This morning, we packed up and headed southwest towards Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef is a Waterpocket Fold – an actual wrinkle in the earth. Extending almost 100 miles, it took millions of years to form. The shaping, lifting, twisting, and erosion has left us with an amazing array of vistas. Cliffs, domes, arches, and canyons all displayed in a wide-ranging palette of colors and hues only nature can create. Some early visitors thought one of the domes resembled the U.S. Capitol, thus the name.

The big excitement for me this day, was finding out I was going to see petroglyphs. I knew there were others in Utah, but they were farther north and out of the range of this trip. So for me, this was a real bonus.

These rock carvings date from <300-1300 and are believed to be from the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni, and Paiute tribes. They represent journeys, deities, animals, maps, clan symbols, and calendars. The culture seems to have vanished after 1300. The petroglyphs were hard to distinguish at first. I’m glad we had a guide to help us figure out where they were on the very large rugged cliff wall. (Based on the appearance of some of the figures I’m sure some attention-seeking wackos will claim they are proof of aliens).

We left Capitol Reef, enjoyed a delicious lunch in Torrey, and took the wonderful All American Highway 12 through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It was a beautiful drive and I was happy to be a passenger for the ride and not the driver. Of note, we also traveled through the Dixie National Forest, which got it’s name from its warmer climate, the Mormon effort to grow cotton, and early Southern settlers.

Utah is a major dinosaur fossil and bone discovery area. At least six new horned dinosaur species have been found within the National Monument. The head of the one shown below was the first to be discovered, and is named Utahceratops Gettyi, after the field paleontologist who found and collected it.

At the end of a long day, we arrived in Bryce Canyon City. Before we turned in for the night, we enjoyed dinner and a show at Ebenezer’s Barn & Grill. This was another big surprise. The food was good (I had excellent salmon) and the country show, featuring the Bryce City Wranglers, Nashville-worthy.  It’s a perfect mid-way stopping point on a tour of the Mighty 5.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to check out more of the Mighty 5: Arches & Canyonlands