Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef Adventure

Gerry and I took the Prius on yet another long road trip.  The Prius is a great touring car - it is both comfy and very roomy.  We packed our hiking gear and headed east with the final destination of Estes Park where we would spend a week with my family.

The first part of our vacation was the road trip through Utah.  Several friends have raved about Bryce Canyon, and the surrounding area.  It was about time we checked out the scenery for ourselves.

Bryce Canyon;  viewing the Canyon from the Fairyland Trail.

Gerry turned 62 on June 7th, just a few weeks before our road trip.  We were both thrilled when he forked over $10 for his National Parks Golden Pass, which gains him free admission to all of the National Parks for the rest of his life.  Now one of our goals is to see how many National Parks we can visit.  We visited 4 National Parks last week...Bryce Canyon,  Capitol Reef, Colorado National Monument, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  We're off to a good start!

At the entrance gate Bryce Canyon, as Gerry receives his Golden Pass to the National Parks.

Bryce Canyon is famous for its hoodoos.  Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of the canyon.  They can range from 5 to 150 feet tall.

Spectacular Hoodoos along the Navajo & Peek-a-boo loop trail. 

 
We were fortunate weather-wise.  It can be brutally hot in the summer time here, often over 100 degrees.  We had relatively cool weather - mid 80s.  We did 2 hikes on Friday.  The longer hike was our a.m. Fairyland Loop (9 miles.)  After a lunch break we hiked the Navajo & Peek-a-boo Loop trail  (5 1/2 miles.)   The photos don't do this place justice!  I have the feeling we'll be back here again someday.


Saturday we drove to Capitol Reef National Park, for another full day of hiking.  We did 3 hikes, ranging from 2.5 to 3.75 miles: the Cohab Canyon hike, Cassidy Arch hike, and Capitol Gorge hike.

A vista point shortly after arriving in Capitol Reef Natl Park. 

 

Starting off at on the Cohab Canyon hike.

One of the many narrow passageways we encountered.  It was challenging to squeeze through this crevice!  You might say we were caught between a rock and a hard place. 

Our second hike was the longest and most challenging hike of the day.  We hiked to Cassidy Arch, named after Butch Cassidy who allegedly hid out in this area.   We passed through spectacular scenery as we followed the footsteps of history's famous outlaws, gaining nearly 1,200 feet in elevation as we reached the top of Cassidy Arch.

Gerry at the top of Cassidy Arch.  This gives perspective of how large this arch is!

Late in the afternoon we hiked the Capitol Gorge trail, which is mostly level walking in a narrow wash bottom with sheer canyon walls.  Within the course of a mile the trail passes a petroglyph panel, and the Pioneer Register, which is the rock panel that contains hundreds of inscriptions left by settlers and travelers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

We finally left Capitol Reef National Park at 6:00 pm, and drove toward Grand Junction, where we would spend the night.  All of this hiking worked up our appetites.  We stopped off in the small town of Green River UT, close to the UT / CO border for dinner at Ray's Tavern.   It was quite the happening local joint; very casual so we felt right at home with the group of river rafters and other hikers who were enjoying cold beers and hot sandwiches. 

Sunday morning we left Grand Junction and did a driving tour of Colorado National Monument National Park.  Once again, we used our Golden Parks Pass.

Another beautiful place!

 We took the long but scenic drive up to Estes Park, and arrived in the early evening to begin part two of our vacation - the 6 days with Mary's family in Estes Park.