We started Grand loop tour from the wine country inn in Palisade Co. After arriving in the late afternoon on Monday, we had a kickoff buffet dinner at the hotel. The next morning all 15 cars started on our trip to Moab Utah we went via Cisco Utah, a general store and some leftover remnants from a movie project. Continuing along route 128 we drove next to the Colorado River with a grand view of the back of arches National Park.
We arrived in Moab about midday and had lunch at the Moab brewery after which we checked into our hotel. After getting settled we headed out to arches National Park arriving about 4:30 so that we could enter after the timed entry. Had ended we spent the next couple of hours visiting several sites within the park. 1st we went to the parking lot for the delicate arch N short hike up to the viewpoint. We next and we next visited the windows area taking pictures of the arches there. We headed back out the park excelling just as sunset occurred Not feeling very hungry after a large lunch we decided to have ice cream for dinner.
The next morning after breakfast at a local shop we went to visit local petroglyphs on route XXXX. We then went to Canyonlands National Park and we’re somewhat disappointed that the main viewpoint was closed, but we got some great photographs along the way. In the evening we had dinner at the sunshine grill with great panoramic views of Moab.
On Thursday about 10:00 the group headed out on our next leg of the journey to Bryce National Park the route took us along scenic route 12 in Idaho. The terrain varied quite a bit from wide open spaces to forested roads to rocky terrain. We passed through Capitol Reef National Park and pulled over briefly to take some pictures. There was construction in the park and the parking lot for the visitor’s center could not accommodate our group, so we just did a drive through on UT 12. We stopped for lunch in Torrey Utah at Rim Rock Patio, where we were served more pizza than we could eat. The view in the afternoon was even more spectacular than in the morning. As we stopped at the Larb Hollow Overlook and drove by the Grand Staircase and Escalante National Monument. Unfortunately there were several construction delays along the way so we arrived in Bryce Canyon city out 5:00 PM.
Our hotel in Bryce Canyon City was the Best Western Plus Ruby’s Inn. This lodge dates back over a hundred years and has an appropriate wester vibe
. After unpacking the car we headed into the park. Since it was nearing sunset we picked the most popular spots to visit, Bryce Point and Sunset Point. What an amazing place with spectacular views.
After an included buffet breakfast at Ruby’s, we headed out about 10 AM. Although it was only an 82 mile drive to Zion National Park, there was a 45 minute back-up at the western gate. Again, the views were spectacular. Parking at the visitor center was challenging. We lucked out on our first attempt and headed on the in-park shuttle to lunch at the Zion Lodge. After that we headed on the shuttle again to the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava where we hiked the Narrows trail for about two miles. From there we went to our hotel a Ramada Inn in La Verkin, about 20 miles to the east of Zion. We had a nice dinner at the Balcony One restaurant in Virgin, UT the next town ove
Sunday was a long drive home. The 640 mile drive should have taken about nine and a half hours, but mountain traffic returning to Denver caused about 20 miles of stop and go traffic starting just before the Eisenhower tunnel, making our drive more like eleven hours.
In summary it was a great trip. Classic views of the Mountain West at every turn.
