The scenic drive on our way to Utah

We packed up the tent and headed off eastwards to take in a few amazing spots around the canyon and beyond. Today's schedule was a packed one. 


We planned to  head around the rim of the Canyon, go through the Painted Desert  and the Navajo Native American Reservation into Utah. We would then travel across to Zion National Park, enjoy the Scenic byway route through the park, head around to Bryce Canyon ready to set up camp for another night. A lot of driving, but worth it to see some more beautiful scenery.

We started the day at 4.15 and made it to Mather Point it in time to grab a good spot, Joanna positioned out on the viewing platform with tripod in place, Sherrie on a rock with a coffee...

Sunrise over the Grand Canyon on the longest day of the year

Heading out of the Canyon National Park, we stopped off at GrandView, an amazing panoramic vista of the canyon - photos to come!

We headed on with our trip and thoroughly enjoyed the Painted Desert and were constantly surprised by the changing scenery and spectacular colors that it is famous for. The size of the area is enormous, and we enjoyed seeing the Native American villages along the way.

We continued to drive towards Lake Powell, ready to cross from Arizona into Utah and were looking forward to the change of scenery again as we headed towards Zion National Park. The dry, red colors we had seen in the desert and canyons evened out to shades of coral and more green was visible as the air became more humid. The temperature was still in the 90s though, of course!

Our 5th State border - on the way into Utah from Lake Powell

We reached Zion and were amazed by the views and closeness of the rocks as we weaved along roads and through tunnels. Emerging through the longest tunnel, at 1.1miles long, the rocks turned into another large canyon area that we drove through and out of, heading for Bryce, only to discover that the road we needed to take was closed… 

Driving along the Scenic by-way in Zion National Park

So, change of plan, we have now headed directly to Salt Lake City, where we intended to come tomorrow which now means we can spend a whole extra day at Yellowstone ready for some more outdoorsy fun and some cooler temperatures from what we can see.

there are more pictures to see on the photo gallery page too...

Joanna and Sherrie