Wild West

I sit now in a one-horse town (two since I arrived with my dusty steed), the name of which escapes me. It's likely to be Dry Wash or Cactus Creek. I have yet to decide what to have for dinner. Will it be Buffalo Burger at the diner across the road where the neon lights are calling to me, albeit with only half the letters glowing, or 24 ounces of prime rib at the steakhouse with the swinging saloon doors? Either way it'll be meaty.
As to the day's adventures, there are an unbelievable number of national parks that showcase rocks in Utah. Capitol Reef was first on my list today. This is a lesser visited park. It is a geological fold or more poetically "a warp in the earth's crust" which apparently caused some problems to the pioneers as the reef is rather hard to cross. There are a couple of thin gorges through it which reminded me a lot of Picaninny Gorge in the Bungle Bungles, WA (for those of you who have not had the pleasure, it is the gorge used in the scene of Australia when the cattle stampede). As yesterday, the rocks (and there are a lot of them) range from white to red with the odd purple and black seams thrown in for good measure.

The Fremont River runs through the park and creates a lush green oasis in the otherwise arid landscape. I now know why Cottonwoods are thus named - they spew forth irritating cotton-like fluff but also provide much sought shade in the hot desert.

The afternoon saw me and my trusty steed heading further west over Boulder Mountain and through Escalante State Park. A stunning ride if ever you are passing by.

My destination was Bryce Canyon NP. Bryce is home to hundreds of thousands of Hoodoos. A pretty cool name for funny, pointed rock formations created by years of erosion. Bryce is difficult to describe so just check out the picture below.

Oh and I chose the prime rib - a plate o' meat with nothing green in sight - very wild west!