Our final day in Zion, we decided to do something new and hike the Watchman Trail, which begins at the visitor center.
It offers a scenic route up the cliffs behind the visitor center…
…with nice views of the cliffs across the valley.
The trail was well maintained, complete with steps…
And retaining walls.
The trail topped out, offering view of the Watchman.
All good things must finally come to an end. We had two routes we could take to get home. One would have involved around 350 miles of freeway driving. The other would take us on a scenic drive through familiar Southeast Utah backcountry.
We, of course, chose the backcountry. Our first stop was in the town of Mt. Carmel Junction where we had breakfast at the Thunderbird Restaurant. Over the years, I’ve stopped here with every one of my wives and handful of girlfriends, but never together.
We next turned down Scenic Byway 12 and headed for a quick visit of Bryce Canyon.
From there, we continued on through Escalante to Boulder…
…where we turned down the Burr Trail…
…which we followed to the Notom-Bullfrog Road in Capitol Reef National Park.
We continued south to the marina town of Bullfrog in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
From there, it was on Stan’s gas station and “Burger Shak” in Hanksville for fuel and milkshakes.
From there, continued on to I-70, which we followed through the San Rafael Reef…
…and on to home.
