Capitol Reef NP & Highway 24

On our way to Canyonlands & Arches (Moab area) we passed through Capitol Reef. We really hadn't heard much about this place where one of the earth's most unique geological features exist, a "waterpocket fold". http://www.nps.gov/archive/care/geology1.htm

Besides that uniqueness, the Park is a stunning example of one of the most lush & picturesque canyons man could encounter. Some early Morman settlers recognized this and stayed there, giving it the name "Fruita" because their orchard grew so well. http://www.nps.gov/archive/care/fruita.htm

Unaware of the Park's popularity, and arriving late, the camp host informed us "sorry, we're full" but went on to suggest boondocking on the BLM lands just outside of the Park boundry. Wow, what a great suggestion! Arriving just prior to sunset, we found this beautiful spot and nestled in for the night...

After quickly setting up the trailer, I turned westward to notice natures towers close by.

Morning brought anticipation along with a nice surprise.....the Visitor's Center was unusual in that it looked like a Frank Lloyd Wright design. If you've been following our escapades, you've already noted that we are big FLW fans.

Alongside the Center we noticed an example of the many volcanic rocks strewn about the Park. Since there were no volcanos anywhere near, geologist theorize these were all carried by glaciers.

We took the long drive down the Canyon to the very end of the Grand Wash Road, which turned out to be a continuous study in contrasting geology. The beauty of this place is indescribable!

Out the corner of an eye, I spotted this unique "ET" rock, at least that's what it appeared to be to me, what do you think?

Kim found more interest in the old Gifford Farmhouse and the delightful blossums of it's fragrant pear trees.

We had there wonderful pie for lunch, yep, that's right a whole 7" pie each! You'll have to let your imagination fill that shot in....It was so...oooo goo...ood, I didn't think about a pix 'til they were gone!

After lunch we continued East on Hwy 24, a fabulous drive to Hanksville. First stop, the Pioneer Schoolhouse. Mormon pioneers established the appropriately named community of Fruita when it was discovered that this was a good locale for growing fruit. The tiny 1896 Fruita Schoolhouse served as a church, social hall, and community-meeting hall, in addition to functioning as a one-room schoolhouse. Mormon pioneers established the appropriately named community of Fruita in 1896. The Schoolhouse served as a church, social hall, and community-meeting hall, in addition to functioning as a one-room schoolhouse.
A little further down the road are some interesting petroglyphs from around 700AD....

and an old farmplace across the road where I found some interesting colors & textures, making me aware that Spring has finally made it to the mountains!

The rest of the drive to Hanksville is like roving through another planet. Again, I'm in the delima of keeping the blog size manageable, so here's a sampling.....yes, we'll save the whole slideshow for you!

Ruins of images of a life gone by lay hidden around long sweeping curves....

In Hanksville you simply have to stop at Pop's Rockshop. And, yes those are actual dinosaur bones!

Escalante, Peek-A-Boo & Spooky

Escalante is a vast area of BLM lands that has also been declared a National Monument. So, it's a public, protected park, but being BLM lands, you are free to boondock on any part of it. We took advantage of this by driving a couple of miles in on the "Hole-in-the-Rock" Road and found this serene isolated spot!

Here's a late shot taken of our view while sitting in front of the trailer that first evening ....

The next morning, we took off down the Hole in the Rock, soon to discover what sharp rocks on a loosely maintained road will do for you. Oh well, I can't complain, we've had great luck so far with only a couple flats in over 30,000 miles of fulltiming. These tires have gone almost 60,000, so it's time for a new set.

Today we "monkied-up" & "monkied-down", and monkied round n' round! in a really neat place, very very tight squeezes though...These are the two best known of the many narrow slot canyons that are scattered throughout Escalante. The hike in through a large canyon area was easy & fun...

Above I'm making the intial climb into the mouth of the first slot canyon we come to, which is quite wide at this point...

We get in a ways and all of a sudden.... Kim says "Peek-A-Boo!"

Up,Up, hang on girl! don't fall! and, watch out Sam, it's a ways down here too!

and round n' round we go! the vertical height the top of the narrow slot was about 50 feet in most places....

I kept thinking about my Grandson, Jonathan. He would have had a blast in here, as evidenced by some youngsters we met along the way! (oh yes, us big kids sure did!).

Now on to Spooky, where it was extremely tight squeeze even for Sam ....
Kim took this one before I vanished into the narrow sliver...note the comment someone left on the wall....Kim said it looked too clostraphobic to enter this final section, which continued on for about a quarter mile...

