Bryce is Beautiful - Bryce Canyon National Park That Is

Bryce Canyon National Park is just beautiful. This national park is one of the highlights of southern Utah and one of the USA's most memorable parks.

Since I was driving in a clockwise direction to visit the state's national parks, I travelled about 90 miles from Zion National Park in the southwest to Bryce Canyon.

Scenic Byway sign, Utah, USA - Fran West

Some of the route was along National Scenic Byway 12. I highly recommend planning your trip along these byways when possible because the scenery is well worth it. 
These Scenic Byways are well marked as you can see from the sign.

There's a whole list of these in a little booklet which was sent to me in 2009 from the American Park Network - "Utah's National Parks: your complete guide to the parks".

When I arrived at Bryce Canyon it was pouring with rain, not a good omen for taking photos.

However, the weather cleared up at times with a few sunny patches here and there, revealing the scenery in the two photos below.

Quite an adventure walking the muddy trails after rain as it was slippery in sections and sometimes each step was like pulling my feet out of glue as I squelched along the track. I just love having my boots caked in mud!

Nevertheless, there's nothing like walking in amongst the multihued rock formations. 

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA - Fran West

As you drive further into the park, you'll come across several lookouts like the one below. 

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA - Fran West

To really explore Bryce Canyon you need more than the two and a half days which I had. The colours of the rocks change depending on the time of day, particularly sunrise and sunset, and you need to experience the park in several ways by driving, walking, biking or riding a mule into one of the canyons.

Here's a link to more information about Bryce Canyon National Park.

There are two photos of Bryce Canyon in my kindle book on Amazon. Just click on the photo for more information.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is just gorgeous

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is just gorgeous.

It's shared by both Utah and Arizona and it's a very special place whether enjoyed from the land, the water or the air (I thoroughly recommend that way as detailed in a previous post).

The signs around Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are almost as impressive as the natural beauty which they highlight.

I left my campground and went for a drive around part of the lake until I came to this spot at the Coves. The painted part of the sign is mirrored in the stone which supports it.

Very creatively designed to make a statement about the place.

Photographing signs on a trip actually defines where the photos were taken, breaks up the series of photos taken e.g. all landscapes, and some are just worth photographing anyway.

Click on the photo to enlarge it and enjoy both the sign and the scenery behind it.

I can definitely feel the urge to create some interactive jigsaw puzzles about Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, check out my "Canyon Country" post.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, Really is Captivating

Capitol Reef National Park, one of the Utah parks in the south, really is captivating. It's a long skinny national park accessible between Torrey and Hanksville. Or if you're doing a clockwise trip around the national parks like I did, it's between Bryce Canyon National Park to the west and Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park to the east.

I love photographing different signs. The national parks, in particular, have a clear welcoming sign that lets you know that you're in for something spectacular. Photographing signs also indicates where the next photographs have been taken.

It's also not a bad idea to photograph the sign when you leave a place (for obvious reasons).

The Visitor Center very fittingly blends in well with its surroundings. It's well worth a visit to pick up maps and information, look at the exhibits, watch a short video, buy souvenirs and use the rest rooms. The location is at the junction of the Scenic Drive and Route 24.

I really only had time to travel along the Scenic Drive and back and then continue east along the main road. However, the park really needs a couple of days to explore.

Looking at the photos, you can see that Capitol Reef National Park is one of those really rocky Utah parks. It's comprised of 378 square miles of towering landforms, canyons, mesas and folded rock layers and it's a photographer's Paradise (most of my photos of Utah are rocks, rocks and more rocks!). Stay tuned for more posts later.

Here's more information about Capitol Reef National Park.

Sensational Signs Keep Track of Your Travels

One very important tip I've learned from my travels is to photograph signs along the way as a means of keeping track of where the photos are taken.

They essentially jog the memory when writing the travel diary. You don't necessarily have to use the photos but they're like chapter headings.

They give an insight into the places visited, they often provide humour, and they definitely let you know where they are and what you can get.

No prizes for guessing that this place is in Virgin, Utah, and it's a native American trading post.


Very colourful, and the background isn't bad either!

Check out my other posts on "signs".

Do You Speak Spanish? No, But I Can Take a Wild Guess

When you travel to Spanish-speaking places in South America, like Buenos Aires, Argentina, there's a great opportunity to try out your language skills. It's great to brush up on South American Spanish but if all else fails, take a wild guess and you could be right. (Zoom in on the picture now).

I'm sure that you could guess from the mouth watering pictures on the side of this truck that it's carrying cold cuts or smallgoods, "fiambres". They're prepared by Riosma, "una empresa argentina con garantia de Calidad", an Argentinian firm that guarantees the quality of its products.


Are you speaking Spanish by now?

Even if you don't speak a foreign language, when you travel you can teach yourself by looking at the pictures and the words next to them. You get a much better reception with the locals if you have a go at speaking their language. It can be a lot of fun and it can also make the travel experience much more enjoyable. Just have a go.

So finish your taco and nachos and get up and tango under the light of the luna. Adios amigos.

Zion National Park Springs to Life

Zion National Park, Utah, has a novel way of motivating people to drink the natural spring water.

Rather than buy a new bottle of water every time, increasing the landfill problem, people are encouraged to reuse their water bottles at the bottle filling station.


I wish all water drinking fountains looked like this one.

Not only was the background beautiful but the water, cool and fresh from Zion's natural springs, was free!


Hiking is very thirsty work and people were lining up to fill up. I just managed to catch a moment when there was a break in the traffic.

"Sheep in Boots", not "Puss in Boots", another Sign of the Australian Outback

Because the Australian Outback is a harsh environment to work in, a sense of humour can be a good thing to have.

After leaving Leigh Creek and Copley, during "Off the Beaten Track", we headed on the dirt road to Arkaroola, in the Gammon Ranges.

Not far along the track, we came across this sign for Leigh Creek Station. They obviously must run sheep on this property!

I thought the sign looked a bit odd, so I zoomed in on it and found "Sheep in Boots", not "Puss in Boots"!

In future posts I'll show you a few more of the humorous signs of the Australian Outback.

There are Signs of Kangaroos everywhere in the Outback!

In my recent trip, "Off the Beaten Track", to the Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia, dozens of kangaroos were spotted.

They may look cute and cuddly but they are a potential danger to cars on the road. Not as big as moose or deer, they can still do quite a lot of damage to a vehicle if they get hit. Unfortunately, they usually come off second best.


Early morning and towards dusk are the times that kangaroos like to graze, although they can often be seen throughout the day. When they're startled by passing traffic they tend to bound off suddenly, sometimes into the path of oncoming cars.


As a reminder to motorists to watch out for kangaroos, these signs are everywhere in the Outback. This one is just on the approach to Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges.

Fran West Walkabout in Alaska

When you travel, it's a good idea to photograph the signs which are unique to a place.

Places like Alaska have some really very interesting signs like this one.



Taken near Talkeetna, before we boarded the tour boat, the sign spells it out making sure we don't go off the path leading to the river!