Glorious Utah, the Kolob Terrace Road

After lunch in a nice whole food sort of place in Springfield we drove to the Kolob Terrace Road, still part of Zion National Park but requiring no entrance fee. This was more like it. There were few cars and as we were higher it was a little cooler than the Canyon itself.
The road climbs up from the valley of the Virgin River, initially following a tributary called North Creek.






Initially the countryside is barren with cacti and bare rock, but getting to a higher elevation brought us into a land with pasture for cattle and some bright sunflowers.







Here Tabernacle Mountain is the one on the right

North Guardian Angel Mountain






This is Pine Valley Peak


At Lava Point (7890ft) there is an overlook from which you can see across the edge of the plateau to the tops of the mountains in Zion Canyon, a really impressive sight.
We continued up the road until we reached the Kolob reservoir. Some water seemed to be pleasant on a hot day, but the reservoir is rather disappointing, surrounded by low hills. Then it was time to return back towards the Canyon itself.





This was a precipitous view down to the stream below


Coming back down the road gives you some wonderful views through to the Canyon











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