In July of 2015 we set out on a grand vacation through the southwest. We traveled for 21 days and over 6,000 miles, visiting 5 states and 9 National Parks. We explored new places and met up with old friends. Overall, it was an amazing journey and everyone learned so much. I highly recommend the Foder’s guide to National Parks of the West, we used it when planning our trip and it was a great resource. You can see all my posts about the trip by clicking here.
Day 5 – Hell’s Backbone & Capitol Reef National Park
On Day 5 we left Bryce Canyon to head to Capitol Reef National Park. We took Historic Highway 12, which is also knows as Hell’s Backbone. Highway 12 is known as one of the most scenic roads in America, and it certainly was that. But it was also one of the most terrifying roads I’ve ever been on. If you have a fear of heights or suffer from motion sickness, then I would not recommend it. But we survived, and on the other end of the adventure was an amazing farm-to-table restaurant called Hell’s Backbone Grill. We stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch and it was just as delicious as I imagined it would be. The kids loved running around in the garden, and I loved the french toast.
After our delicious brunch, we headed right over to Capitol Reef National Park. We stopped by the visitor center for Junior Ranger books and then spent a little time exploring the park. Capitol Reef has an awesome Ripple Rock Nature Center that is perfect for kids of all ages. We ended up spending quiet a bit of time there. They had interactive activities that both kids loved.
When we were done with the nature center we headed to our hotel. At this park we stayed at the Red Sands Hotel. The rooms were clean, but very small. They did have a pool, and free breakfast, so that’s always nice.
