A relatively early start with temps in the mid 50's and off we go into the park. Capitol Reef is a bit different than the others we've been in so far as there is a state road (Route 24) that runs through the park east to west.....so that road is open 24/7. About midway of that road there is a visitor center and a turn off that leads to some attractions and a scenic drive. When we entered on 24 we came upon a pull off - scenic view called Grand Wash - it was a four mile hike (out and back) that went through a slot canyon and traveled a dry river bed. It was a very interesting, pretty and cool hike....a pleasant way to start the day. That area is pretty dry with sparse vegetation and many signs posted in the hike area about not entering during periods of rain as flash flood area prominent. You could tell where years of flash floods had formed interesting rock formations.
Looking for treasure on Grand Wash Hike
Slot Canyon Hiking
Taking a break
After the hike and nearing lunch time we went to the visitor center and viewed the movie, grabbed a park map and looked around the gift shop. We had lunch there and after lunch headed out for their scenic drive. It was about 10 miles out on mostly paved roads but at the end you could continue on a dirt road.....which we did for quite some way but eventually we decided to turn around. The scenery was very pretty .....huge rock mountains with very pretty contrasting colors in most areas and especially pretty depending on how the sun was hitting it.
On the way down the scenic road we passed an old homestead turned museum/bakery that advertised cinnamon rolls and pies so we were already looking forward to that stop on the way back. We waited too long as the cinnamon rolls were gone and the pies (in small aluminum pans - think pot pie size) seemed too big even to share, not to mention they were not hot. We dodged some calories there :-)
The remainder of the park we hadn't seen yet was continuing out highway 24 headed west towards Torrey, Utah so we headed off in that direction and enjoyed the drive/views. Having not been on WiFi, cell service or TV for a few days now we decided to ride into Torrey in hopes of improving that situation. The town of Torrey, although quaint, did not exactly meet my expectations....it was a very small basically one street town with a few restaurants. Our hope for some free wifi at a McDonalds were dashed. We did find a restaurant there, Cafe Diablo, that a couple back in Black Canyon of the Gunnison had recommended to us so we made dinner reservations and plans to come back later that evening.
Capitol Reef scenery
When we checked into the RV park, we asked the owner where folks went for groceries around there....he mentioned a town called Loa which was another 18 miles west of Torrey. Still having a little time to ride around and in need of many groceries but critical for coffee we decided to ride to Loa. Another pretty small town but substantially larger than Torrey we found a nice country grocery store and they actually had Starbucks coffee....we got it. Decided to save the remainder of our shopping for a Walmart if there is one in Utah :-)
Headed back across the park to Sleepy Hollow for a shower and get ready for our evening dinner out at Cafe Diablo. We had a very nice dinner there and a good way to end our visit to this area. Heading out in the direction of Bryce and Zion in the morning.
21 Sept, 2017 - Traveling
We left the Sleepy Hollow campground in Cainesville heading for the Bryce-Zion Campground which is in a very small town (not as small as Cainesville) that is sort of half way in between the two parks - Bryce Canyon and Zion. We have a couple of missions today - make a detour en-route to Walmart which is a bit out of the way but we need some supplies and get to the campground early enough to do laundry. We head about 25 miles out of our way to the town of Richfield where there is plenty of shopping where we get the much needed supplies. After that we have an easy run down Hwy 89 to our next destination arriving around 4:00 and getting set up. On the way there we discussed not going into the park (either one) so we could have a restful evening...not to be. We had been hearing from other campers just how busy Zion National Park was and that there is no parking...gotta take a shuttle, etc.... so we decided that we would run over there and evaluate the situation in preparation for the next days planned visit. We intended to go there and get the normal map and literature to help plan your day and then return home. When we got there (around 6:00 P.M.) we were so amazed/impressed with the beauty of the park that we continued to drive thru and look. We went to visitor's center to get advice for our planning...the best tip they gave us was get here early or you won't find a place to park. It was well after dark when we returned from that preview visit and we still had laundry to do and dinner... another late and tiring night with plans to rise early the next day.
Zion National Park
22 Sept, 2017 - Touring Zion National Park
We headed over to the park about 6:45 A.M. and neither of us like the idea of setting an alarm clock anymore. We were very glad to be arriving early during sunrise as the animals in the park were pretty active...we saw two sets of bighorn sheep and some deer on the way into the park. We arrived at the visitors center plenty early to get a good parking spot and prepare to board the shuttle. There is one road that runs through the park that you can drive but the scenic drive up the Zion Canyon you must take the shuttle....it is free, runs very frequently, and was a great way to handle the crowds. We had a suggestion to take the Angel's landing hike but when the description contains words like "strenuous", "death", etc....Kathy was not on board - besides my feet were hurting. Instead we opted to schedule a few shorter/easier hikes that depending on how we felt we could opt out of if necessary. First up was the riverside hike....two miles of fairly easy hiking that led to what they called the narrows....at the riverside hike turn around point you could continue to hike in the river up a very narrow canyon...we turned around there. It was a very enjoyable hike in the early morning with temps in the mid 50's.
Next we went to another shuttle stop and did the hike to the lower emerald pool which also offered the opportunity to continue to the higher elevation mid and upper emerald pools....so we kept going and were rewarded with a cool spot at the upper pool. It was not a lot farther but was considerably more uphill - but worth the trip. After returning from that hike we had lunch at the Zion lodge before catching the shuttle back down to the Museum where we watched the park film and soaked up some free wifi which has been pretty scarce lately.
