Hiking Utah…..Part 4

This is how we saw Arches National Park on Sunday and Monday.

We drove through the park, stopping at various viewpoints. If it wasn’t raining too hard, we Captain got out to take photos.

Balanced Rock

Sometimes he took them from the car.

We were all happy to see the sun on Tuesday and headed to Devil’s Garden Trail, just outside the campground.

Pine Tree Arch

Landscape Arch

That was so much fun, we decided to hike the Broken Arch Trail from our campground. Now this is what you call an adventure hike!

Sometimes you had to climb,

Sometimes you had to slide,

Sometimes you had to crawl,

Sometimes you had to rest,

Sometimes all you could do is just say "Wow!"

Tapestry Arch

We were camped at Devils Garden Campground; if you look closely you can see The Wanderer.

There were no amenities like water, electricity or sewer but we did have a pretty decent cell phone signal. With solar and generator power we were able to watch the Aggies hand Kentucky their first defeat of the season on Saturday (now we are ready to talk football again.)

There are over 2000 arches in the park; of course we didn’t see them all. We are sharing only a few from our two hikes; here is a link if you want to see more. 

Today we are moving over to Dead Horse Point State Park, near Canyonlands National Park where we will conclude our hiking adventures in Utah.

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Hiking Utah….Part 3

Greetings from Capitol Reef National Park!

After a somewhat scary drive from Bryce Canyon via The Scenic Byway (aka Hwy 12) over mountain passes, through open range (and not just a few cattle, more like a pasture,) 

in the rain and fog,

The Wanderer parked in an apple orchard with a herd of mule deer and within walking distance of Gifford House (where we bought fresh fruit pie and ice cream.)  Fruita Campground is in the Fruita Historic District, which was homesteaded by the Mormon’s in the 1880s. The park continues to maintain the fruit trees that were planted during that time. Visitors are welcome to pick the fruit that is in season; so we picked apples.

It is hard to say how many deer were in and around the campground; we stopped counting at 15 one day, knowing there were a lot more.

They were quite tame.

We were without cell phone service and internet in the campground, but found we could get a signal at one of the overlooks, so we drove up daily to check for messages.

Across the road from the campground was the Cohab Trail (originally it was known as the Polygamy Trail but was changed because Cohab sounded a bit better.) The day we hiked it we happened upon a ranger led hike so we joined them.

It was most interesting to hear the history and how the canyon came to be. On the return we did a bit of exploring on our own.

Captain in a slot canyon

One morning, after a rainy night, we did a bit of 4-wheeling in Roger’s jeep.

That was fun!

Convinced the rain was over for the day, Captain and Roger checked out the Hickman Bridge Trail

where they found some petroglyphs.

Whoops!

(This is what happens when ABN is not along.)

So, the next day, ABN led the hike on the Chimney Rock Trail.

Chimney Rock from the bottom

from above

and along the way.

Capitol Reef National Park is not as large or as busy as Zion and Bryce Canyon, but we found it to be just as interesting and we are already talking about the next time…. but for now we are meandering our way through canyons and desert 

over to Arches National Park near Moab. Once again we will be camping in the park and doubt very much that we will have cell phone service or internet (and that is okay with us.) We will drive to a service area to check for messages.

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Hiking Utah….Part 2

Bryce Canyon, home of the Hoodoos.

Hiking at 7000 ft. – 8000 ft. has its challenges for those of us who live at about 400 ft. elevation; mostly our heart rates increase and our breathing gets a bit labored on the ascending climbs.

But it is worth it to hike between the canyon walls,

among the hoodoos and through the arches.

After arriving around noon on Friday, we took the guide book’s recommendation and drove to the various viewpoints.

Max got to come along for the ride.

He is such a sweet and well-mannered travel companion, we totally enjoy his company.

Our long and most challenging hike was about 4.5 miles. It included the Under the Rim Trail,

the Peek-a-Boo Trail (adequately named,)

Wall of Windows

and a part of the Navajo Trail.

Monday morning weather forecast indicated there could be some rain showers, so we elected to hike the 1.8 mile Queen’s Garden Trail and part of the Rim Trail. (It didn’t rain at all Monday morning.)

We ended our stay at Bryce Canyon with a celebratory dinner at The Lodge.

Photo

Not wanting to overwhelm with the hundreds of photos we took, these are a few of our favorites. If you want more, here is a link to images of Bryce Canyon National Park.

Today we will wander along the Scenic Byway, Utah 12 to Capitol Reef National Park. With lots of climbs it will be slow drive but we think The Wanderer can handle it. About the scenic, well maybe not so much, as once again rain is predicted.

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