Baker, Nevada

Late last week we traveled along Utah’s Scenic Byway from near Bryce Canyon to Boulder, Utah. What an amazing road!

Scenic Byway 12 takes you to the heart of the American West. This exceptional 124-mile route negotiates an isolated landscape of canyons, plateaus, and valleys ranging from 4,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. You’ll encounter archaeological, cultural, historical, natural, recreational, and scenic qualities while driving this exhilarating byway.

Our journey was about 75 miles of the 124 miles total on the road which has been designated as one of America’s 150 Byways.

First up? Red Canyon. A beautiful canyon that has a paved bike and walking trail. Note to self: Carve time to ride or jog this next time we’re here. Oh, and don’t forget to wash the windows in the Jeep if you’re going to take pictures while driving… 🙂

Loved this old gasoline pump and the signage that read, “Too Pooped to Pump”!
This is Grosvenor Arch, a unique sandstone double arch that is located within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It is named to honor a former president of the National Geographic Society.  The arch is over 150′ tall.

Next up along our drive was a badlands area. Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer rock and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. The badlands were a fascinating contrast against the far away red hoodoos of Bryce Canyon.

The most scenic area of the drive was from just outside of Escalante to Boulder. Much of the road here was built from 1935 to 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The road was built directly on rock; miles and miles of it!

Nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway because of the back-breaking labor and tons of dynamite blasting through the slickrock terrain. This was done in the days before heavy machinery, so construction debris was removed with horse-drawn scrapers and by hand with picks and shovels. 

On some of these pictures you’ll have to look really hard to see the black asphalt ribbon of the road. That shows you the immense size of the road and the length of the road through the rock.

It’s the most amazing road I’ve ever been on. Ever…

On another part of the road, we were literally driving up to and along the top of the mountain ridge. 

The mountain falls off dramatically hundreds of feet on each side of this ridge. You  never know what’s around a bend…

What a surprise to see an RV Park that rents Airstream travel trailers and shows movies on a drive in screen!

We stopped to eat a picnic lunch and had a visitor. 🙂