DAY 3, PART 1. – UTAH’S SCENIC BYWAY 24 & CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK.
Today was one of the two big driving days of our trip, with significant distance to cover across to the Eastern side of the state approaching the Colorado border. After some conversation with friends with a very similar itinerary at almost an identical time, Tara pushed for the slower scenic route rather than blasting for Canyonlands the fastest possible way. I’m glad she did, this was arguably some of the MOST incredible drive-by scenery of the entire journey. This isn’t easy to state, as we saw a lot of spectacular places, but this drive was absolutely startling, as well as seemingly endless as we passed through the park.
To get there, we climbed a significant mountain pass through still snow covered regions at over 2000m, and then down through to Capitol Reef National Park, stopping at Panorama point for a delicious lunch with the beautiful backdrop of the Mummy Cliff. We found an organic store in the small town of Escalante earlier in the day and enjoy some delicious fresh baked baguettes with hummus and mixed vegetables as we soaked up the sights.
The overcast skies and midday travel period didn’t lend us any special light or shooting conditions, but the views were none-the-less jaw dropping. As we left it in our mirrors and found long, straight, flat sections of rural farmlands, we focussed next on our arrival at Canyonlands National Park, and finding a camp site for the evening.
The growing cloud cover was a little concerning as the afternoon wore on, but was still offering the potential for some late light magic, we would have to wait and see….
There are a bunch of photographs from this trip that can be viewed full screen in a gallery at this link here
Once upon a time in the West 
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