Utah is, in my view, the State that just keeps on giving. For thousands of years, it was home to the Ancestral Pueblo and Fremont people who built their homes in the mountains and on top of the multitude of mesa in the area. Then the Navajo arrived and have pretty much called Utah home since then, along with the Shoshone and Ute people.
Of course the Europeans came along and poked around for a while before the Mormon people wandered on through. They were looking for land in the Americas that no one else wanted, and they decided that Utah was it. And to be honest, I can see why the land that makes up Utah was the final stop.
Its actually hard to choose which of Utah's magnificent National Parks is the best to visit in order to get a sense of this remarkable State. Driving through the landscape is just one 'ahhh' moment after another and as the driver, its difficult to take it all in. I drove from Monument Valley in the south, to the Mesa Verde, through Arches, to Capital Reef and was in awe of the place the whole way.
And then you arrive in Bryce Canyon National Park. Wow. The colours are just amazing. The geological features called hoodoos, rise up from the floor of the canyon and point to the sky in all their glory. Its hard not to be impressed.
I was lucky to be part of a group that had a visiting geologist present to provide some history and science to what we were seeing and that made a huge difference to my experience.
I only had a day to explore and that now seems like such an injustice to Bryce. It is worth so much more time and energy.
I only had a day to explore and that now seems like such an injustice to Bryce. It is worth so much more time and energy.
