Red Canyon: Marilyn Warren driving through Red Canyon, which is near Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. There are two short tunnels carved out of the red rock, which the road passes through. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Grand Staircase: The highway through much of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument follows the slick rock ridges as it twists and turns. A section of this part of the road is known as ‘Hogsback’ where the highway twists across a ridge with 600 foot canyons on both sides of the road. Beautiful indeed but don’t take your eyes off the road! Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
In traveling around this beautiful country, the road or highway is a means to travel from Point A to Point B.
However, there are many scenic byways in every state, which offer a more scenic route. About one third of the scenic byways display added features and are designated as an All-American Road.
When you drive an All-American Road, you can be assured that you are in for something special. Often times, these roads become as much of a destination rather than just a route to get to the next stop.
Utah Highway 12 is a special All-American Road … just 122 miles long but within that distance you pass from one national park to another while passing through a portion of a national monument. Oh, and you’ll also pass by three state parks and numerous scenic overlooks.
One word that sums up this short drive is diversity. Driving from the west, you pass through Red Canyon before skirting the edge of Bryce Canyon National Park. You then transition to driving across slick rock in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument before climbing in elevation to the alpine forest on Boulder Mountain. The road tops out at about 9,600 feet before returning to the lower elevation of Torrey and the beautiful red rock country around Capitol Reef National Monument.
Utah Highway 12 is a true journey, route, and destination combined in a single 122 mile drive. This has to be one of the top drives we have made since we began traveling the country. Whether you have just a few hours or several days, Utah Highway 12 is a true joy and a feast for the eyes.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Escalante Canyon: Another section of the road passes through massive Escalante Canyon. Looking closely, you see the highway dwarfed by the landscape surrounding it in the lower right portion of the photo. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Alpine Forest: As you climb out of the desert like atmosphere of the Grand Staircase, you climb to almost 10,000 feet where you are surrounded by conifers and aspen trees. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Farmland: As you descend in elevation toward Torrey, the highway passes through some of the most scenic farmland and ranchland that you will see anywhere. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Road to Torrey: As you approach Torrey, the red rock country makes its presence known. Capitol Reef National Park is located near Torrey. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com