Kelly's SC to CA Road Trip

Aspen, CO

Winter Advisory for Wednesday, May 6 in Denver!*

I’m in Basalt, CO just west of Aspen in the beautiful Hoffman Hilton. The drive here was so beautiful. I have not had too much fatigue while driving – I think for three reasons: 1) singing along to my playlist, 2) the scenery is so new to me, and 3) I take frequent breaks at gas stations or rest stops to walk around.

I drove to Bryce Canyon National Park this morning from Cedar City. (Thanks, Kari and Rick, for the recommendation!) I didn’t expect the drive to the park to be so unique and breathtaking. Red Canyon is not to be missed, and the cherry on top was two pronghorn antelope in the middle of the road as I slowly drove through the winding canyon. These fastest land mammals in North America did not hang around for a picture. I stopped at the Visitors’ Center at Bryce Canyon, then drove through the park, stopping to watch some mule deer. They look really different from our whitetail deer – they have big ears and scruffy coats.

The drive between Bryce Canyon begins with a long stretch of US Route 89, a two-lane road that runs through small towns like Panguitch, Circleville, and Sevier. There’s a sign outside of Circleville directing you to the birthplace of Butch Cassidy – as you would expect, it’s a small shack right off the road. There are very few places to stop, but I found a small roadside store in Circleville. A 3-legged dog lounged at the doorway; I bought a corndog and a 2-liter water for the rest of the drive. Fran would have loved the delicious fountain Diet Coke I got there, too.

I stopped near Moab, UT for gas and met a young woman from Charleston after spotting her plates. She is a travel physical therapist working in UT and heading home to CHS in a few weeks. We wished each other safe travels and we were happy to see a fellow Charlestonian so far from home.

I arrived at Basalt around 6:30, checked into my room and had supper in the dining room. All through my meal, I was checking the weather report for tomorrow – it’s my first weather challenge of this trip.

*Snow is expected in Denver tomorrow and travel is not advised. I must go right through Denver to get to my next stop in Ogallala, NE. I am too chicken to try to drive through snow and risk long delays on my way home, so I have re-routed my return through a southern route. Tomorrow I’m headed to Santa Fe, NM. I should still arrive in ATL on May 10 and home on the 11th. Many thanks to Maria from Hilton Honors, who cancelled all my hotels on the northern route and found me places for my new southern route – all on the phone. This would have taken me more than a few hours online, I’m sure.

Hope I can sleep tonight – there are some mourning doves cooing loudly and persistently right outside my window.

Road trip book recommendation: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart (middle grade).

On the road to Red Canyon. There are plenty of places to pull over and take pics.
Red Canyon.
This arch in Red Canyon is cool – and I like the camper in the shot. There are campers and RVs everywhere up here.
Mule deer in Bryce Canyon National Park.
Roadside viewing area in Bryce Canyon. The orange, red, and white spires are called hoodoos.
I parked my car in the shade by the store to eat this corndog. I’m worried about that 3-legged dog. He rode away on the back of a flatbed truck with a loose rope around his body.
I think mountains like this were the inspiration for “purple mountains’ majesty” (western Utah).
Caesar salad with grilled salmon at the Hoffman Hilton restaurant. Very good.