Moab to Missoula through Capital Reef National Park
On the way back we decided to take the scenic route, went south on 191, and then cut west on highway 95. The drive was a part of Utah I had never seen. You go across the Colorado River at the very start of Lake Powell, through the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. Then you drive a little through Capital Reef National Park. Much of the drive was characterized by tall cliffs on either side as you are following various rivers as they cut their way through the the landscape.
The scenic route was our goodbye to the Southwestern landscape as approaching Salt Lake City the red and orange cliffs are replaced by urban sprawl and the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains. Our decision not to backtrack turned what was probably a 12 hour drive to Missoula into a 16 hour one.
An additional note: The trip on the scenic byway was heightened by nearly running out of gas. As we are passing these gorgeous rock formations, the gas gauge is approaching empty, and the realization that part of what made this road “scenic” is that there is no development or traces of civilization, which made the trip that much more exciting. Fortunately, we did not run out of gas and ended up finding a gas pump near a lake that I assume is mostly used for refueling boats. It was a big sigh of relief at that point.