The Hanksville Loop

Having decided to cut short our stay in Hanksville, Utah during our recent trip West, we had laid out a pretty agressive agenda for ourselves during our one full day in the area. That agenda called for us to drive a 400-mile loop drive, which took us through some amazing scenery and included visits to various national lands.

It was an absolutely gorgeous drive.

This is the sort of scenery that we drove through as we headed south on Utah Highway 95.

Our route took us through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, pictured above.

The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is just amazingly beautiful, with Lake Powell and the gorgeous red rock walls of the canyon. We met a couple from Austria there, who were touring Utah in a rented motorhome. They were shy about speaking English, but they both did very well. They told us that what they found most remarkable was the vastness of the countryside. They described the size of Austria, then held out their arms to indicate the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where we were standing, and said "Our whole COUNTRY could fit here."

More of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Part of Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

The Natural Bridges National Monument was also on this loop drive. Following are some pictures from that area.

Above is a picture of the Sipapu Bridge. Natural bridges can sometimes be hard to see. This one is almost smack in the center of the photograph.

As a side note, the choice of terms, between "bridge" and "arch," appears to be somewhat arbitrary. The Natural Arch and Bridge Society identifies a bridge as a subtype of arch that is primarily water-formed and flat on top. Using that definition, we've seen some "bridges" that probably should be called "arches" and vice versa. In the Natural Bridges National Monument, all of them are called "bridges."

Kachina Bridge

There are no bridges in the above photo, so don't strain your eyes looking for one. This was taken at the overlook for the Kachina Bridge, and the bridge itself is out of the picture, to the right. This was just such a pretty scene I couldn't leave it out.

Owachomo Bridge (slightly above center in the photo)

Remember, this was a 400-mile loop drive, and there was a lot to see. Rather than wear you out by trying to show you too much in one post, I'll continue the story on another day.