It is seventy miles from Cedar Breaks to Bryce Canyon. Crossing the
broad summit of the Markagunt Plateau the highway traverses fine
coniferous forests that frequently open into charming “parks,” and
passes great areas covered with lava from Hancock Peak and the adjacent
extinct volcanoes. Navajo Lake, a beautiful mountain tarn encircled by
pines and a noted fishing water, is about eight miles beyond Midway.
[Illustration: _One of the Countless Castles of Bryce Canyon_]
Soon pretty Duck Creek, rising in full power from a fine spring and
filled with trout, parallels the highway for several miles, then
disappears under the volcanic rock. At the crossing of Strawberry Gulch
a little used trail extends southward to Strawberry Point, a famous
observation place on the Pink Cliffs. The main highway is alternately
surfaced with white, pink and red rock, a painted road in a land of
color.
At Cedar Breaks Junction, the route turns north, following the head
waters of the Sevier River, one of the most important streams of the
Great Basin; to the eastward, in the vicinity of Hatch, vistas of the
Pink Cliffs appear. Then the road crosses the Sevier and enters Red
Canyon.
The rich red turrets and towers at this canyon gateway are harmonious
introductions to the greater glories of Bryce. Once within its narrow
defile, the superb portal broadens into a little pine-dotted valley and
its walls display hundreds of spires, windowed walls, bridges, columns
and statue-like shapes of pink and ruby. The road, often running through
arches in the red cliffs, is as smooth as a boulevard. Next, the route
leads out upon the level, treeless surface of the Paunsaugunt Plateau,
and comes with startling unexpectedness to one of the splendid
amphitheatres of the Pahreah Basin.
[Illustration: _Bryce Canyon National Monument_]