Bryce Canyon National Park to Woodland Park

After camping four nights in Bryce Canyon National Park, Tom and I continued our drive home to Woodland Park, Colorado. We left early Thursday morning and covered a lot of miles that first day, leaving just a short drive for our final leg home on Friday.

Highlights

We enjoyed our drive through Dixie National Forest as we headed west to Highway 89. The drive north on 89 wasn't quite as pretty but we were happy to see Plute Reservoir filled to the brim. We made it across the Colorado border before stopping for a long break at the Parachute Rest Area. Unlike most rest areas along the highway, this one was in town and happened to be right next to El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant. We couldn't resist a good Mexican meal! Then, while Tom napped off his lunch, I explored the small but interesting rest area. It included solar panels in the shape of large flowers.

Fed and rested, Tom and I continued our drive east on Interstate 70. The Colorado River was raging as we passed through beautiful Glenwood Canyon and the snowmelt was slowing for the evening as we drove over Vail Pass. We reached Fricsco by sunset and, even though we were less than 100 miles from home, we had already driven nearly 500 miles since leaving Bryce that morning. So, we decided to pull into the Frisco Walmart. Signs in the parking lot indicated that overnight parking was not allowed. However, we had read online that it was't enforced and there were several other RVs already "camping" there. We figured, the worst that would happen is we get a few hours of rest then finish our short drive home. It turned out that noone from Walmart bothered us but it was, perhaps, the rowdiest parking lot we've stayed at. It seemed like an allnight party in the parking lot... odd since it was still well below freezing at night.

Tom and I were anxious to leave the crazy Walmart parking lot and hit the road before sunrise. We always know we're getting close to home when we see beautiful Pikes Peak!

Photos

You can view a few photos from our drive between Bryce Canyon National Park and Woodland Park on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.