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Burr Trail Road
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| Owachomo Bridge - Natural Bridges NM |
Today is sunny and warm so we are sticking with our plan to
take Burr Trail Road and Notom Road to Capitol Reef NP. We take our time driving, getting out a
few times to shoot more photos of the unbelievable geology.
The first portion of the road is paved; once we reach Capitol Reef NP the
road turns to gravel. Two wheel drive
vehicles can make it over the road. The
only questionable part is the Burr Trail Switchbacks.
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| Burr Trail Road |
There is a 800’ drop with very impressive
views coming over the Waterpocket Fold traveling east. The wall of sandstone runs the entire way we
drive to the north, over 30 miles. It
also extends 40+ miles to the south although we did not go that way. Burr Trail Road ends just east of the switchbacks turning into Notom Road.
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| Burr Trail Road |
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| Burr Trail switchbacks |
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| Water Pocket Fold in Capitol Reef NP |
Capitol Reef National Park
Continuing north on Notom Road we join up with Hwy 24 making our way into Capitol Reef
NP. The formations are huge in
comparison to what we have seen, anywhere on this trip. We drive along the bottoms of the formations, we have to get out of the truck to see the
tops of these monoliths. The park is 5 times larger than Bryce Canyon.
Hwy 24 goes through the park cutting the north from the south. We visit the Visitor Center trying to
understand how the earth moved creating this ripple in the crust looking one
way to the east and something totally different to the west. Getting there just before closing means we
have enough time to update our National Parks Passport book then briefly read
about the geological phenomena. It’s
still not clear to me what happened.
We stop at Panorama Point for a few photos before heading to our campsite, have some dinner, followed by studying park brochures for
tomorrow’s activities.
Before studying park brochures we decide to head back into the park; first to the
petroglyphs then Sunset Point. The
petroglyphs are dated between 300 and 1300 CE (Common Era) Some have been damaged from the sandstone
weakening and falling.
There is a 1950’s
photo showing a few petroglyphs next to a later photo where you can clearly see where the sandstone had collapsed pulling away from the original formation. We also came upon three deer having dinner
not more than 30’ from us. They didn’t
seem to mind us being there.
Sunset Point is the place to see the monoliths change color
in the waning sunlight along with their shadows creeping across the canyon
floor. The point is crowded with people
shooting it or just enjoying the sunset.
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| 'Water tank' |
Returning to the truck we stop for lunch then on to Capitol
Gorge. We follow the trail down another
canyon with the same type of sand layering.
Climbing up a side trail we see ‘water tanks’, small natural bowls in
the sandstone which hold the runoff water during the wet season.
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| Capitol Dome |
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| Hickman Bridge |
Our last day at Capitol Reef we take the Hickman Bridge
trail then the Rim Overlook Trail, about five miles hiking. The Rim Overlook Trail provides a
commanding view of the Capitol Reef Visitor Center, Fruita campground and Gifford
House complex. Different spring flowers
are in bloom, each depending on elevation and orientation to
the sun. From this higher elevation we
are able to see the tops of the monuments in brilliant reds and browns, not
seen from the valley. The entire hike we
are threatened with rain which finally comes the last few hundred yards from our goal. Fortunately a large
boulder is waiting to provide cover while we wait out the moderate
rain. We haven’t seen any other hikers
for the past hour; are we the only die-hard hikers or nuts out here??? After several minutes the rain clears
although the clouds remain. We push on;
we are too close to our objective to turn around now. A few minutes later we arrive at our destination,
Rim Overlook.
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| View from Rim Overlook Trail |
There is another trail;
another 2.2 miles, but we are satisfied with our view. Stopping for lunch we enjoy the view watching
cloud shadows slide across the monuments.
We also find out we are not the only ones out here. Another six people appear, some wanting to go
on the additional 2.2 miles, others are returning.
Winds pick up as we finish lunch reminding us that rain may appear at
any time and we have 2+ miles to hike before getting back to the truck. Mercifully the rain first appears the last tenth of
a mile before arriving at the truck.
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| Water smoothed lava boulders |
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| Our truck off in the distance |
Famished, we stop at Gifford House hoping to find some
homemade goodies. There are only a few
of the multi-berry pies remaining. We
grab one, the 6” size just right for two hungry hikers.
En route to Natural Bridges National Monument
The next day we are on our way to Natural Bridges National
Monument. We follow the Fremont River
out of Capitol Reef. The river is easily
identified with the walls of spring blooming cottonwoods hugging the
streambed. The view must be spectacular
in fall with all the cottonwoods turning yellow. The sandstone formations along the way are smaller with more grays and tans. Passing through Hanksville, UT we stop, seeing a grocery store. We are
somewhat impressed at what we find; deli meats and cheeses. But the produce section has wilted lettuce,
no tomatoes and little else. We must
have missed delivery day.
