May 12, 2021-May 14, 2021
Cannonville, Utah
We made it! The drive up from Flagstaff was beautiful in a rocky sort of way. Once you get past the Grand Canyon area and start heading toward Kanab, the scenery begins to change. The earth tones become more prominent...reds seem redder due to the large deposits of iron in the ground. This area is called the Basin and Range and is characterized by rapid changes in elevation alternating from flat and dry basins to narrow, faulted mountains. This pattern of many parallel, north-south mountain ranges found throughout the region inspired geologist Clarence Dutton to famously observe that the topography of the Basin and range appeared “like an army of caterpillars crawling northward.” And it seriously does look like that. Our route took us on US 89 North through Page and Horseshoe Bend (which we didn't stop to view on this trip) We probably should have but I think I would love to stay in this area for a week and take it all in. That being said, we just past Page you enter into Utah and follow US 89 West this time as it goes through the southern portion of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument! More about it later but just know that the views are spectacular. You never get bored with the rock formations and there is always something new around the corner. At Kanab, we stopped to get gas and eat at a Subway and then headed back north again. Zion National Park would be to the West of us, with Scenic 12 being our turn off point, sometime after you pass through Hatch, Utah.
Once we hit the Scenic 12 turn back to the east, I started getting really excited. It would still be at least another hour before we would get into Cannonville but Bryce Canyon National Park was getting closer. We would travel through the Dixie National Forest, Red Canyon, and a town named Tropic, to finally arrive at our destination at the Cannonville/Bryce Canyon KOA. Tropic is a cool little town that had several places to eat. Tropic can trace its heritage back to 1892 when 15 families showed up to settle the area. The population is around 500 now, with ranching and tourism being the big commodities. From our location in Cannonville, we would be able to go to Bryce Canyon National Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Grosvenor's Arch, and enjoy a hike through Creek Slot Canyon.