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You are here: Home / Travel / SR 12 & 7 Magic Mountains

SR 12 & 7 Magic Mountains

April 19, 2018

After Zion National Park, there’s a plethora of parks to visit within a hundred mile radius. At the advice of some guy on the shuttle back from the Narrows, we decided to cut our trip in Bryce Canyon short and make the rest of the ride a proper road trip.

This meant cruising on State Route 12 through the Escalante – Grand Staircase Monument on what someone else later told us was the #2 most scenic drive in the world. It did not disappoint.

Living in Southern California puts blinders on you when it comes to urban sprawl. One city blends right into another whereas Utah is just emptiness. Looking at a map, one would think it would be safe to assume that large words would indicate a town but Escalante and Boulder were just short stretches of 30mph zones on the highway.

From Panguitch through Boulder on down the Burr Trail into Torrey, the views are magnificent. I really don’t have that much to say other than it should be something that everyone does at least once.

wheel-spokes-panguitch-utah
We camped at an RV park in Panguitch right after visiting Zion, the night we stayed there, the temp dropped to 19 degrees forcing us to sleep in the car.
I always admire the fortitude and tenacity of nature especially in urban environments. Check out this weed that decided to grow out of a tree stump.
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Long exposure in front of Hitch and Post in Panguitch, Utah. In the 15 minutes I stood out there, 2 cars passed by.
cows-panguitch-utah
I saw these cows on the way into town, I made Caitlyn stop on the way out.
horse-utah
Most the time we were on the road, I kept imagining this photo in my head; A single horse in a field against a plain backdrop. I saw it one other time and really regretted not stopping to snap the photo. When it presented itself to me again, I made sure to stop.
lake-boulder-utah
There was a cool little lake in Boulder that had a really picturesque tree nearby. I asked the guy digging a ditch nearby if he cared about me shooting photos nearby. He shrugged and I walked off with a smile.
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Caitlyn with her Instax Wide at Bryce Canyon.
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Single tree overlooking Bryce Canyon.
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Overview of Bryce Canyon from Inspiration Point. It’s hard to believe that they let people hike within the hoodoos. They seem pretty fragile.
burr-trail-switchbacks-utah
Driving the Burr Trail is super fun, it’s 75 miles long and most of it is clay/dirt. This photo isn’t particularly exciting but it’s the only photo I have of the Burr Trail Switchbacks. Here’s Caitlyn for size comparison. We dropped from the top of this in seven steep turns. This was probably one of my favorite highlights from the trip.
sunset-utah
At the end of the road, we were rewarded with a mellow sunset that reminded us of the smooth road and the many miles between us and home.
utah-tree-night
The sun sets and the lights come out. Playing with my new Godox setup while Caitlyn uses the bathroom.

On the way home through Las Vegas, we decided to check out Seven Magic Mountains, which is a rock art installation in the Nevada desert just outside Las Vegas. Of course the hashtags were flying as guys and girls took turns snapping photos of the multicolored rocks against the bleak desert. I was pumped on the mix of people who showed up to check it out. As we pulled out of the parking lot, a bus load of Chinese tourists pulled up.

seven-magic-mountains-las-vegas
Doing my best Joel Meyerowitz impression with this photo at Seven Magic Mountains. It was Caitlyn who spotted the lady with the umbrella hat and made us stop. I think I’m rubbing off on her.
cholo-family-seven-magic-mountains-las-vegas
Even cholos and their familias wanna see the art.

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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Utah

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