Saturday was a driving day, across canyon country in Utah. Leaving Hurricane late that morning, we first drove back through Zion National Park. The highway through Zion is the best route to Bryce Canyon and on to Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park. As usual, the weather was extremely hot and sunny and Zion is as amazing as ever.

Tasha still wasn’t feeling well so she didn’t get to see much of the scenery there. We also decided to skip Bryce Canyon. However, the drive through Red Canyon on the way to Bryce was still spectacular and has some of the same red-rock hoodoos you get in Bryce Canyon. Past Bryce, the highway enters Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument and more sculpted sandstone landscape. The road climbs a slope at one point and then follows a narrow ridge, with steep canyons on either side. This is fascinating country.

Exiting Grand Staircase - Escalate, the road travels up into some higher mountains where ponderosa pines and aspens grow. A couple of rushing streams appear here. Unfortunately, the speed limit is 50, making for some slow going. And right outside of the town of Torrey is where I made my mistake - passing the county sheriff going a wee-bit too fast. He got me for 64 in a 50 and also for the broken windshield. Not being very thrilled about getting a ticket, I could have been more polite. The conversation went something like this:

Him: Do you know how fast you were going?
Me: Around 50.
Him: It was 64
Me: Huh. No kidding. I don’t think so.
Him: Can you even see out of that thing? ::leans his head in the car window::
Me: Yeah, I can see fine. It blocks the sky.
Him: You need to get that windshield fixed. That’s a major equipment violation.
Me: ::getting lit:: I know that. You know of a place that’ll do it on a weekend? No? I didn’t think so, since I already called every auto glass place from Las Vegas to Denver yesterday afternoon when it
happened.
Him: Well, what I mean is do it at your earliest convenience.
Me: Obviously.

After that we headed out toward I-70, which takes you through Capitol Reef National Park, and more of the same scenery. Beyond, Luna Mesa erodes into bizarre piles of gray sand, making it look like one would think of the surface of the moon. Finally, the road passes into flatter terrain before meeting I-70. The road into Moab descends through red-rock canyon territory before crossing the Colorado River and entering town.

All in all, this is one of the most beautiful drives in the country offering nearly continuous spectacular scenery. Just remember to take your time and drive slowly, and enjoy it, unlike me. Luckily, Utah isn’t as horrible about its traffic tickets and $82 closed the case. Hopefully I’ll remember this lesson!