Hogback: Utah Scenic Byway 12

One hundred sixty miles round trip more or less. Non-stop spectacular scenery, much of it awe-inspiring, that changes every mile or so from one look to another. And finally punctuated by "the hogback" a ridge road with nothing but air and a drop off (and of course scenery) to either side. One hundred and fifty-nine and a half miles of relaxing, spectacular travel which turns into a half mile of heart stopping, blood pulsing, air gulping, steering wheel gripping, I'm-goona-die-if-the-wind-blows-now terror. Yea. That about sums it up. Oh. And that is on the way to Boulder, Utah from Bryce; then you gotta turn around and do it all again in the opposite direction. It's all true- but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The experiencing of this road is the reason the road itself is a stand alone destination. Visitors come from all over to drive this perhaps the most beautiful of scenic byways in America. It was great. You should try it for yourself. But check the weather first. Because a windy day or a snow day or a freezing rain day? Listen to your Godfather: Forget about it!!!

A word about the pics. Tried to do just a random sample of what we saw. Tried to get the things we could get when we could pull over- many places you cannot. Also tried our first ever video clip for the blog, and while the fact that it is our first will be obvious and the sound terrible, I'm gonna include it anyhow (if I can figure out how to get it embedded) just to bring back the memory of that last half mile stretch or so.

In this shot, taken by telephoto lens, there are two Pueblo Indian made structures (a granary) about half way up the face of a cliff. To the eye, they appear like little tiny rock variations, but in actuality both structures are about the size of a person. Getting a handle on the scale of things in this landscape is very difficult. You will see another shot or two in the slide show.

Here, Marilyn takes a break after a strenuous rock climbing mission. At these altitudes, often 7 to 9 thousand feet, most activity places extra strain. Even a short hike, especially an up or down hill one, can take your breath away. Watch the slide show to see Marilyn's climbing adventure!

Well I can't seem to post our video to blogger so I've borrowed a you tube clip that looks alot like ours only ours was considerably longer. Until I can figure this thing out, I'll just feature this with end links to more of the same...