To Torrey

We made good progress today. The scenic roads are faster than I expected. However there was one bit we took extremely carefully. The road switched from paved to gravel and then headed straight for some cliffs. We were somewhat surprised to see that the road climbed straight up through a series of very sharp switchbacks with no barriers! This was from the top about 1000 ft up:

We took a side track at the top to get some spectacular views of the goosenecks of the SanJuan River and the plains with Monument Valley in the distance (from about 40 miles):

We carried on to Hite on the shore of Lake Powell. However it turned out to be really run down. It had been a thriving sports centre. The problem is that Lake Powell has shrunk so much through excessive water extraction that the huge concrete slipway at Hite is now high and dry.

Here's a photo from the other side. Lake Powell originally covered the grassy bit and went right into the inlet.

We carried on and came across a petroglyph on the red rock walls which are covered with rock varnish:

We passed through Capital Reef National Park with some great rock to Torrey. We've found a very nice motel with a pool. At Supper tonight we had dessert rattlesnake patties:

Tomorrow we go back into Capital Reef to do a trail and then head to Escalante on 12. I hope the rattler's cousins aren't out for revenge!