Park Greeter
You lookin at me?
When we left the museum we could have taken the shuttle back to the visitor center but there was an easy hiking trail that went thru the park campground and we decided to make the walk instead. It was a nice walk along the river there plus we got to take a closer look at the campground.
Back at the truck and pretty worn out we decided to call it a day for touring Zion but before we headed back and while we had at least some verizon reception I took advantage of the opportunity to update the blog which I was falling behind on. It has been difficult with the places we've been the last week or so to get a good enough bandwidth to upload photos and upadte it....the signal there wasn't the best but I was able to get it done.
Riverside Hike Scenery
Heading into the narrows - not us!
23 Sept, 2017 - Touring Utah Highway 12
Highway 12 runs from Bryce to Torrey and is billed as an All American Scenic Highway....in fact the shortest route for us to get to Bryce/Zion from Capitol Reef would have been on Highway 12. We opted to not pull the trailer on that route because several people talked about the mountainous route with no guard rails, etc.... besides we wanted to be without the trailer so stopping would be easier and more enjoyable.
Two of these on the route
Since this day was planned only as a driving tour of that highway and the sights it offered we took advantage of a little rest in the morning and did not head out at first light. Our current campground is about 35 miles from Highway 12 and Bryce Canyon National Park so we made that our first stop....not to tour it but to get the literature to help us plan for the next day. A brief stop in the visitors center there and we were on our way.
This was a very scenic route with many changing landscapes along the way. The route passed through the Dixie National Forest, The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and by a few of Utah's State Parks. It offered many pull offs with incredible views and because it was in National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (public lands) areas there were many opportunities to take dirt/gravel roads - roads less traveled by tourists.
Hwy 12 Scenery
Amateur at work
We stayed on Highway 12 and went as far as Boulder where we intended to turn around and head back. We noticed on the map that there was a gravel road called Hell's Backbone that would take us back to Escalante a different way....45 miles through a forested area called Box-Death Hollow Wilderness. We saw that as an opportunity to see something maybe a little different and possibly even some wildlife. The road, although advertised as gravel, was actually paved for the first 6 or 7 miles and then turned to gravel, and then turned to narrower gravel with washboard ruts, and then turned to mostly dirt. It was still very passable without four wheel drive and a pretty cool ride. All along highway 12 and this route we'd seen signs for open range cattle (the road is there's too) but on this particular road we saw a lot of cattle in the road.
We came eye to eye with this guy
Hells Backbone road turned into Pine Creek Road near the Posey Lake Campground which is a Forest Service Campground. We decided to detour slightly to see what the campground and the lake looked like. By this time (5:00 P.M.) and combined with increased elevation the temperature had dropped to the upper 30's - very cold and some snow flakes blowing around. As we neared the campground a man was sitting in a vehicle on the side of the road with flashers on...we stopped and he asked if we'd seen any guys on mountain bikes...he was waiting there to pick them up and they were due there at 1:00 (four hours late already). We continued on to look at the campground and he stopped us again on our way back out and asked if we'd go for help....he wrote a note describing where the men had departed on bikes, where they were supposed to be picked up, there ages (73, 70 and 50) and he gave us phone number for their wives back in Loveland, Colorado. He said the men were not prepared to overnight in the forest and he was getting worried because the weather was getting worse and it was getting dark - but he was determined to wait there where they were supposed to rendezvous.
We promised him we would get to the authorities and see if we could get some help up here for him. This entire area is so remote that cell phone coverage was not an option so we headed for the nearest town, Escalante....still about 20 miles (gravel) away, keeping an eye on our phones for any signal....none. Eventually, as we began to get out of the forest, we saw a ranch (Turn-About Ranch) and pulled in to see if we could use their phone. They allowed us to call 911 from there where we got help on the way....hopefully it has a happy ending. The 911 dispatcher actually called us back an hour or so later to get more information and he said that someone was on the way up there and that they said the bike ride the men were doing was about 15 miles of very steep uphill and they probably grossly under-estimated the amount of time it would take them to do it. That added a little of extra excitement to the ride.....ours a probably theirs too!
After that it was an uneventful but pleasant ride back to the campground.
24 Sept, 2017 - Touring Bryce Canyon National Park
The last of three full days at this stop and we are feeling a bit tired from all the touring & long days. This day is set to be a bit easier as we are only doing Bryce and no long hikes planned. We awake to nearly frozen water pipes as the overnight low dipped to the mid-30's. When we left for the park it had warmed up to 36 degrees and was pretty sunny but the wind was strong and a biting cold.
Once in the park our first stop was the visitor center where we viewed the movie there....since most of these Utah parks are all part of the events millions of years ago that created the Colorado Plateau - the stories are sounding very similar. As we've gone from one National park here to the other I began to wonder just how different they could be from one another - again in Bryce I was amazed (just like Zion) at the difference between them and the beauty they offer. We spent the entire day touring the park and going to all of the scenic views and some limited hiking to get the best views possible. By mid afternoon we'd seen them all and headed to the lodge for lunch.
Beautiful Bryce Canyon
#1 Tourist
Wow, just wow!
Photo op
Natural Bridge
Since this was our last day in this area and we were pretty tired - we decided to head back relatively early (for us anyhow) and make it an early evening and begin preparations for our move into Arizona tomorrow morning. I have to say that the parks in Utah are very pretty and worth visiting. We plan to return and hopefully camp in the parks themselves and do more of the hiking and other activities they offer. But for now, heading to Arizona.
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