Here, I'm straining to hold the camera because my shoulder is being pinched by the rock!

another self portrait, taken from above as I start to descend this twisted very narrow shaft. I dropped the pack first to the floor of the slot, about 15 feet down....then it required "presses" off the sidewalls as there are no hand of feet holes. The final day in this area was spent exploring some of the other, varied terrain. Out of several other areas, we really enjoyed the "Devil's Gardens", another great spot for us kids to hop around in & on!

So, everyone out there, this is a great fun experience, and if you have kids, well you simply must do this! The Visitor Center in Escalante can tell you how to find them, and advise you on weather conditions (you don't want to enter these slots if there is any probability of rain in the area...it could be fatal!).

So, plan a trip, maybe we'll meet you out here next Spring. And, you could put those climbing skills to work out here!

Incredible BRYCE!

Some drives between places offer things that just aren't seen too often...I guess they are there just to make the trip interesting. We often talk about solar power and "living off the grid", etc. so in the middle of nowhere, it was interesting to see a quaint little valley, with several unique homes tucked below....

A little further along, we spotted another jewel, just waiting for the camera's lens to point it's way, so for all you folks out there wanting a new RV, here's the lates & greatest....


the gates of Bryce are preceded by a wonerderful area known as Red Canyon, arriving there in the late afternoon, the display off to our left begged us to stop and enjoy.

But, now on to the serious stuff, Bryce is simply terrific! The Park is sitting on top of the world up there at roughly 9000 ft. with the phenominal carvings below sculpted by nature over millions of years! The panoramic views truly take your breath away....

So, after seeing this surreal place the first afternoon, I was at the top platform of Inspiration Point at sunrise to get that spectacular morning light and these fabulous images!

Later that morning, we decided to do a long hike combining the Queens & Navajo Loop, the Peakaboo Loop and Wall Street.

Shortly after starting the hike, we noticed how different things began to look, the scenes seem to combine the towers with a "moon-like" surface, providing a striking contrast as seen here:

As we traveled further Kim found an interesting "hole" in the trail, and we wondered "is this the Peekaboo" ? When we emerged from the other side, we were greeted with more of the same, so our question remained unanswered...

Moving on, we spent the better part of the late morning within an area filled with vertical structures & statues....


and then coming to another "hole" in the trail through which we must pass is "Peekaboo"! well, at least, that's what we think...we never got the full story on just why the loop trail was given that particular name.

As we approached Wall Street, the reason for this name was very apparent. Kim is in the lower right corner, dwarfed by the massive structures that do indeed resemble the manmade towers of New York.

I decided to climb up the small, narrow slot on the right that Kim is looking into above. Interestingly, after a hundred yards or so, I'm delighted with a reminder of Antelope Canyon! The similarity was stunning, triggering fears that I too had been "beamed up" and over as Kim had, and had returned to a few weeks in the past!

The climb up through Wall Street was slow and deliberate, with much of the bottom covered in slushy ice & mud. I slipped several times and helped a mother coming down get her young daughter back up after a nasty fall. We fortunately had been warned that it would be much safer from the "bottom up" rather than "top down". The tip paid off, as we emerged safely from within the narrow walls of the Street, and gazed back at the amazing view for the top of the staircase near the overhanging rim.

Our final day at Bryce was spent in "Fairyland", an area of the Park that is less frequented, and is quite a departure from the sheer vertical red towers of the main body of the Park. We actually started this hike at the edge of the main park, traversing counterclockwise along the path, and ending up outside of the main gate. This actually proved interesting, because we were able to see a gradual transition form the moon-like edges of the main Park into the "Fairyland" formations on the opposite end.

We took a slight detour for lunch to see "Tower Bridge", a very unique formation that is truly different from any other bridges or windows we've seen in all of our travels!

It was long though before evidence of Fairyland began to appear in the distance....

Moving more & more into Fairyland, the terrain now changes into a Disney-like profile, rich in new colors, especially a faint pink & purple layers in many of the formations....

Another mile or so, and closer scutiny, reveal the wide range of colors and intense beauty of this different type of formation....

Just before reaching the Rim, which completesthe trail, one hikes past the "Chinese Gardens", the highlight of which is this deep pocket surrounded by oriental golds & greens....a perfact way to end a wonderful hike, and an outstanding visit to what we consider the most spectacular Park in the Southwest!