Pic: Because that’s how you get radioactive superbats. Oyler uranium mine, Capitol Reef NP, UT
My friend Dave, who lives in Colorado, recommended a breakfast place in confusingly-named Boulder, UT. I still don’t know what “shirred eggs” are but my ignorance didn’t prevent me from devouring them, along with homemade bread with homemade cinnamon butter and homemade jam. I strongly considered a second round of breakfast but decided it was not a good fit for my unemployed dirtbag lifestyle.
UT-12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Dixie NF: best drive of the trip so far. It twists and turns through scorched deserts and cool aspen forests. You can skip Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, though. It’s fine; it has a collection of petrified wood, as advertised. It’s also listed in my notes as “Worst $5 spent (even though it was only $4)”. I guess I was a little let down since it was so soon after my best $5 purchase.
I pulled into Capitol Reef NP having done basically no homework on the area. Jon recommended that I not skip it. The garrulous ranger from Bryce Canyon suggested that I investigate the park’s long thin southern section. Otherwise, I would rely on the knowledgeable men and women of the National Park Service and their glorious infographics.
The view from the parking lot was a promising start:
Pic: The Castle and the Visitor Center. Capitol Reef NP, UT
Danger Beyond This Point 