Spring Break 2017 Capitol Reef

Stopped in Scipio on the way there.

     I spent a few days at Capitol  (spelled Capitol not Capital)  Reef National Park. This is a park that is usually overlooked by visitors to Utah, but I loved it.  For one, it is not very busy, relatively speaking and there are many sights to see within a few miles radius.  Fish lake is not far away.  Boulder mountain and highway 12 are spectacular.  It is close to Grand Staircase an Calf Creek Falls and it is only about a 4 hour drive from my house.


https://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm

     When I got there on Saturday night the Fruita Campground
was almost full.  I wasn't expecting that, but I was able to find one of the last spots.  The clouds were cloudy and dark, which always makes for a great photo.  I parked the trailer and went in search of that great photo.

This is a wonderful place full of history and beauty.  Mormon pioneers settled the area in the late 1880's and planted fruit trees.  Hence, the name Fruita.  I am always amazed at those pioneers who settled these unknown, rugged areas.

Chimney Rock

The next day was sunny and that doesn't always make for great photos, so I did a hike down Capitol  Wash and the tanks.  Capitol Wash was at one point the main road.  The place is really remote and was one of the last places to be connected by a road and to get electricity.

Although it became widely known in south-central Utah for its orchards, Fruita residents also grew sorghum (for syrup and molasses), vegetables and alfalfa. Fruit growers usually picked the fruit prior to maturation and hauled it by the wagon load to bigger towns like Price and Richfield - and beyond. This was a formidable undertaking when one considers that in 1901 it took the Mormon Bishop of Torrey more than an hour and a half to travel the ten miles between Fruita and Torrey in the best weather. If the road between Torrey and Fruita was difficult, the route between Fruita and Hanksville - 37 miles (59.5 km) east - was nearly impossible. (park service)

Capitol Dome

There is a 10 mile tour route that you can take by car.  The cool thing about this park is the entrance fee is only 10 dollars.  I know right.

Great Sunset

I decided to take the drive on Highway 12 to Escalante, through Grand Staircase.  This is one of the most scenic drives in America.  Truly it is.  It is up and over.  At the summit you are at 9600 feet above sea level and then it is racing back down.  At one point in Grand Staircase you are drive on top of a natural bridge.   I stopped in Escalante but the road goes all the way to Bryce Canyon.

My first Panorama.  You can see Bowns Lake Center Right.

The Henry Mountains are stunning from here.

Mt Ellen from Boulder Mountain

Grand Staircase

Page Arizona

The trip to  Page Arizona

I spent a few days in Arizona—the goal to capture Horseshoe Bend and visit Antelope Canyon.  This is the maiden voyage with Roki in the passenger seat.  We adopted him from the animal shelter a few months ago and I think he is ready to travel with me.    I bought this high chair for him to ride in so he can see out the window and snuggle down if he wants to do so.  He was good a good travel companion and an awesome hiker!

Our first stop was Kanab Utah.  This is one of my favorite Utah towns.  Close to the parks but not as busy as the St. George area.  We stayed in an RV park I have stayed in before, but they have upgraded it quite a bit.

There was a full moon that night, but I couldn’t get anywhere to set up, so here is one from my iPhone,

Great place to camp.  They gave me a tent spot and then ran an extension cord to my trailer so that I could run my heater.

     Roki and I drove to one of my favorite slot canyons but it is kind of difficult to get there.  Lots of deep sand with roads going every which way. but I have done it before a few years ago with my son Skyler.  The locals call it peek a boo, but it is also called Red Canyon.  There is a guide in Kanab who will take you there if you don't want to drive it.

On the way out I took a wrong turn and got stuck in some pretty deep sand.  The jeep struggled a bit and then I remembered when we got stuck in the sand in Alaska with my two friends.  The best way to get out of sand is to lower the pressure in your tires.  My  friend who have I had so many adventures with (a whole lifetime away) reminded me of this a few months ago.  So I did just that and it worked!  I limped back to Kanab.

As I was putting air back in my tires at the gas station  

(Free air, imagine that.  I love small towns.), I saw two girls from the local colony washing a truck.  You would think they would be having fun, but they were very serious about making sure the truck was clean.

After Kanab we headed to Page Arizona.  I haven't been to Page in about 5 years, but it has changed.  Like many small towns stretched across the southwest, the tourism trade is booming.

I stayed at the Page-Lake Powell Campground and it was nice.  Roki kept barking at dogs and people walking by.  I found out he is very territorial.

I took Roki on a hike to see Horseshoe bend.  There were lots of people there.  Roki did a great job hiking around other people.  Here's are a few  links if you want to find out more.  http://horseshoebend.com/how-to-get-here/# 

http://www.yourhikeguide.com/horseshoe-bend/

The hike is about 1.5 miles round trip.  One more bucket list item crossed off!

I realized that it wouldn't be good to have Roki there when I was to absorbed in taking photos so we walked very quickly back up the hill and then I drove back to the trailer.  He stayed in there while I drove back to the trailhead and then back down the hill for the sunset.

While I was waiting for the sun to set, I started talking with a young guy from Colorado-Dan.  He had tickets for the photo tour of Antelope Canyon.  I had tried to get one, before I left, but they were all sold out, so I was just going to take the normal tour.  He said that one of his friends couldn't make it so they had an extra ticket.  "Would I like to go?"  Yes of course.  $100.00.  Worth it?  Yes!  Photo to come later in the blog.

When I got back to the trailer, Roki was fine.  I was excited to see Antelope Canyon.  Two things off my bucket list in two days.  Yah!

Daylight savings time had started that weekend.  Arizona doesn't have daylight savings time, so my internal clock was way off.  I was an hour early for the tour, which didn't help because all I did was fidget for an hour.  Roki stayed in the trailer, but I turned the fan on and I was sure he would be fine.  

I can't believe how many people they run through Antelope Canyon a day,  1,000 is what our tour guide told us.  If you are a photographer it is worth it to spend the extra 70 dollars or so to get the upgraded version.  They stop the other visitors so that you can get some better photos.  It is very dusty in there and they only allow you to take one camera.  You need a wide angle and you need a tripod.  You have to have a tripod for the photo tour.  There are several places that provide a tour.  The place I went with was called https://navajoantelopecanyon.com/index.asp

I had several good tour guides in my group.  One of them, Roman, has a instagram account https://www.instagram.com/spiritualseeker2015/  Check it out!

This one is very sensual.

It's craziness in there!

These guys have it all figured out.  Great experience!   I am glad I met Dan at Horseshoe.

Now for the long drive home.

Great weekend!