Day 16 – Capitol Reef National Park

Day 16 – 5/28/2021 – Capitol Reef National Park

Today we leave Moab for Torrey, UT, but before leaving, we decided to get breakfast at a 50-60’s styled diner.  Breakfast at the Moab Diner was good.  If you find yourself in Moab and looking for somewhere to dine out, try the Moab Diner.

On our way, we pass the turnoffs for both Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, and are driving west on I-70.  Before reaching the city of Green River we see a different type of formations.  These weathered buttes look more like castles than rock. 

Before we enter the city of Green River, we see this sculpture up on a hill.  Not sure what is signifies or represents, but I found it interesting.

Preparing to leave I-70 for Utah-24, at the bottom of the hill, we can see the spectacular wild landscape called San Rafael Reef.  This massive, eroded anticline is 75 miles long and about 30 miles wide.  All I know is that this looks like it should be in a science-fiction movie as an alien landscape.

Near this butte when we make our turn, we pass what I think is part of the Black Dragon Canyon.  There are so many points of interest in this area, including petroglyphs, but we do not have time on this trip, maybe next time.

Continuing on route-24, we come to a viewing turn-off and there are several viewing tubes pointing to several of the landscape items.  One of those is the butte on the right, named Brigham Butte.

Also in the area is a butte named Prairie Dog Butte, because I think it looks like a prairie dog sitting up next to its burrow.  

Once again, we see buttes with impressive structure created by weather and erosion.

Check this mesa out.  Look at all the layers in this rock.  The cap stone on the top protects the top rock, but the stone under it begins to wear so the rock begins to have a mushroom look.  Also, look at how much scree there is at the base of the mesa and on the ledge half way up the mesa.

Just when I think there isn’t much that would impress, we get visions like this.  How great is this?  The butte on the right almost looks like a left snow mitten. 

These mushroom shaped rock formations makes me wonder how much rain falls in this area of the country.  Surely to create erosion such as this, rain must fall.  Also, as you can see someone has been riding a dirt bike up and down the escarpment.

I am told that the colors in this rock are unusual.  Can you imagine what had to happen in order for these colors to show now?  What ores had to be in the sandstone to oxidize for these colors to bleach out?

Tell me that these look like sharks teeth to you?  I do not understand the forces that would create formations such as these.  I was nice of the people to build the road right next the formations so we can enjoy them. 

We see another sandstone structure with colored layers. 

Another alien landscape along our path, only this one might have cattle roaming by. 

Oh my!  Just when I think we have gone by the colored sandstone, we find more.  Look at the different layers of coloring. 

Just having entered Capitol Reef National Park and stopping at Grand Wash Trail, we take the hiking trail along a dry streambed and some narrow canyons.  The geologic formations are interesting, from cutouts where some are human size to stratified layers. 

We even found some unusual flowers along the trail.  As usual, we cannot help but take a picture. 

Aha, a lizard.  I knew we’d find one here.  Check out the tail, it is twice as long as the body and the tail is molting.  I think this is a Western Whiptail. 

Here are some of the cutouts in the cliff walls that I mentioned.  I wonder how these were created and if some ancient people help in the carving to store foods or for shelter.

Look at the cleft in this rock wall.  I wonder what you’d find if you climbed up between the two sides.

More flowers!

As we have seen over and over again, nature is a powerful sculpture.  Wind, rain, gravity and upheavals sculpt the softer stone from around the harder stone, leaving this dome.  I can not imagine how long it took to erode the surrounding rock to create a dome like this, with a point at the top.

We travel about 2.5 miles along route 24from Grand Wash Trail and stop at the Hickman Bridge Trailhead.  Hickman Bridge is a natural bridge eroded in the rock.  Carmen has decided that she does not want to hike the 1-mile trail to the bridge, so I am off by myself and before long I see these flowers.

Part of the path I am on and as you can see has steps built into the rock.  You can see some people on the path ahead of me and beyond.  But, rock boulders like the ones in the middle of the picture slid down from above, so I’m always listening for the sound of rock cracking.

