The Southwest Road Trip - Day Five
Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef
After we left the Zion area the day before, we drove towards Bryce Canyon, which was only two and a half hours away. We ended up arriving in the Bryce area right around sunset, so we spent that time searching for free camping. We ended up choosing a rest stop for our camping spot of the night... Apparently overnight parking at a rest stop isn’t allowed, even though it should be, but we certainly weren’t the only ones doing so. It was nice having a camping spot with a bathroom just a few steps away!
We started our day around 9 AM, only having to drive a couple more miles to Bryce Canyon National Park. We hiked the Inspiration Trail, slightly limited considering we had Louis with us, and then decided we wanted to hit the road for Capitol Reef National Park.
It was only 2PM when we reached Capitol Reef from Bryce Canyon, so there was still plenty of daylight left to explore some of the National Park. Before entering the park, we stopped by the cutest mom-and-pop cafe, Dark Sky Coffee. It was so good, we stopped by again the next day!
I think our absolute favorite thing from this day of the trip - and this park especially - was the almost two hours we spent off-roading to our camping spot of the night! Although it was extremely bumpy, cellphone signal was non-existent, and we felt lost at times, we made it to our camping spot beside Cathedral Valley in one piece, having enjoyed the off-roading experience tremendously. And this was by far our favorite camping site of the entire trip. Most nights, we made it to our camp sites late, after the sun went down, having to make camp in the dark, but this night we made it in time to soak up the view and make a fire in the fire pit supplied at our camping spot. There was surprisingly a bathroom we could walk to!
The signal at this camp spot was spotty, to say the least, but the view of the stars was spectacular, being so far away from towns. It was absolutely peaceful - and windy, as we learned throughout the night as the winds whipped around the Jeep. It might have been cold and windy, but it was secluded and absolutely beautiful. The perfect camping spot and the perfect place to end day five.
