Capitol Reef

Video review click here:

 1080p.mov

Saturday March 12th:

We woke up early and drove down to Capitol Reef.  The first hike we explored was Capitol Gorge.

Capitol Gorge Hike

Had to drive 6 miles through the park, then 3 miles through these canyons to get to the trailhead.

 And we found ancient petroglyphs!

This sun was really neat!

And there was also Mormon Pioneer graffiti inscriptions.

Nearing the end of the trail.

We weren't expecting the trail to be so level and mostly walking through sand.  I guess that's why it's marked "easy"!

Afterwards, we drove to see the wall of Fremont Indian Petroglyphs

Can you spot them? (Hint: Lower Right Quadrant)

 Hickman Bridge Trail in the late afternoon.

Natural Kissing Gazebo

Kelsey under the Hickman Bridge

We finished the day and went back to camp.

Sunset at camp.  I love the mountains behind our tent!  Such an epic campground!  Gifford house is the yellow home in the background. We bought home some salsa from Gifford House to enjoy while at home.

Campfire Pizza for dinner!

Yum!  Good work, Tay!

It got dark at 6:30 pm that first night, so we took a moonlit walk by the Fremont river which was a stone's throw away from our tent.  It was awesome falling asleep to the sound of the river each night. It was also cool to see our shadows from the brightness of the moon.  It was never pitch back.  I think it was my all time favorite camping trip experience even though it was 30 degree at night!  Thank goodness for balaclava hats and scarves!  And especially wool socks!

Sunday March 13th:

It was interesting to see the blocked off Uranium mines in the Grand Wash.  I had no idea Uranium was found in Utah, or that people thought it had health benefits and that's why they mined for it!

Grand Wash Trail

My favorite is always the huge holes in the rock made from wind, calcium deposits, and water.

Then we did the Cassidy Arch trail.

Echo Walls at the beginning of the Cassidy Arch trail.

Look at that steep cliff edge so close!

We yodeled and hollered at this point for quite some time.

Steep climb over boulders!  Thank goodness for the hiking poles!

Cassidy Arch in the distance. Looks more like a hole in the wall from this distance.

Another mile and then you're on top of the rock that forms the arch.

Here's us on top of where the arch is located.

This slick rock was so hard to walk on.  Not my favorite part. 

 Then it was time to relax which meant...

Hammock time!

Relaxing view!

Best camp site ever!

Gooseneck Trail

The river makes the shape of a goose's neck. Capitol reef is really tilted. 

Sunset Point Trail to end the night!

Because of daylight savings time, sunset this day was at 7:34 pm!

We had a campfire when we got back to camp while watching a movie in our hammock.

Monday March 14th:

Cohab Canyon Trail

This view was my favorite!

It was crazy windy!  Taylor was mad I stopped at the edge of the cliff for this pic...

Inside Cohab canyon's walls.

The sands in the canyon were so fine, and the wind so crazy, we got pasted with sand during the hike!  Our face and necks were so gritty when we got back to the car! We were glad we were headed home to shower after that hike!  But hey, natural exfoliation....

This viewpoint was beautiful but we didn't stay long because we were scared we'd get blown off!

Slot canyon in Cohab.

Taylor fulfilling his dream.

We finished the vacation with Pickle Pie and Pinto Bean Pie from the Sunglow Cafe for Pi Day and per tradition!