As I climbed one section and beginning to make my turn on the switchback, I see this cactus flower in good condition.  Beautiful!  I find a couple more, but this one is the best looking one around.

Walking along the path, which goes between the bushes and the rock, we have a great view of the rock cliff and the tannin leeching creating the dark stain along the face of the rock. 

Just after taking the above picture, I see movement on the rock beside me and see this lizard.  It sat there quietly while I took its picture.  Once again, we do not really know the name of this lizard.  But, to venture a guess it is a side-blotched lizard, only because it look like my picture.

Nearing the natural arch known as Hickman’s Bridge, I find many places where one could take all day to explore.  Look at all of the nooks and crannies along the slickrock and tabletops. 

Reaching an area close to the arch, I am able to get a full view of Hickman’s Bridge.  The arch that looked so clear to me as I took the picture that I did not get closer for a picture looking up into the blue sky.  The view from where I was seems to blend the arch into the background now that I look at the picture. 

On my return trip, I can still see great places to investigate, had I the time.  The trail will take me through the gap in the background. 

Back on the trail returning to the car, I see some yellow flowers that seem to resemble a Buttercup flower.  I wonder where they get their moisture if it does not rain often.

Passing a large patch of cactus and I happen to notice one flower and left the trail to get a picture.  The flower was well formed and in perfect condition.

On my final turn to the parking lot, I have a glimpse of the Fremont River running alongside of the trail.  This section has manmade walls so no one falls into the river, but we still travel under a rock overhang.  Notice the man at the water’s edge soaking his tired feet in the water. 

Before getting off the trail, I see these orange flowers. 

We are only back on the road for less than a mile when we stop at a Petroglyph panel.  Created between 300 and 1300 A.D. ancestors of the Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Paiute Tribe made this red-rock oasis their home.  The Hopi believe, their ancestors departed Capitol Reef did so to complete their migration to the Center of the Universe.

A close-up of the wall shows mountain sheep, pronghorn antelope, and figures in strange looking helmets.  Besides that, you can tell people have used the wall and the people depicted on it for target practice.  In other places along the stone wall where petroglyphs are located, people have defaced the stone with initials, and in one case a giant heart.

Reaching the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center, we begin driving along the Scenic Drive and already there are great mountain landscapes.

Just look at the side of this mesa.  Rock exposed at the bottom the mesa while weathering begins to separate the rock into different formations. 

 

Check out the layering and the different colors of the rock layers forming this mesa.  You can see where some of the rock at the top has collapsed and the scree traveled down the hill taking out the lower ridgeline.  This area named Slickrock Divide is near the end of the scenic drive. 

While stopped to take pictures of the landscape, I happened by this Bull Thistle of all flowers.  In Utah, it is considered a noxious weed and is very aggressive and difficult to control.  Yet, it is a pretty flower.

Along the scenic road, we have seen mesa and different formations, the fin we see here is a thin protrusion of rock rising up.  Weathering continues to form the rock into individual spires. 

Our last stop on the scenic drive is at the Capitol Gorge Road.  Carmen does not want to drive down the road because it is dirt and not sure how wide it is or if there is a turnaround available. 

Looking around we can see this formation, which seems to be made up by basalt columns.  We have seen the darker stone ridge throughout the park and can imagine how many millions of years old it is. 

On our way out of the park, we are able to get a picture of the Fruita Barn, the scene dramatic with the barn and mountain formations in the background. 

Leaving Capitol Reef National Park and before getting to Torrey, where we will spend the night, we continue to see dramatic formations. 

Just outside of Torrey we get our last view of the formations for the day. 

We get to our hotel and check in, then as we were on our way to dinner, we happen to see these “Wagon Cabins”.  What, we could have stayed in a wagon over night!  Oh well.

Tomorrow we will travel to Bryce Canyon and will stay in a hotel nearby.