Travellingoldies: ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN AND COTTONWOOD TREES

One of the good things about doing our own thing rather than being on a tour is to have time to stop and enjoy the scenery as well as chat to the locals which we have really done today.
The landscape was similar to yesterday although not as dramatic and colourful. There were still plenty of interesting formations and canyons along the way and it was easier to stop and spend time as the road was not as hairy as yesterday. We discovered that the haze all around is from the fires that have been in the Idaho area and are now blowing across to Utah and Wyoming. We were blaming some of the power stations that we have passed, particularly today and there is a lot of mining in the area.
We stopped at Marysvale at the only cafe in the vicinity which looked pretty ordinary however it was well past lunch time and we were ready for a break. This little place, Prospectors Cafe, turned out to be a gem. The owners, Rick and Donna were great to chat to. They moved from Las Vegas two years ago and needed work which was hard to find so they leased the cafe. Besides being a wealth of information about the area they were interesting. He had been a graphic artist and printer with his own business and she had been the 'mother' for the girls in a strip joint in LA. She had some great stories to tell. The food wasn't gourmet but filled the spot.
I headed this Candy Mountain and Cottonwood trees because we did drive past the real rock candy mountain that the song was written about and we have been in cottonwood country most of the day. The trees are a beautiful yellow through to orange as they change. These are mostly near water or damp areas, once you get up into the higher parts the birch are prolific.
We booked into a motel online last night and miscalculated the distance from Bryce Canyon so had a long drive out of our way to Brian Head which is where we are and have to retrace our steps back tomorrow to get to Bryce Canyon however the road is very scenic and not too hard to take, it just means that we will be later getting into the canyon than planned so will miss the early morning light.