Time was crunched and unfortunately, we had to leave Zion early in the morning, after spending less than a day in the park. This was a true whirlwind Utah road trip! Luckily, the drive from Zion to Bryce is not lacking in stunning views.

The first stop on the way out is through a long tunnel. The traffic is one-way, so if you don't catch it at the right time, there is a lengthy wait for the traffic to clear from the other direction. The upside is this provides plenty of time to park and take pictures.

Another view point on the way out of Zion National Park, is Checkerboard Mesa. Here is a picture of Dan and I, standing in front of the checkerboard. Use your imagination, it kind of looks like one.

Just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park, we stopped for a buffet lunch at Ruby's Inn and we went off-roading. 

On our last trip to Bryce in 2012, Dan and I went on an ATV tour with the same company. We were a little disappointed to learn that they had closed a large portion of their old route due to land issues. The tour in now shorter, but also cheaper! We did a quick hour tour that took us to our first views of Bryce and the hoodoos. 

The road to the edge of the canyon was gorgeous. Look at those fluffy clouds and blue sky. Utah is so beautiful.

I rode with Dan and our ATV broke down early in the tour. One of the guides went back for a replacement and we rode with him for the remainder of the tour. It was disappointment, because he drove, rather than letting Dan drive. However, he also was great about telling us stories and pointing out areas of interest. 

Like this derelict barn.

We reached our first look at the canyons and stopped for pictures. 

After the ATV's we drove into Bryce Canyon National Park and made our way around several of the view point stops along the rim.

It was cold.

Freezing cold.

Cold and windy.

There was snow and I didn't come prepared. In Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the weather was scorching hot and my cold-weather clothes for Utah were a long sleeve cotton tee-shirt and fleece hoodie. I was not prepared at all. It was so miserable, that I only briefly stepped outside of the car to take in the view and I even skipped getting out at a couple of the stops. This Valley girl can't take the cold! I was grateful to have already visited Bryce.

More beautiful scenery and my review of the historic Bryce Canyon Lodge coming soon.