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SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS 20 | THE COLONY NEWS | JUNE 2022 | COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD By Kathy Sullivan In my opinion, The Grand Circle is one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring drives in the world. I want to introduce you to five National Parks. You can do this in a week if you have lots of stamina and want to see only the most well-known spots, but if you really want to experience these canyons, buttes, hoodoos, valleys and monuments, you need a minimum of two weeks. Don't forget, the older we get the longer it takes us to do anything. You can easily add the Grand Canyon to the front or back of the circle making a six National Park drive. For this article I am going to hit the highlights, with hopefully more articles to come that delve into the individual parks. ZION NATIONAL PARK Zion, one of my most favorite places in the world, is a study of monstrous proportions. You gaze up at massive sandstone cliffs in many shades of pink, red and cream colors towering towards a cobalt blue sky. There are slot canyons and a 1.1-mile tunnel built in the 1920s to explore, a river to walk and overhangs with water falls to hike under. BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK Geologically, a hoodoo means a rock column. You've got to love geologists; they didn't get tied up with long Latin words to explain geological formations. Bryce Canyon has more hoodoos in one area than any other place on earth. Its higher elevation makes it cooler than Zion, and it's a hiker's paradise, with trails like parks that zig zag through the hoodoos. CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK On down Hwy 12, from Bryce Canyon through the Escalante Staircase, you pass some great places to stop, like Devil's Garden and Kodachrome Junction, and then come to Capitol Reef National Park. It probably is the least visited of the Utah Big Five, but it shouldn't be! I always thought that Capitol Reef was all about a prehistoric reef, but it is about a Waterpocket Fold – a monocline – which like a reef, had impeded travel because of its 100-mile-long, impenetrable wall. Waterpocket Fold and all of Capitol Reef is filled with colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring hoodoos, twisted canyons and graceful arches. CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK Here is some bad news: the only reasonable way to get to Canyonlands is to get on the 70 freeway. When I am traveling, I hate freeways and love back country roads, but as freeways go, 70 is one of the more picturesque. Canyonlands is unique in that you are traveling over the Colorado Plateau at about 5,000 ft. when the bottom drops out and a whole world of erosion fills your view. The Colorado and Green Rivers are the main culprit for the amazing world of hoodoos, canyons and monuments. ARCHES NATIONAL PARK Arches, of course, has arches, many arches, but it also has monuments and shear red fins topped with hoodoos, desert landscape and hikes everywhere. One of the best known, and not for people afraid of heights and rock jumping, is the fiery furnace, which is a walk through, over and around eroded rock fins. All of these parks are in hot country, so unless you are one of those people who like 110 degree weather, I suggest a visit in May, June or October. Unfortunately, the rest of the world has also discovered the Utah parks. There are many restrictions on the number of people who can visit, the use of shuttles and even reservations for hikes, so if you are interested, I would suggest to plan well ahead. THE GRAND CIRCLE Zion National Park Bryce Canyon National Park Capitol Reef National Park Canyonlands National Park Arches National Park

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