Highway 12
Christian Probasco | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Utah State University Press | 296 | West
Highway 12 is undoubtedly one of not only America's but the world's most scenic highways. From its intersection on the west with Highway 89 south of Panguitch, Utah, it runs up through Red Canyon onto the Paunsagunt Plateau and across Bryce Canyon National Park. It then drops into the Paria River Valley, passes through several tiny villages, crosses some extraordinary (for anywhere but this region) badlands, and descends the Escalante River into Potato Valley. While a driver may justifiably feel she has seen some scenery by that point, the highway is just getting started, for in the next stretch, it crosses a labyrinth of multicolored sandstone humps and corridors, climaxed by a narrow hogback with steep slickrock drops to each side, all within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Reaching the oasis of Boulder within this desert of rock, the road then climbs across the flank of the Aquarius Plateau, providing spectacular vistas and terminating at the gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. Along the way side roads and trails access the vast wilderness of the Paria and Escalante Rivers and the high plateaus they drain. Congress acknowledged the unequaled splendor of Highway 12 by designating it one of a handful of All-American Roads.
To travel with Christian Probasco this road and its spurs, which lead deep into some of the wildest, most broken-up and stunning landscapes anywhere, can put a unique twist on an already singular experience. He knows the region as well as anyone and brings an original, edgy, youthful view to it. His opinions and his language may challenge you. His approaches to and perspectives on the land may sometimes surprise you. His understanding of the area's history and its people will likely teach you a thing or two.
Reviews
Wish I could write like this; "deserticulous" is certainly the right word for Probasco.
Have had many adventures and misadventures in the very spots Probasco writes so well about, ah but never enough.
Must load truck and go...
Reviews
More than a travel book, Christian Probasco's Highway 12 blends awesome accounts of scenery with unforgettable interviews and then adds a dash of controversy for a book that suprises the reader with every turn of the page. Illustrated by Probasco's stunning photography, the book is a must-read for anyone who has memories of traveling the Utah back country, and it is a should-read for anyone searching for that "road less traveled."
Reviews
If you are looking for an unusual trip with a myriad of options as to the degree of challenge then this book is worth a look.Utah Highway 12 runs 124 miles in length from just southwest of Capitol Reef National Park in the north through Red Canyon in the west and passes through two national parks, a national monument, two state parks and literally thousands of acres of nationa forest and BLM land. It has recently been designated an All-American Road by the Federal Highway Administration, one of only 20 in the U.S. The lure of this trip is you can traverse the entire route in your car and still view some of the most spectacular scenery in North America or you may elect to get off the highway and explore the myriad canyons and side roads that are as much a part of the book as Highway 12 which really serves as the unifying theme of the book. Whether you spend a day or a month exploring this road and its environs, by foot or vehicle, you are guaranteed a memorable trip. I would have prefered more maps but still found the text informative and accurate. I have traveled this road a number of times and have gone "off-road" and can attest to a number of the sights noted by the author. As the author notes this trip can be as difficult or easy as you choose. A good introduction to a most interesting Highway.
Reviews
Utah's Highway 12 is easily the most scenic byway in the continental United States. I've travelled it many times, but until I read Probasco's book I had no idea what a rich and variegated wonderland I was passing through. The author has done a really thorough investigation of the territory. Do not venture out on Highway 12 without first buying this book! Second best thing: Read the book in the comfort of your own home, with a good glass of wine and a dictionary near at hand. Probasco's prose won't insult your intelligence, and you will definitely learn a lot!
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