Utah Byways - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 368

4. Hickman Bridge
About midway along the main road through Capitol Reef National Park is a trail that fol-
lows the lush banks of the Fremont River, then climbs through stands of cottonwood and
fragrant juniper to Hickman Bridge, a graceful 133-foot natural span. The sandstone arc
leaps from a jumble of rock and makes a grand symmetrical sweep above a streambed,
framing Capitol Dome (the signature formation of the national park).
5. Lake Powell Overlook
Along the lonely highway connecting Capitol Reef to Hanksville, the Henry Mountains
rise in arid desolation to the south. Outlaws once hid rustled cattle in the shadows of these
weathered peaks. Bison still wander in the foothills, where prospectors have sought gold
for a hundred years and more.
Fifteen miles south of Hanksville, off Rte. 95, an unpaved side road leads to the russet-
hued canyon of the Dirty Devil River, so named in the 1800s by explorer John Wesley
Powell because of its mud and stench.
At the overlook some 35 miles to the south, the panorama of Lake Powell (named for
the explorer) comes into view. Nearly 200 miles long, the lake took 17 years to fill Glen
Canyon after the Colorado River was dammed; in the process, it wandered into so many
side canyons that its shoreline extends for a staggering 2,000 miles—longer than the entire
WestCoast.Therichredwallsofthoseinundatedcanyonsriseabruptlyfromthewaterline,
contrasting sublimely with the lake's cerulean waters.
6. Hite Crossing
Named for Cass Hite, a prospector who in the 1880s ferried wayfarers across the Colorado
River, Hite Crossing is now the northernmost passage across the portion of the river that
hasbecomeLakePowell—butinsteadofaferry,abridgenowtakestrafficacrossthetrans-
formedcanyon.FortravelersonRte.95,HiteCrossingisthethresholdoftheGlenCanyon
National Recreation Area,morethanamillion acres ofwilderness playgroundsurrounding
Lake Powell. The local marina rents houseboats and smaller craft, enabling visitors to ex-
plore the endless array of azure bays and ruddy canyons that branch out all along the lake.