Capitol Reef National Park

We actually did a whirlwind tour of eastern Utah's National Parks/Monuments.  In one week we visited three Utah National Parks, one Utah National Monument, the Colorado River Byway, and one Nevada National Park (kind of--I'll explain more of that in a later blog).  Whew!  And that doesn't include the Colorado National Monument that we visited just before crossing over into Utah!

Because a lot of the terrain in Utah looked very similar it was dicey getting the pictures separated and labeled (remember, I was taking photos with my camera, my phone, my Tablet, and Gary was taking pictures with his phone!!!), and I still can't guarantee that there might be a mix-up especially with this blog on Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase-Escalante!  Let's just go with it, though, and pretend like it's all working out perfectly, okay?  And if I duplicated in a picture in either of the blogs ... so sorry, scroll quickly!

So, how does that "Gorilla" work?  Here I am setting up the Gorilla on the Jeep side mirror to take our photo!  It's the vacation paparazzi at work!

Our drive to Capitol Reef produced a "surprise" for us.  We needed to pullover for Gary to stretch and give Sadie a potty break.  This looked like a great area for some of the cool hoodoos we saw, but the surprise was hearing someone shout and holler and then zooming into see where they were!  See that hoodoo on the left?

Here's what was on top of it!  Can you see him?  Makes me shiver just to think about it!

I think one of the "coolest" things about our stay at Capitol Reef was the campground.  It was a national park campground which means no hook-ups BUT this one was worth it!  Also, because it was a national park campground and we have our "Golden Eagle Pass" (if you're over 62, YOU should have a Golden Eagle Pass, no question about it) we saved 50% on our nightly rate so we paid $6/night ... so hard to believe, but true!  It was a beautiful campground with loads of deer sightings and stunning scenery.  We stayed in an area called the Fruita Historic District.  It is named that because of the fruit orchards that are sprinkled throughout the area and are still maintained to this day.

How about these views from our RV?

 

The mule deer population abounded--you would have thought they were rabbits!  One morning when Gary was walking Sadie they saw over 20 deer grazing in one of the open areas.  They meandered around the campground without a hunter care in the world!

 

Capitol Reef National Park is 100 miles long but fairly narrow.  The park, established in 1971, preserves 241,904 acres and is open all year.  But what makes it so special?

The park is characterized by sandstone formations, cliffs and canyons and a 100-mile long bulge in the earth's crust that stretches across south-central Utah. This vast warping of rock, created by the same great forces later uplifting the Colorado Plateau, is called the Waterpocket Fold. Capitol Reef National Park preserves the Fold and its eroded jumble of colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, stark monoliths, twisting canyons, and graceful arches. But the Waterpocket Fold country is more than this. It is also the free-flowing Fremont River and the big desert sky.  It is cactus, jay, lizard, jackrabbit, juniper, columbine, and deer. The world of the Waterpocket Fold stretches 100 miles--and beyond!

We took the Scenic Drive from the Campground to the end with a side trip down a couple of washes along the way.

 

 

 

 

How's this for a warning?  It was cloudy.  Gary was nervous.  We didn't go very far in this wash!

 

 

 

 

 This is Chimney Rock.

 

 More hoodoo.

 

 

These photos are from the Capitol Gorge Road which we took to its end (regardless of the same warning that we saw for Grand Wash).  I got Gary to throw all caution to the wind ... and we made it! I call this first one the weeping rock.  We saw a lot of "weeping rock" in and around the different National Parks/Monuments in Utah.

 

 

To give you some perspective on how high these towering walls are.  There's Gary and the Jeep in the very bottom of the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 I call this rock formation the snapping turtle.

 

 

 

Now for more red rock, solitary sandstone monoliths, sweeping panoramas and wild beauty (as if you haven't already had enough!).

 

I love the way the sun shone through the clouds highlighting the rocky plateau.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Eph Hanks Tower which is really the north end of a long ridge.  It is named for Ephraim Hanks who was a notable Mormon pioneer.  Hanks traveled across the country from Nauvoo, IL to California, partway with the Mormon Battalion of the United States Army.  He also served as a Station Master for the Pony Express, facilitating mail delivery near Immigration Canyon in Northern Utah.  He is buried near his home in Caineville.

 

Psalms 61:3-4

For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah. 

Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway

This blog is a trip down Highway 128 that begins just north of Moab.  The highway follows the southern bank of the Colorado River through a narrow, steep gorge, described as "spectacular" by National Geographic.  The sheer sandstone walls of the gorge are recommended for their beauty on vacation guides from as far away as France and Germany.  For 13 miles the Colorado River and Highway 128 also form the southern boundary of Arches National Park.

 Does this look like an arch to you?  It does to me!

 The following photos are of some of the spectacular scenery along with beautiful byway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the road we stopped at Castle Creek Winery for a little tasting ... FREE tasting!

 Celebrating our tasting!

 And here's what the outside of the winery looked like.

 Back on the road following the Colorado River.

 

 

We turned off to go to Castle Valley--a very small community with beautiful views!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We're back on the highway again.

 

 

 Then we went off-roading and even forded that raging river (ha!ha!).

 

 

 Can you see that small object on top of that rock formation?

Well, I zoomed in on it and cropped it to find out it REALLY was a live critter!  Ain't he cute?

 

 

 UNEXPECTED BONUS!  

The map doesn't show this as a ghost town, but surely you don't need no stinking map to tell you that once you get there! It's the ghost town of Cisco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are actually a few towns we traveled through in Nevada that aren't too far behind Cisco.  Give them a couple more years and they'll be just as "dead" and ghostly!  At this point we turned around and headed back to Moab.

 

 

 

A lot of campgrounds were on the river-side of the highway.  We probably passed at least 6-8 of them during our drive.  A number of outdoorsy-types with their mountain bikes were staying at the campgrounds.  This is a big mountain biking area.  There are a number of very long paved riding trails in the area and then there's all the paths in the national parks.

Psalms 46:4-5

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. 

God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.