13th May
On the move again up to Capitol Reef National Park. Everything was against us from making an
early start; just as we were about to pull out of the camping space Paul looked
round from his driver’s seat and spotted a nose and whiskers making a dash up
the outside steps (not the usual mouse he is used to seeing)…….. he made an
attempt to catch it but it disappeared up a ventilation grill. Then we spent 30
minutes at the dump station and filled up with propane. Then we spent 45 minutes in the petrol
station as 4 (only 4!) cars were also filling up – how they took so much time
to fill up, pay, clean windscreens etc was beyond belief!
We had been advised the National Park campground filled up
by lunch time and we knew we wouldn’t get to the Park until later in the day,
so we booked ahead to spend the night in Torrey.
Just as well as the 115 mile drive took us
over 5 hours!
The scenic drive was
absolutely fabulous; we had
to keep stopping to admire the views.
Route 12 took us through the western edge of Grand Staircase/Escalante
National Monument.
The road was twisty and steep in places. At one point, outside the town of Boulder, we
were down to 10mph as the RV slowly
climbed up to 9600ft, we nearly had to stop and take the car off. I
dread to think of the mpg we were getting on this route.
14th May – Capitol Reef National Park
We left the campground before 10am to get a place at the
campsite in the National Park.
This Park preserves the “Water-pocket Fold” which is
described as a giant buckle in the Earth’s crust created millions of years ago
and stretches over 100 miles.
It is a
jumble of colourful cliffs, massive domes, monoliths, arches, spires and
twisting canyons.
Red, gold, cream and
even chocolate coloured rocks.
There are
ancient Petroglyphs and some old buildings from the Mormon pioneers who
populated this area from the late 1800s.
Fortunately we managed to get one of the last spaces by
10.30.
It is a lovely peaceful place
positioned next to a creek with orchards and horses in the fields.
So we sat the rest of the day gazing up at
the mountains and admiring the views enjoying a good rest after the strenuous
hikes in Bryce.
It was surprising the
number of people arriving despite the “Campground full” signs out on the main
road at the visitors centre, and yet they still drove the mile down to ask if
there was any room at the camp site.
Shortly after our evening meal a London Bus turned up! We couldn’t believe it – just like the film
Summer Holiday (Cliff Richard fans will remember that one). Two lads from London had converted the bus,
shipped it over, and were now travelling around USA. We had a chat with them and although there
was no room for them that night they came back the next day.
That evening we were all entertained by one of the
Volunteers telling Native Indian stories at her campsite, whilst some Mule deer
wandered around the campground.
15th May – Fern’s Nipple …… and Cohab Canyon Trail
We set off on a trail straight out of the campsite.
After a quick gain of elevation, up a steep
slope above the campground, the trail levelled out into the Cohab canyon.
The rocks were full of holes – like
gorgonzola cheese.
We went into a couple of side canyons and also up to the
Overlook View Point which looked down on the road and where the old Mormon
settlement would have been.
We then
carried along the Frying Pan trail to a point where we sat and had lunch – with
Fern’s Nipple (7065ft) in the distance.
On the trail we came across a squirrel taking bark from a tree. We followed it to his den and watched it disappear. He came out again a few minutes later and went back to the same tree to collect more bark.
The evening program was about the Apollo Landings with
photographic story boards. Unfortunately a cloudy sky prevented the telescope
from being used to view the moon.
16th May – Capitol Gorge
We took the car down the paved, 16-mile round trip, Scenic Drive.
After lunch at the picnic site at the end of
the paved section we drove the car down the unpaved track of Capitol Gorge
Road.
It basically follows the dried up
wash that would take water from flash flooding.
Local people had
cleared the road of boulders back in the 1920s.
We drove to the busy parking lot and then continued on foot
down the gorge, which was relatively flat, between the sheer cliff walls that
were coloured red, gold and cream. Some
areas were striped whilst others had swirling colours on the rocks. There were places where slabs of rock had broken
off and slipped down from the face of the cliffs.
We passed the ‘Pioneers Register’ which was a rock face
where people had carved their names since the 1880s ie “antique graffiti”?
We then climbed up to “The Tanks” which were rock pools of
water coming down from the mountains.
They were quite a surprise in what would otherwise be a barren
environment; some of the pools looked pretty deep.
They capture rainfall from storms and are a
vital resource of water for wildlife in this desert region.
17th May – Oh oh, car problems …..
We took a trip into Torrey for shopping and to try to find a
wifi signal (with limited success). We
started off OK but when we stopped we could not turn off the engine – the key
was stuck in the ignition and would not turn off! The only thing we could do was take a fuse
out from under the bonnet. We could
still start the car engine but not turn it off, nor take the key out to lock
the car! Ooops! Perhaps the jolting on the dirt track yesterday
had not done the internal mechanism any good?
Luckily we found a guy in a garage who could order the part in over the
weekend, with a view to fixing it on Monday morning. That meant we had to stay at Capitol Reef over
the weekend – not a great hardship.
On the way into town we picked up a young lad hitch-hiking;
not something we have ever done before but he didn’t look like his back-pack
had an axe in it. He had spent the night
back-country camping in the park and was off to Bryce Canyon.
We spent a quiet afternoon back at camp and then were
treated to another story telling evening; with over 40 campers listening in.
18th May – Fremont River Trail
As we did not want to risk driving the car any further than necessary,
we stayed near the campsite and hiked a trail which followed the Fremont River,
next to the campsite, and up to an Overlook.
It was only a 3 mile round trip so we were back in the camp site for a
lazy afternoon in the sun. Paul then decided to run up the same trail we had walked
in the morning. (never again he said) first good run in nearly nine months.
The evening program was Astrology and covered the Mars
Missions and other planetary exploration missions.
19th May – Sunday
We wandered around other parts of the old Mormon settlement;
blacksmiths shop, school house, farmhouse. Paul went fishing in the afternoon.
The evening program was on Geology.
We have enjoyed watching the wildlife here; chipmunks,
squirrels, bats, and once a marmot in the distance.
The Mule deer come to the campground every
evening and there are lots of American
Robins collecting worms for their young.
The site is surrounded by
Cottonwood trees and in the breeze the cotton-like seeds blow everywhere – it
is as if it were snowing.
The Park has kept the farming spirit by creating fruit
orchards and in the Fall visitors can pick the fruit. There are two retired couples who are Park
Volunteer hosts. They park their RVs for free, with full hook-up and are each paid
$7.50 per day, for up to 4 days a week. At
such a lovely spot this is a great way to spend a few months.
Our route took us through the remainder of Capital Reef NP
on Scenic Byway 24. We skirted the San
Rafael Reef and through the San Rafael Desert.
The scenery was different yet again.
We met some more Brits on Tour on this section of the Trail;
two young ladies working in USA with the Oil Industry and then a young lad touring for 6 weeks.