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| Colorado River |
Outside of Hanksville, we turn south; the next 40 miles we
continue downhill to the Colorado River, the opposite end of Lake Powell, where
we were just a week ago in Page, AZ.
Stopping for photos we see the river is fast and muddy. Driftwood is piled along the sides of the
river at least 40’ above today’s river level.
The road starts uphill once we cross the Colorado River bridge. Red canyon walls and slot canyons reappear
along our drive.
Natural Bridges National Monument
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| Sipapu Bridge |
Natural Bridges has three large natural bridges which formed
as water meandered in large loops like the one seen in the Horseshoe Bend area near
Page. Eventually the water wears away
the bottom of the sandstone wall, the top – the bridge,
remains as the water continues flowing below.
Someday the bridges will succumb to erosion and collapse into the river
bed. The three bridges are different
stages of their lives. The newest,
Kachina has a huge mass of sandstone making up the bridge while Owachomo’s
sandstone bridge is thin in comparison.
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| Horse Collar Ruin |
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| Owachomo Bridge |
We hike to the bottom of Sipapu, the largest of the three
bridges; height of 220’ and a span of 268’.
The hike requires us to walk down steps and an occasional ladder much
like those that the ancestral natives may have used to travel between the river
and the top of the mesa. The big
difference is the natives did not have ½” steel bolts holding the ladders
together. The light green spring leaves
glow against the red sandstone.
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| Kachina Bridge |
When we initially arrived at the park we had little hope of
getting a campsite within the 13 site campground. Fortunately the park is surrounded by Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) property so dispersed camping is available. We turn off to Bears Ears National Monument
and almost instantly find a number of empty campsite choices. We find a good spot and settle in for the
night, campfire and S’Mores to come.
The next morning we hike a loop trail between Kachina and Owachomo
bridges. The bridge views are
outstanding. The trail between the two
bridges is not well marked but as long as we stay along the river bottom we
know we were going in the right direction.
Along the way we see petroglyphs; evidence of ancestral natives. This area has been inhabited on and off from
9,000 to 700 years ago. We had seen a
few structures the previous day from one of the view points. Today our lunch is briefly interrupted by
rain but it quickly blows over.
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| Close-up of cryptobiotic soil |
Continuing back to the truck we hike along the top of the
mesa. We are in open pinion and juniper
forest. We also see wide swatches of
cryptobiotic soil; a bumpy, lumpy, blackened soil crust. The crust is alive with lichen, mosses, green
algae, microfungi, bacteria but mostly cyanobacteria. This crust absorbs water helping to
control erosion. Plants roots are able
to tap into this moisture surviving the hotter arid conditions usually found
here. These crusts take years to decades
to provide this benefit. Signs along the
trail remind us not to ‘bust the crust’ - stay on the trail.
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| Sandstone/cryptobiotic soil |
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| 'The Bear's Ears' of Bear's Ears NM |
After our hike we decide to follow the Bears Ears NM road to
see what is there. The brief rain we had
experienced during lunch evidently was quite heavy along the high road to Bears
Ears. The road quickly becomes muddy and
slick forcing me to turn on the four wheel drive to keep from fish
tailing. A little further up the road
dries out and is easily drivable. On our
way back we see evidence that other people tried to follow our track but were
not successful; the tire tracks went from side to side on the road ending then
turning back to the drier conditions.
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The road past the Bear's Ears
entrance |
We continue climbing getting better views of the west side of the monument. Occasional campsites
are open but we decline to stay at the higher elevation anticipating the colder
conditions and remembering the muddy road we just came through thinking more
rain is probably on the way. We finally
arrive at the summit; between the bears ears.
There is a truck camper already occupying the spot. They have a commanding view of both sides of
the mesa.
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| View through the Bear's Ears |
Thinking this is pretty cool
we decide to go on; until we see the northeast side of Bears Ears is covered in
snow. A hundred yards further the road is covered with at least a foot of snow. The entire valley is covered in snow, an
entirely different world from the one we drove up in. We are at the end of our trip into Bears Ears
NM.
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| The view from our campsite |
It is not all bad, on our way back down we grab a campsite
on the side of the mesa looking over the huge valley to the west. A spot is already set up for a campfire so we
have to use it.
Muley Point, Moki Dugway, Valley of the Gods
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| View from Muley Point |
We don’t have a specific destination in mind today. We have lots to see; Muley Point provides a
commanding view from the top of Cedar Mesa all the way to the distant Monument
Valley. Moki Dugway is a series of
switchbacks between the top and bottom of Cedar Mesa.
 |
| View from Muley Point |
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View of Valley of the Gods
from the top of Moki Dugway |
From the top of Moki Dugway we can see part
of the 17 mile route through Valley of the Gods; also on our list of places to
see. I am somewhat fearful of the drive
down Moki Dugway hearing stories from a number of people that had driven it the
previous week. They were glad to be alive to tell stories of driving it. The switchbacks are easier and wider than we
had faced earlier on our trip.
