Capitol Reef National Park

 Capitol Reef National Park, UT

This is as close as we got to Arches National Park.  They recently implemented a reservation system and I wasn't paying attention

Bumming around in Utah

After The Grand Canyon we camped 1 night in Utah on the way to Capitol Reef National Park. Devil's Canyon Campground is just off US191.  It broke up the drive and was a nice stopover.  I got a new life bird there, the Woodhouse's Scrub Jay.  A few years ago they split the Western Scrub Jay into two species, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay and California Scrub Jay.  I also saw a snag filed with Turkey Vultures.  

I made sure to point out cool things to Donna as we drove

They were building a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad right next to the road

Utah State Line (there aren't casinos like Nevada)

Me pointing out more cool things on our drive

US 191 is a nice drive

A really nice drive

We've got your laughing place. Right up here.

  Capitol Reef National Park

The next day we pressed on to Capitol Reef National Park.  The drive to Capitol Reef from the north is AMAZING.  The scenery changes at every turn and each geological feature is different.  Capitol Reef sits in the middle of Wayne County UT and Wayne County UT sits in the middle of nowhere.  

Just in case Donna didn't see it

This part looked like we were entering Mordor

The 100th Red Cliff we have seen this week

The Capitol Reef National Park sign by itself

I forced a smile, Francis did not...

Another amazing drive

The red cliffs outside our campsite

When you book campsites online you have to do your research.  Different agencies call different sites different things.  I booked this tent only site thinking it was a site with no hookups for an RV but it turned out it was a "Walk Up Site".  That means you park your car and lug your stuff about 200 yards to a spot on a field.  Some people like these types of sites but we don't.  We sleep in our van so we ended up basically sleeping in a parking lot in a national park.  It wasn't optimal and I have since done a post mortem on this so it won't happen again.  I did see a Black-throated Sparrow so I got that going for me.

After setting up I went to the Visitors Center and used their Wi-Fi to book a hotel room for the next day.  We didn't want to spend 2 nights in the parking lot. I booked an additional night in Grand Junction, CO.  We will probably use the extra day to take a drive and get extra counties in Colorado that we hadn't counted on getting.

Still need more hot National Park action?  Check out our Grand Canyon visit here.

South Rim and North Rim Grand Canyon

 Grand Canyon, AZ

Chips are puffy at high altitude

South Rim Grand Canyon

On Friday the 20th we drove from Flagstaff AZ to The South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive was really pretty and easy.  After setting up camp we did the 1.5 mile walk to the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Sometimes hiking is just a walk

Francis enjoying his outing

Francis didn't like being near the canyon

The Grand Canyon Selfie.  We managed to not back off the cliff to our death

I don't think anyone has taken a better photo of the Grand Canyon /end sarcasm

This one has a bit more depth

This is what a happy camper looks like

Another happy camper

Driving 197 miles to be 17 miles from where we started

The distance from South Rim to North Rim is about 17 miles as a crow flies but we aren't crows so we had to drive 197 miles to get there.  It was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever done.  We got to drive around The Grand Canyon and see different views and then we got to drive through Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and then we got to North Rim.  It was an unbelievable drive.

Setting up for breakfast before the drive

Making Coffee

The Desert View Watchtower

 More views of The Grand Canyon

This tree has seen things

A canyon leading to The Grand Canyon on Navajo Land

Part of the beautiful drive

Some of The Vermillion Cliffs

The rest area at Navajo Bridge

Francis just wanted to sit in the sun

The Actual Navajo Bridge

Don't throw things from the bridge

Walking The Navajo Bridge

The Colorado River looks deep green from the bridge

Another view of the Colorado River

The walk to The North Rim

After setting up camp at The North Rim we took the 2 mile walk to see the sights.  It was WAY more impressive than The South Rim.  Fewer people and better views really make The North Rim stand out.

The walk was nicer

The views were nicer

The Lodge was really cool (we go in later)

More Views

And even more views

The Roughrider Saloon.  The Grand Canyon Brewing beers were $8 instead of the $4 we paid at happy hour.

I couldn't stop taking photos

The inside of The Lodge had a great viewing room.  

After looking at The Lodge we walked to Bright Angel Point

Another tree that has seen things

The path got very narrow at times.  Those are sheer cliffs on either side of the wall

More grandness

At The Point

I guess I have a thing for ragged trees

Back to camp in time to make dinner

The Grand Canyon was truly grand.  You just can't take it all in when you look at it.  It is so big it looks fake.  If you have the chance, you should really go.

Yesterday we went to a museum in Flagstaff AZ.  Check it out here.