An Amazing Road Trip -

All-American Road, Utah's State Route 12

A few years back, in the month of May while traveling from the West Coast back east to home, we decided to take our time and see some more of our great country. We had never explored Utah so we came up with a plan. I found a trip that sounded amazing. Utah's State Route 12 - or Scenic Byway 12 - or All-American Road. It is 124 miles long and passes through Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Bryce Canyon area (need to take a turnoff to get to the entrance), the towns of Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, Escalante, Escalante Canyons area, Hogback, Boulder, Grover and Torrey.

The western end of the road starts at the junction with U.S. 89 between Panguitch and Hatch. It ends on the eastern end at Torrey and the junction with UT-24.

We took the trip in our pickup truck with a truck bed tent. 

The plan was to stop and camp along the way, preferably at BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land or some other primitive sites. We made our way to the western end of Route 12 and started out, stopping at a few places for photos and views. 

Red Canyon Visitor's Center

I

In and out of the Red Canyon Arch

After driving for a few hours, we pulled off onto a dirt road past Escalante. We were looking for a good camping spot and we found a great one. We followed Hole-in the-Rock Trail and found an area that was set a little way back from the road that had stunning views and fun rock climbs. Very primitive camping, no one around. We got there early in the day and so had time to set up and explore. This was by far my best camping trip ever. We had a campfire that night and enjoyed the full moon.

An overview of our campsite

I am one of those crazy people who could take a million pictures of rock formations. There were so many unique ones on this road, I couldn't help myself. The video below gives a glimpse of what it was like to drive along this amazing road.

This is a worthwhile trip to take and it can be as long or as quick as you like. Just drive the road and stop occasionally for a shorter trip (timewise). Or stop and camp like we did, pull off and hike on one of the trails and even go off the road into the parks if you have more time. Any way you choose to do it, you will be rewarded with natural beauty that is hard to beat.

An Afternoon at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Fresno, California

Fresno is one of the places I had the opportunity to visit thanks to my husband traveling for his job. Luckily I could join him in some of the places where he worked. See my previous blogs on Monterey, Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz. 

In September of 2023 I was in Fresno for a long weekend and we visited the Fresno Zoo. It was a very hot day but enjoyable as we walked through the zoo and observed all the animals. We started out at the giant postcard. It makes a nice backdrop for your photo.

                                          

A native of Galapagos

**Be sure to look at my series of posts, Dream Trip - Galapagos Islands in 6 parts. Here is the link - 

Dream Trip - Galapagos Islands

Kingdoms of Asia

 
   

                                          Malayan Tiger  

Not very active on a hot day but still beautiful and one of my favorites.

Sloth Bear - 

With his head in his feeder, this was a crazy sight. 

<<This is what he looks like

 (not same bear)

Roo Walkabout

The kangaroos were pretty lazy but the emu was definitely showing off.

Kangaroos

                                                         

                                                                 Wallaby

                     Emu                                                       

        

  

Wolf Woods 

 

Red Wolf

This was quite a stately fellow. He sat very still, looking straight ahead.

Warthogs

What can you say about these guys? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

               Lemurs

Nice Tails!

                

         

Tropical Rain Forest & Birds of Prey Aviaries

This area had some water features and it was especially nice to walk through with the trees and the birds on the branches overhead. 

And the beautiful pink ones

Swingin' Monkeys

 (actually Siamang - a type of Gibbon)

There is also an orangutan hanging out in the lower left corner. 

They put on quite a show and were fun to watch.

Sea Lion Cove - California Sea Lion & Harbor Seal

This area has an outdoor "cove" and an underwater viewing area.

The African Adventure area was closed when we were there and I think we missed a few other areas. But it was a hot day so we took it easy without overdoing it in the heat. Overall, it was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.