Day 7: Blanding - Bryce Canyon 

While I was researching this holiday I kept hearing that Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most beautiful national parks. Bryce Canyon is not that big, so it is possible to see quite a bit of it in one day, excellent for those who are short on time.
First though we had to drive about 300 miles from Blanding to Bryce Canyon.

We thought this day wouldn't be very special, but we were wrong.
The day began with snow and a very cloudy sky and after a short drive we visited Natural Bridges National Monument.

It was very cold and unfortunately we couldn't see much of the natural bridges due to the snow. The road through the park is about 8 miles long and we were able to stop at several viewing points to take some pictures.
It started to snow harder after a few minutes though, so we exited the park

As we drove further to Hanksville, the snow stopped and it cleared up. We passed Glen Canyon National Park which the Colorado river travels through.
Although there is so much water nothing grows here. It looks very fascinating. The road to Hanksville was very special with a lot of different landscapes. There were several signs warning for cows walking over the road, and we indeed saw a few.

In Hanksville we stopped to fuel up the car. It was strange to see the gas station in the middle of the desert.

After 20 miles we entered Capitol Reef National Park. We had never heard of that national park and didn't plan to visit it. The scenery in this park was fantastic. We were all alone and heard only the wind.

The rest of the road to Bryce Canyon was fantastic as well. We passed high mountains, covered with snow, in the Dixie National Forest and on lower levels we passed desert areas like Hells Backbone and Death Hollow.

After a wonderful trip we arrived in Bryce in the late afternoon. Our hotel, located near the entrance of the park, looked great. Our room was ok and had a nice view over a frozen lake. Lots of people overnight in this big hotel. It has a large shop, 2 restaurants and an indoor pool with a hot tub.

The buffet in the main restaurant was quite good but expensive, drinks were included.
After dinner we decided to go in the hot tub. It was quite relaxing after this long, but very special day.

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