This vast area (1.7 million acres) extends across south-central Utah from Capitol Reef to Bryce. It provides a starkly beautiful landscape of cliffs and mesas, forming the “staircase” connection between the Grand Canyon and Bryce as the layers mount. We experienced it by driving through (sometimes during heavy rain) on Route 12 and stopping from time to time. One stop was at the Anasazi State Park Museum, northeast of Escalante. The small museum includes exhibits of the native culture as well as an archaeological excavation of the Coombs site, inhabited from about 1160 to 1235 AD.