ROGER & GLORIA MALMSTROM: The Wonder of God's Creations

Bryce National Park

Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynette Keane came to visit us from Colorado Springs last Saturday, July 5th. We telephoned Uncle Doug (Malmstrom) to wish him a happy birthday, but had to settle for singing to him on his voice recorder. Then on Tuesday morning, we started on a multi-national park excursion down through southern Utah. We took their smaller car because it was more conservative on gasoline. It included Capital Reef, Bryce, and Zion's National Parks. It was a wonderfully scenic and picturesque experience for all of us. We went to Loa, Utah on Tuesday morning; including a visit with Uncle Afton Taylor, the oldest citizen of Wayne County at 98 years old. The morning also included a tour through Capital Reef National Park just to the southeast of Loa. In the afternoon, we visited Bryce National Park. I purchased a Senior pass for $10.00 which gives me life-time entrance to any or all National Parks throughout the country. Plus I can take three people with me. Cool, right? We ended the day by staying at a motel in Panguitch, Utah which is about 21 miles northwest of Bryce National Park.
Early the next morning, we left the motel and headed south on State Highway 9. It was a beautiful drive through a lush, green valley surrounded by pine trees and aspens. Then the drive through Zion's Park was merely a re-enactment of the day before, but the rock formations were different colors and shapes. It was fantastic scenery. There was a free shuttle bus tour that takes people all through the park, but it took at least 90 minutes and you had to have a hat, water, and sunscreen. Unfortunately, we were a little short on time, and we didn't have hats or sunscreen. So we had to settle for the sights we could see as we traveled through the park in the car. There were spots where we could pull off the road and take photographs, and that provided us with some fantastically beautiful scenes of wonder and awe. We then continued west from the park's exit point. As we left the park, there were a couple of small cities like Glendale and Orderville (Orderville looked like each house was surrounded by at least three pre-1960 cars--it was a vintage car enthusiast's paradise). We then headed north on I-15. At Salina, we took I-70 east and then at the Fremont Junction, we headed north on Highway 10 to Price and arrived home around 5:00 p.m. It was the end of a lovely trip to a part of the country that none of us had ever visited or seen except in books or on TV.