October 18, 2023

By Tim Briese

Teresa and I left Kanab and drove UT 9 across the southern end of Zion National Park. It had been many years since we had been on that road and we had forgotten how scenic it was. Nice fall colors were an added bonus. Gorgeous weather didn't hurt either.

checkerboard mesa in zion

finding brilliant red maples here was a pleasant surprise

We considered going into Zion Canyon, which is accessible only by shuttle during most of the year because of the millions who visit this popular park, but it was so busy today that we decided to pass and come back another time when the crowds were thinner. We headed north to Cedar City and climbed into the mountains on UT 14 to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument. This scenic place resembles its cousin Bryce Canyon National Park but it is at a higher elevation and is much more lightly visited. The colors in the rock are more varied here too, and cliffs preclude trails down into the formations. There are several scenic viewpoints along the road that travels along the rim of the monument.

cedar breaks national monument

Then we headed north toward Richfield, our destination for the night. On the way we spotted an extensive grove of yellow cottonwood trees along Piute Reservoir and we couldn’t resist stopping for some scenic photos in the late afternoon sun. We went wild taking pictures in that magnificent spot for an hour or so. You never know what grandeur you will stumble upon.

The next day we headed for home on I-70.

at a viewpoint along i-70 in utah

The fall colors weren’t done with us yet. We found more autumn beauty at a rest stop along the Colorado River in Rifle, CO.

Later we stopped for a leg-stretching walk up the Grizzly Creek Trail in Glenwood Canyon and sat beside the pleasant creek for a while.

on the grizzly creek trail

Finally it was time to drive on home that evening, concluding a magnificent October trip through Colorado and Utah.