The Country Inn Motel had rooms for $60.

Continuing on scenic Route 12 east and north to Escalante, Boulder and finally Torrey where a turn to the east on Route 24 brings one to Capitol Reef National Park which is an eroded remnant of an enormous fold in the earth called the Waterpocket Fold. It is readily viewed along Route 24 although a 25-mile round trip drive in the park should be attempted. The multi-colored cliffs and domes of the park are the major attraction. Of course, the wildlife, plants and previous human occupance of these areas are of more than passing interest.

Continuing east from the park on Route 24 to Hanksville and then south on Route 95, with unobstructed views of the Henry Mountains entails crossing rather open stretches of desert country with little in the way of facilities so one should be sure to have adequate fuel and water onboard. Hite, located at the bridge crossing of the Colorado River, is also a popular recreational site on what is perhaps the prettier end of Lake Powell. Incidentally, the shoreline of this lake when it is full is almost 2,000 miles in length!

Route 95 southeast of Hite continues along the White Canyon with little in the way of facilities. Fry Canyon, for example, is only a single motel and restaurant, billing itself as "Utah's Most Remote Desert Lodge", with limited accommodations that start at $60 for a room and approximately $10 for dinner at its vintage cafe.

Continuing southeast on Route 95, some 50 miles, the Natural Bridges National Monument is achieved with its three prominent arches that should be visited. Viewpoints are right on the paved scenic loop and is well worth the small detour. Departing the area eastward in a relatively few miles, Route 261 heads southwards to the Utah-Arizona border at Mexican Hat, a very small settlement. It turns out that state sheriffs were in the area at the time chasing two dangerous outlaws from nearby Colorado but they didn't put in an appearance and the lunch at Mexican Hat's pretty western-style restaurant went uninterrupted.

Route 163, trending 44 miles southwest through Monument Valley is delightful with the upstanding buttes and mesas made for cinema backdrops. This Viagaran Formation has to impress even the sophisticated traveler. At Kayenta, US 160 continues southwest for the 82-mile jaunt through Tuba City and rejoins US 89 for the trip back south to Flagstaff and ultimately Phoenix.

Overall, I would say this is a five-star scenic trip recommended for those who enjoy the wide open West. Here are a few ancillary webpages that are worth consulting:

www.infowest.com:80/Utah/colorcountry/index.html
www.execpc.com/~drogge/atlas.html
www.amdest.com/
www.so-utah.com/capitol/homepage.html
city.net/countries/united_states/arizona/
www.so-utah.com/southmap.jpg