Capitol Reef National Park and Southeast Utah

Capitol Reef NP

Quote of the day - "Why does Utah have to be so conservative...." from Scott...apparently he would like to move to Utah...too bad it's not in the cards for us!

Quote of the trip to date - "It's so beautiful here!" from Mandy. Scott said if we had a dime for every time I've said this we would be rich.

So today we packed up and headed to Capitol Reef National Park. I wasn't sure what to expect since Bryce Canyon was so unreal yesterday, but of course, this National Park was beautiful. Instead of the hoodoos like Bryce, this national park had enormous rock formations. We saw reds, oranges, purples, and just about every other color possible. The park is beautiful. We did a short hike along a wash through a canyon (Grand Wash Trail). There were cliff walls on either side of the wash extending to the sky for what appeared to be at least a hundred feet. We also drove a 10 mile scenic road which ended into a dirt road. Since we have 4WD we figured we'd keep going a while. Each and every turn left us speechless. Some of the rocks looked as smooth as butter while other rocks looked bumpy and mean. The colors for me though were the amazing part.

Since we've gotten into Utah the drive has been scenic and beautiful. We've taken a National Scenic Byway (Utah 12), which is a 124-mile route. We've been lucky enough to drive the entire route. The Federal Highway Administration designated this route as an "All American Road" and I wouldn't argue it. We've passed through amazing canyons, tall mountains, and flat plateaus and never once have we been bored. Today we drove over a mountain and it was awesome seeing all of the pockets of aspen trees. The bark looked like paper to where you could walk up to the tree and rip it off in sheets. In one section we also drove on top of a ridge, it was awesome. On both sides of the road there was a drop off, but the scenery was unbelievable.

We're camping in Moab for the next three nights. I can't wait to check out the town, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks as well as do some incredible mountain biking. The next three days should be some of the best days on this trip. Hopefully the weather holds out and we don't get the slight chance of rain that they're calling for...or the hot temps.