Friday, May 7, 2010

May 6 -- Capitol Reef NP

Thankfully, there was no rain last night. However, the winds howled all night, but I slept reasonably well, as it was only 55 degrees or so. I hit the road fairly early, taking a scenic byway to Capitol Reef National Park. The first 40 miles or so were somewhat unnervingly desolate. I am always mindful of breaking down, a single woman out in the middle of nowhere, needing the assistance of who know's what that comes along. Hence, my apprehension this morning.

Not to worry, every now and again I would pass through little blips on the road that called themselves towns, though I would be pressed to call them even a community, so small were the number of buildings. Gas was $3.39 at my last stop, but thankfully the SUV I rented (a Jeep Compass) is getting nearly 30 miles to the gallon. Not bad.

The last few miles into Capitol Reef were exceptionally lovely. The rock walls that towered above me were layered with different colors of sandstone -- from deep red, to grey, to tan. Capitol Reef is not a multi-featured park. There are a few short trails to an arch or to petroglyphs, and there are longer backpacking trails into the canyons, but mainly you just admire the beauty of the rock formations and the general landscape.

After a few short hikes and a trip to the visitor's center, I left Capitol Reef and continued west toward Bryce Canyon NP, my next stop. Again, I followed the scenic byway, which traversed many miles through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which is not really a "monument" at all. It's more of a vast area of land (more than two million acres) that features all of the various striations in the earth. A visitor's guide I received when I stopped for lunch at a campground describes it thusly: "The Grand Staircase -- the Chocolate, Vermilion, White, Gray, and Pink cliffs -- spans five different life zones from high desert to coniferous forests. It is a masterpiece of geological and biological diversity." In other words, it was beautiful -- probably the most beautiful scenery I've traveled through this trip, and I've traveled through some amazing terrain.

My destination for the night is Kodachrome Basin State Park. It's about 30 miles from Bryce Canyon NP. It's somewhat out of the way, but I didn't have confidence that I would find a spot late in the day at Bryce Canyon, so I took a chance. When I arrived around 3:00 pm, there were only two sites left, so I snatched one up.

As with the other state parks at which I've stayed, this one was lovely. It was very well designed, it was clean, and best of all, it had showers. I get to bathe two nights in a row!

After setting up camp, I hit the trails, of which there were many. As the name implies, the rock walls are multi-hued and contain many of the same features I have been seeing for days -- spires, balancing rocks, fins, hoodoos, and arches. The air is crisp and clear, and the vistas are expansive.

As night has fallen, the air has chilled exponentially. My fingers are cold, and I will soon be forced into my sleeping bag to stay warm. The park ranger warned me that it will be in the low 30's or upper 20's tonight.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Bryce Canyon NP, which is rumored to be one of the best, if not THE best, park in this Utah chain I am visiting. It's hard to believe, since I have seen some exceptional parks so far, but I hope the rumors are true. I'll let you know tomorrow (if I have cell service).

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

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