This is the 6th in a series of posts using photos from a recent 6+ week trip I took around the Western US & Canada, with a college buddy Chuck & my Australian Shepherd Gem, aka "the Mutt." I'd like to thank all who have looked at the first 5 parts & commented.

I'm going to show some shots a bit out of order this time ... we left Grand Staircase/Escalante Nat'l Park heading toward Cayonlands Nat'l Park outside Moab, UT. We had visited Moab in 2016 & had gone to the Green River Overlook to capture a sunset. Unfortunately, there was a terrific dust storm & we didn't want to expose either our cameras or lenses to it, so we left. Since we were on schedule for this trip, we figured it was worth the drive back to Moab for a do-over.

On the way to Canyonlands, we began to see spectacular scenery & soon learned we were passing through Capital Reef Nat'l Park ... a park I'd never been to nor even heard of before. We only spent part of a day at CR & moved on because we had reservations in Moab. However, after our visit to Moab was complete, we then drove back to Capital Reef because it was so spectacular. So I've grouped CR shots together with a couple of other sites in this post to avoid bouncing back & forth. I'll share some shots of Canyonlands in the next post.

Capital Reef quickly became, IMHO, the prettiest Nat'l Park I've ever been to. The scenery is second to none. I'm almost hesitant to phrase it so strongly, because one of the nice things about it, is it wasn't as crowded as other places we've been. So please don't tell anyone!!!!! And like Escalante, CR is sort of laid back. Loved it. And I feel like 4 photos doesn't do it justice so I suggest going there when you can.

As noted above, we left CR & returned a few days later after a visit to Canyonlands Nat'l Park. After the 2nd visit to CR, we then headed toward Cortez, CO, our next planned stop. Along the way, we found yet another unplanned surprise ... the Glen Canyon Nat'l Recreational Area, which was beautiful.

And to round out this post, I'm going to do something I don't typically do ... which is to highlight a hotel in Cortez that was one of the most fun places we stayed at throughout the trip ... the Retro Inn. It is a quintessential Rt 66 style of motel ... it was well appointed & a generally wonderful place to stay. As mentioned, it was also fun ... as you can see from the photos below ... 2 old men & the Mutt became 12 years old again!!!!

Hope you enjoy them.
Frank

Another great set Frank!

I don't know if your trip took you through Ten Sleep Canyon, but one of our trips did. We took a road trip in 2012 that took us to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, as well as some other places. We drove from Spearfish SD to the Yellowstone Lake Hotel, 429 miles and 8 hours, and it was a beautiful drive. Our planned route was I-90 to Buffalo WY (where we stopped for gas) and then U.S. 14 through Sheridan and then to the hotel. At the gas stop, the lady attendant asked where we were going and when I told her, she said we should take U.S. 16 to U.S. 20 and then WY 30 to U.S. 14 instead, as it took you through Ten Sleep Canyon. We did so and it was one of the nicest drives of our trip. The route took us through the Bighorn Mountains and over Powder River Pass at 9,666 feet. I've attached 3 photos of Ten Sleep Canyon which were taken "two cameras ago" with a 6 MP Canon S3 IS bridge camera.

Thanks DJphoto ... appreciate the info ... & no, we didn't get to Ten Sleep Canyon, in fact never heard of it ... but it sounds & looks like a place for next time. We went to Badlands, then over to the Tetons & then on to Yellowstone. That route took us right by Mt. Rushmore & the Crazy Horse Memorial but unfortunately, it was snowing very hard & the roads were very slick, so we elected to skip them. So I'd like to go back & also find Ten Sleep Canyon. Thanks for the recommendation & for the positive comment.