Valley of the Gods is a ‘mini’ Monument Valley. It is certainly not a famous; we only heard
of it through Utah tourism department.
We take several hours winding our way through the monuments before continuing
on. The park is open for dispersed
camping; many of the prime sites with fantastic views are already taken by the
early afternoon.
Looking for a place to stay overnight we stop at Bluff,
UT. The museum here is very informative
of the Mormon pioneers that founded the area.
The volunteers there dressed in period costumes answering any and all
questions we have about the museum. A
definite must see.
Hovenweep National Monument
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| Twin Towers |
Leaving Bluff we decide to try staying the night at
Hovenweep National Monument. There are about 30
sites, no water except at the bathrooms, no electric. This is not as popular as the other national
parks in the area so we have a choice of six open sites. It is wonderfully quiet. It is very dark, it is a dark skies
park. With the moon first appearing
after midnight; and no clouds, we spend the night identifying
constellations. It actually is harder
with the dark skies – there are too many stars.
We have to determine which ones are a part of the constellations.
 |
| Back side of Twin Towers |
Hunter-gatherer Indians are believed to have inhabited the
area as early as 13,000 years ago. The
people came and went as the climate dictated.
The ancestral Puebloans started building pit houses around 200 CE. The height of building started around 1100
with multiple storied stone structures positioned on the sides of canyons as
possible overlooks. Others were
constructed on the tops of free standing boulders. The bottoms of the structures look like they
are blended into the rock. The culture
at Hovenweep disappeared much like the Chaco culture around 1230.
The next day we talk with the rangers about which sites we
should visit. 'All of them'. Some are within the formal park others are
several miles away at remote locations.
A high clearance vehicle is suggested, and needed. The roads are mostly good but there are
occasional rock outcroppings that must be negotiated. All the sites are worth visiting, each has
its own type of structure; we have to stop and study what these people did. Some of these structures were homes; others -
nobody is certain.
The next day our three week trip comes to an end. We make one more stop at Canyon of the
Ancients National Monument, not to visit but scouting for future trips. Another place to add to our list.
Approaching the big cities; Farmington, Bernalillo then
Albuquerque we realize how much we have been away from traffic, and
people. The first 20 miles we we
see four other vehicles. Closing in on Albuquerque we can’t get away from traffic.
It’s feeling strange back home.
Our old routine gets resurrected after three weeks of camping...
I hope reading this has inspired you to get out to visit Southern Utah. We have seen a lot, but there is more... Another time.
We are planning our next trip.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
Continuing north on Notom Road we join up with Hwy 24 making our way into Capitol Reef
NP. The formations are huge in
comparison to what we have seen, anywhere on this trip. We drive along the bottoms of the formations, we have to get out of the truck to see the
tops of these monoliths. The park is 5 times larger than Bryce Canyon.
Hwy 24 goes through the park cutting the north from the south. We visit the Visitor Center trying to
understand how the earth moved creating this ripple in the crust looking one
way to the east and something totally different to the west. Getting there just before closing means we
have enough time to update our National Parks Passport book then briefly read
about the geological phenomena. It’s
still not clear to me what happened.
Before studying park brochures we decide to head back into the park; first to the
petroglyphs then Sunset Point. The
petroglyphs are dated between 300 and 1300 CE (Common Era) Some have been damaged from the sandstone
weakening and falling. 
There is a 1950’s
photo showing a few petroglyphs next to a later photo where you can clearly see where the sandstone had collapsed pulling away from the original formation. We also came upon three deer having dinner
not more than 30’ from us. They didn’t
seem to mind us being there.
Sunset Point is the place to see the monoliths change color
in the waning sunlight along with their shadows creeping across the canyon
floor. The point is crowded with people
shooting it or just enjoying the sunset.
Valley of the Gods is a ‘mini’ Monument Valley. It is certainly not a famous; we only heard
of it through Utah tourism department.
We take several hours winding our way through the monuments before continuing
on. The park is open for dispersed
camping; many of the prime sites with fantastic views are already taken by the
early afternoon.
Hunter-gatherer Indians are believed to have inhabited the
area as early as 13,000 years ago. The
people came and went as the climate dictated.
The ancestral Puebloans started building pit houses around 200 CE. The height of building started around 1100
with multiple storied stone structures positioned on the sides of canyons as
possible overlooks. Others were
constructed on the tops of free standing boulders. The bottoms of the structures look like they
are blended into the rock. The culture
at Hovenweep disappeared much like the Chaco culture around 1230.
The next day our three week trip comes to an end. We make one more stop at Canyon of the
Ancients National Monument, not to visit but scouting for future trips. Another place to add to our list.
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